Data Analysis RESEARCH FINDINGS
distinguishes AAVE from other American dialects, standard and vernacular.
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There is a myth about AAVE that it is popular, copula is carelessly omitted or is used in incorrect forms.
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In AAVE, the copula the verb to be is absent in situations where SAE would use it, particularly when it can be contracted in SAE, it can’t be deleted in
AAVE,
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as shown in the following sentences: AAVE
SAE He nice.
He is nice. He’s nice. They mine.
They are mine. They’re mine. However, AAVE doesn’t delete the copula where it cannot be reduced in SE in
sentence-final position like I ain’ the one did it, he is SE: I am not the one did it, he is for emphasis as Allah is God, and Questions, for instance He ain’ home, is
he? SE: he is not at home, is he?.
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Precious uses structures that lack the copula. In all of the movie script investigated by the writer, many examples of copula deletion were found, as in
these dialogs:
1 PRECIOUS V.O.: This bitch crazy. Sides, my muver dont want to get cut off welfare and thats what Mrs. Lichenstein comin to visit result
in. Its hard to believe a hoe dis retarded sposed to educate somebody.
40
Arthur K. Spears. On Shallow Grammar: African American English and the Critique of Exceptionalism. Accessed on July 11, 2010. http:www.arthurkspears.compapersshallow-
grammar.pdf. P.5.
41
Geoffrey K. Pullum, loc.cit.
42
Victoria Fromkin and Robert Rodman 1998 op.cit. p. 415.
43
Rosemary Beam de Azcona. Lecture notes on African American English. Accessed on July 11, 2010. http:www.linguistics.berkeley.edu~rosemary55-2004-aae.pdf. p. 3-4.
Comparing with Standard English, it becomes:
This bitch is crazy. Besides, my mother doesnt want to get cut off
welfare and thats what Mrs. Lichenstein coming to visit result in. Its hard to believe a hoe this retarded supposed to
educate somebody.
2 PRECIOUS: You gonna be okay Mr. Wicher?
MR. WICHER: forcing a smile Of course Precious. Thank you. Translating into Standard English:
PRECIOUS: Are you going to be okay Mr. Wicher?
From the dialogs, the writer discovers that the speaker leave out the verbs is and are indicating present states and actions.
Absence of copula is also found in the question form as in this dialog:
3 PRECIOUS: I need to see Nurse John. Where Nurse John at?
NURSE: Hes on break. He’ll be back soon. Have a seat. In Standard English it means:
PRECIOUS: I need to see Nurse John. Where is Nurse John?
Absences of auxiliary are also found in the movie.
4 PRECIOUS: What you want?
MRS. LICHENSTEIN O.S.: I want to talk to you about your education.
Standard English uses auxiliary do or does in the sentence. So, in Standard
English, it sentence means What do you want?
2. Invariant be
The most distinguishing feature of AAVE is the use of forms of be to mark aspect in verb phrases. The use or lack of a form of be can indicate whether the
performance of the verb is of a habitual nature. In Standard English, this can be
expressed only using adverbs such as usually.
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Invariant habitual be is an auxiliary verb form occurring in AAVE that is never conjugated; it signals
habitual aspect—the occurrence of an event or state over a significantly long period of time length depending on the social context.
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The aspectual marker ‘be’ can occur in front of ‘ing’-forms, adjectives, nouns or prepositional phrases. It most frequent with –ing forms. This feature does not
appear as often as the zero copula in the movie. The writer only found Precious uses the invariant be twice.
5 PRECIOUS: I always be fallin like that when my mind be wanderin.
Mama say I gonna fall to my death one day. Wonder what that be like?
SE: I always fall like that when my mind is wandering. Mama says I
am going to fall to my death one day. Wonder what that is like? It is found in the script that habitual be is used. It occurs in front of ‘ing’-forms,
be falling, and adjectives, be wandering. In Standard English, it is used adverb always to state habitual action.
