Download Negation

Handout for the presentation on AAVE
Semantic features
→ words which have two levels of meaning
“one black one white”
EXAMPLE:
→ “He is a bad dude.”
negative meaning: “a person of undesirable character”
positive meaning : “a person of highly desirable character.”
Other words having these “two levels of meaning”: nigger, cool and clean
→ “counterlanguage” (the two-levelled meaning can only be understood by insiders)
EXAMPLES:
→ “You look clean, maam.”
a) outer appearence of the addressee is not dirty, as usual
b) elegant dress
→ “camouflaged” constructions
---seem to be like constructions in other varieties of English, but they are used differently
“She come acting like she was real mad”---expresses the speaker´s indignation
train: in AAE slang →a group rape (“run a train on (a victim), (a victim) goes through a
train”...)
→ morpho-syntax
“pimp” as a noun:“a man who lives from the earnings of a prostitute”
as a verb, “to dress and walk like a pimp” or “to exploit someone.”
The role of pragmatics in AAVE
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pragmatics: the study of the intended/invisible meaning of language
pragmatics also deals with the question how language is used in social settings to
carry out particular functions
speech act:
mportant component of the study of pragmatics
ex. “Take out the garbage!”
ex. “Would you mind taking out the garbage?”
speech acts are carried out in all cultures and ethnic groups, but the expectations
about the appropriate use of direct or indirect speech acts as wells as the way of how
speech acts are performed can be different across social groups
working-class African Americans use direct speech acts more frequently, especially
when speaking to children
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Anglo Americans rather prefer indirect speech acts
in matter of directness vs. indirectness gender difference plays a more important role
than ethnicity or culture
lacking knowledge about cultural convenience
Grammatical Features of African American Vernacular English
Markers of tense, mood and aspect
Absence of copula/auxiliary is and are for present states and actions
SE: “He is tall”
e.g. AAVE: “He tall”
Use of invariant be (sometimes bees) for habitual aspects
e.g. AAVE: “He be walkin” SE: “He is walking”
Use of invariant be for future
e.g. AAVE: “He be here tomorrow” SE: “He’ll be here tomorrow”
Use of steady as an intensified continuative marker
e.g. “Ricky Bell be steady steppin in them number nines”
Use of unstressed been or bin for “has/have been”
e.g. AAVE: “He been sick” SE: “He has been sick”
Use of stressed bin to mark that the action happened or the state came into being long ago
e.g. AAVE “She bin married” SE: “She has been married for a long time” (and still is)
Use of done to emphasize the completed nature of an action
e.g. AAVE: “He done did it” SE: “He’s already done it”
Use of finna to mark the immediate future
e.g. AAVE: “He finna go” SE: “He’s about to go”
Use of come to express the speaker’s indignation about an action or event.
come walkin in here like he owned the place”
e.g. “He
Use of had to mark the simple past
e.g. AAVE: “Then we had went outside” SE: “Then we went outside.”
Use of double modals (may can, might can, might could)
e.g: “He might can be able to” SE: “He might be able to”
Use of must don’t for SE must not
Verbal tense marking
Absence of third person singular present tense –s and the use of don’t instead of doesn’t.
Generalisation of is and was to use with plural and second person subjects.
“They is some crazy folk” SE: “They are a crazy folk”
Use of past tense or –ed form as past participle
e.g. AAVE: “He had bit” SE: “He had bitten”
e.g. AAVE:
Use of past participle form as past tense or –ed form
e.g. AAVE: “She seen him yesterday” SE: “She saw him yesterday”
Reduplication of past tense or participle sufix
e.g. AAVE: likeded SE: liked (only applies to a small set of verbs)
Nouns and Pronouns
Absence of possessive –s as in “John house” instead of SE”John’s house”
Use of y’all and they to mark second person plural and third plural possessive
AAVE: “It’s y’all ball” or “It’s they house” SE: “It’s your ball” or “It’s their house”
e.g.
Absence of relative pronouns (which, who, what, that)
e.g. AAVE: “That’s the man come here” SE: “That’s the man who came here”
Negation
Use of ain’(t) as “am not”, “isn’t”, “aren’t”, “hasn’t”, “haven’t”, “didn’t”
Use of multiple negation
e.g. AAVE: “He don’t do nothing” SE: “He does’n do anything”
Use of ain’t but and don’t but for SE “only”
e.g. AAVE: “He ain’t but fourteen years old” SE: “He’s only fourteen years old”
Questions
Formation of direct questions without inversion of the subject and auxiliary verb. e.g. AAVE:
“Why I can’t play?” or “They didn’t take it?” SE: “Why can’t I play?” or “Didn’t they take it?”
Auxiliary verb inversion in embedded questions (without “if” and “whether”). e.g. AAVE: “I
asked him could he go with me” SE: “I asked him if he could go with me”
Phonological Features of AAVE
1. Dropping of end letters:
running -> runnin; thinking -> thinkin
player -> playa; lover -> luva
four -> fo; more -> mo
I don´t know -> a oh know
2. Dropping of initial “th”
three -> tree; throw -> trow; that -> dat; there -> dere
3. Monophthongal pronunciations of “ay” and “oy”
I -> ah; boy -> boah
4. Changing of “ing” and “ink”
drink -> drank; sink -> sank; sings -> sangs