African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)

African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a  variety of American English spoken by many African Americans. It has been called by many other names that are sometimes offensive, including African American English, black English, black English vernacular, ebonics, negro dialect, nonstandard negro English, black talk, blaccent, or blackcent. AAVE originated in the slave plantations of the American South, and it shares a number of phonological and grammatical features with Southern dialects of American English. Many African Americans are bi-dialectal in AAVE and Standard American English. Several concepts are related to this complex topic, including: African-American RhetoricBe  DeletionCode SwitchingDialect PrejudiceDiglossiaDouble CopulaDozensDummy  ItEthnic DialectInvariant  BeMetathesisNegative ConcordSerial VerbsSignifyingSubject-Auxiliary Inversion (SAI)West African Pidgin EnglishZero Copula and Zero Possessive Examples and Observations In line with evolving trends within the larger community, linguists use African American English instead of Black English (or even older terms like Non-Standard Negro English) for the English of African Americans, a continuum of varieties ranging from the most mainstream or standard speech (like Bryant Gumbels, virtually indistinguishable from the formal speech of white and other Americans), to the most vernacular or non-mainstream variety. It was to focus on this latter variety that Labov (1972) first started referring to it as Black English vernacular. African American Vernacular English is simply the most recent variety of that term, the one most widely used among linguists...The term Ebonics, which was first coined in 1973 by a group of Black scholars...from ebony (black) and phonics (sound, the study of sound) (R. Williams, 1975)...is regarded by many if not most linguists as very similar if not identical to AAVE in terms of the features and varieties it designates. (Rickford, African American Vernacular English) [C]ontributing to the evolution of American English was the migration of blacks from the South after the Civil War to urban areas of the north. They took their Southern speech patterns with them, including all of the linguistic forms that had been incorporated into the grammatical structure of speech among slaves. Unlike most white immigrants to urban centers, who eventually adopted local dialects, blacks generally remained isolated in impoverished ghettos and as a result, retained their dialect. This physical isolation contributed to linguistic isolation and the maintenance of African American vernacular English (AAVE). The retention of unique linguistic forms, racism, and educational apartheid have since led to numerous misconceptions of this dialect. (Baugh, Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice) The Two Components of AAVE It is proposed that AAVE consists of two distinct components: the General English [GE] component, which is similar to the grammar of OAD [Other American Dialects], and the African-American [AA] component. These two components are not tightly integrated with each other, but follow internal patterns of strict co-occurrence...The AA component is not a complete grammar, but a subset of grammatical and lexical forms that are used in combination with much but not all of the grammatical inventory of GE. (Labov, Coexistent Systems in African-American English) Origin of AAVE On one level, the origin of African American English in the USA will always be a matter of speculation. Written records are sporadic and incomplete, and open to interpretation; demographic information about language use is also selective and largely anecdotal. Furthermore, great variation was exhibited in the speech of Africans when they were first brought to the New World and to colonial America, as indicated in references to black speech in slave advertisements and court records (Brasch, 1981). It is also indisputable that English-lexifier Creole languages developed and continue to flourish in the African diaspora — from coastal West Africa to coastal North America — and that the middle passage for some Africans brought to colonial America included exposure to these creoles (Kay and Cary, 1995; Rickford, 1997, 1999; Winford, 1997). Beyond these acknowledgments, however, the origin and status of early African American speech has been and continues to be vigorously disp uted. (Wolfram, The Development of African American English) Sources Baugh, John.  Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice. University of Texas, 1999.Labov, William. â€Å"Coexistent Systems in African-American English.†Ã‚  The Structure of African-American English, edited by Salikoko S. Mufwene, et al., Routledge, 1998, pp. 110–153.Rickford, John Russell.  African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications. Blackwell, 2011.Wolfram, Walt, and Erik R. Thomas.  The Development of African American English. 1st ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2002.

Things May Cause A Detestable Act Called Revenge - 1587 Words

Simple Little Things May Cause a Detestable Act Called Revenge How would you handle misinterpretation if you encountered this one day? How would you shown to them that their thought was wrong? Well! The word misinterpretation has always been a natural expression in the modern societies today, especially because human beings are not born perfect yet, and they are here in this world to shape their character in a long process. Often times, people are degraded by their sinful thoughts because they can’t express their anger right away, for that reason; misinterpretation comes first followed by action. It would not be easy if someone misinterprets you especially, when you encountered certain situations where people or your friends misinterpret†¦show more content†¦Although, the setting, genre, and characters were different, to summarize the whole genre, it was shown that the author used objects or elements to the story that caused the main character to get revenge. In light of this brilliant idea of the authors, they captured readerâ⠂¬â„¢s attention with emotions. Based on the story â€Å"The Jewelry† by Maupassant, a young lady who has pure personality seeks a man to marry her with the help of her mother dear. She found love when she met a man named M. Lantin at the house of the office-superintendent. After they are married and they are not blessed with children. This young lady who comes from poor family has a passion to collect an array of jewelry and loves the theater as a way to entertain herself from getting bored at home. This lady’s passion of collecting jewelries and loves of theater made her intolerable habits and unfortunately, even made her husband broke. This young lady was called Madame Lantin for being classy and elegant. She wore fancy dresses and fancy jewelries when she goes out to the theater with her colleagues. Moreover, her unexpected death made her husband out of control from grief. M. Lantin never expected that his love of his life would go to heaven suddenly, so he made himself being miserable until he fo und out that he had nothing left. When M. Lantin found out that the jewelry collection from his wife was expensive and the jewelry was real not aShow MoreRelatedEssay on Examples of the Shadow Archetype in Famous Literature3010 Words   |  13 Pagesphysical shadow will be the representation of an individual’s concealed evil traits with an actual form. Many people fear what the physical representation of their shadow may be. When concealed within oneself the shadow is easy to ignore, however, when a shadow transforms into an unpredictable physical being, the confrontation may be an unnerving experience. In A Wizard of Earthsea, Ged’s first meeting with his shadow was a terrifying experience, especially as a child. Ged’s shadow is released as a

