LING 400Winter 2010

Language attitudes

Overview

Standard vs. nonstandard Language attitudes African-American Vernacular English Attitudes towards AAVE

for further learning about variation and/or language attitudes: LING 432

please turn off your cell phone

“Standard” dialect

Standard American English (SAE) Used by

political leaders media higher socioeconomic classes

≈ “correct” by prescriptive standards

Language attitudes

“Others judge you by the way you speak” Potentially positive effects

correct control of jargon, slang you are one of us

Potentially negative effects you are not one of us you are inferior

What factors influence attitudes toward language and group membership?

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) A.k.a. African-American English, Black English, Black English

Vernacular, Ebonics, etc. A continuum of language varieties that are spoken primarily by

and among African-Americans Sample from early 80s (‘AAE Sample’, from Black on White

(The Story of English, v. 5)) https://depts.washington.edu/llc/olr/linguistics/clips/AAVESampl

e_ref.movBut…

Not only African-Americans speak AAVE Not all African-Americans speak AAVE Not all do so 100% of the time

‘CodeSwitching’ (Arthur Spears) https://depts.washington.edu/llc/olr/linguistics/clips/CodeSwitching_ref.mov

Some misconceptions (attitudes) about AAVE

It is ‘black slang’ It is a product of ‘lazy’ speech It is an inferior, simplified form of English It is grammatically incorrect, illogical

In fact, AAVE has its own rules.

Some phonological characteristics of AAVE

Final consonant cluster reduction cold [koʊl], hand [hæn] Scanner Boy Renegade: Wil’ Style

Vocalization or loss of [ɹ] / V__V hurry [hʌɨ], furrow [fʌə] also in “old-fashioned white speech”

Substitution of /k/ for /t/ in s__ɹ clusters street [skrit], stream [skrim] unique to AAVE?

AAVE Syntax

Multiple negation AAVE: He don’ know nothin’.

Russian: Oн ничего не знает.

[on nəči|vɔ ni |znɑət]

‘he nothing not know.’

Middle English:“He never yet no villainy not said

In all his life to no kind of creature.” (Chaucer, 1400)

AAVE Morphosyntax

Lack of copula (‘be’) AAVE: He __ my brother.

Scanner Boy Renegade: He down wi’ the nation.

Russian: Oн мой брат.

[on mɔj brɑt]

he my brother

Seattle Times 1-27-09

covert prestige: use of nonstandard forms to establish oneself as

member of some group

AAVE Morphosyntax

Habitual ‘be’: habitual, repeated action

AAVE: The coffee be cold (every day).

The coffee cold (right now).

They be late (all the time).

They late (today).

Scanner Boy Renegade: “You can’t be standing there.”

AAVE Morphosyntax

Absence of 3rd person sg. –s

AAVE: He eat_ five times a day.

She want_ us to go.

I want

you want

he/she want

we want

they want

‘Ebonics’ controversy

Background: 1996: In Oakland, CA schools, African-

Americans make up 53% of students, but… …80% of suspensions …64% of students held back each year …71% of students in ‘special needs’ classes (for

‘language deficiency’)

‘Ebonics’ controversy

Dec. 1996: Oakland School Board passes ‘Ebonics resolution’ Original: http://linguistlist.org/topics/ebonics/ebonics-

res1.html Revised 1997:

http://linguistlist.org/topics/ebonics/ebonics-res2.html Goals:

to formally recognize AAVE to change teachers’ attitudes about AAVE to implement usage of AAVE as tool in teaching

African-American students to read, write SAE

Negative public reaction

Ebonics is… “black street slang” -- NY Times

“just bad English” -- Chicago Sun-Times

“gibberish” -- Boston Globe

“a cruel joke” -- NY Daily News

“ridiculous” -- CA Gov. Pete Wilson

Negative public reaction

Due largely to wording of resolution “[Ebonics] is genetically based” “[Ebonics] is not a dialect of English” “instruction…to students…in [Ebonics]”

‘Genetically based’

Popular interpretation

African Americans are biologically predisposed to speak AAVE

Intended meaning

‘Genetic’ refers to linguistic origins (or ‘genesis’) in African languages

‘Not a dialect’

Popular interpretation

Ebonics is a separate language. Intended meaning

To counter popular (but inaccurate) conception of ‘dialect’ as inferior/ substandard form of a language.

‘Instruction in Ebonics”

Use of Ebonics as tool in teaching, not as object of lessons https://depts.washington.edu/llc/olr/

linguistics/clips/UnaccentedBlack_ref.mov”

Teachers’ attitudes towards AAVE

Negative teacher attitudes and expectations are linked to underachievement in students, especially African-Americans.

Taylor 1973 survey of 422 teachers 40% positive, 20% neutral, 20% negative

2000 survey of NYC teachers Sample survey question (n = 19); e.g.

“African American kids would advance further in school without African American English.”

(a) agree strongly, (b) agree mildly, (c) no opinion, (d) disagree mildly, (e) disagree strongly

Figure 5. African American Vernacular English (Ebonics) is a form of English.

from 2000 survey of NYC teachers

Figure 6. African American English (Ebonics) is subject to its own set of rules.

“few (14%) feel that it is a lazy form of English (Survey question 9).”

from 2000 survey of NYC teachers

Summary

AAVE is systematic, rule-governed Has structures common to many other

languages/dialects Misunderstanding of AAVE contributes to

continued prejudice, stigma Debate over use of AAVE vs. SAE is ongoing

Question

Suppose you speak both a standard and non-standard variety of some language. What is one reason or situation where you might choose to use one or the other variety?

Or do you know someone who speaks both SAE and some other variety of English? When does that person use the other variety?