Rami Ibrahim Black English (BE) —This dialect (actually a group of closely related dialects) is spoken by a large section of African Americans; it is usually referred to as Black English (BE), Negro English, Black English Vernacular (BEV) or Nonstandard Negro English. — imagesCAFFXJ6Y.jpg Black American Celebrities 4.bmp 220px-Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS.jpg Malcolm X.bmp Alice Walker.jpg Maya Angelo.jpg Louis Armstrong.jpg John Lee Hooker.bmp BOB MARLEY.jpg Kunta Kinte —The outline of his life story was the basis for the novel —Roots: The Saga of an American Family by American author Alex Haley, and the television miniseries Roots, based on the book. 220px-Kunta_Kinte_LeVar.jpg Roots 1977 Kunta Kinte Torture Scene — — —http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkI0DLRUtSM — Reasons for the distinguishing features of BE —Social, educational and economic reasons — —Ghetto living —Segregated schools —Spoken by a large section of non-middle-class African Americans. — BE: a victim of prejudicial ignorance and stigma — — —Some critics associate the use of BE with inferior genetic intelligence and cultural deprivation saying that BE is a "deficient, illogical, and incomplete" language Martin Luther King, Jr. Versus Barack Obama —Institutional Intellectual —Organic Intellectual — — — 220px-Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS.jpg 4.bmp Speech Comparison —Barack Obama —Martin Luther King —Remarks at the "Let Freedom Ring" Ceremony Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom August 28, 2013. —http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytBAC3KOhhQ — — — —March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom August 28, 1963 —http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRIF4_WzU1w — — — Phonology of Black English —1_ Deletion of /R/ unless followed by a vowel. — caught court god guard gnaw nor saw sore pa poor fought fort —2_ /L/ Deletion Rule — toe toll awe all hep help — — — —BE simplifies consonant clusters, particularly at the end of words and when one of the two consonants is an alveolar ( t, d, s, z) — 3_ Consonant Cluster Simplification Rule men Mend meant Pass (I pass the test yesterday) Passed past More likely to be deleted peis paste Not always deleted t∫eist chased More likely to be deleted Ki:t Keats Not always deleted Si:ts seats Deletion is optional: 4_ Lack of distinction between /I/ and /є/ before nasal consonants. pen pin ten tin 5_ Phonetic distinction between /aj/ and /aw/ has been lost. wa Why wow 6_ Reduction of /oy/ to /o/ particularly before /I/ bo Boil boy 7_ Change of /θ/ to /f/ and /ð/ to / v/ Ruf Ruth br^v∂r Brother Syntactic Difference between BE and SAE —1_Negation —Use of ain't as a general negative indicator — SAE BE am not, isn't, aren't, haven't and hasn't ain't SAE For some speakers of BE don't, doesn't, or didn't (e.g., I ain't know that). Ain't — —Double Negatives — SAE BE I don't know anything about anyone anymore I don't know nothing about no one no more —2_ Deletion of the verb "Be" — SAE BE He is nice/ He's nice He nice They are mine/They 're mine They mine. I am going to do/ I'm gonna do it. I gonna do it. —3_Habitual "Be" — SAE BE John is always happy. John be happy John is happy now John happy He is habitually late He be late He is late this time He late Are you generally tired? Do you be tired? Are you tired now? You tired? Some Lexical terms From BE Meaning in SAE BE the liquid left after meat and vegetables have been cooked, often used for broth. pot liquor also potlikker or potlickker Understand or appreciate Dig White man Gray or ofay dude curly or kinky hair at the nape of the neck Kitchen snobbish or bourgeois seddity Types of music developed by Black Americans. —Jazz, blues, Rap — What a wonderful world - LOUIS ARMSTRONG (Jass) —http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM&feature=related —The Doors and John Lee Hooker - Roadhouse Blues —http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xzFWm9uXJo&feature=related —No Woman No Cry, Bob Marley ( Reggae) —http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0jirlfhyz4&feature=related — — Regularity and importance of BE —Questions for further discussion: —Is BE an/a "illogical" or "primitive" vernacular or an Inferior version of the standard language? —Do you think that the study of BE is important for nonlinguists? — — References —Victria Fromkin, Robert Rodman (1993). An Introduction to Language. Orlando: Harcourt Brace& Company.