Chapter 10
Please note that the labels on each recording (for example, "Chicago English" or "Black English") were provided by the person who made the recording available for you to listen to. Other linguists or individuals may not agree on the description as it stands. The best example of this: you'll note that some recordings are marked "general" American, which is problematic for the same reasons the term "standard" English is problematic.
Audio Examples
Audio
Accent |
Chapter |
Page # |
Online Example Title |
URL |
AAVE |
10 |
278 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Alabama Four (African-American female, born 1928, Chambers County, AL) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/alabama-4 |
SAE |
10 |
282 |
International Dialects of English Archive: General American |
|
Appalachian speech |
10 |
288 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Alabama Three (white female, born 1950, farm in NE Alabama) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/alabama-3 |
New York |
10 |
288 |
International Dialects of English Archive: New York Three (Puerto Rican male age 49, The Bronx) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/new-york-3 |
British English |
10 |
288 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of England |
|
Chicago accent |
10 |
290 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Illinois Three (female age 18, Chicaco suburbs, IL) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/illinois-3 |
Discussion questions
1. Listen to the samples from African American* speakers from several states. Do you notice any variation in the varieties of AAVE used by these speakers?
2. Listen to the samples of other dialects of English other than AAVE* and consult the description of some features of AAVE provided on pages 183. Do you hear any of those features in the non-AAVE dialects?
Videos
“Obama Inaugural Speech Translated into Ebonics”
Funny or Die
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/02ae432358/obama-inaugural-speech-translated-into-ebonics
This video provides material for the discussion of attitudes towards and stereotypes around African American English.
Discussion question
1. What does this video reveal about attitudes toward “Ebonics” and the people who speak it?
Further Resources
Baugh, J. (2006) Bridging the Great Divide. In W. Wolfram and B. Ward (Eds.) American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Fought, C. (2006) Language and Ethnicity: Key Topics in Sociolinguistics. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 45–69.
Green, L. (2004) African American English. In E. Finegan and J. Rickford (Eds.) Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Cambridge Univerity Press.
Wolfram, W. and Torbert, B. (2006) When Linguistic Worlds Collide. In W. Wolfram and B. Ward (Eds.) American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Images
The book cover for a special edition of Perry, T. and Delpit, L. (1998) The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children.
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/img/publication/covers/0807031453_250.jpg
Ebonics poster
https://p12.secure.hostingprod.com/@www.theqleaner.com/ssl/images/colboard/posters/Ebonics.JPG
RSS & Blogs
Word.: http://africanamericanenglish.com/
Michael’s Blog
“Laugh to Keep from Cryin’: Black English and Humor as a Means of Critiquing Mainstream Culture”
http://www.myspace.com/basscycle/blog/371659510