NOTES ON AAE

Two types of development:

A- First Theory- Slaves of different language backgrounds brought to the U.S. from Africa developed a "Pidgin".

Pidgin- simplified version of language used for communication between people or groups who do not have common language.

The Pidgin used by the African Americans developed into a "creole" which children acquired in their homes through the use of the "creole" by their parents.

*Gullah- Language used on the Islands of South Carolina and Georgia ( resembles the language slaves used on plantations)

B- Second Theory- AAE was learned by slaves who worked alongside indentured servants who spoke non-mainstream types of English.




Spread of AAE

The migration of African Americans from the late 1800's -1970's is responsible for the spread of AAE in the U.S.

African Americans looking to find better jobs and living conditions in Chicago, Philadelphia, and other large cities.

Naturally the African Americans settled in Communities. These communities were kept within geographical areas due to Racism.

AAE was/is a valuable resource and a form of group identity.

Features:

Copula Absense: "They Hungry"
Omits forms of "to be" from the Standard-

However, the words "am, was, and were" are never left out


Habitual Be: "We be playing basketball after school"

Use of the un-conjugated form of the verb "to be" to signal a habitual or regular occuring action
Only refers to regularly occuring or habitual actions


3rd peroson singular-"s" deletion: "He jump high"
Omitting "s" with verbs

Double Negatives: "Aint nobody can beat me"

- Used by WHITE Appalachian speakers; also found in Shakespeare and Chaucer


Pronounciation Features:

The replacing of "b/t/f" for "th"----Birfday
Dropping of "g's" in "ing"

Dropping of second or third consonants

Friday's Assignment: Read and Prepare!

Dear All,

This Friday we will have a short quiz in class based on some readings that will prepare us for next week. I am asking you to read, and take notes on, some background information on African American English. If you want to post your notes to the blog and discuss the reading through this medium, feel free! The reading can be found at this website:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/education/curriculum/high/aae/#background

Read the following subsections under "Background Information": "Brief History of AAE," "Features of AAE: A Brief Overview," "Grammatical Features," and "Pronunciation Features." You do not have to read about the Ann Arbor Decision.

This is not a long reading, and some of the information should look familiar. But we'll be talking about the Ebonics Debate thoroughly next week, and I want you each to have a good idea of what kind of dialect/language we are discussing.

Southern Slang

For some reason, after I read all of these websites I was laughing. I think it is because whether they were trying to or not the authors were poking fun at the “Southern American English.” Wikipedia does not treat the South as a monolith because it states, “contrary to popular belief, there is no single "Southern accent". Instead, there are a number of sub-regional dialects found across the Southern United States which are collectively known as Southern American English.” But this was not the case with the others as they seemed to say that the South is the South and we all speak with a southern slang. A Glossary of Southern Accents defines a lot of “southern” words which for some reason I have never heard. I grew up in the city but I have been to some pretty country places, like deep into Alabama and have not heard people talk that way. Unless some of these words are only spoken on a certain farm or region in the South, I don’t know where they come from. I am sure that the Northerners liked to read this website and glossary of words because they were probably laughing at it the whole time saying, “I could see those rednecks talking like that.” Northerners think it is easy to pick a Southerner out of a crowd just by the way they talk or dress. This is stated by Rosina Lippi-Green in “Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Belles” when she says, “If white southerners are not distinguishable by other ethnic markers, by characteristic physical features, or religion, language is one simple and effective way of distinguishing between self and other.” In my opinion that stands true for Northerners too, because when they speak their voice is very loud and their accent almost sounds rude. But when we southerners speak, almost everything we say sounds sincere because of our accent. Now which accent would you rather have?

Wikipedia- "Southern American English"

Wikipedia classifies Southern dialect as Southern American English. It shows many aspects of what is thought to be a southern dialect by those who are not within the region. It gives examples of how words are pronounced differently in the south, to examples of how sometimes there is a completely different vocabulary for words in the south. It clearly demonstrates how the South has the most distinguishable dialect from other regions of the country because of the different degrees of spoken accent in the South. A “southern accent” is what the south is predominately known for through the United States of America. This specific article does not utilize the concept of “strategy of condescention” as mentioned in the reading. This source does not classify the south as monolith as it  respectfully states the following:

However, contrary to popular belief, there is no single "Southern accent". Instead, there are a number of sub-regional dialects found across the Southern United States which are collectively known as Southern American English. Still, these different varieties often share commonalities of accent and idiom easily distinguishable from that spoken in other regions of the United States and identify it as being "Southern", particularly to other Americans.

