A Grammatical analysis of African American vernaculas english in precious movie

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JULAEHA

106026000965

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF ADAB AND HUMANITIES

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH

JAKARTA

2010

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Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty

In Partial of the Requirements for the Degree of Strata One

JULAEHA 106026000965

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF ADAB AND HUMANITIES

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH

JAKARTA

2010

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i A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty

In Partial of the Requirements for the Degree of Strata One

JULAEHA NIM.106026000965

Approved by:

Drs. Abdul Hamid, M.Ed NIP. 150 181 922

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT ADAB AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH” JAKARTA

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ii NIM : 106026000965

Thesis : A Grammatical Analysis of African American Vernacular English

(AAVE) in Precious Movie

The thesis has been defended before the Letter and Humanities Faculty’s Examination Committee on October 19, 2010. The thesis has already been accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of strata 1.

Jakarta, October 19, 2010

Examination Committee

Signature Date

1. Dr. Muhammad Farkhan, M.Pd (Chair Person) __________ _________ 19650919 200003 1 002

2. Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M.Pd (Secretary) __________ _________ 19640710 199303 1 006

3. Drs. Abdul Hamid, M.Ed (Advisor) __________ _________ 150 181 922

4. Dr. Muhammad Farkhan, M.Pd (Examiner I) _________ _________ 19700310 200003 1 002

5. Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M.Pd (Examiner II) _________ _________ 19640710 199303 1 006

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knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.

Jakarta, September 2010

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Letters and Humanities Faculty, State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah, 2010.

African American Vernacular English, AAVE, is a variant of English spoken mostly by lower-class black citizens in the US. Because of the usage of AAVE in media, particularly movie, this research will describe the grammatical characteristics of AAVE, and compare them with Standard English usage. AAVE is different from Standard English in several respects; grammatically, phonologically and lexically. Examples of grammatical features in AAVE are invariant be, double negations and the remote phase marker been.

This research concerns about grammatical characteristics of AAVE in movie script. The writer takes the data from Precious movie script. In collecting the data, the writer reads the movie script of Precious. In writing this research, the writer employs the descriptive qualitative method. By using this method, the writer describes the data by referring to the existence of linguistic elements without counting them statistically. After explaining the theoretical framework, the writer tabulated data of grammatical features of AAVE. Then, she analyzed the data by comparing with Standard English.

The writer finds eight grammatical characteristics of AAVE in Precious movie script, which are absence of copula and auxiliary, habitual be, regularized irregular past verb, subject-verb non agreement, no signaling of the third-person singular in present tense of the verb, aspectual marker been, use ain’t for negation, and double or multiple negation.

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and Lord of universe. Peace and salutation be upon the greatest prophet Muhammad SAW, his family, companions and adherents.

The writer would like to give her sincere gratitude her beloved family. Her mother, Emy (alm), and her father Tamri Sosili (alm), who became motivator in her life. Her brother, Supriyatna, and and her sister, Rosmiati, who give love, advice and financial support, and always pray for her.

The writer also wants to thank some persons, who have contributed much while this thesis is in the process of writing until it becomes a complete work, they are:

1. Dr. Abd. Wahid Hasyim, M.Ag, the Dean of Letters and Humanities Faculty. 2. Dr. H. M. Farkhan, M.Pd, the Head of English Department.

3. Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd, the Secretary of English Letters Department. 4. Drs. Abdul Hamid, M.Ed, the writer’s advisor, her thanks for his time,

guidance, kindness, advice, and contribution in correcting and helping her in finishing the paper.

5. To all the lecturers of English Letters Department for teaching a lot of valuable knowledge and sharing a lot of experiences.

6. Zahril Anasy, S.Pd, her favorite lecturer, her thanks for his time and idea in guiding her doing the research of AAVE.

7. Her kindly family, her uncles, her aunts, her cousins and her nephews, her thanks for giving support and pray for her.

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10. Her ex-room mate, Ulfa Warhamni. Thanks for your kindness and also for your magazine which inspired her to use Precious movie as the object of the research.

May Allah SWT, the Almighty and Merciful, bless them all, Amien. The writer would like to accept any constructive suggestions to make this paper better.

