Speech style and authenticity: Quantitative evidence for the performance of identity

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory R. Guy ◽  
Cecelia Cutler
Keyword(s):  
Hip Hop ◽  
African American Vernacular English ◽  
Stylistic Variation ◽  
Exponential Relationship ◽  
Surface Level ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Vernacular English ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Style Shift ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe question of what constitutes an authentic speaker, particularly with regard to African American Vernacular English (AAVE), has been the subject of some debate in sociolinguistics (Butters, 1984; Labov, 1980; Sweetland, 2002) and arises anew in the case of white hip-hop–affiliated youth (WHHs) who converge toward AAVE in their speech. This paper takes a quantitative approach to this question by examining how speech style alters the relationship between the frequencies of a variable in different linguistic environments. Guy (1991b) showed that the exponential relationship in English among rates of coronal stop deletion (CSD) in several morphological categories is systematically distorted by constraints on the surface-level phonology. Because stylistic variation appears to operate at this level, such distortion provides an internal measure of a speaker's stylistic shifting away from their neutral vernacular usage. Data on CSD deletion from WHHs who style shift toward AAVE show this kind of distortion when compared with the speech of AAVE speakers. This data provide strong internal evidence in support of the idea that some WHHs are “performing” a speech style that diverges from their unmarked style.

From African American Vernacular English to African American Language: Rethinking the Study of Race and Language in African Americans’ Speech

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharese King
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Linguistic Anthropology ◽  
African American Vernacular English ◽  
Language Variation And Change ◽  
Vernacular English ◽  
African American Language ◽  
American Vernacular ◽  
Advance Theory ◽  
The Relationship

African American Vernacular English (AAVE), one of the most studied dialects in American English, has undergone several changes in its label across the years. Its most recent designation, African American Language (AAL), reflects a change in approaches to studying race and language in the field. Drawing on observations from related fields like linguistic anthropology and critical race theory, I discuss different conceptualizations of the relationship between race and language and argue in favor of an approach that both recognizes and prioritizes the study of variation within the dialect. This approach will enable researchers to advance theory in language variation and change while also contributing to larger sociopolitical objectives to diversify narratives of blackness.

Globalization of African American Vernacular English in popular culture

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Shinhee Lee
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
African American Vernacular English ◽  
Vernacular English ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
American Vernacular

This study examines crossing (Bucholtz 1999; Cutler 1999; Rampton 1995) in Korean hip hop Blinglish as a case study of globalization of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in popular culture. Blinglish in Korean hip hop can be understood as a prime example of “English from below” (Preisler 1999) to informally express subcultural identity and style. The findings of the study suggest that AAVE features appear at different linguistic levels including lexis, phonology, and morpho-syntax in Korean hip hop Blinglish but do not demonstrate the same degree of AAVE penetration, with a frequency-related hierarchy emerging among these linguistic components. The area of Korean hip hop Blinglish with the heaviest crossing influence from AAVE is found to be lexis followed by phonology. The presence of AAVE syntactic features is somewhat restricted in type and occurrence, indicating that the verbal markers in AAVE are considerably varied and intricate, and syntactic elements are not as easily crossed by non-AAVE speakers as lexical items.

scholarly journals Winning Spelling Bee Competition: The Representation of Black Girl in Akeelah and The Bee (2006) Movie

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiska Nur Hananto
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
American English ◽  
Film Theory ◽  
African American Vernacular English ◽  
American Girl ◽  
Vernacular English ◽  
American Values ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
African American Girl ◽  
Hollywood Movie

<p class="AbstractText">This research examines the representations of African-American stereotype and the struggle of Black American girl in National Spelling Bee contest in Hollywood movie entitled Akeelah and the Bee (2006). The use of African-American English (AAVE) is one of the stereotype often depicted in Hollywood movie. Race theories are used to examine the relationship between race, racism and power. Meanwhile, Roland Barthes’s theory and semiotic film theory are used to examine the meaning portrayed in the movie. Findings show that the representation of Akeelah as a successful participant in the spelling bee competition challenges the stereotype of African American as academic underclass, and as associated with crime, failure and frustration. Akeelah is represented as a successful African American girl as she assimilates (adopts) American values of change/mobility, time and its importance, action and work orientation. The assimilation is achieved through a mentoring process and support from African American community.</p><p class="AbstractText"> </p><p class="AbstractText"><em>Keywords</em>: African-American, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), Stereotype, Spelling Bee</p>

Phat Lines

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Olivo
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Rap Music ◽  
African American Vernacular English ◽  
Hip Hop Culture ◽  
Vernacular English ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
American Vernacular ◽  
Music Lyrics

This paper focuses on the spelling conventions used in a corpus of written rap music lyrics intended for public consumption. The non-standard spellings evident in this corpus are used deliberately for various purposes, one of which is to graphically represent the phonological and syntactic features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE). This use of non-standard orthography can be seen as a way for the writer to demonstrate a positive evaluation of the non-standard speech forms that characterize rap music performances. Other non-standard spellings bear no relation to the grammar or phonology of AAVE. However, through the use of processes such as “inversion”, these non-standard spellings invoke alternative meanings while simultaneously calling attention to the arbitrariness of dominant spelling conventions. It is argued that, overall, the non-standard spelling conventions employed in rap music lyrics function to create and sustain hip-hop culture as an “anti-society”.

scholarly journals Hip-Hop's White Audience

Elements ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Billy Hubschman
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Audience Analysis ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

This paper seeks to unpack the relationship between Hip-Hop and its white audience. As Hip-Hop's audience continues to grow, it is important to note shifts and changes in the genre that results from this increased popularity, specifically, this paper will take a look at Hip-Hop's white audience and provide an overview of some of the research social scientists have been conducting on the subject. The paper is divided into two sections according to the different kinds of research conducted by scholars: audience analysis, both qualitative and quantitative, help illustrate the perspective of Hip-Hop's white audience; content analysis, both of lyrics and videos, highlight the ramifications of Hip-Hop's white audience on the genre itself. As a literature review, this paper does not seek to make an argument on the relationship between Hip-Hop and its white audience as much as provide an overview of the arguments being made by certain social science scholars. 

The relationship of the scleractinian corals to the rugose corals

Paleobiology ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 6 (02) ◽  
pp. 146-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Critical Points ◽  
Scleractinian Corals ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
Rugose Corals ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Biologic Factors

The Mesozoic-Cenozoic coral Order Scleractinia has been suggested to have originated or evolved (1) by direct descent from the Paleozoic Order Rugosa or (2) by the development of a skeleton in members of one of the anemone groups that probably have existed throughout Phanerozoic time. In spite of much work on the subject, advocates of the direct descent hypothesis have failed to find convincing evidence of this relationship. Critical points are:(1) Rugosan septal insertion is serial; Scleractinian insertion is cyclic; no intermediate stages have been demonstrated. Apparent intermediates are Scleractinia having bilateral cyclic insertion or teratological Rugosa.(2) There is convincing evidence that the skeletons of many Rugosa were calcitic and none are known to be or to have been aragonitic. In contrast, the skeletons of all living Scleractinia are aragonitic and there is evidence that fossil Scleractinia were aragonitic also. The mineralogic difference is almost certainly due to intrinsic biologic factors.(3) No early Triassic corals of either group are known. This fact is not compelling (by itself) but is important in connection with points 1 and 2, because, given direct descent, both changes took place during this only stage in the history of the two groups in which there are no known corals.

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