This term paper focuses on the grammar of early and today’s African-American English, as well as its origin, its history, its development and the areas in which it is commonly spoken today. More precisely the paper will outline the construction of African-American English and will further provide a comparison of early and contemporary AAE by discussing the lyrics of a slave song in contrast to two songs by Nicki Minaj and 50 Cent in regards to syntax. Even though AAE consists of more than just grammatical distinctions such as the phonological, morphological and semantical, the focus here will solely lie on the syntax.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Main Part
2.1 The History of African American and their Speech
2.2 Its Linguistic Structure and Word formation
2.2.1 Overview of Contemporary AAVE
2.2.2 Grammar of Contemporary AAVE
2.2.3 Differences between earlier and contemporary AAVE
2.3 Historical Song in Earlier AAVE, Analyzed and Compared to Songs in Contemporary AAVE
2.3.1 Analysis of the Song ’’I don’t do nobody nothin’’
2.3.2 Analysis of the Song ’’In Da Club’’ by 50 Cent and ’’Anaconda’’ by Nicky Minaj
2.3.3 Comparison
3. Conclusion
Research Goals and Topics
This paper aims to investigate the grammatical evolution of African-American English (AAVE) from its historical roots in slavery to its contemporary urban and rural forms, specifically analyzing syntactic changes and continuities.
- Historical development of African-American dialects and cultural identity.
- Linguistic structure and key grammatical features of contemporary AAVE.
- Comparative analysis of syntactic patterns in historical work songs versus modern Hip-Hop.
- Evaluation of the influence of regional and social factors on AAVE evolution.
- Identification of persisting dialect traits versus extinct grammatical features.
Excerpt from the Book
2.3.1 Analysis of the song ’’I don’t do nobody nothin’’
The song ’’I don’t do nobody nothin’’ is a song which was released in 1939. It was sung by C.W. ’’Preacher’’ Smith (also known as: Rev. Nathanial Hawkins), accompanied by a quire of multiple unknown singers (loc.gov)
At the beginning, one of the most common features of earlier AAVE is already present in the title of the song. Multiple negation, in the form of three separate negations, is used in the following manner; ’’I don’t do nobody nothin’’. The lyrics commence with the refrain that begins with the title and continues with the phrase; ’’But they hates me just the same’’ where we perceive the third person singular ‘s’ for the third person plural ‘they’ which is unlike GA where one would simply write; “But they hate me just the same’’. The fifth and sixth line of the lyrics ’’The sinner he don’t know nothin ’bout me oh lord’’ followed by, “he don’t carry my name ’’contain the third singular -s absence that is typical for earlier and contemporary African-American English. The fifth line also contains another example for double negation by using the words “don’t” and “nothin” in the same clause. Furthermore, the seventh and eighth line of the lyrics also present the use of an -s at the end of a verb, although it is not in the third person singular form, i.e. ‘‘Oh, well, I tries to stay outa bad company’’ or “You knows I try to save my name”. On the other hand, the ninth line consists of a third person singular -s again, with the use of “they bukes”, instead of “they buke” (loc.gov Hawkins 1939). Additionally, the last line of the song consists of a possessive they. In this case, the “they” stands for “their” and therefore functions as a signal for possession (Wolfram 2008: 525). The final line reads as following; “Well they can’t hold all they conversation (...)”. While the lines clearly refers to a group of people who have a conversation, the lyrics say “they conversation”, instead of the grammatically correct form “their conversation” (loc.gov Hawkins 1939).
Chapter Summary
1. Introduction: Outlines the origins of AAVE within the slavery era and defines the scope of the paper focusing on syntactic features.
2. Main Part: Provides a comprehensive historical and structural analysis of AAVE, covering its origins, linguistic characteristics, and current variations.
2.1 The History of African American and their Speech: Examines the arrival of slaves in the 17th century and the development of their distinct language variety in the rural South.
2.2 Its Linguistic Structure and Word formation: Details the key grammatical traits of AAVE and the factors influencing its spread to urban centers.
2.2.1 Overview of Contemporary AAVE: Discusses the differences between rural and urban AAVE and the relationship to General American English.
2.2.2 Grammar of Contemporary AAVE: Analyzes specific syntactic markers such as invariant be, remote been, and completive done.
2.2.3 Differences between earlier and contemporary AAVE: Identifies extinct versus enduring language features by comparing historical data with current usage.
2.3 Historical Song in Earlier AAVE, Analyzed and Compared to Songs in Contemporary AAVE: Sets the methodology for comparing work songs to modern media to visualize syntactic changes.
2.3.1 Analysis of the Song ’’I don’t do nobody nothin’’: Performs a linguistic breakdown of the 1939 song, identifying negations and subject-verb agreement patterns.
2.3.2 Analysis of the Song ’’In Da Club’’ by 50 Cent and ’’Anaconda’’ by Nicky Minaj: Analyzes modern rap lyrics to demonstrate current usage of AAVE syntactic structures.
2.3.3 Comparison: Synthesizes the analysis, showing that despite surface differences, historical AAVE remains the foundation for contemporary forms.
3. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, confirming that while AAVE has evolved, core grammatical traits persist across different regions and time periods.
Keywords
AAVE, African-American English, Syntax, Grammar, Dialect, Slavery, Great Migration, Urban, Rural, Invariant be, Negation, Linguistics, Verbal concord, Language evolution, Rap lyrics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the syntax and grammatical evolution of African-American English (AAVE), tracing its origins from slavery to its development and current usage in modern urban and rural contexts.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
The core themes include the historical background of AAVE, linguistic structure, grammatical features such as invariant be or multiple negation, and the comparison between older work songs and contemporary rap music.
What is the main research question of the study?
The research investigates whether African-American English has changed over time, to what extent those changes have occurred, and which specific syntactic features have remained constant.
Which methodology is employed in this paper?
The author employs a comparative linguistic methodology, analyzing historical primary sources (slave era songs) and contemporary secondary sources (modern hip-hop lyrics) to track syntactic continuities and developments.
What topics are covered in the main body section?
The main part covers the history of African American speech, the linguistic overview of contemporary AAVE, a detailed grammar analysis, and a comparative study of cultural artifacts showcasing dialect evolution.
Which keywords best characterize this academic work?
Key terms include AAVE, syntax, language evolution, linguistic structure, dialect, slavery, and historical and contemporary comparative analysis.
How does the author characterize the role of the "Great Migration"?
The author identifies the move from the rural Southern United States to Northern and Western metropolitan areas as a major driver for the spread and diversification of AAVE syntactic features.
What does the "remote been" feature signify in AAVE?
Remote been is a specialized grammatical function that indicates an action or state that started in the distant past and, significantly, may still be relevant or ongoing in the present.
Why are rap songs like those by 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj used as primary sources?
These songs serve as modern data points to visualize contemporary urban AAVE, allowing for a comparative analysis of persistent grammatical traits found in both older work songs and modern vernacular speech.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Munise Özevran (Autor:in), 2018, The Syntax of Earlier and Contemporary African-American English, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1330848