Jakarta, September 2010

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LEGALIZATION ……… ii

DECLARATION ……… iii

ABSTRACT ………. iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ………..……… v

TABLE OF CONTENTS .……….. vii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ……… 1

B. Focus of the Study ……….. 6

C. Research Question ……….. 6

D. Significance of the Research ……… 7

E. Research Methodology ..……… 7

1. Objective of the Research ….………. 7

2. Method of the Research …..……….. 7

3. Data Analysis ..………. 8

4. Instrument of the Research …………..………. 8

5. Time and Place of the Research ………. 8

CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A. African American Vernacular English (AAVE) 1. Definition of AAVE …...………... 9

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viii

2. Grammar of Standard English ……… 19

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH FINDINGS A. Data Description ..………. 24

B. Data Analysis ..……….. 29

CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions .……… 41

B. Suggestions ………. 43

BIBLIOGRAPHY ….………..…… 44

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ABSTRACT ………..……… ii

A. Background of the Study ……….……… 1

B. Research Question ……….. 3

C. Research Methodology ..……….……… 3

1. Objective of the Research ….………. 3

2. Method of the Research …..…………..……….. 3

3. Data Analysis ..………..………. 3

4. Instrument of the Research ………..………. 4

5. Time and Place of the Research ………..…..………. 4

D. African American Vernacular English (AAVE) ……….. 5

E. Grammatical Characteristics of AAVE …………..……….. 5

F. Data Analysis ..………..……….……….. 10

1. Absence of copula ………. 10

2. Invariant b ……….…… 11

3. Regular and Irregular past verbs ………. 12

4. Subject-verb agreement ……….. 14

5. No signaling of the third-person singular in the present tense of the verb ……… 14

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Human, as the social creature use language for communication. To communicate means to transfer ideas from one person to the others. Language is a wonderfully rich vehicle for communication. According to Yule, the function of language are as interactional function, which is commonly used to convey the expressions like greetings, regrets, fear, etc., and transactional function, language as the linguistic competence that is used to share knowledge, ability, and information.1 It is used to convey wishes and commands, to tell truths and lies, to influence our hearer, to vent our emotion, and to formulate ideas which could probably never arise if we had no language.

Language is a style of speaking and a social phenomenon that becomes the most important of all the forms of human communication. Using language, there are variations which exist in the society. Today, in sociolinguistics, variation is central.2 The variations commonly occur based on the uses, the users, the participant, and the situation. As explained by Holmes, “Language varies according to its uses as well as its users, according to where it used and to whom, as well as according to who is using it.”3

1_{George Yule,}

The Study of Language (Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1985), p.5. 2_{Margareth Maclagan, “Regional and Social Variation”,}

Clinical Sociolinguistics, ed. Martin J. Ball (USA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005), p.15.

3_{Janet Holmes,}

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It’s also explained by Halliday, et all. As quote by Maclagan, that language variation is divided into two categories: variation according to the user and according to use. Variation according to the users contains aspects of language which reveals the speaker’s place of origin, gender, age, social class, ethnicity, education. Meanwhile, language variation according to use is related to the changing of speech situation or event.4 One of the interesting variations for discuss is about language and ethnicity.

There are some varieties of English which associated with ethnic group, such as Navajo English, Appalachian English, Puerto Rican English, and African American English or African American Vernacular English. However, African American Vernacular English is the most interesting subject for linguists for a number of years.5

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) encompasses several labels including Ebonics, Black English, African American English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular and Black Vernacular English, all of which describe the English that is primarily, but not exclusively, associated with the speech of African Americans.6 Many linguists use the label “African American English” (AAE), but the addition of the term ‘Vernacular’ (meaning “common everyday language”) is gaining favor, since the word distinguishes it from the formal

4_{Margareth Maclagan (2005),} loc. cit. 5

Thomas W. Stewart and Nathan Vaillette, Language Files: Materials for an Introduction to Language & Linguistics (Columbus: The Ohio University Press, 2001), p. 318.

6_{Labov, W. Cohen, P., Robbins, C., & Lewis, J.}

A Study of Non-Standard Englishof Negro and Puerto Rican Speakers in New York City, volume 2 (Philadelphia: US Regional Survey, 1968).

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English spoken by many African Americans.7 According to Green, African American English is a system with specific rules for combining sounds to form words to form phrases and sentences.8 It has a number of features which is different with Standard American English. This linguistics differences act as a symbol of ethnicity. It expresses the sense of cultural distinctiveness of many African Americans. This dialect usually used in the Northern cities of the United States.9

The mental dictionary of AAE speakers includes the information needed to use words and expressions grammatically: their pronunciation, part of speech, possible positions in a sentence, and meaning. The vocabulary of AAE can be viewed in three parts: words and phrases used by speakers in a range of age groups that cross generation boundaries; special verbal markers; and slang.10

Furthermore, the characteristics of AAVE include phonological, grammatical, and semantic features. Phonological features of AAVE refer to the AAVE pronunciation system which is restriction on the occurrence of combination of consonant sounds, especially at the end of words.11 For instance, transposed sk and sp. Likes aks in ‘ask’, or stopping of word-initial voiced th, likes dese for ‘these’. In phonological features of AAVE there is also

7_{Redd, T. & Webb, K.}

A Teacher's Introduction to AfricanAmericanEnglish: What a Writing Teacher Should Know (Washington D.C.: National Council of Teachers of English, 2005), p.17.

