Grammatical Differences between General American English and African American Vernacular English - Assignment Example

Grammatical differences between general American English and African American vernacular English (AAVE) Table of Contents Table ofContents 2 Aims of the research 5 Literature review 5 Methodology 6 Results 8 Distinctive features of African American vernacular English 8 Distinctive features of general American English 9 Discussion of the results 10 Conclusion 12 John Legend. All of Me. 2013. Song. 14 Kanye West. Jesus Walks. 2004. Song. 14 Abstract The use of American English and African American vernacular English (AAVE) continues to spread both throughout the United States and throughout the world thanks to the various cultural products. A number of creolists globally have studied the language with some arguing that AAVE shares characteristics with numerous other African creole dialect. In fact, some of such linguists argue that the language is a creole all together. Other linguists on the other hand argue that the there is no similarity between AAVE with any other African creole dialects. Despite such confusions, the language continues to spread with most African American hip-hop artists enhancing the spread. This report seeks to investigate the intricate grammatical features of the language and compare such with the General American English. In doing this, the research will analyses the lyrical contents of a number of songs created by such celebrated African American artists as Jay Z and Kanye West while comparing such with the songs composed with such American artists as John Legend. The report seeks to portray the differences between the two types of English languages and establish the role of arts, especially music in enhancing the spread of each. Introduction African American vernacular English is a common language in the United States whose structure comprises of a variety of dialects, sociolects and ethnolects. The language is common among bi-dialect African Americans and has a number of phonological and grammatical similarities with other American dialects of language spoken in the Southern in America. The difference between AAVE and general English spoken by other Americans is clear given the unique grammatical differences in the two types of English dialects. The use of the two different languages is distinct often depending on the cultural backgrounds of the various ethnicities in the country. Artists play a fundamental role in the use of language. Musicians in this context compose their lyrics systematically by using language to communicate. The pattern in the United States is distinct with most of the African American musicians using AAVE while other artists using standards general English. The musicians enhance the spread of the languages. Furthermore, they influence the structure of the languages with their artistic manipulation of language. American English and African American vernacular English (AAVE) and General American English have a number of grammatical differences as the discussion below portrays. The origin, development and spread of AAVE are typical of the development of any language. The origin of the dialect dates back to the slave trade era when slave traders and slaves created pidgins. The structures of the pidgins have changed progressively with the spread of the language throughout the United States. Musicians in the modern day America have used language just as in any other country to create masterpieces. The spread of hip-hop is the greatest contributor in the development and spread of AAVE. As the works of the various American hip-hop artists spread throughout the world, so did the language. The same is the case with the general American language, which is the common language in the country. The dialect lacks any notable ethnic, regional or socioeconomic characteristics. Aims of the research The research aims to determine the grammatical differences that exist between American English and African American vernacular English and Standard general American English. Additionally, the report aims to portray the differences in the usage of the languages especially by a number of musicians who use either language. Literature review Tottie, (2002) discusses a number of grammatical features of the standard American English. He discusses the nature of verbs, which are the action words, and the transformation of such words as they fit various tenses. An infinite verb such as burn changes systematically to burned in past tense and to burning in future tense. The linguist discusses numerous other features of the language such as the use of articles and their correlation to nouns. Articles relate differently to different nouns depending on their usability. The, a and an are the articles in the language and their usage is methodical with the meaning one seeks to create. The use of numbers is equally important and the author discusses this showing how numbers influences both the nouns and the verbs. Finegan (2005) advances the discussion on the grammatical features of American English. The author discusses the process of creating and using vocabulary. He explains that such words are appropriate since they help specialize a document by drawing to the jargons of a profession. Additionally, the author discusses the process of creating questions in the language. The use of who, what, when, why and how are vital in the process of creating questions. The punctuation enhances the completeness of the sentences. Punctuations affect the grammatical structures of sentences since they often enhance the effectiveness of sentence structures. The linguists outline a number of grammatical rules that govern the use of the language. Compliance to the rules is paramount since the rules influence the efficacy of a sentence. The use of question tag for example helps in placing stress and in enhancing the clarity of a communication process. However, using question tag must tally with the verb and tense agreements that the two authors underscore in their