Language Varieties

1. 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

2. American Regional Dialects

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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”

6. 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

7. 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] • /ðæt//dæt/

8. Dialect Markers of BE • Final velar nasal shift • Final velar nasals become aveolar nasals • /duəŋ//duən/; /pleəŋ//pleən/ • Omission of 3rd 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?”

9. 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”

10. 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