6 PRECIOUS V.O: I am happy to be writing. I am happy to be in
school. I am happy to know my baby coming soon. Don’t see the pretending I am not pregnant anymore. I am also thinking about lil
Mongo a lot. Miz Rain say we gonna write everyday, that mean home too.
Similar sentences in the Standard English will be written:
I am always happy to write. I am happy to be in school. I am happy
to know my baby is coming soon. Don’t see the pretending I am not
44
Anonymous, African American Vernacular English. Accessed on April 29, 2010. http:www.experiencefestival.comafrican_american_vernacular_english.
45
Arthur K. Spears, loc.cit.
pregnant anymore. I am also thinking about little Mongo a lot. Miz Rain say we gonna write everyday, that mean home too.
Using be in front of –ing form in AAVE to indicate habitual action is different with Standard English that uses adverb like always and usually. The sentence I
always be fallin like that when my mind be wanderin means the speaker do it
repeteadly. To conclude, habitual be, used in the dialogs, is used to indicate repeated,
habitual action. It means that something is done usually, repeatedly or in a habitual manner, which is in contradiction with the Standard that uses be as either
auxiliary or copulative verb it functions either as a helper or a link between subject and complement.
3. Regular and Irregular past verbs
In AAVE, regular past is not obligatory. It frequently omitted. Green, as quote by Oetting and Pruitt, states that internal markers of tense are often required in
AAE. However, for irregular past tense, Green states that internal markers of tense are often required in AAE. However, over-regularized forms e.g., falled and
forms a typical of Standard American English e.g., drunk, brung, had fell, had walked may be produced within these contexts.
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As observe in the dialogs: 7 PRECIOUS: ...Sometimes I see vampires too. They come for me
sometimes and they say that I am one of them. They say, Precious, you belong wif us. SE: “Precious, you belong with us”.
46
Janna Oetting and Sonja Pruitt, Journal of Speech, Language amp; Hearing Research. Accessed on July 11, 2010. http:corporate.britannica.com Past-Tense-Marking-by-African-
American-EnglishSpeaking-Children-Reared-in-Poverty.htm.
MS. WEISS: How do you respond to them? PRECIOUS: I say, Check wif my muver. After that, they just look at
me and go down through the floor. The family downstairs is vampires so thats where they should go. SE: Check with my mother.
PRECIOUS: Im going to the doctor now too. Its nice. Miz Rain, she fall out when she finded out that I ain been to no doctor. Whole
class scream preenatal at me. They dont know I had my first baby on the kitchen floor wif my muver kicking me upside my head. I mean,
who would believe?
Grammatically in Standard English becomes:
PRECIOUS: Im going to the doctor now too. Its nice. Miss Rain, she fell out when she found out that I haven’t gone to any doctor.
Whole class screams prenatal at me. They dont know I had my first baby on the kitchen floor with my mother kicking me upside my head.
I mean, who would believe?
8 PRECIOUS O.S.: My grandmuver Toosie, brangs Little Mongo over on days social worker come so it look like Mongo live wif us.
Then my mama get the check n food stamps for me n Little Mongo. But its my baby. Little Mongo is money for me, not her
SE: My grandmother Toosie, brought Little Mongo over on days
social worker come so it look like Mongo live with us. Then my mama got the check n food stamps for me n Little Mongo. But its my baby.
Little Mongo is money for me, not her The dialog shows the regularization of past tense, the verb finded, uses in the
dialog, indicates past activity. Grammatically, Standard English differentiates regular and irregular verb. Regular verb is formed by adding –ed to the verb as
show becomes showed while irregular verb has its own structure like write
becomes wrote. The verb finded in this dialog translated into Standard English becomes found. In addition, brangs means brought in Standard English.
