Presentation Letter

To Whom This May Concern:

Dear Yule,
            I am currently a student in an introductory course of Language and we are using your textbook, The Study of Language the fourth edition this semester. For a class assignment I was given the choice to pick a book that explores language through the different lenses of: anthropology which searches for the role language plays in humanity; sociology, which investigates the role language plays in a cultural community and its institutions; or psychology, which investigates how language influences particular attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions expressed in or out of a group. The book I chose was Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English, by John Russell Rickford. My professor in this class mentioned that you were always looking for feedback or thoughts from students of language for your next edition of the book. I am writing this letter to share some of the interesting information I learned about language. The suggestions I have to offer would greatly enhance your book and benefit other language students. After reading Spoken Soul, I was able to gain a better understanding of my ethnic community, the struggles my ancestors faced, and how they overcame their struggles within a hostile country. Subsequently, I was able to understand the importance of language in unifying a community, establishing and preserving cultural traditions, and without it we would be lost.

In your book Chapter 19 briefly touches on the African American Vernacular English, a social dialect created and used by African Americans. Although you eloquently explain the social barriers, such as discrimination and segregation that have been influential in the development of this distinct language spoken by African Americans, and define the language terms in clear, easy to read language, the chapter doesn’t touch on the importance of the Black Vernacular to the cultural identities of African Americans. I think you should consider including more information on the cultural origins and history of the black vernacular, especially since this language is negatively stigmatized in academia, but not in popular culture. By including this information to your next edition it would encourage students who speak a cultural dialect opposing to the dominate language of a nation to think more critically about how the language they speak impacts their society, and individual identities.

Sincerely,
Shereen Corbin

Summary Part V

Spoken Soul: pgs. 200-229

This last section of the book provides a summary of the major points and issues discussed in the previous sections. The authors provide their last thoughts on the topic of Spoken Soul and its importance to the African American community. Finally, they end the book by allowing the reader to reflect on their own view of Spoken Soul, rather than try to persuade them to support Spoken Soul over Standard English. The ending is meant to encourage readers to make an educated decision about Ebonics/Spoken Soul/ AAVE, and to inspire the next generation to continue on with the research into this issue.

Key Points reviewed in final summary:

1)      All language and dialects are systematic, rule governed, and create for a purpose.

2)      All languages and dialects are subject to social conditionings, different interpretations, and perceptions.

3)      Learn and become proficient in Standard English, but also remember embrace and to be proud of your cultural language.

4)      “Every shut eye ain’t alsleep, every good buy ain’t gone.” Things aren’t always so simple or what they may appear to be. It is up to us to be aware, to seek truth, and to be guided by wisdom.

Summary Part IV

Spoken Soul: pgs. 150-200

This next section of the book discusses the controversy involving an Oakland California School’s interest in adopting the use of Ebonics to teach the children, and the media’s obsession with the issue. The authors present the arguments of all those involved, and a analysis of the role the media played to influence public opinion.

Summary Part III

Spoken Soul: Summary of pgs. 100-150

This section of the book discusses the vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and history of the Spoken Soul. The goal of the authors is to reveal the systematic rules of spoken soul, beginning with the vocabulary and pronunciation, and then analyzing its grammar.

“Ebonics has no dictionary, no textbooks, no grammar, no rules. It is rebellious and outside rule-based language.” Quoted from an America Online Contributor, 1996.

“If Black English isn’t a language, them tell me, what is?” –James Baldwin, 1979

These quotes represent the different views of Spoken Soul. The authors, begin this section of the book with the following quotes in an attempt to answer the question: what are the requirements to make a dialect a legitimate language. This was a question, I mentioned in Summary I, and I truly interested in finding the answer.

The authors, then begin to list the requirements needed to consider something a language. A language must have rules of grammar, pronunciation, and meaning. Within its grammar, there must be rules for modifying or combining words to express different meanings and to form larger phrases or sentences.

The authors assert that Spoken Soul has a rule of grammar that allows the speaker to move negative helping verbs such as ain’t and can’t to the front of a sentence to make the sentence more emphatic. They provide a detailed analysis of the grammar and phonology of Spoken Soul as evidence that it should be considered a legitimate language. The authors disagree with the claim that Ebonics has no formal meaning or dictionaries. They argue there are numerous books on the vocabulary of Spoken Soul. The authors will admit that, since slang words are always changing, new studies will always be needed, and advocate for the creation of a full-fledged Ebonics dictionary with pronunciations, etymologies, and historical attestations that parallel the Oxford English dictionaries.

