Interview with Dr. Sonja Lanehart
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- Опубліковано 30 січ 2022
- This is a much longer, slightly edited version of my interview with Dr. Sonja Lanehart, for my video here: • The Top 5 things the E...
In this interview, we discuss a wide range of topics, from what we call African American language use and why, to dialect density measures and why we both hate them.
Dr. Lanehart's book, The Oxford Handbook of African American Language, is available for purchase here: amzn.to/3tU1mSx
Language Jones T-shirts, hoodies, and mugs are available here: languagejones.creator-spring.com
This is very interesting. I'm a teacher of English as a second language and I'd love to learn what structures are considered formal/standard AAE vs informal/vernacular.
That sounds like a great idea for a video. Keep an eye on this space.
Learn the SCOTS language, then learn APPALACHIAN ENGLISH and you will have most of what AAE is. Its Scots+ Hiberno-english at the core. Most all aspects that differ from SAE all come from colonial + Scotch-Irish varietes of scots+ english. None of what is being presented here is anything more than 'race' based socio-politics. Nothing here has been presented that shows how AAE isnt really just a form of Appalachian (Colonial english) .
@@AAA-fh5kd cool down celtic Jedi. I'm Cajun i can promise you AAE has more than just Appalachian influences. The way your comment comes off at least to me could be seen as white washing. Look into the actual vernacular and grammar used, and the sociolinguistic and sociopolitical concepts that aren't lexified or grammaticalized but yet are expressed. Very, very, African.
I absolutely loved this.
there's a trend of reviving languages now. and AAL is in a much better starting position than many other languages because it is alive and well already
This is the first time I've ever heard the "vernacular" part of "African American (or Black) English Vernacular" explained. I've encountered the term for twenty years, and it has never once occurred to me that "vernacular" might be intended to mean "colloquial register." To me, "vernacular" means "language understood by the common people, as opposed to a classical or international language, and usually a standardized language, koine, or stylized literary form." We read of Dante choosing to write in the vernacular, or of vernacular Bible translations replacing the Vulgate. Thus, when a slang word is referred to as "vernacular," it is a self-evident metaphor, and not the primary meaning of the term. I honestly think that "colloquial Black dialect" is a better way to refer to AAVE, where "colloquial" indicates that the features of interest are found only in the basilectal forms, and "dialect" indicates that the language is transmitted by purely oral means in a stable community, rather than something taught in school.
I get where you’re coming from. To clarify a bit, this use of “vernacular” is standard in sociolinguistics, and goes back at least to Labov’s work in the 1960s, although I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me it’s present in Weinreich’s writing too. And for “dialect” that’s loaded, since it implies an origin of the language variety that might not be accurate and for which we only have weak evidence. Whether AAE is a divergent dialect of English or a historical creole that converged with English (or something else) is a matter of serious contention in sociolinguistics.
You’ve probably heard this, but:
what’s the difference between a dialect and a language?
A language has its own navy.
I’ve heard that in reference to Scots.
That's a reductive idea to spread in my opinion as a minority language speaker. I always hated it when my grandfather laughed to himself happily when he interrupted my tutor classes with the phrase.
It's like a psyop by some ancient conquerer to suppress the conquered. Funk dhat shizz.
@@EchoLog that seems to me like an odd take given that the saying just seems to want to say the things being called dialects here are not inferior to languages. sure it's a bit reductive, but it hardly strikes me as an insidious psyop.
Absolutely not, Scots was a language 700 years ago of the Scottish Court, only in the past 300 years with political changes and dominance of English (in many ways) has Scots (and Gaelics
In Linguistic terms Scots is a "Language/variety/family". Look up Scots spoken in Shetland, Ulster/Northern ireland then Scottish borders, then Northeast/Aberdeen and then Glasgow. They are dialects of a Language. The language split from middle english 700 years ago. Scots didnt develop off of modern Mercian-english< . Scots is from Northumbrian.
It's stupid. Linguistic distance is a major, major marker. Nobody thinks that Basque or Breton are secretly French, or that Scottish Gaelic is somehow English.
Sound is rather low... hard to understand.
America english isnt 'homogenous' Englishes in ireland arent "homogenous" dialects of "Scots" arent homogenoous but there are usually core GRAMMAR +SYNTAX , then Phonology + Lexicon.
Tell us what the core GRAMMAR is of AAE that is any different than Appalachian English, Hiberno-English or Scots the language.
I've listened for 10 minutes and there's mainly all kinds of non-scientific generalizations and referring to a "white standard" which is nonsense, "Black" perpetuates a false "racism" in using the term for some kind of pan-world-african diaspora. I didnt grow up thinking of any community in the u.s. as a "white" community or a 'white language community' either in multicultural coastal metropolis or in rural south where 'black' + 'white' spoke 'apapachian dialect' not AAE specifically. This is all racist and falsifying the true root of "AAE".
It sounds like you're from Appalachia and haven't met black people from the rest of the country. Low key by which I mean really clearly. Prove me wrong though i want that
@@EchoLog Nope I'm from (various parts of the u.s.) but mainly a city with over 200 languages spoken. I grew up with AfAm and AAE speaking people around me in both west and east coast etc.
The language history of colonial and post rev u.s. is a complex one. If you don't understand the differences in dialects of traditional english varietes, hiberno-english or scots, let alone german, dutch, welsh, gaelic , french and other native american languages then no, you clearly have no clue what you're talking about regarding language.
@@EchoLog I have 'kin' all through 'appalachia' which spans many states and isnt only in the 'south' , secondly "Black" isnt a 'people' or a 'language' any more than 'white' is. You're talking nonsense.
@@EchoLog There are all kinds of unique aspects to what we call AAL/AAE in its various forms, regions but the key grammar and lexicon comes from "Appalachian"(Etc) scots/hiberno-english/english. Look it up. Learn something based in fact.
@@AAA-fh5kd all good then, i misspoke, quite rudely and vindictively. my bad.
My stance, more distilled in how i wanna say it now that it's been 2 days, is that you're right about things but are saying it wrong. (Not that there is a right way to say it necessarily but that there are definite wrong ways)
"No you're wrong it's this and you're all liars" (I'm paraphrasing but it's the picture you painted) invites confrontation and replies of similar dogmatic angles.
Yes, Celtic speaker second or third language acquisition of English had an affect on how they spoke it, and their descendants in the American south keeping those affects, and those affects spreading to the African Americans be they slaves or free during their initial learning of and later development of English. Yes.
But so did french and Spanish and native languages and African languages and later Asian languages and each to different degrees in different communities. These are things that ALL American language is influenced by except proud anglo purists.
You're projecting by saying we're being reductive is what I'm worried about and trying to say. I'm not being confrontational because it's suits me, but because I'm concerned about this topic getting any further divided and co-opted by people with unstated agendas. Something i hope and already believe resonates with you.
Instead of more horn locking in a comment section how about we each find resources on our views and come back when they're prepared? I'm very familiar with how the varieties of African American English i grew up around were more like my home french in a few ways, i don't have it all ready like i was in college anymore though.