8Lisa Green, “African American English”, Language in the USA, eds. Edward Finegan and John R. Rickford (United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 76.

9_Holmes,

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics Second Edition (New York :Longman, 2001), p.177

10_{Lisa Green (2004),}

op cit, p.79. 11

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monophtongization. It means by which diphthongs get reduced to monophtong, for instance, now is pronounced [na], sad is sounded [sad], etc.12

Some grammatical features of AAVE, which involve morphologic and syntactic features, can be seen in the following examples: Sometimes my ears be itching. (Habitual be for intermittent activity), She nice. (Absence of copula for contracted form), She walk_ ‘she walks’ (present tense, third person –s absence), or using double negation likes Didn’t nobody like it ‘No body liked it’.

One of the most distinctive features of AAVE is the complete absence of the copula verb be in some social and linguistics context. Holmes gives the example of African American speakers’ speech. They usually omit the verb be, like in the sentence: She very nice (American Standard English: She’s very nice), He a teacher, that my book, etc.13 According to Green, many characteristic features of AAE are from the part of the linguistic system that put together to form sentence. She gives an example of AAE speakers’ sentence: Didn’t nobody ask me do I be late for class. From this sentence, we can analyze that it has three AAE features: inversion/multiple negation; embedded yes/no question; and habitual be.

Moreover, semantic features of AAVE, refer to words which have two levels of meaning, “one black; one white”, like “He is a bad dude.” It has negative meaning: “a person of undesirable character”, or positive meaning: “a person of highly desirable character.”

12_{Thomas W. Stewart and Nathan Vaillette (2001),}

op.cit. p. 322. 13_{Holmes (2001)}

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Sentence patterns can be used as markers of black images in film. In the 1994 film Flesh used the verbal marker be that indicates habitual recurrences. In that film, African American characters of all age groups use features associated with AAE.14 Now, there are some American movie which the characters use AAVE. One of them is in Precious movie.

Precious, an adaptation by Geoffrey S. Fletcher of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire, is a 2009 American drama film directed by Lee Daniels. Clareece "Precious" Jones, the main character, is an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem. Just as she's about to give birth to her second child, Jones is accepted into an alternative school where a teacher helps her find a new path in her life. Precious has received dozens of nominations in award categories ranging from the performance of the cast to the direction to the cinematography to the adaptation of the book into the screenplay to the film itself including six Academy Award nominations.15

Black Americans usually use their language, which is different from Standard American English (SAE). It’s known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE). It will be interesting to study the characteristics of AAVE, especially in the grammatical features, because the actors used more grammatical features of AAVE than the other features of AAVE in this movie.

For example, in one of her dialogs she said, “This the alternative?” its sentence can be analyzed as having grammatical feature of AAVE: zero copula. In

14_{Lisa Green (2004),}

op cit, p.88-89.

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American Standard English, it should be ‘Is this the alternative?’ Besides, in this sentence: “He ain’t got no voice.” We can identify it by checking the grammatical characteristics of AAVE. This sentence can be analyzed as having AAVE feature: double negation. It should be ‘He didn’t get any voice’. We can input the sentences into the table to compare the grammatical characteristics of AAVE with Standard English.

AAVE sentences General Description Standard American English

This the alternative The copula be is dropped (zero copula).

Is this the alternative? He ain’t got no voice. Use of ain’t as a general

negative indicator and Double negation.

He didn’t get any voice.

Accordingly, in this research, the writer is interested in studying grammatical features of AAVE which are used in Precious movie.

B. Focus of the Research

The scope of this research is on the grammatical analysis of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) used in Precious movie.

C. Research Question

In this research, the writer will propose the research question as below: To what extent is the difference of grammatical features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in Precious movie from Standard English?

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D. Significance of the Research

The significances of this research are as follows:

A. Practically, this research is expected of giving valuable knowledge in the development of linguistics in sociolinguistics field in general and especially in the study of grammatical characteristics for African American Vernacular English (AAVE), comparing to Standard English.