works. Methodology This unique research seeks to investigate the usage of two intertwined languages. AAVE has a number of grammatical similarities with the general American English just as there are differences. This makes the research complex since the researcher strives to single out the different grammatical differences in the two dialects often used by the same people in the same geographical region. The researcher therefore uses an equally unique method of data collection known as content analysis in the research. Content analysis provides a better way of analyzing the differences between the two types of languages. Through content analysis, the researcher selects a number of songs by some of the most celebrated African American musicians and other Americans who use the standard American English. By analyzing the structure of the lyrics in the songs, the researcher will establish the uniqueness in the dialect. Additionally, the researcher will analyze the lyrics of songs written by Americans who sue the standard language. The two sets of analyses will help portray the differences in the grammatical structures of the two languages. The researcher will analyze the lyrics of Holy Grail, a successful song sang by Jay Z. in the song, Jay Z, an African American rapper, features Justine Timberland. Justin Timberland uses the standard American English. The song is therefore a perfect case for analysis since the two musicians uses the two languages. Additionally, the researcher analyzes the lyrics of Jesus walks, a song composed and sang by Kanye West. Kanye West is yet another celebrated African American hip-hop artist who enjoys a large fan base throughout the world. In comparison to Kanye West’s lyrics in the song, the researcher will further analyze the lyrics of All of me, a song sang by John Legend. John Legend is a successful R and B artist who uses standard American English in his songs. The analysis and comparison of the lyrics of the four artists will provide natural differences in the two languages. Furthermore, the analyses will help portray the way in which musicians use, influence the development and spread of language. The fact that the four artists play similar songs and have often collaborated in a number of works makes their songs appropriate for the comparison since they use different languages yet target similar audience. This will help show the type of effects that the two types of languages have on Americans who constitute the primary audience for the songs. Besides the extensive analyses of the three songs, the researcher carries out an equally extensive analysis of existing literatures that discuss the nature of the two languages. Books among other literature materials are best sources to use in content analysis. The researcher investigates contributions and researchers by linguists who discuss the differences between the two types of languages. Books provide in-depth analysis of the grammatical differences between the two dialects thereby providing rational differences between the two. Additionally, the books provide historical backgrounds and nature of the development and spread of the two languages both in the United States and throughout the world. Key among the books used as sources is The grammar of American English. the book discusses a number of grammatical features of the English language thereby differentiating the American English from the British English. Results Distinctive features of African American vernacular English The language lacks uniformity with people in different parts of the country using unique features and even words in some cases. The musicians portray this by always using new words and new grammatical and phonological features in the language in their songs. Double negation is a common feature in the language. A speaker easily uses two negative words in the same sentences but communicates the actual negative. Excessive truncation AAVE has a unique system of expressing past and future tenses among others. The language does not use such preterite markers such as –ed when referring to past tenses. Instead, the dialect has an optional system of tenses with two future tenses and four past tenses. AAVE has numerous unique words that are not recognized in any forms of English languages. While words may exist in Standard English, their meanings are different in AAVE with the African Americans using such words as codes and in reference for a number of things in the society. The language permits the use of obscene words coupled with frequent curses whose meanings often depend on the speaker’s mood. Distinctive features of general American English Use of common shorthand terms such as ads, math and TV Uniformity of the language throughout the country The language has a set of grammatical rules that guide the grammatical structure of words and sentences. The existence of the grammatical rules creates a uniformity in the use of the language Stress is a vital feature that influences the pronunciation and meaning of words. Speakers of the language must place stress strategically in words thereby influencing the gist of their sentences. Stress can change the meaning of a word. Stress placed on vowels influences the pronunciation and meaning of the entire word and even sentences. Tenses are fundamental in general American English. The language has systematic rules that guide the processing of creating appropriate tenses for every word. –ed is common in past tenses while –ing in future tenses (Borner and Eva 65). There exists other feature of present, past and future tenses that help define the meaning of a sentence. Discussion of the results In Jay Z’s Holy Grail, Justine Timberlake introduces the song artistically by following the rules of the art. However, the artist complies with the dictates of the standard American English “You’d take the clothes off my back and I’d let you” (Jay Z line 1). The line is a complete sentence that communicates by following the grammatical rules of the standard American English. The artist joins a number of words such