As a true southerner I believe that Wikipedia is overall a fairly accurate summary and description of what the “true” southern dialect would be if it was trying to be described to someone who had not grown up in the south. Personally, I was appreciative of the fact that this web site did not give a negative view of southern dialect. Rosina Lippi-Green demonstrated the negative stereotypical view of southern dialect: “One of the primary characteristics of the stereotypical southerner is ignorance” (210). The South should not be automatically judged and criticized for its unique dialect. Yes, many people in the south seem to have a language of their own. It makes them who they are ,and shows where their roots are grounded. It is ignorant to form opinions of others based upon the judgment of how they speak. Until you have personally grown up in the south you will never be capable of enjoying and cherishing the richness in southern heritage. 

Apparent Influences in Southern Dialects

The South is treated as a “monolith” in the first web site listed with its “hillbilly music”, “rebel flag”, and “syntax”. Most visitors would probably have a grin on their face as I did when scrolling through the list of “southern sayings” such as; “A fish out of water”, “As hard-headed as a mule”, and “Barking up the wrong tree”. The descriptive dialect of the south does indeed separate itself from many of the other states in that respect. The third web site utilized a “strategy of condescension” as Dr. Goodward, while intelligent and well versed uses regional dialects of the south to demonstrate that it is not improper English being used but a variation of grammar used. “This is a tactic whereby an empowered individual [Dr. Goodward]…appropriates [preserves a record of] the subordinated language…” (Lippi-Green, 208). He does not disrespect the south with the use of the southern dialect, although he is educated and articulate he wants to preserve a part of his heritage. The forth website “Wikipedia” explains the evolution of “Southern American English” being born from our ancestors who immigrated to the region between the 17 and 18 hundreds. Those immigrants were Protestants from Ireland, France, England, and Scotland. Interestingly enough, those who migrating to other territories seemed to pick up each other’s dialect and “mesh” them together creating our regional differences in “Southern Twang”. When we “southerners” are made to feel a little lower than an intellectual because of our accent we need to realize that it is nothing more than being narrow minded. As the Author Lippi-Green writes: “Clearly it is difficult for northerners and mainstream language speakers to take seriously the idea that [we] the south could be content…” (214). Therefore, our accents reflect our culture and environment we were exposed to while forming our language skills between the ages of 2 and 6. Unless we take action to “lose” our accent it will always remain with us as a testament to our heritage, culture, and background not our intelligence or lack thereof.

Northern ignorance

Prior to coming to the United States, the character Cletus from the Simpsons show is how I perceived southern Americans to be like. I could only base this judgement on my lack of exposure to southern Americans. Ayers argues that Northerners also base their judgement of southerners on similar experiences by saying, “One of the primary characteristics of the stereotypical southerner is ignorance, but it is a specific kind of ignorance – one disassociated from education and literacy” (210). These perceptions promote the idea that southern dialect is inferior to other English dialects.
The Glossary of Quaint Southernisms rejects this idea by saying that “southern dialect is simply a variation of grammar spoken in that particular region, the southern tier of the US states.” This statement points out that even though southern grammar may sound strange and inadequate to the North, it is equally effective as any other dialect of English.
The definition of Southern American English on Wikipedia shows that it is the largest accent group in the United States. This means that it could easily be seen as the standard that others should conform to. This shows Southern Americans do not use their numerical advantage to discriminate other dialects.
In conclusion I believe that the Glossary of Quaint Southernisms helps to quash Northern perceptions of Southern language. It shows great respect for the dialect as it gives definitions of southern expressions and shows how they are just another variation of the English language; like British English, Australian English, etc, are. This shows that it is only pure ignorance which halts Southern English from being seen in the light as it should be; just as good as any other dialect. The Wikipedia definition also makes me warm to southerners more as it shows that they do not waste their time in discriminating other dialects; they are simply happy with using their own perfect dialect.