B. Theoretically, this research can be a reference of sociolinguistics field for the language researcher and the readers. For the writer, this research can enlarge her knowledge about sociolinguistics especially African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

E. Research Methodology

A. Objective of the Research

The objective of the research is to know the grammatical features of African American Vernacular English which are used by the main character, Precious, a black American actress, in Precious movie.

B. Method of the Research

In this research, the writer uses a descriptive qualitative method. The writer describes the data which are collected from the script of Precious movie by referring to the existence of linguistic elements without counting them statistically.

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C. Data Analysis

In this research, the writer uses the descriptive analysis technique. In this analysis, the writer uses the grammatical characteristics of AAVE which are proposed by Fasold&Wolfram (1970); Owen (1995), and other AAVE grammarians.

D. Instrument of the Research

The instrument in this research is the writer herself as the instrument to get the data. The process of the collecting data in this research is divided into three steps. First, the writer watched Precious movie and read the script. Secondly, the writer chose the grammatical features of AAVE which are used in the dialogs. Then, the writer analyzed the collecting data from sociolinguistics theory, which involve grammatical features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

E. African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

1. Definition of AAVE

The simple definition of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is that AAVE is a variety spoken by many African-Americans in the USA which shares a set of grammatical and other linguistics features that distinguish it from various other American dialects.16

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is the variety formerly known as Black English Vernacular or Vernacular Black English among sociolinguists, and commonly called Ebonics outside the academic community.17 As explained by Green:

Among the many labels used to refer to this variety over the past forty years are “Negro dialect,” ‘American Negro Speech”, “Black communication,” “Black dialect,” “Black street speech,” “Black English,” and “African American Vernacular English”….

Some researchers have chosen to use “African American English,” others agree on “African American Vernacular English.” “Vernacular” is often used to underscore the point that what is being referred to is a spoken language with socially stigmatized linguistic patterns.18

Carmen Fought, Language and Ethnicity (USA: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 46.

17_{Jack Sidnell}

, African American Vernacular English (Ebonics).Accessed on April, 29, 2010, 10:15. http://www.une.edu.au/langnet/index.html.

18_{Lisa Green (2004),}

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According to Rickford, as quoted by Fought, AAVE refers to a system that contains distinct (non-standard) grammatical elements, reserving the broader “African American English” for all varieties used by African Americans, even if they are completely standard ones.19

2. The Origin of African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

There are two main theories about the origin of African American Vernacular English:20

a. Dialectologist view

Dialects are defined as “variations of a language that are mutually intelligible, but include some grammatical and/or pronunciation patterns that are unique to speakers in certain regions, social classes, or ethnic groups”.21 Some linguists point to the similarities between AAVE pronunciation patterns and those of Southern American English, to make the argument that AAVE, like Southern American English, is simply a dialectical variation of American English, which is spoken by many African Americans and non-African Americans in the United States. As described in Figure 1.22

Earlier English African Languages

Pidjin

Creol

19_{Fought, Carmen (2006),} loc cit.

20_{Thomas W. Stewart and Nathan Vaillette (2001),}

op.cit, p.320. 21_{Redd & Webb (2005),}

op.cit, p.8.

22_{Thomas W. Stewart and Nathan Vaillette (2001),}

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Modern Standard African American

American English English Gullah Jamaican

FIGURE 1. The Dialectical Hypothesis

b. Creolist View, AAVE as a Distinct Language.

Other linguists have noted the grammatical structures AAVE shares with West African languages to support their argument that AAVE might most accurately be classified as “an African based language with English words”.23 Still others argue that AAVE’s similarities with many of the world’s Creole languages suggest that AAVE was itself a Creole, or a related, but separate language that has recently decreolized as it has begun to more closely resemble SAE. As described in Figure 2.24

Earlier English African Languages

Pidjin Creol

Modern Standard African American

American English English Gullah Jamaican

FIGURE 2. The Creolist Hypothesis

23_Anonymous,

African American Vernacular English. Accessed on April 29, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English.

24_{Thomas W. Stewart and Nathan Vaillette (2001),}

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3. Grammatical Characteristics of African American Vernacular

English (AAVE)

Wolfram outlines some of the major structures of urban AAVE grammar. 1. Verb phrase

The most noteworthy traits of AAVE have typically been associated with the verb phrase, including the use of tense, mood, and aspect. Although there are a number of distinguishing traits, the most prominent features are a distinct set of preverbal particles or auxiliaries.

a. Copula/auxiliary absence

The absence of copula and auxiliary for contractible forms of is and are (e.g.

