Linguistic Àspects of Black English
Pidgins often have a very
little life span. While the Americans were in Vietnam, a Pidgin English grew up
there, but it quickly disappeared when the troops left. In similar way, many
pidgins which grew up for trading purposes have ceased to exist, because the
countries which were in contact stopped trading with each other. On the other
hand, if a trading contact is very likely learn each other’s language, and
there will then be no reason for the continued use of the pidgin.
A very significant development
then took place. People began to use the pidgin at home. As children were born
into these families, the pidgin language became their mother tongue. When this
happened, the status of the language fundamentally altered, and it came to be
used in a more flexible and creative way.
The term Creole comes
from Portuguese cariole, and originally meant a person of European descent who
had been born and brought up in a colonial territory. Later it came to be
applied to other people who were native of these areas and then to the rind of language
they spoke. Creoles are now classified as English based, French based, and so
on- though the genetic relation ships of a Creole to its dominant linguistic
sector is never straightforward, as the Creole may display the influences of
several contact languages in its sounds, vocabulary and stubby. (17, 22)
A Creole is a pidgin
language which has become the mother tongue of a community- a definition which
emphasizes that pidgins and Creole are two stages in a single process
linguistics development. First, within a community, increasing numbers of
people begin to use pidgin as their principle means of communication. As a
consequence their children hear it more than any other language, and gradually
it takes on the status of a mother tongue for them. Within a generation or two,
native language use becomes consolidated and widespread. The result is a
Creole, or “creolized” language.
Despite the existence of
many political and cultural differences, and then considerable geographical
distances separating some of the countries involved there are striking
similarities among the English based Creole languages of the world. This
identity can bee seen at all levels of language structure, but is most dramatic
relation to grammar. It can be explained, according to the Creole hypothesis,
as a consequence of the way this languages have developed out of the kind of
Creole English used by the first black slaves in America and the Caribbean. (17,
36)
This language it is
thought was originally very different from English, as a result of its mixed
African linguistics background, but generation of contact with the dominant
white English population have had an inevitable effect, drawing g it much
closer to the standard variety. There are certainly many differences between
the various Caribbean creoles and between these and the varieties of Black
English Vernacular used in the United States and the English based Creoles of
West Africa; but the overall impression is one of a family of languages closely
related in structure and idiom.
The switch from language
to Creole involves a major expansion in the structural linguistics resources
available - especially in vocabulary, grammar, and style, which now have to
cope with the everyday demands made upon a mother tongue by its speakers. (18,
55)
The main source of
conflicts is likely to be with the standard form of the language from which it
derives, and which it derives and with witch it usually coexists. The standard languages
have the status which comes with social prestige, education and wealth; the
Creole has no such status its roots lying in a history of subservient and
slavery. Inevitable, Creole speakers find themselves under great pressure to
change their speech in the direction of the standard- a process known as decreolization.
One consequence of this
is the emergence of a continuum of several varieties of Creole speech, at
varying degrees of linguistics ‘distance’ from the standard- what has been
called the ‘post- Creole continuum’ Another consequence is an aggressive
reaction against the standard language on the part of Creole speakers, who
assert the superior status of their Creole, and the need to recognize the
ethnic identity of their community. Such a reaction can lead to a marked change
in speech habits, as the speakers focus on what they see to be the ‘pure’ form
of Creole- a process known as hyper- realization. (22, 248)
When a pidgin
becomes a native language for some of its speakers, it said to become a Creole.
This means that it is a language which has passed through a pidgin stage, and
has now become the language of a community. Children growing up in that
community speak the Creole as their native language. Very often, of course,
there are other languages spoken in the community as well. Some children who
speak the Creole may also speak other languages.
When a pidgin
becomes a Creole, it may change its character somewhat. The differences are
subtle and difficult to study, and a great deal has been written on this
subject with little agreement being reached. However, we can say that where
there are differences between the pidgin and the Creole, these will be related
to the new functions which the Creole has taken on. It no longer serves just as
a means of communication between adults with no other language in common; it is
now a language through which children experience the world, develop their
knowledge and mental capacities, and grow up.
Creolized varieties of
English are very important throughout the Caribbean, and in the countries to
which Caribbean people have emigrated- notably Britain. Black English in the
United States is also Creole in origin.