The South, Hell Yeah!

The Southern dialect is one that has been criticized and belittled by many, and has many false-beliefs attached to it. After reading the selected articles, it is in my belief that these particular ones chosen are not condescending toward the dialect. They seem to, besides the neutral wikipedia article, be supportive, and in many ways prideful, of the culture.

I found much of what was written on the websites humorous, because the writers almost seemed to embrace the stereotypes that southerners lack a formal education. The two websites serve as an encyclopedia of many terms that are used mostly only in the south, such as “afore” and “well, I’ll be.” Along with the encyclopedia, Ron Collins’ website goes as far to give “them northerners” a few tips for when they come to the south, which I find hilarious.

That funny thing about all of the stereotypes, is that though they aren’t completely true to ALL southerners, bits and pieces apply to the majority of us who live down here. In Lippi Green’s “Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Bells” multiple polls are taken involving the stereotypes, and they prove them correct. For example, Southerners answered that one of the most important things in the south is “Walmart.” That’s a stereotype that holds very true.

I really enjoyed reading these articles, they were very humorous and held true to the south. In my opinion, the creators of the different articles supported the south, and I love it!

There is more than one southern accent, right?

Many people who have not lived in or visited the south believe that southerners have one generic accent. However, anyone who has spent any amount of time in “the south” knows that accents vary from region to region. The website with the “Yankee Test” did a very good job showing that the south has more than one accent. The test gives results like “way down south in the land of cotton,” “Atlantic Seaboard and southeastern U.S.,” “Louisiana and Texas,” and “Carolinas to Indiana.”This demonstrates that accents vary in the regions throughout the south. This is historically accurate because the different southern regions were settled and colonized by different nationalities. Louisiana has a strong Spanish, French, Native American, and African influence, while parts of coastal Georgia and South Carolina have a stronger English influence so the accents there sound more refined than the more coarse accents in Alabama and Mississippi. While the “Yankee Test” showed respect for the many different southern accents,”Southernese,” another article from the same website, does not. The “Southernese” article is accompanied by a dictionary that assigns definitions to words that are spelled like they would sound if they were spoken with an accent usually heard in rural Georgia, Alabama, or Tennessee and no other variation of a southern accent. This lack of acknowledgement of different accents shows that the author is viewing the south as a monolith, which explains the result that, “northerners remain very unaware of what differentiates one southern variety of English from another, thus producing the one-size-fits-all accent when trying to “sound southern” (Lippi-Green, 203).” This idea that all southerners have a cookie-cutter accent is what has contributed to the uncertainty that southerners feel when speaking to people who seem to have no accent since that cookie-cutter accent usually entails that the speaker is slow and dumb-witted. This one website promotes the idea that not all southern accents are alike with the “Yankee Test” article and then turns around and gives the impression that there is only one southern accent with the “Southernese” article.

Southern Language Blog

When I think of the South, I think of a strong heritage that has lived strong for centuries. This heritage is tradition for many throughout the South, including me. People that consider themselves to be "southern" or having a "southern heritage" take pride in this matter and are oftentimes offended when someone makes a joke about the way they speak or about an aspect of being "Southern". There are many times where Southerners are portrayed as slow, incapable, or just plain stupid. But when you look at it, it is the individuals that are making these assumptions that are the slow ones. They look at the outside of things and people portray an image that "the role of evil tendencies overcome, mistakes attained for, and progress yet to be made" (Lippi-Green 205). These assumptions however, are not necessarily true. The South make up approximately one-fourth of the United States population. I believe it would be safe to say that this percentage is important considering how large of a percentage it is. Does this mean that one-fourth of our country is slow and has made no progress over the years?
As I was viewing the websites posted on the topic, it made me realize really how much of a joke some people think a Southern accent really is. In my opinion I found three of the four sites to be not an informational site but a site to downgrade a Southern accent. Only Wikipedia gave the facts about the "Southern American Language". With the Southern dialect being arguably the largest accent group in the United States you simply cannot degrade it to the degree that many do. This degree often goes as far as considering it a monolith and view it as a place full of complete nonsense when this judgment is truly a disgrace to the Southern Heritage.
Referring back to the question of is one-fourth of our country actually slow, I would like to present a few facts about the Southern United States. The South is home to America's largest electric distribution company, also know as Southern Company. The South is home to one of the largest broadcasting companies, Turner Broadcasting. According to U.S. News and World Report, ten of the top thirty public colleges in the nation reside in the South. Ten of our country's presidents have called the south home including Jefferson, Washington, Bush Jr. and Sr., and Cater. And last but not least, the South is home to the best conference in college football, the Southeastern Conference; holder of the national championship four of the previous ten years. Now ask yourself the same question, does this mean that one-fourth of our country is slow and has made no progress over the years? I believe not.