as “you + would” to create “you’d”. He truncates a section of the second word in his attempt to create an artistic phrase. The need to fuse the two words and use truncation is to depict an appropriate tense. This portrays the importance of tenses in the standard American English. When Jay Z begins his rap in the first verse, he portrays the intricate features of the African American vernacular English. Jay Z portrays the confusion in creating appropriate tenses in the language. The fact that he creates a sentence that does not communicate clearly owing to the lack of “to” which could not have affected his rhythm shows that the language has a confused tense structure. In the second line the artist portrays an equally unique truncation regime where he connects “you + all” thereby creating “y’all” which does not mean anything in standard American English. Jay Z is a celebrated African America. The artist has contributed to the spread of the language throughout the world. “Y’all” for example is currently a common word especially among the youth throughout the world owing to the convenience the word presents as portrayed in the artist’s use of the word. As explained earlier, African American vernacular English has a number of unique words that have varied meanings in other language. Grey for example in standard American English is a color. In African American vernacular English, the word may refer to a white man, a grey dude is therefore a white man. Jay Z portrays this in his clever lyrics as he refers to the fame brought about by cameras. In the sixth line of the first verse, the artist refers to big light, which refers to the fame arising from media exposure. In the same sentence, the artist says, “bright lights is…” Unlike in standard American English where the number of nouns influences the type of verb, AAVE permits the use of such confused verb tense agreements provided the individual communicates. In standard American English, the statement could have said, “bright lights are...” The contrast between Jay Z and Justine Timberlake is evident and shows the differences in the grammatical structures of the two languages. Timberlake’s language appears uniform and conforms to the basic rules of grammar. The artist strives to use appropriate sentence structures by abiding by the rules of verb and tense agreements among many other. Jay Z on the other hand develops his lyrics in his unique language. His lyrics are full of truncations most of which are not conventional. Kanye West is a replica of Jay Z as he uses similar sentence structures in his lyrics. In his song, Jesus walks, the artist truncates his words just as Jay Z does in his song. West introduces an interesting feature about the language when he negates a sentence. He uses the word ain’t. Such is a unique word in the dialect that helps negate sentences. Its structure and usage remains unknown yet liberal. One can use the word in both plural and singular context. Kanye West for example uses it in a plural context. John Legend is a unique case. Despite being black, the artist uses standard American English in most of his songs. The decision to use such a language may arise from the nature and genre of his songs that are different from the songs by the likes of Jay Z and Kanye West. John Legend has often collaborated with Kanye West but in such cases, he ensured that he used the standard American English. In his hit single, All of Me, the artists uses American standard English thereby portraying the intricate features of the language and some of its differences from African American vernacular English. From verse one; the artist pays attention to the provisions of the standard American language. He uses appropriate tenses and even uses appropriate punctuations. He for example asks a question in the first line. He constructs the question effectively thereby placing an appropriate punctuation at the end of the question. The rest of the verses are equally artistic and communicates effectively since the artist follows the basic rules of the language he uses. He safeguards the quality of the lyrics by using appropriate tenses. Additionally, he truncates some of the words he combines in various lines. In line three for example he combines “you + have” to create “you’ve”. Such ways of addition and truncations are appropriate since they help shorten words. John Legend adheres to such basic rules of the standard American language a feature that influences his ability to communicate to his target audience. Legend shows the ways of negating sentences when he adds, “can + not” to create “can’t”. Additionally, John Legend maintains a romantic and gentle aura in the song by avoiding any obscenities. Conclusion In retrospect, African American vernacular English in different from the standard American English. The two dialects have different grammatical structures. Standard American English has conclusive rules that cover every feature of the language unlike the AAVE, which appears to have a liberal structure as the artists easily create new words. The artists market their creations through their music. This influences the position and usability of the words in the society. Language is a cultural feature. The cultures in the United States affect the type and use of the two languages. Musicians influence the usability of language as the analysis of Kanye West and Jay Z above shows. The two artists use language artistically thereby influencing the development and spread of AAVE both throughout the country and globally. References Tottie, G. (2002). The grammar of American English. New York: Blackwell. Finegan, E. (2005). The American English and its distinctiveness. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press. Rohdenburg, G., Schlüter, J., & MyiLibrary. (2009). One language, two grammars?: Differences between British and American English. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Songs JAY Z ft Justin Timberlake. Holy Grail. 2013. Song. John Legend. All of Me. 2013. Song. Kanye West. Jesus Walks. 2004. Song. Read More