4. Subject-verb agreement
Based on the theory of the grammar of Standard English, verb must agree with the subject. It sometimes doesn’t happen in AAVE. In the script the writer found
there are some sentence that the verb is not agree with the subject, as in the dialog:
9 PRECIOUS V.O.: Plus she say who wanna see me dancing anyway. I goes to I.S. 111. In Harlem. New York. Today I was almost late.
Thatd a been a problem. Comparing with Standard English, it will be written:
PRECIOUS V.O.: Plus she said who want to see me dancing
anyway. I go to I.S. 111. In Harlem. New York. Today I was almost
late. Thatd a usually been a problem. It also occur these dialogs:
10 PRECIOUS: Nobody love me. Thas a lie. SE: Nobody loves me.
Tht’s a lie MS. RAIN: People do love you Precious.
PRECIOUS: Please dont lie Miz Rain Love? Me? Love rape me, beat me, call me animal, get me sick and make me feel wurfless. I had
enough love. SE: Please dont be lying Miss Rain Love? Me? Love raped me, beat me, called me animal, got me sick and made me feel
wordless. I had enough love. MS. RAIN: That wasnt love. There are people child loves you too. Is
that clear Precious? Now if Rita decided to just give up? Would you let her?
Nobody is identified as singular form in Standard English. So it must adding suffix –s in the verb following it. No signaling of the third-person singular in the
present tense of the verb.
5. No signaling of the third-person singular in the present tense of the verb
Another characteristic of AAVE is absence of signaling of the third-person singular in the present tense of verb. The standard prescribes that when the subject
is occupied by a third-person singular noun, the verb must be inflected with -s-es.
For instance, he turns down that offer. In contrast, grammatical system of AAVE
ignores such that. As indicated in the dialogs:
12 PRECIOUS V.O.: Off da bat sumthin different wif dis lady. She like to sing. I wish I could sing. Go to church. Sing on a choir. Mama
say ain’t no God. Dis lady remind me Mr. Wicher but more a man and like Miss Lichenstein cept not a cuckoo. Dress like she ride in out the
village too.
SE: Off the bad something different with this lady. She likes to sing. I
wish I could sing. Go to church. Sing on a choir. Mama said we didn’t have any God. this lady reminds me to Mr. Wicher but more a man and
like Miss Lichenstein except not a cuckoo. Dress like she rides in out
the village too. 13 PRECIOUS V.O.: His name Abdul Jamal Louis Jones. He healthy.
His muver love him. SE: His name is Abdul Jamal Louis Jones. He is healthy. His mother
loves him.
“She” as a third-person singular must be followed by an inflected auxiliary “likes”, and “His mother” must be followed by an inflected auxiliary “loves”.
6. Aspectual Marker been
The aspect marked by stressed been has been given many names, including Perfect Phase, Remote Past, Remote Phase. With non-stative verbs, the role of
been is simple: it places the action in the distant past, or represents total
completion of the action. A Standard English equivalent is to add a long time ago. For example, She been tell me that translates as, She told me that a long
time ago. However, when been is used with stative verbs or gerund forms, been shows
that the action began in the distant past and that it is continuing now. A better translation when used with stative verbs is for a long time. For instance, in
response to I like your new dress, one might hear Oh, I been had this dress, meaning that the speaker has had the dress for a long time and that it isnt new.
From the dialog in the script, the writer found the using of been:
14PRECIOUS V.O.: Today is first day. I been tessed. I been incomed eligible. I got my medicaid card, proof of address, self, pencil,
notebook -alla dat shit. Been in that sentence functions as perfect phase marker. It is similar with the
using of perfect tense in Standard English.
SE: Today is the first day. I have been tested. I have been income eligible. I got my Medicaid card, proof of address, self, pencil,
notebook –all of that shit. Besides, it also shown in this voice over:
15PRECIOUS V.O.: Abdul nine months old and walking Smart too. I been reading to him since the day he was born almost. Barely
talkin and he countin .
SE: Abdul is nine months old and walking He is smart too. I have been reading to him since the day he was born almost. I am barely
talking and he is counting.