Southern Accent

The depiction that Southerners are poorly educated and the lesser of the United States stands as a constant stereotype in today's society. However, this is only a matter of opinion. So it is easy to say that the treatment of Southern dialect is negative, only by those who do not speak it. The Glossary of Quaint Southernisms is written to show differences in the words of Standard English verses the Southern "twang" ways of speaking(202). As a born and raised Southerner myself, I see nothing wrong with the Glossary of Quaint Southernisms. In fact, I find the site quite humorous. The fact that someone thought to put a spelling to the words that in no way belong in a dictionary, is humorous to me as a Southerner. In no way does the site "put down" the different dialects and speaking of words by the Southern people. It simply shows the phonetic transcription and spelling of the words used everyday in the places that Lippie Green describes as the land of the "hillbillies, rednecks, and Southern Belles." Also, upon taking the "Are you a rebel or a Yankee?" quiz, I found that it did not "put down" the Southern language. When answering a question, I found the information given back to be rather informative as to where the words were used and originated. Therefore, this informative site gave the "neutral" approach to the situation of right and wrong pronunciation of specific words. The site also seems credible in that it gave information as to the exact location of the use of Northern and Southern ways of speaking. Upon completion of the quiz, there was no right or wrong way of speaking if you were considered from "dixie" or you were a Yankee. It is my opinion that the Southerners will always be Southerners. The thoughts of Northerners as they "tend to think of the South as a homogenous and somewhat mysterious monolith, where English has an indescriminate "twang" or "drawl," will never be justified. As much as the Northerners call us the un-educated Hillbillies and Southern Belles, we fight back with the fact that they are no good and rude Yankees.

Southern Reputations

According to Rosina Lippi-Green's "Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Bells" she states, "...there is a great deal of diversity in the south." (p. 209) While I was browsing these websites, I noticed that each one had a different perspective on the southern language. Some of them were more extreme than others in their perspective of they way southerners talk. Even though it may not have been the writer's purpose, it appeared that some of the writers exaggerated in their description of the southern language and were almost making fun of it a little. Now, to look at it from both point of views, I can see where some people would get the impression that we may be a little slower in our thinking because we talk slower, draw out our vowels and, and may even combine words such you all, or "y'all" or doing things such as drop the "g" off of endings. In some cases it is quite the contrary though. I know plenty of brilliant and intelligent people who have strong southern accents. Along with Rosina's quote, I do agree that there is a great deal of diversity in the south in our dialects. When I took the "Are you a Rebel or a Yankee?" quiz, my result was 73% rebel, with a "shade" of pink or red on my neck. My results are obviously going to be different from my other classmates. Each southerner has their own degree of southerness to them, but just because we aren't all made the same doesn't mean that we don't have the same things morals in common. While looking at the "A Glossary of Quaint Southernisms" webpage, I couldn't help but notice that some of these examples were a bit exaggerated. I have been to some pretty deep southern places, but some of these phrases I had never even heard of! I am sure that there are some cases of southerners who talk like this, maybe at some Walmarts in the mountains or somewhere, but it is not extremely common. My southern accent may be different from some of my fellow classmates and some of my friends, but we still come from a common background and culture. Also a lot of how strong some people's dialects are depends on where they grew up and how their family brought them up. I grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Atlanta, so I have southern roots in me, southern values, and somewhat of an accent, but since I was sometimes surrounded by the city influence I do not have a thick, southern accent as some might have from say down deep in southern Georgia. Even going outside of the state into other southern states, my southern accent may be completely different from some souther accents in the hills of Tennessee or in Alabama. Some of these sources gave more of a respect to the southern language than others did. I think it is important to be respectful to other people's language and their accent, even if you may not understand them or understand why they say the things they do. It is part of respecting each other as a human race. Of course, since I am from the south, I will say that southerners say it best though!