She nice for ‘She’s nice’ or They acting silly for ‘They’re acting silly’) has been one of the most often described structures of AAVE. Although there are a number of descriptive and explanatory dimensions of copula absence that remain in dispute, including whether it is derived through a grammatical or phonological process, there is general agreement about its ethno linguistic status.

b. Invariant be

Invariant be in sentences such as Sometimes they be playing games, also referred to as non-finite be, habitual be, and be2, is probably the most salient

grammatical trait of AAVE, to the point of becoming a stereotype. However, most analyses agree that be marks a unique aspect referring to an intermittent activity, hence the reference to ‘habitual be.’

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The use of done with the past tense of the verb, as in They done used all the good ones, is a persistent structural trait of AAVE that is shared with Southern European American vernacular varieties of English. In AAVE, done occurs only in preverbal auxiliary position with past tense forms whereas it occurs with a bare verb stem (e.g. They done go) and can occur in clause-final position in some creoles.25 In many respects, it functions in AAVE like a perfect, referring to an action completed in the recent past, but it can also be used to highlight the change of state or to intensify an activity, as in a sentence like I done told you not to mess up. It is a stable feature, but it is more frequently used in Southern rural versions of AAVE than in urban AAVE.

d. Sequential be done

AAVE may also show a combination of be and done together in sentences such as My ice cream be done melted by the time we get there, marking a resultative or a future conditional state.

e.Remote béen

The stressed use of béen with a past tense form of the verb may denote a special aspectual function that marks an activity that took place in the distant past. In sentences such as I béen had it for about three years or I béen known him, it refers to an event that took place, literally or figuratively, in a distant time frame.

f.Simple past had + verb

One of the newer features of AAVE is the narrative use of the auxiliary had with a past or perfect form of the verb to indicate a simple past tense action, as in

25_{Janet Holmes (1992),}

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They had went outside and then they had messed up the yard… . This use is equivalent to the use of the simple past (e.g. They went outside and then they messed up the yard) in Standard English.

g. Specialized auxiliaries

Several auxiliaries fill specialized semantic-pragmatic roles that subtly set apart AAVE from other vernacular varieties of English. Among these auxiliary- like constructions are the use of come to indicate a state of indignation, the use of steady to mark a continuative intensifying activity, and the use of finna to indicate an immediate future or planned event. The use of come with v-ing in the sentence

He come walkin’ in here like he owned the damn place indicates a speaker’s annoyance about the action or event.

h. Irregular verbs

The irregular verbs of urban AAVE follow those found in other vernacular varieties of English, in particular, rural Southern white varieties. These include the extension of past as participle (e.g. I had went down there), the participle as past (e.g. They seen it), the bare root as past (e.g. They run there yesterday), and regularization of past tense (e.g. Everybody knowed him).

i.Subject-verb agreement

Two aspects of subject-verb concord are prominent in urban AAVE, one relating to the attachment of the verbal suffix -s and the other relating to the conjugated forms of past and present be forms. Practically all studies of urban and

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rural AAVE have documented the current-day pattern of 3rd sg. -s absence in sentences such as She walk for She walks and She have money for She has money.

The second concord pattern affecting urban AAVE is the regularization of present and past forms of conjugated be. AAVE is much like the vast majority of other vernacular varieties of English in its use of be leveling; in the present tense, are and am level to is, as in The folks is home or Y’all is here, while past tense be levels to was, as in The folks was there or Y’all was here. Past tense be leveling is much more common than present tense leveling in AAVE, as it is in virtually all varieties of vernacular English having be regularization.

2. Negation

The formation of negation in AAVE is not particularly distinct from other vernacular varieties of English in the US and beyond. It participates in negative concord, or multiple negation, in which a single negative proposition may be marked both within the verb phrase and on post verbal indefinites, as in It wasn’t nothing or They didn’t do nothing about nobody having no money or nothing like that. AAVE also participates in a type of negative concord that involves a preverbal indefinite and verbal negative as in Nobody don’t like him, which is equivalent to the standard sentence Nobody likes him.

Related to the preverbal negative pattern is a type of inversion of the negative auxiliary and indefinite subject, as in Don’t nobody like him, meaning ‘Nobody likes him’ or Ain’t nobody home for ‘Nobody is home’. Constructions like these are often used for emphasis, especially if the indefinite is stressed, as in Don’t nobody like him. Like other vernacular dialects, AAVE uses ain’t as a

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general preverbal negative for present tense be (am not, isn’t, aren’t) and for the perfect auxiliary haven’t/ hasn’t as in She ain’t here or She ain’t been there lately. Finally, ain’t and don’t may be used with but to indicate ‘only’ or ‘no more than’ as in She ain’t but three years old or He didn’t take but three dollars.