There is often conflict
between the Creole and Standard English in these places. The Creole gives its
speakers their linguistic, as an ethnic group. Standard English, on the other
hand, gives them access to the rest of the English-speaking world. It is not
easy for governments to develop an acceptable language policy when such
fundamental issues are involved. Social and political circumstances vary so
much that no simple generalizations possible- except to emphasize the need for
standard English users to replace their traditional dismissive attitude towards
Creole speech with an informed awareness of its linguistics complexity as a
major variety of modern English. (25,485)
Chapter
II. Development of the U.S. Black English.
1.
Differences
of B.E. and Standard English, British English and British Black English.
Black English has
features unique to its subsystem as well as features of the general system of
English grammar. It has its own rules of grammar and phonology. One dominant
characteristic is the amount of fluctuation in forms and constructions. Almost
every statement about Black English includes a qualification such as "may
occur", "sometimes", "often" or "generally."
The same speaker will pronounce a plural ending on one occasion and on another
occasion will drop it. One sentence will have ain´t for the past negative
and the next didn´t or even ditn´t.
A device called
"sweet talk" also appears in Black English. This means that new forms
are often created to fit a particular setting or situation. In the rules of
Standard English grammar "sweet talk" would be considered bad English
because of its ignorance of grammatical rules. In Black English "sweet
talk" serves to establish a verbal superiority: he who masters the language
can control the communication and will thus also control the personal or group
relationships of the situation. It is easy to see the connection between
"sweet talk" and the language games often played on street corners by
black children or the "rap battles" which are a part of current
popular culture.
Another device is known
as "eye dialect". This refers to changing the spelling of words
without changing their sound, in order to characterize a speaker. For example,
"was" can be spelled "wuz", although both are pronounced the
same. The "wuz" spelling characterizes one as the speaker of a
particular dialect, with its particular social connotations.
-British Black
English.
In the
1950s and 1960s people from the Caribbean migrated to Britain in relatively
large numbers. Most of these settled in cities, especially in the large English
cities, and in most of these communities people from Jamaica were more numerous
than people from other parts of the Caribbean. Although the Caribbean is made
up of many different islands and mainland territories, including many where an
English Creole is not spoken, British Black English is most similar to Jamaican
Creole, because of the larger number of Jamaicans who settled in this country.
Linton
Kwesi Johnson is probably the best known poet in Britain who is currently using
Creole. His verse is spoken against a musical background (dubbing) and
distributed on records, tapes and CDs. The poem "Sonny's Lettah",
appeared in print in his anthology "Inglan' is a Bitch" (1980) and
was recorded on his album Forces of Victory. (34)
“Mama, a jus
couldn't stan up an no dhu notin so mi juk one ina im eye an him started to cry
mi tump one ina him mouth an him started to shout mi kick one pon him shin an
him started to spin mi tump him pon him chin an him drop pon a bin an crash an
DEAD. Mama more police man come down an beat mi to di groun' dem charge Jim fi
sus dem charge mi fi murder”
Now here is
the same passage written in a phonemic orthography devised by Le Page and
Cassidy for the Dictionary of Jamaican English (1980):
“Mama a jos
kudn stan op an no du notin so mi juk wan ina him ai an him staatid to krai mi
tomp wan ina him mout an him staatid tu shout mi kik wan pan him shin an him
staatid tu spin mi tomp him pan him chin an him drap pan a bin an krash an DED.
Mama Muor pliisman kom doun an biit mi tu di groun dem chaaj Jim fi sos dem
chaaj mi fi morda.” (34)
People of Afro‑Caribbean
descent who have been born in Britain nearly always learn the local variety of
British English as their first language. Usually, they speak and understand
Creole as well (though how well they know it varies from person to person) but
use it less often than British English. Especially in private, informal
conversations, both British English and Creole may be used. When a speaker
"switches" from one language variety to another in the course of the
same conversation ‑ sometimes even within one sentence ‑ this is
called code switching. It is common behaviour among bilinguals of all kinds
(though in some communities, it is frowned upon).
The following
is an extract from a conversation among some young women in London. Most of the
conversation is in British English but the speaker B. switches twice into
Creole (underlined):
B it's
that same guy that you go back to and have the
best
life cause you know that guy you know [ what
C [ yeah
B to
expect you two can sit down and (.) sort out
Where
you went wrong=
C = yeah
that's it, yeah
B an'
you might end up marryin' that guy me know who
me
want marry a'ready! [softly] so, you know it's
just
[ * * * [inaudible]
C [ * *
* [inaudible] gonna marry
J you
see this is what I'm saying about Graham right,
I
don't really know but you know when you see
someone
and I tell you I did like Graham from the
First
time I saw him, I mean it does take time
gettin'
to know the right person
B Let me
tell you now wiv every guy I've been out wiv,
it's
been a ‑ a whole heap o' mont's before I move
wiv
the nex' one!