Been is also indicates the activity took place in the distant past and that it is continuing now.
7. Use Ain’t for negation
In these varieties ain’t is used in those places where Standard English uses be+not or have+not. In these varieties ain’t is restricted to present tense contexts.
In these non-standard White varieties of English, ain’t never appears where Standard English has past tense forms of be+not or have+not or do + not
was+not, were+not, had+not, did+not. However in AAVE, ain’t can appear in past tense contexts.
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Furthermore, it said by Howe that the using of this negative form in the environment of have + not, be + not, and do + not, in both present and
past temporal contexts.
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Wolfram, as quote by Howe , states, “the correspondence of standard English didn’t [with ain’t] has only been found in Vernacular Black English varieties. The
regular use of ain’t for didn’t in modern AAVE appears to be a recent development.
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Ain’t was found in the following dialogs: 16 CORNROWS: You still need formal discharge papers or we cant let
you in. Its the law. PRECIOUS: Mrs. Lichenstein ain say all that.
SE: Mrs. Lichenstein didnt say all that.
47
Jack sidnell, African American Vernacular English AAVE Grammar. Accessed on July 11, 2010. http:individual.utoronto.cajsidnellSidnellAAVEGrammar.pdf.
48
Darin Howe, Negation in African American Vernacular English. Accessed on April 29, 2010. http: www.uni-giessen.deanglistik...HOsEnglishDialectsHO20Holder.doc, p. 174.
49
Ibid, p. 183.
As mentioned earlier, ain’t is used in AAVE where be not, do not, and have not would be used in Standard English. In that sentence ain’t is similar with didn’t to
mark negative form in the past in Standard English. Using of ain’t is also found in the question form like this:
17 RUBY: Precious when we gon play? SE: when we are going to play?
PRECIOUS: without turning around Ain you sposed to be in school? SE: Don’t you supposed to be in school?
RUBY: You said we was gon play. SE: you said we were going to play
PRECIOUS: See, thas jus exackly why we ain gon be playin. I never said nuffin like it. SE: See, that’s just exactly why we are not going
to play. I never said anything like it.
The using of ain’t in that sentence similar with the using of to be + not, in this case are not.
8. Negative concord Double or Multiple negation
In AAVE, speakers can produce as many negations as they like. It is to be noted that multiple negation is used in white non-standard English, and was used
in Old and Middle English as well. The feature is thus not something peculiar in AAVE, yet widely used among AAVE speakers, and therefore included in this
investigation. There are a few cases of multiple negation in Precious dialogs. In fact, all
sentences in which there is negation are formed according to AAVE standards: Double negations were used instead of the terms anyoneanybody and anymore, as
in the following dialogs: 18 MR. WICHER: Class, would you please turn to page 122 ...Class
122 PRECIOUS V.O.: I like maff but I dont say nuffin-dont open my
book even. Just sit there.
SE: I like math but I dont say anything-dont open my book even.
Just sit there. 19 MARY: FIRST YOU STEAL MY HUSBAND, AND THEN YOU
GET ME CUT OFF THE WELFARE YOU STUPID-MOUTH BITCH
PRECIOUS: I AINT STEAL NUFFIN FROM YOU MAMA YOUR HUSBAND RAPED ME AND I NOT STUPID SE: I
DIDN’T STEAL ANYTHING FROM YOU MAMA YOUR HUSBAND RAPED ME AND I NOT STUPID
MARY: YOU ARE YOU ARE TOO YOU IS AND YOU ALWAYS GON BE NUTHIN BUT STUPID TIL THE DAY YOU
DIE YOU HEAR ME? STUPID
Both sentences, I dont say nuffin and I AINT STEAL NUFFIN FROM YOU MAMA are using double negatives. In Standard English, if using double
negatives in one clause, the meaning is positive, not negative. However, AAVE permit the using of double or even multiple negations in one clause, and he
meaning of the sentence is still negative.