Prejudice Against Native Americans Essay Example For Students

Prejudice Against Native Americans Essay Prejudice Against Native AmericansAdam J.E. KoenemanEnglish 190-28Professor EnglesThese people began migrating thirty thousand years before ChristopherColombus discovered the Americas. Native Americans migrated from Asia,crossing a land bridge where the Bering Strait off the coast of Alaska is today. Over the centuries these people spread throughout the continents of North andSouth America. Since the arrival of the Europeans in 1492 the American Indianhas been dehumanized, decivilized and redefined into terms that represent adominate European view. The Spanish explorers under Colombus were the first touse the terms Indian to mean a Native American. These explorers were under thefalse impression that the had reached the West Indies. This term is still usedtoday. From the first interaction with the native peoples the Europeans inatiateddominance and superiority. There are three distinctive reasons that theEuropeans were able to dominate and later oppress the Native American culturesuch as; the Native American relgious beleifs and practices, the lack ofinteraction between Native Americans ans Europeans and the lack of orginizationof the Indian tribes. All of these aspects had a strong influence the Europeansto become dominate figures on the Native American land. These factors can stillbe attributed for the way that Native Americans are viewed in society today. After the Revolutionary War the new United States government sought to gainland through treaties. The payment offered for the land was far from fair,however, and when Native Americans resisted the surrender of their homeland theUS government simply used superior military power to evict them. The Europenasknew nothing of the new civilizations they encountered. Most Native Americantribes viewed the lands they occupied to be no one mans property. Theybelievied that they were alowed to occupy it by the grace of the Great Spirit,in return the tribes took care of the land the used. Usually Native Americansharbored a great respect for the land they were allowed to use . When theEuropean leaders attempted to purchase this land from the tribes the NativeAmerican leaders often thought they did not have the authority to sell the land. In their view the land wasnt theirs to sell. Often times, payment offered wasrefused because of this view The Europeans, on the other hand, did notunderstand or care to understandthe Native American way of life, culture orphilosophy. Instead, they saw the land as a great buisness oppurtunity to bebought and sold. Sometimes payment was accepted because the American Indiansdid not fully understand the consequence or implications of the sale. It wasdifficult for the Indians to comprehend the ownership of land because in theirview the land would always be avaliable for everyone to use. Europeans feared these new people with a seemingly savage way of life. Thedances and othe cultural traditions that Native Americans practiced wereextremely abstract and foreign to the European settlers. These displays ofsavagery by the Native Americans sparkedf fear within many settlers mainly outof ignoranceto their practices and cultural traditions. The NAtive Americanlifestyle was, in fact very organized and very practical. Most American Indians have little or no interaction with the everdaylifestyles of the average American citizen. They have been residents ofreservations for almost two cennturies. Two hundred years of social oppressionhas to be overcome inorder for the American Indian socities to become moreaccepted into our modern culture. The prejudice that American Indians endurerivals that of the African-Americans. In order for the Native American tribalnations to become equal in social standings ther has to be reform and awarnessof the prejudice. .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 , .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .postImageUrl , .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 , .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8:hover , .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8:visited , .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8:active { border:0!important; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8:active , .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8 .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u96865c01b81e96ee027d1be6a08474c8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: CHILD DEVELOPMENT EssayLack of orginization is a strong contributing factor to why NativeAmericans are dicriminated against. During the 1960s the African-Americanpopulation united and fought for reform and equality. This has not yet fullyoccured in the Native American social setting. Many of the tribes still fuedwith each othe instead of trying to create social reform. This is especiallyapparent during the 1800s when Indian-White relations were especially full oftension. Crazy horse, the great Oglala Sioux leader, expressed his concern forbetter relations between the American Indian tribes on his death bed (Nabokov178). The European settlerhad a problem understanding the d ifferances betweenthe tribes. Many times they could not comprehend that one tribe of NativeAmericans was seperate and sometimes enemies with another tribe. Another major factor that helped develop the dicriminatory views againstNative Americans was the American Indian religious practices.