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COM 374 Week 8 – Language and ethnicity
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Social dialects
A. William Labov NYC study
i. Studied variation in pronunciation of [r] in phrase ‘fourth floor’ among
department store salespeople
ii. Socio-Economic levels: Saks (high), Macy’s (middle), S. Klein (low)
iii. Conclusions:
1. Pronunciation of [r] increased with level of social class
2. Pronunciation of [r] increased with attention level paid to speech
3. Variation most prominent among lower classes (due to ‘class
consciousness’)
Registers/styles
A. Different dialects used in different speech situations
i. Topic
ii. Setting
iii. Participants
B. Primarily refers to levels of formality (informal vs. formal)
C. Markers of styles
i. Phonological
1. Casual, informal style marked by increased speech rate
2. Labov study: pronunciation of [r] greater in careful vs. casual speech
ii. Lexical (continuum of words with different levels of appropriateness)
1. Jargon: specialized vocabulary of a profession or group
2. Slang (informal, lexical in nature, used for group identity, short
lifespan, can become standardized, scalar)
3. Neologisms: blends, clippings, compounds, acronyms, conversions
iii. Grammatical (informal style more concise, uses contractions)
Standard vs. Nonstandard
A. Standard: dominant or ‘prestige’ dialect, typically used by political leaders and upper
classes, in literature, taught in schools ( ≠ ‘correct’, ‘proper’, ‘better’), e.g.,
i. Received Pronunciation (RP): characterized primarily by phonological
features
ii. Standard American English (SAE): characterized primarily by grammatical
(morphological & syntactic) features
B. Nonstandard: any dialect not perceived as standard (≠ ‘substandard’, ‘incorrect’,
‘improper’)
Types of prestige
A. Overt prestige: Attached to some dialect by the community at large that defines how
people should speak to gain status in that community
i. Hypercorrection: When speakers overcorrect for ‘incorrect’ speech in wrong
place, often to imitate prestige dialect
1. Phonological: ‘r’-insertion, e.g., idear, Cuba(r)
2. Lexical: malapropisms, e.g., You misunderestimate me.
3. Grammatical: e.g., between you and I
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B. Covert prestige: Exists among nonstandard speakers and defines how people should
speak to be considered members of that particular group
African American English (AAE)
A. A continuum of language varieties that are spoken primarily by and among AfricanAmericans (But not all African-Americans speak AAE, and not only AfricanAmericans speak AAE)
B. Myths
i. AAE is ‘black slang’
ii. It is a product of ‘lazy’ speech
iii. It is an inferior, simple form of English
iv. It is grammatically incorrect and has no rules
C. Phonology
i. Deletion of /r/, /l/: mo(re), gua(r)d, he(l)p, Pa(r)is, a(ll)
ii. Simplification of consonant clusters: han(d), las(t), chil(d)
D. Phonological rules
i. Delete /r/, /l/ less often if it would be followed by vowel in next word (four
o’clock, all or nothin’)
ii. Delete final consonant less often if it carries meaning (past tense: passed,
plural: cats) or if it differs in voicing from preceding consonant (pant, built,
false, part)
E. Syntax
i. Multiple negatives (He don’ know nothin’.)
ii. Deletion of copula ‘to be’ (He sick. That my mother.)
1. Follows same rules as SAE contraction (He’s sick. That’s my mother.)
2. Rule: Don’t delete/contract when phrase-final (Nobody don’ know
what color he is.)
3. Rule: Don’t delete in past tense (They was actin’ up.)
iii. Use of habitual ‘be’ (‘The coffee be cold (every day).)
Code-switching: Alternation between two languages or dialects; Many AfricanAmericans are bidialectal in AAE and SAE, and ‘style-shift’ (a.k.a. ‘code switch’)
between the two dialects depending upon context
A. Linguistic profiling: Determining characteristics about someone (such as their
ethnicity or socioeconomic status) based on the way they use language
Ebonics controversy
A. Statistics
i. 1996: In Oakland, blacks made up 53% of students, but 80% of suspensions,
64% of students held back each year, and 71% of special needs students
B. Precedent
i. 1979: Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School v. Ann Arbor School Board
ii. Verdict: teachers failed “to take into account [the children's] home community
dialect in teaching them how to read.”
iii. Court order: Board must
1. help teachers identify “Black English”
2. use knowledge of Black English in teaching students how to read
Standard English
C. Dec. 18, 1996: Oakland School Board unanimously passes resolution on Ebonics
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D. Reaction
i. Media
ii. African Americans
iii. Linguistic Society of America
E. Wording of main topics of resolution (popular vs. intended interpretation)
i. The Genetic Issue: “African Language Systems are genetically based.”
1. Popular: Blacks are biologically predisposed to speak Ebonics
2. Linguistic: "Genetic" refers to linguistic origins (or ‘genesis’) in
African languages, not biological predisposition
ii. The Separate Language Issue: “African Language Systems are … not a dialect
of English.”
1. Popular: Ebonics is not a dialect of English but is a separate language
2. Linguistic: Responding to the popular (and inaccurate) conception of
‘dialect’ as inferior/substandard form of a language.
iii. The Teaching Issue: “…a program featuring African Language Systems
principles in instructing African-American children both in their primary
language and in English.”
http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/standardamerican/
1. Popular: Teachers will teach students how to speak Ebonics
2. Linguistic: Ebonics will be used selectively as aid in teaching SAE
iv. The Bilingual Issue: “…the English language acquisition and improvement
skills of African-American students are as fundamental as is application of
bilingual or second language learner principles for others whose primary
languages are other than English.”
1. Popular: The Oakland School District should qualify for federal funds
as bilingual education programs do
2. Linguistic: Ebonics speakers should have access to special programs
that help them to better learn SAE
F. Empirical studies
i. “Correcting” use of nonstandard dialects at school leads to more nonstandard
use, not less
ii. Use of nonstandard dialect in teaching speeds and improves learning of
standard in reading/writing
iii. African-Am. college students instructed on differences between AAVE and
SAE improved SAE writing skills
Study questions:
Rank the following words for ‘bathroom/toilet’ on a style continuum of formality: restroom, loo,
crapper, little boys’/girls’ room, john, facilities, latrine. Describe some of the speech situations in
which you might use some of these words.
Identify the type of neologism that each of the following computer terms exemplifies (i.e.,
blends, clippings, etc.):
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blog (a web log or diary)
RAM (Random Access Memory)
to bookmark (save a webpage)
download/upload
e-zine (electronic magazine)
to flame (insult someone online)
chatroom
bit (binary digit)
CD-ROM (Compact Disk - Read Only Memory)
mod (modification, or moderator)
netiquette (net etiquette)
Using Labov’s study of NY [r] as a reference point, give possible reasons for why the lower and
middle classes show greater variation in their pronunciation of [r] as opposed to the higher socioeconomic status groups. Why does the middle class group show the most variation of the three?
Discuss, using specific examples, how vocabulary can reveal facts about a person’s age, sex,
education, occupation, and geographical or cultural origins.
What are some ways in which AAE dispels the myths that it is just ‘black slang’, a product of
‘lazy’ speech, or is an inferior, simple form of English with no rules of grammar?
Why is the term African American English something of a misnomer?
Discuss some of the reasons why the media reaction to the Oakland Ebonics resolution was so
negative. Contrast this with the reactions of high-profile African Americans (like Jesse Jackson,
Maya Angelou) who also reacted negatively to resolution?
Explain why one might argue that the debate over Ebonics is not a linguistic issue but a social
one. Give examples to support your claim.