J Next
one, yeah!
The two
switches to Creole by speaker B are both marked by a noticeable change in the
pronunciation (not shown in the transcription), for example, "whole"
is pronounced /h l/. In the "British English" parts, the speakers
have fairly strong London accents (e.g. "with is pronounced" /w v/)
but in the "Creole" parts, the phonemes and intonation patterns are
pronounced as in Creole.
Linguists have
identified many reasons for code switching. One persuasive theory is that in
some bilingual communities, the language which has a longer association with
the community (in this case Creole, which has its origin in the Caribbean) is
used as a sign of solidarity, to signal membership of a group and show closeness
to other group members. Research has shown that in the Afro-Caribbean
community, Creole is often used to emphasise an important point (only in
informal, personal conversations). There is no "right" or
"wrong" answer to the question of why a speaker switches at a
particular moment (usually they are not aware of switching). If you know any
bilingual speakers, you might try recording them in conversation with other
bilinguals to see whether, when, and in what ways they code switch. (16. 37)
The following Creole
creative writing narrative was written by a London school pupil of Caribbean
descent.
“Bull,
Babylon, the Wicked
One manin in
January me and my spars dem was coming from a club in Dalston. We didn't have
no donsi so we a walk go home. De night did cold and di gal dem wi did have wid
we couldn't walk fast. Anyway we must have been walking for about fifteen
minutes when dis car pull up, it was this youthman ah know and him woman. We
see sey a mini cab him inna. Him sey "How far you ah go?”(30,335)
Me sey
"Not far, you ketch we too late man”.
Anyway before
me could close me mout de two gal dem jump inna de car, bout sey dem nah walk
no more. Me an Trevor tell dem fi gwan. And de car pull way.
Next ting me
know me is about 50 yards from my yard and is the wicked dem just a come down
inna dem can. At first me wanted fi run, but Trevor sey "run what"
"After we no just kool". We don't have no weed or money pon us. Dem
can't do notin. (30, 336)
Next ting we
know dem grab we up anna push we into dem car. Me and Trevor put up a struggle
but after a few licks we got pushed in. "Now then you two
"Rastas" been ripping off mini cabs haven't you?” "We aren't
"Rastas" and we don't know what you are talking about".
"Save all that until we get to the station Rastus my son". Den him
get pon him radio, and tell the station that him ketch the two responsible for
that hold up of the mini cab. Trevor luk pon me I could see that he was
worried.”
Thus we define
the differences between Creole and British English:
Glossary
manin :
morning
spar : friend
donsi : money
gwan : go on
yard : home
weed :
marijuana (drug)
Rasta :
Rastafarian
List 1: sound
differences - where the sound of the Creole (as shown by the spelling) is
different from the sound you would expect in a British variety of English.
List 2:
grammar differences - where the grammar seems to be different from standard.
List 3:
vocabulary differences - words which are unfamiliar or which you think are
Caribbean in origin.
Here is a list
of British English equivalents to the Creole items.
Example:
List 1
(sounds) deze these
bes' best
helt' health
List 2
(grammar) dem waak they walked
him
belly his belly
mi
kick I kicked
List 3
(vocabulary) fi to
pan for
t'ief (to)
steal
FEEDBACK: Creole is different from
British English at these three levels.
BRITISH BLACK ENGLISH.
What is
usually referred to as 'Black English' in Britain, is the Jamaican Creole or Patois,
which is spoken by the Black Caribbean community living mainly in London , but
other parts of GB too, even though the London community are the largest. There
are obviously other black ethnic groupings in Britain, but none of the same
magnitude. Jamaican Creole – the verb system by Sara Vestman, British Black
English by David Sutcliffe, London Jamaican by Mark Sebba and Sociolinguistics
– an introduction to language and society by Peter Trudgill. Some features in
Jamaican Creole
1) Personal pronouns 2) The verb system 3) The negative 4) Tense and aspect 5) The phonology 6) Stress and tone
For a long
time, JC and other Creoles have been regarded as non-standard varieties
inferior to Standard British English and the question of whether JC is a
dialect or in fact a language, still has not been resolved. Regardless of that,
JC has been recognised as an independent variety with its own grammar-system
and vocabulary – as systematic and rule-governed as any other language – joined
with SE by means of a dialect continuum.
Ñòðàíèöû: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
|