LING 400 Winter 2010 Language attitudes Overview n

LING 400 Winter 2010 Language attitudes

Overview n Standard vs. nonstandard n Language attitudes n African-American Vernacular English n Attitudes towards AAVE please turn off your cell phone for further learning about variation and/or language attitudes: LING 432

“Standard” dialect n Standard American English (SAE) n Used by n political leaders n media n higher socioeconomic classes n ≈ “correct” by prescriptive standards

Language attitudes n “Others judge you by the way you speak” n Potentially positive effects n correct control of jargon, slang n you are one of us n Potentially negative effects n you are not one of us n you are inferior n What factors influence attitudes toward language and group membership?

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) n A. k. a. African-American English, Black English Vernacular, Ebonics, etc. n A continuum of language varieties that are spoken primarily by and among African-Americans n Sample from early 80 s (‘AAE Sample’, from Black on White (The Story of English, v. 5)) https: //depts. washington. edu/llc/olr/linguistics/clips/AAVESampl e_ref. mov But… n n Not only African-Americans speak AAVE n Not all do so 100% of the time n ‘Code. Switching’ (Arthur Spears) n https: //depts. washington. edu/llc/olr/linguistics/clips/Code. Switching_ref. mov

Some misconceptions (attitudes) about AAVE n It is ‘black slang’ n It is a product of ‘lazy’ speech n It is an inferior, simplified form of English n It is grammatically incorrect, illogical n In fact, AAVE has its own rules.

Some phonological characteristics of AAVE n Final consonant cluster reduction n cold [koʊl], hand [hæn] n Scanner Boy Renegade: Wil’ Style n Vocalization or loss of [ɹ] / V__V n hurry [hʌɨ], furrow [fʌə] n also in “old-fashioned white speech” n Substitution of /k/ for /t/ in s__ɹ clusters n n street [skrit], stream [skrim] unique to AAVE?

AAVE Syntax n Multiple negation n AAVE: He don’ know nothin’. n Russian: Oн ничего не знает. [on nəči|vɔ ni |znɑət] ‘he nothing not know. ’ n Middle English: “He never yet no villainy not said In all his life to no kind of creature. ” (Chaucer, 1400)

AAVE Morphosyntax n Lack of copula (‘be’) n AAVE: He __ my brother. n Scanner Boy Renegade: He down wi’ the nation. n 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 n 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 n Absence of 3 rd person sg. –s AAVE: He eat_ five times a day. She want_ us to go. I you he/she we they want want

‘Ebonics’ controversy n Background: n 1996: In Oakland, CA schools, African. Americans make up 53% of students, but… n n n … 80% of suspensions … 64% of students held back each year … 71% of students in ‘special needs’ classes (for ‘language deficiency’)

‘Ebonics’ controversy n Dec. 1996: Oakland School Board passes ‘Ebonics resolution’ n n Original: http: //linguistlist. org/topics/ebonicsres 1. html Revised 1997: http: //linguistlist. org/topics/ebonics-res 2. html n Goals: n to formally recognize AAVE n to change teachers’ attitudes about AAVE n to implement usage of AAVE as tool in teaching African -American students to read, write SAE

Negative public reaction n Ebonics is… n “black street slang” n “just bad English” n “gibberish” n “a cruel joke” n “ridiculous” -- NY Times -- Chicago Sun-Times -- Boston Globe -- NY Daily News -- CA Gov. Pete Wilson

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

‘Genetically based’ n Popular interpretation African Americans are biologically predisposed to speak AAVE n Intended meaning ‘Genetic’ refers to linguistic origins (or ‘genesis’) in African languages

‘Not a dialect’ n Popular interpretation Ebonics is a separate language. n Intended meaning To counter popular (but inaccurate) conception of ‘dialect’ as inferior/ substandard form of a language.

‘Instruction in Ebonics” n Use of Ebonics as tool in teaching, not as object of lessons n https: //depts. washington. edu/llc/olr/linguistics/c lips/Unaccented. Black_ref. mov”

Teachers’ attitudes towards AAVE n Negative teacher attitudes and expectations are linked to underachievement in students, especially African-Americans. n Taylor 1973 survey of 422 teachers n 40% positive, 20% neutral, 20% negative n 2000 survey of NYC teachers n Sample survey question (n = 19); e. g. n “African American kids would advance further in school without African American English. ” n (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. n“few (14%) feel that it is a lazy form of English (Survey question 9). ” from 2000 survey of NYC teachers

Summary n AAVE is systematic, rule-governed n Has structures common to many other languages/dialects n Misunderstanding of AAVE contributes to continued prejudice, stigma n Debate over use of AAVE vs. SAE is ongoing

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