3. Nominal

Although many of the characteristics of the noun phrase in AAVE are shared with a wide range of English vernacular varieties, there are also a few traits that set it apart from European American vernaculars in the US. Perhaps the most noteworthy of these is the absence of inflectional -s on possessives and plurals. The absence of possessive -s in sentences like The dog_ tail was wagging or The man_ hat was old are rare among other American English vernaculars. AAVE shares a number of pronominal traits with other vernacular varieties of English, including the regularization of the reflexive hisself as in He washed hisself, the extension of the objective form them for attributive demonstratives such as She likes them apples, and the use of objective forms in coordinate subjects as in Me and him got style. Urban AAVE also shares null subjective relative pronoun in embedded sentences such as It’s a man come over here talking trash.

4. Question formation

There are two aspects of question formation that distinguish AAVE syntax, both involving subject auxiliary inversion. First, questions may be formed without subject-auxiliary inversion, as in Where that is? or Why I can’t go?. These non-

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inverted forms tend to occur with wh- questions and syntactically simple sentences.

While the productive use of simple non-inverted question order may be receding, it is still quite common in some fixed phrases such as What it is? or Who that is? At the same time, embedded questions may retain subject-auxiliary inversion, as in I asked her could I go with her, contrasting with the standard pattern in which if or whether is used with non-inverted order, as in I asked him if I could go with him.26

In addition, based on Fasold & Wolfram; Owens; William & Wolfram can be summarized the grammatical characteristics of AAVE into the following table:27

26_{Walt Wolfram,}

The grammar of urban African American Vernacular English. Accessed on April 29, 2010, 10:10. http://www.ncsu.edu/linguistics/docs/pdfs/walt/PDF-Urban_AAE.pdf.

27_{Anonymous, “African American Vernacular English (AAVE)”,}

Multicultural Topic in CSD. Accessed on April 29, 2010. http://www.multicsd.org/doku.php?id=aave.

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Standard English (SE)

1. Definition of Standard English

Standard English is the customary use of a community when it is recognized and accepted as the customary use of the community.28 The standard dialect in the United States is called Standard American English (SAE). It is a dialect of English that many Americans almost speak.29

According to Fromkin and Rodman:

A standard dialect (or prestige dialect) of a particular language may have social functions-to bind people together or to provide a common written form for multidialectal speakers. It is, however, neither more expressive, more logical, more complex, nor more regular than any other dialect or language.30

Furthermore, Stewart and Vaillette explain:

As with any standard dialect, SAE is not a well-defined variety but rather than an idealization, which even now defies definition because agreement on what exactly constitutes this variety is lacking. SAE is not a single, unitary, homogenous dialect but instead comprises a number of varieties. When we speak of SAE, we usually have in mind features of grammar more than pronunciation.31

2. Grammar of Standard English

It is commonly said that American English (AmE) has few distinctive grammatical features, however, some are noteworthy.32

Victoria Fromkin and Robert Rodman. An Introduction to Language, sixth edition (Fort Worth:Harcout Brace Collage Publisher, 1998), p. 408.

29 Ibid.

Ibid, p. 409. 31

Thomas W. Stewart and Nathan Vaillette (2001), op. cit. p. 308. 32_{Edward Finegan. “American English and its distinctiveness”,}

Language in the USA, eds. Edward Finegan and John R, Rickford (United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 27.

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1. Agreement rules

Frank explains the rules for agreement and gives some examples as describe below:

a.The verb must agree with the subject in number. For examples: The girl is resting.

The girls are resting.

If the subject includes modifiers, the verb agrees with the noun head in the subject, like in these sentences:

His technique for solving crimes is very simple.

The advertisements in the front part of a newspaper are usually the most expensive.

A noncountable noun used as a subject requires a singular verb.

His baggage was lost yesterday. (vs. His bags were lost yesterday.) This information is correct. (vs. This facts are correct.)

A collective noun used as a subject generally occurs with a singular verb in American English, unless emphasis is to be placed on the individual members of the collective unit,

The committee has been preparing a new proposal. But,

The committee have disagreed among themselves about the terms of the

proposal.33

In addition, Finegan explains that in American English, agreement rules between verb and subjects that are collective nouns (family, staff, team,

33_{Marcella Frank,}

Modern English exercise for non-native speakers Part I (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, INC, 1972.), p. 13-14.

