Language Varieties  Dialects: distinct and consistent differences within a language system used by a specific group of speakers Mutually understandable with other dialect speakers Regional: differences influenced by geography Social: differences influenced by social aspects  Dialects reflect these differences at all linguistic levels Not just difference in accent or lexicon  Speakers normally do not shift between dialects in different social situations

American Regional Dialects

Dialect or Language?  There is no scientific way of labelling a linguistic system a dialect or a language Chinese “dialects” are for the most part not mutually understandable when spoken There are several distinct languages that are for the most part mutually understandable Hindi and Urdu, Swedish and Norwegian  The label usually has more to do with political and cultural considerations Nationalism, ethnic identity, regionalism

Idiolect  Nobody speaks exactly like anyone else; we all have certain “quirks” in our language use  Idiolect refers to linguistic differences that are localized in individuals Pronouncing “gestures” with an initial [g] Using “yesterday” to refer to all days before today, not just the one immediately proceeding it

Pidgins, Creoles, & Languages  Pidgin: Communication by combining vocabulary used by the different speakers Mostly content words, minimal grammar, no native speakers  Creole: Language variety that has been greatly influenced by (an)other language(s) Established function words, consistent grammar, minimal inflections, order-dependent syntax, native speakers Distinguishing between creoles & languages more about politics than clear linguistic distinctions; some linguists prefer term “hybrid language” or “hybrid variety” to the label “creole”

Black English One of the mostly widely spoken social dialects of American English is Black English (BE) Also known as African-American English and Ebonics BE is not slang nor “bad” English; the differences between it and standard English are systematic and they also appear in other varieties of English There are regional variations of BE Not all African-Americans speak BE; not all BE speakers are African-American

Dialect Marker of BE Deletion of postvocalic liquids If [r] or [l] occurs after a vowel it will often be reduced /sIstər/  /sIstə/; /storm/  /stom/ Interdental shift Non-initial interdental fricatives become labiodental fricatives: [Θ]  [f]; [ð]  [v] /mawΘ/  /mawf/; /brið/  /briv/ Initial voiced interdental fricatives become voiced alveolar stops: [ð]  [d] /ð æ t/  /d æ t/

Dialect Markers of BE Final velar nasal shift Final velar nasals become aveolar nasals /duəŋ/  /duən/; /pleəŋ/  /pleən/ Omission of 3 rd Person, singular suffix “He walk”; “She have a bike” Zero-Copula In sentences with a copula verb, it is usually absent “She real nice”; “They out here” The exception is when the copula is exposed in the sentence structure: “Know what it is?”; “Is she?”

Dialect Markers of BE “Be” as habitual auxiliary The use of “be” to marks habitual actions “He be busy” [he is usually busy]; “He be goin' to the movies” Left Dislocation “My brother, he bigger than you.” “Your sister, I like her.” Emphatic Negatives “Ain’t nobody beat me at no basketball” “I ain't done nothing to nobody”

History of BE BE has its roots in the African slave trade Slave traders/owners prohibited slave communication in African languages American slaves develop creoles between English and generic West-African grammar base Contemporary relative of these creoles is Gullah Over time, these creoles and the Southern dialect of English influence each other leading to the slaves acquiring a similar dialect to Southern English Post-slavery, in communities where African- Americans are isolated, the modern BE dialect develops