According to the book, regarding the history or origins of the Black Vernacular, some scholars contend it bears the vivid imprint of the African languages spoken by the slaves who came to this country.

Other scholars maintain that the devastating experience of slavery wiped out most if not all African linguistic and cultural traditions, and the apparently distinctive features of spoken soul come from older British dialects,(peasants and indentured servants whom the slaves encounter in colonial times.

The theory of the vernacular having some influence from West African languages is based on the fact that the slang compound words “bad-mouth” and “crossed-eyed,”which are literal and metaphonical expressions found in the Mandigo language “da-jugu” and in the Hausa language “maum-baki.” The author argues that the reason why many African Americans pronounce the English “th” sound for [t,f,d,v] is simply because the West African languages spoken by the ancestors of today’s African Americans did not have the “th” sound in their native languages. Africans were forced to substitute the “th” sound with consonants in their language that were similar in sound.

Summary Part II

Spoken Soul: Summary of pgs.50-100

In this section of the book the authors explain the broad use of the Black Vernacular by preachers, actors, comedians, singers, and rappers in their occupations to inspire, entertain, and express their cultural identities.

Black preachers use the vernacular to show their congregrants that they can relate to their struggles, and cultural experiences. This is important because a preacher must be intimately aware of their congregrants ways and weaknesses in order to be taken seriously, and to guide them spiritually. For example, a black preacher will often translate the biblical text to plain talk to make it current, as though it were happening today: “And on the third baby, she said, ‘This time I got him. He can’t go nowhere. Now he is joined to me. He’s mine.’ Ya’ll know Leah, don’t you?”

The authors also mention that the Black Vernacular is marked by the use of double negatives or the deletion of the verb (is, are). For example, “we gon tear the roof off the suka tonight.” They also assert that the vernacular of African Americans is an empowering element of a Black preacher’s craft, however they are also expected to be capable of wielding “the prestige language” standard English if they seek to broaden their audience.

African American comedians, actors and musicians use the vernacular basically to humor, delight, and entertain audiences. Some will often use the vernacular in their routines, acts to show the stark cultural and lifestyle differences of African Americans versus other ethnicities. For instance, in a comedic routine a black comedian may exploit the vernacular for humorous effect. An example of this is when a White person is worried they might “Oh father God”, while a Black person in a similar situation might say “Oh Shit.” This becomes humorous because the audience’ recognizes the cultural contrast or stereotypes and are able to in reality laugh at themselves.

Another interesting point the author exposes is the difficulty sometimes for African Americans to switch effortlessly from the vernacular to Standard English. This touches on my initial blog about my language story, where growing up I had to be able to switch in and out of the vernacular.

Prescritivist or Descriptivist?

The Prescriptive Approach

The prescriptive approach to language follows a strict set of rules for the proper use of a language. For example, in the sentence: Who did you go with? Although it sounds okay to me, according to the Prescriptive approach, the rule state that a sentence cannot end with a preposition. The grammatically correct form of the sentence is: With whom did you go with?

The Descriptive Approach

The descriptive approach to language attempts to describe the regular structures of the language as it was used or as it evolves, not according to some view of how it should be used.

Although I think both approaches are valid, I would consider myself a descriptivist because I think language changes naturally over time and is influenced by many different perspectives and perceptions of the human being. I believe that every language should be flexible enough to incorporate new words, sentence structures, and sounds. Since, language is unique to different cultures and societies, I believe that the rules of language shouldn’t be too strict, as to suppress, or censor creativity and innovation. For example, in my culture creating new words and redefining established words is how many African American communities choose to express themselves in a language that was originally forced upon them during the past history of slavery. I think it’s ironic that a culture of people that have historically been marginalized and discriminated against are responsible for creating a worldwide pop cultural phenomenon with jazz, hip-hop, and r&b music, which has become a transformational force in the English language. If it were up to prescritivists words like jive, cool,  booty, chill, and holla, which make our language interesting, colorful, and live would be banned.