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committee) or the names of sports team (Clevelan, Manchaster), or companies, organization, and institution (Lipton, Ford, CNN, the government).

b. Some nouns ending in s may cause problems in agreement.

1. Some are singular noncountable noun-news, measles (name of a disease), economics (name of a field of study). For example:

The news about the war is not good; physics is a difficult subject.

However, the name used for a field of study may be plural if it refers to a practical matter.

The acoustics in this room are not good.

2. Some nouns have the same form for singular or plural-series,

means, species.

3. Some nouns are plural only and require plural verbs-brains, riches, goods, clothes.

4. Nouns representing quantities and amounts that are considered as one unit are singular-five dollars, three quarts. For example, Five

dollars is too much pay for that pen.

c.Adjectives used as nouns often refer to a group of persons and require a plural verb. Such adjective forms are usually preceded by the. For example, The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer.34

2. The Verb Be

Azar summaries rules of the verb be.35

Ibid, p. 15-16. 35

Betty Schampher Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar Second edition (New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1989), p. A4-A5.

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(a) John is a student. (BE) (NOUN) (b) John is intelligent. (BE) (ADJECTIVE) (c) John was at the library. (BE) (PREP.PHRASE)

A sentence with be as the main verb has three basic patterns: In (a): be + a noun

In (a): be + an adjective

In (a): be + a prepositional phrase

(d) Mary is writing a letter.

(e) They were listening to some music.

(f) That letter was written by Alice.

Be is also used as an auxiliary verb

in progressive verb tenses and in the passive.

TENSE FORM OF BE

SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST PRESENT PERFECT

SINGULAR I am

You are

He, she, it is

I was

You were

He, she, it was

I have been

You have been

He, she, it has been

PLURAL we, you, they are we, you, they

were

we, you, they have

been

3. Negatives

Using Not and Other Negative Words36 (a) AFFIRMATIVE: The earth is round. (b) NEGATIVE: The earth is not flat.

Not expresses a negative idea.

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AUX + NOT + MAIN VERB

(c) I will not go there

I have not gone there I am not going there I was not there

I do not go there

He does not go there I did not go there

Not immediately follows an auxiliary

verb or be. (Note: if there is more than one auxiliary, not comes immediately after the first auxiliary: I

will not going there.)

Do or does is used with not to make a

simple present verb (except be) negative.

Did is used with not to make a

simple past verb (except be) negative.

CONSTRACTIONS OF AUXILIARY VERBS WITH NOT

Are not = aren’t Cannot = can’t Could not = couldn’t Did not = didn’t Does not = doesn’t

Do not = don’t Has not = hasn’t Have not = haven’t Had not = hadn’t Is not = isn’t

Must not = mustn’t Should not = shouldn’t Was not = wasn’t Were not = weren’t Will not = won’t Would not = wouldn’t

(d) I never go there.

I have hardly ever gone there.

(e) There’s no chalk in the drawer.

In addition to not, the following are negative adverbs:

never, rarely, seldom hardly (ever), barely (ever)

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COMPARE: NOT vs. NO

(f) I donot have any money.

(g) I have no money.

Not is used to make a verb negative, as in

(f).

No is used as an adjective in front of a

noun (e.g., money), as in (g). Note: (f) and (g) have the same meaning.

According to LG, as quote by Finegan, American English conversation shows a strong preference for do not have the (don’t have the time, do not have the information) and have no (has no plans, have no doubt, has none of your character, has nothing to fear) as compared with British English.37

4. AVOIDING “DOUBLE NEGATIVES”38

(a) INCORRECT: I don’t have no money.

(b) CORRECT: I don’t have any money. CORRECT: I have no money.

(a) is an example of a “double negative,” i.e., a confusing and grammatically incorrect sentence that contains two negatives in the same clause. One clause should contain only one negative.

37_{Edward Finegan (2004),}

op.cit. p. 30 38_{Betty Schampher Azar (1989),}

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH FINDINGS

A. Data Description

In the data description, the writer tabulates the selected data which are taken from the script of Precious below:

NO TYPES OF

GRAMMATICAL FEATURES

DESCRIPTION CORPUS OF AAVE IN PRECIOUS MOVIE STANDARD ENGLISH VERB PHRASE

1 Absence of copula/Auxiliary

Copula is often dropped. It is omitted only in the present tense.

This bitch crazy. (p.13.16)

This bitch is crazy

This the alternative? (p.20.31)

Is this the alternative? Mama crazy

but mama not stupid. (p. 55.65)

Mama is crazy but not stupid His name

Abdul Jamal Louis Jones. (p.57.69)

His name is Abdul Jamal Louis Jones He healthy.

