The question that will be addressed in this thesis is whether dialect choice in soul music from Memphis and Detroit was, with regard to commercial success, stronger than the mostly homogeneous character of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) across all regions of the US.
A detailed linguistic analysis of a selection of songs from Motown and Stax will try to investigate the extent to which that artists from Detroit did adapt their language habits to their surrounding white fellow citizens. This might be even more interesting for northern blacks who moved away from their dialect roots in the South.
With respect to a separation from the white population, which can at least be assumed for the artists' childhood and early adulthood, it appears necessary to look at certain features that were either kept or lost. In addition, the analysis will try to connect the commercial success of all included songs and artists to the language habits of the performers.
First, some background for this paper's study will be provided, including the social implications of AAVE and the reference studies for the analysis. Then, the relevant phonological and grammatical variables will be listed and explained. These variables will be, with regard to the Motown and Stax data sets, analyzed in detail. Finally, the interpretation of the results will try to find an answer to the thesis of this paper.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Background to the study
2.1 Social implications of AAVE
2.2 Reference studies
2.2.1 Phonology
2.2.2 Grammatical Variables
3. Analysis
3.1 Remarks on selected artists/songs
3.2 Motown
3.2.1 Phonology
3.2.1.1 Word-final consonant clusters
3.2.1.2 Word-final single consonants
3.2.1.3 Postvocalic /r/
3.2.1.4 Glide weakening/monophthongization of /aɪ/
3.2.1.5 DRESS/KIT merger
3.2.2 Grammatical variables
3.2.2.1 Multiple Negation
3.2.2.2 Suffixal –s absence
3.2.2.3 Zero Copula be
3.2.3 Conclusion
3.3 Stax Records
3.3.1 Phonology
3.3.1.1 Word-final consonant clusters
3.3.1.2 Word-final single consonants
3.3.1.3 Postvocalic /r/
3.3.1.4 Glide weakening/monophthongization of /aɪ/
3.3.1.5 DRESS/KIT merger
3.3.2 Grammatical variables
3.3.2.1 Multiple Negation
3.3.2.2 Suffixal –s absence
3.3.2.3 Zero copular be
3.3.3 Conclusion
4. Interpretation of the results
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives & Key Themes
This paper examines whether the choice of dialect in soul music from Stax Records (Memphis) and Motown (Detroit) was influenced by commercial success and market orientation, or if African American Vernacular English (AAVE) persisted as a core element of black identity and cultural authenticity in the 1960s and 70s.
- The linguistic analysis of phonological and grammatical variables in selected soul music recordings.
- The impact of geographical origins and the Great Migration on the dialect features of artists from Detroit and Memphis.
- The tension between commercial goals targeting white audiences and the maintenance of African American cultural markers.
- A comparative sociolinguistic study of Motown and Stax as two distinct representations of soul culture.
- The role of "language ideology" and dialect choice as a performative tool in soul music.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.1.1 Word-final consonant clusters
For variable (1) of this analysis, all occurrences of mono- or bimorphemic word-final consonant clusters were counted, which makes a total of 108 clusters, 24 of which were excluded, either due to more than three occurrences of the same word across one single song or the cluster was followed by a homorganic stop (e.g. I just don’t). Consequently, 84 occurrences were included in the analysis of variable (1). The method of structuring the data was as follows: Each word-final consonant cluster (see 2.2.1) was counted and related to the presence or absence of the final stop of each cluster (in accordance with Wolfram 1969: 57). This fact was then related to the environment of each final stop, i.e. whether followed by another word or not5, and, if followed by another word, whether this word began with a consonant or a vowel (cf. Wolfram 1969: 61, Edwards 2008: 187). This then leads to the results shown in Fig. 3.
The results show that the absence or presence of final clusters strongly depend on their environment. If the cluster is in consonantal or final position, the probability of not realizing the final stop of the cluster is .43 and .74, respectively. Of the counted 35 clusters before a vowel, only two final stops of the cluster were absent which accounts for the .06 probability of absence.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Introduces the cultural context of 1960s soul music and the founding of Stax and Motown as centers of African American musical identity.
2. Background to the study: Discusses the social implications of AAVE and outlines the reference studies by Wolfram and Williamson that form the basis for the linguistic analysis.
3. Analysis: Presents a detailed phonological and grammatical investigation of songs from Motown and Stax, comparing performance data against standard AAVE markers.
4. Interpretation of the results: Synthesizes the findings to evaluate whether artists consciously adapted their dialect for commercial success or maintained AAVE as a core identity feature.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes that the results are highly ambiguous, suggesting that AAVE remained a strong, persistent element of soul music regardless of commercial pressures.
Keywords
Soul music, AAVE, African American Vernacular English, Motown, Stax Records, Phonology, Grammatical variables, Dialect choice, Sociolinguistics, Commercial success, Identity, Great Migration, Consonant clusters, Southern Shift, Performance linguistics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this research paper primarily about?
The paper investigates the linguistic characteristics of soul music in the 1960s and 70s, specifically looking at whether artists from Detroit (Motown) and Memphis (Stax) modified their language (AAVE) to achieve commercial success in the white music market.
What are the central thematic fields?
The central themes include the sociolinguistics of African American English, the impact of the Great Migration on language, the commercialization of black music, and the performative nature of language in a musical context.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine if dialect choice was a deliberate strategy used by artists to appeal to different audiences, or if the "homogeneous" nature of AAVE acted as an unbreakable link to African American cultural identity.
What scientific methods are used?
The author employs a quantitative sociolinguistic analysis, examining specific phonological and grammatical variables (like word-final consonant cluster reduction and the DRESS/KIT merger) in song lyrics and comparing them to established linguistic reference studies.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section details the collection and analysis of data from Motown and Stax, providing statistical breakdowns of phonological features like postvocalic /r/ and glide weakening, alongside an assessment of grammatical features like multiple negation and copula usage.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include soul music, AAVE, sociolinguistics, dialect choice, performance, identity, and the specific linguistic variables studied across the two record labels.
How does the author define the relationship between Motown and Stax in this study?
The author contrasts the two labels: Stax is often viewed as "southern soul" with a black target audience, while Motown is portrayed as a label that actively catered to the young, white suburban mainstream.
What did the analysis reveal about the "Northern Cities Shift"?
The study found that Motown artists did not necessarily follow the Northern Cities Shift patterns, but instead showed tendencies closer to the Southern Shift, reinforcing the presence of southern linguistic features in northern urban environments.
Why are the results described as "ambiguous"?
The results are labeled ambiguous because the data did not show a clear-cut adoption of standard English by either label, nor a uniform adherence to non-standard AAVE across all artists, making it difficult to link commercial success directly to dialect adaptation.
What role does the "performative context" play in this study?
The author argues that because the artists are singing rather than speaking casually, their language is subject to artistic constraints, such as rhythm, rhyme schemes, and performance habits, which can influence phonological outcomes independently of their actual dialect.
- Citar trabajo
- Patrick Husfeldt (Autor), 2016, Jim Crow and the Soul. African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in Soul Music During the 1960s and 1970s, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/550889