Different dialects jack dowdell

All the websites we had to view for this week’s blog assignment treat the Southern dialect as a uniform joke for the rest of the country. I do not believe though that this was the intention of the page master of any of those websites. Rather just good natured poking fun at ones self. Unfortunately, these jokes perpetuate about the Southern people and the people who speak its dialect. Through this a storied and lovely sounding dialect is soiled.

Southern accents have been berated in television and movies for many years. Lippigreen states in her essay Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern belles “ In all these cases Southerners exhibit insecurity about their language.” How can we be expected not to though? If you were to ask somebody from outside of the region what their view of a southern individual was they would likely list Ellie Maye of the Beverly hillbillies or a similar character from television or movies. If the view of a southern accent is that of Ellie Maye certainly none of us would desire one.

America treats the South as a monolith, a geographical region filled to the brim with thick slow drawls and unintelligent people and its a shame because nothing could be further from the truth. Mark Twain, one of the better writers in history is a proffesed southern gentleman, Ted Turner one of the wealthier individuals in the country is from the South.

The second issue is this so called unitary dialog created by these so called dictionaries makes it seem as if we are all the same. This is not true. I have little in common with a man my age in Mississippi. Same as a man in New York would have little in common with a man in Vermont. I feel that the difference of the latter of the two statements is recognized and is not recognized in the South.

The South is a diverse region containing all sorts of people. Unfortunately the media reflects us as much different. In the future I would like to see a change in America’s views of its people in the South.

northern superiority

From the beginning of time there as been a rivalry between two different societies. In particular, the variety of dialects of which two people practice. This rivalry can especially be seen in the United States between Northerners and Southerners. In the minds of many individuals, the Northerners represent a society of a higher intelligence, but as for the Southerners "there is a stereotypical southern intelligence" that holds speakers of a southern accent to a lower intellectual level. This is indeed uncalled for, as shown by Dr. Goodward in her website. She explains how she is from a small town in North Carolina and has been ridiculed for her southern accent. "Your accent has nothing at all to do with intelligence or knowledge of the rules of grammar" she claims. This is, in every sense, true. The way someone talks should not dictate their IQ level.

Southern Reputations

Sipping sweet tea while rocking on your front porch is the image I generally tend to think of as “the South”. Of course, slow talking Southern belles and good ole farm boys are also part of that picture. However, I know that this image is not something you see everyday when you drive down the street. Yes, we do have our rednecks and farms are pretty common, but does this mean we are uneducated? Northerners and others not from around these parts seem to think so, and the number one reason would probably be due to our accent.
The Southern accent is different depending on where one was raised. I feel like my accent is not as heavy as some, but after taking the “Are you a Rebel or a Yankee” I discovered I might be wrong. According to the quiz I am about 94% Dixie, and it also said that General Lee was practically my Grandfather. Either way I am willing to accept how I sound, and I am not ashamed in any way. Most Southerners would say the same thing. I have yet to meet someone who dislikes the way they talk so much that they try to get rid of it. If anything, I would say that people are more likely to put on a southern accent. As southerners we feel as if the accent makes us who we are. Rosina Lippi-Green states in the article Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Belles that, “The North and the South have conspired to create each other’s identity as well as their own (205).” People in the south know that we are viewed negatively by many because of our accents, but we have accepted it and moved forward. We have given this serotype to ourselves.
The website, “Ron Collins’ Southern Dialect Converter”, was poorly done. I personally blame things like this for the bad reputation that Southerners receive. After reading through the information on this website I concluded that it was made as more of a joke than as informative. Yes, some of the sayings we use were true as were some of the facts, but it was more or less the way they were presented. I do not believe Ron Collins is necessarily using the "strategy of condescension", but it does seem at some point as if he is poking fun. He also talks about the South in a way where it would be considered a monolith. This website depicts us as one giant group of people that hate anything and everything Northern, which is not always the case. I believe this website would be more useful as a joke than somewhere to get reliable information.
My Southern accent is something that I am proud I can say I have. It is not only a part of who I am, but it is also my heritage. This is why I believe no one should be looked down upon because of the way they sound. You should get to know someone before you judge them on what they look like or the way they speak.

