- Introduction Considering the great variety of ethnic and social groups represented in the city, it is not surprising that a multitude of urban dialects can be identified. These dialects often play an important role as they can provide a sense of belonging in contrast to being all alone, a feeling common among ethnic groups. I have chosen one of these dialects, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), which I will focus on, both in this essay and in my main essay, The Ghetto. This dialect can be found in all the major cities in America. John R. Rickford, the author of African American Vernacular English - Features, Evolution, Educational Implications, says that it is often claimed that nearly 80 per cent of all African Americans speak AAVE to some extent (Rickford 1999: 9). With this in mind it becomes quite obvious that AAVE is not an urban phenomenon only, but that it can be found in rural areas as well. However, since there is such a concentration of speakers of the dialect in the city it can be seen as an important urban phenomenon. In this essay I will give an account of some of the features that are typical of this specific urban dialect. I will analyze the speech of some African Americans, and see which features differ from Standard American English (SAE). Furthermore I will examine whether these features can be found in other American dialects as well, or if they are exclusively features of AAVE. According to Rickford, the features which are also identifiable in other varieties are still more widely used in AAVE, both in all the different social classes within the ethnic group and in varying speech situations. (Rickford 1999: 11). Since collecting material is quite difficult, being so far away from the actual phenomenon, examples have been taken from perhaps the largest source where a great many people from the televised world come in contact with AAVE: The Ricky Lake show. I have analyzed the speech of African Americans speaking a non-standard variety of American English, and I have excerpted short extracts from different shows, where people speak AAVE, to help illustrate the different features. Unfortunately, I have not succeeded in finding examples of all the features which I wanted to include. Thus some examples have no WAV-files attached to them. I have also made use of secondary sources to support my findings. Fromkin and Rodman's An Introduction to Language (1998) has been of great help, as well as Rickford's book, mentioned above. In it, he has a long list of features, many of which will not be dealt with here. The selection of features I have included is partially based on my analysis, and partially on the features that seem to be regarded as the most distinctive ones by other authors on the topic. Before the actual analysis of the features of AAVE I would like to repeat some of Rickford's observations and claims. He maintains that that the use of these features varies depending on age, social class, gender and style. He also points out that not many speakers of AAVE use all the features all the time, and not all African Americans speak AAVE. It is mainly in the speech of "younger lower- and working-class speakers in urban areas and informal styles" that these features can be identified (Rickford 1999: 9). However, this is more true for some features than for others. Further on, he reminds us that for its speakers, AAVE has several functions, which cannot be shown in a list of features: "For the preachers, novelists, storytellers, poets, playwrights, actors and actresses, street corner hustlers, church-going grandparents, working mothers and fathers and schoolyard children, rappers, singers, barber-shop and beauty-salon clients who draw on it daily, AAVE is not simply a compendium of features, but the integral whole which Brown evocatively called 'Spoken Soul.'" (Rickford 1999: 12). So, let's go then! (Since many of the features are illustrated with phonetic signs, I would advise you to download an IPA font, if you do not already have it in your computer. This can be done here.) GRAMMATICAL FEATURES You can find a more thorough discussion on the status and the history of AAVE in my main essay, The Ghetto.
Written by: Therese Posted: May 13, 2001 Back to My Own Page |