Different Southern Dialects...is there a difference?

Carol Raterman
Different Southern Dialects...is there a difference? Blog

When a “Yankee”, also known as a Northerner, comes down to the south, they hear different accents and dialects from different areas of the South. All of these dialects are very different from what they ever hear in places such as Ohio, Maine, or any other northern state. Every person wants to be their own person and sometimes wants to be different from others and is proud of being an individual. Southerners are no different from everyone else in the fact that they want to be recognized as their own group of people.
The “Are you Rebel or a Yankee?” quiz distinguishes a difference between the North and the South. This quiz ensures that how you speak determines what part of the country you are, or should be, from. The South is thought of as a monolithic when reading the title of the quiz, but as you read some of the questions, the results that mention where you should be from is not only the north or the south but it is phrased “throughout the south, including Texas.” This is calling Texas as sometimes south and sometimes just not categorized.
If a southerner and a Yankee are discussing a topic of politics, the Yankee may think he is going to know much more information and is much more intelligent than the southerner merely because of where he lives and his accent. The assumption that a southerner is “less intelligent” because of how they speak or where they are from is a stereotype. This theory may be true for some people but is not true for many people as well.
When a family moves from Ohio to Georgia for a job, the family is not surrounded by people who speak the same way they used to. Everyone has a different accent than what they hear all the time in the north. After a short period of time, the family is more accustomed to the different accents people have because they hear the accents much more often. After a longer period of time, the Yankee starts to acquire an accent without even noticing. “Strategies of Condescension is a tactic whereby an empowered individual – someone with social legitimacy in terms of employment and language and other kinds of authority – appropriates the subordinated language for a short period of time.” This is where an employee from Ohio moves down to Georgia and acquires the accent of a southerner because of the people who are “in power”.

In Dr. Goodword's "A Glossary of Quaint Southernisms" the Southern dialect is respected completely in every way that it should be. Goodword classifies the dialect found in the South as a regional dialect along with Brooklyn and Black, and all of these must be respected and observed as correct. Goodword states "they are simply slight variations in the grammar of a given language that characterize the various regions where that language is spoken"(Goodword, Southernisms). The websites I visited about the South were fairly accurate about the accents and vocabulary being used. The vocabulary shown in the Goodword's article and in Ron Collins' "Southern Dialect Converter" is very accurate for the words I, and all Southerners, use. Also, in Collin’s website, advice is offered for touring the South. These comments or pieces of advice are very humorous, but only some of them are true. They show the culture of the South; however, this website stereotypes the South as a monolith of people who fight over almost anything and take offense to any wrongs done by Northerners. This is not true. In the South we are overall very welcoming to non-native Southerners, but we do take offense very easily when we are classified as a whole as uneducated and rowdy. Rosina Lippi-Green states “In contrast to the northern construction of intelligence which is closely linked to a high level of education, there is a stereotypical southern intelligence which follows from common sense and life experience.” This shows that unfortunately we are classified as not having as much education as northerners, but it also shows we, Southerners, have more applicable knowledge than northerners.
In Rosina Lippi-Green’s "Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Bells" Bourdieu uses the term “strategies of condescension”. This is where a person with authority in language and social factors classifies one group from another. In this paper, Beckerman is that individual, and he classifies the South incorrectly spelled and illiterate in their speech. He also states the North as being correctly spelled and literary. This is just one view, and it must be respected, but the Southern dialect is simply a dialect. The Northern also has their dialect, and there are several more found in the U.S. None of the dialects are wrong they are just different ways of speaking according to the way the people are raised, and who they are raised around because that is how people acquire their accent and vocabulary.