(p.57.69)

He is healthy Rita and me on

our way. (p. 104.136)

Rita and me are on our way Everyday I tell

myself something gonna happen Everyday I tell myself that something is

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(p. 3.3) going to happen Where Nurse

John at? (p. 65. 93)

Where is Nurse John? Where my

baby at? (p. 69.98)

Where is my baby?

What you want? (p.13.15)

What do you want? What she say?

(p. 21.31)

What does she say? 2 Invariant be

(Habitual be)

Ongoing or general states are marked by uninflected “be”

I always be falling like that when my mind be wanderin’. (p.18.25)

I always fall like that when my mind be wandering I am happy to

be writing (p. 55.66)

I am always happy to write. You talk to us

girls in the class when we be working out problems and thangs and stuff, right? (p.81.114)

You talk to us, the girls in the class, when we work out problems and things and stuff, right? 3 Regular and

Irregular past verbs

Regular past –ed

is not obligatory; frequently omitted.

Irregular past may remain un

inflected, or regularized with “-ed”

She fall out when she finded out that I ain' been to no doctor. (p. 52.60)

she fell out when she found out that I haven’t been to any doctor

grandmuver Toosie, brangs Little Mongo over on days social worker come. (p. 51.59) My grandmother, Toosie, brought little Mongo over on day social worker come 4 Subject-verb non

agreement

Incorrect usage of verb form in

I goes to I.S. III in Harlem.

I go to I.S. III in Harlem

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subject agreement.

(p.2A.R2) I feels sorry for Mr. Witcher. (p.4.3)

I feel sorry for Mr. Witcher I does my

work. (p.R5)

I do my work

I is learning. (p.56.66)

I am learning My grades is

good (p.8.R5)

My grades are good

No body love me.

(p.92.125)

No body loves me 5 No signaling of the

third-person singular in the present tense of the verb

Regular or irregular present third person singular is not obligatory. It is frequently omitted.

He do his best (p.4.3)

He does his best

Mama don’t find none of it out.

(p.53.61)

Mama doesn’t find it out

His muver love him.

His mother loves him. She like to

sing. (p.35.50)

She likes to sing. 6 Aspectual Marker

been

Remote phase marker is used by some linguist to refer to the aspect marked by

stressed “been”.

I been reading to him since the day he was born almost. (p.85.116)

I have been reading to him since almost the day he was born I never been no

child! (p.91.125)

I have never had any child

It ain’t what you been saying (p.103.135)

It didn’t what you have been saying

Today I been tessed. I been incomed eligible. (p.27.38)

I have been tested. I have been income eligible.

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NEGATION

7 Use Ain’t for negation

Use ain’t as a general negative indicator.

That ain’t fair (p.8.R5)

That is not fair

That’s just exactly why we ain’t gonna be playing. (p.17.24)

That is just exactly why we are not going to be playing

Ain't sure. (p.29.43)

I’m not sure. I think may be

this ain’t the class for me. (p. 40.51)

I think may be this is not the class for me Mrs.

Lichenstein ain' say all that. (p.21.31)

Mrs. Lichenstein didn't say all of that. 8 Negative concord

(Double or Multiple negation)

Double or even multiple negatives within a sentence are acceptable, and are used for emphasis.

He ain’t got no voice

(p.4.3)

He didn’t get any voice I don’t want to

miss no more of math class. (p.7.R5)

I don’t want to miss math class anymore I ain’t done

nothing! (p.8.R5)

I didn’t do anything! I never said

nuffin like it (p.17.24)

I never said anything like it

No, I didn’t neither. (p. 50.58)

No, I didn’t either I ain' been to

no doctor (p.52.60)

I didn’t go to any doctor If she take

Abdul, I won’t have nothing nomore. (p.59.74)

If she takes Abdul, I won’t have anything anymore I ain’t steal

nothing from

I didn’t steal anything from

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you, mama! (p. 63.85)

you, mama! I ain’t gonna be

homeless no more. (p.70.101)

I am not going to be homeless anymore You don’t know nothing. (p.91.125) You don’t know anything I didn't have

nobody to really speak wif for a long time.

(p.82.114)

I didn't have anybody to really speak with for a long time. I don’t have

nuffin to write today and I don’t hate no one.

(p.90.125)

I don’t have anything to write today and I don’t hate anyone.

B. Data Analysis

From the tabulated data above, the writer tries to classify and analyze the grammatical features of AAVE that have been found in the script of Precious

movie by comparing with Standard English. The writer analyses the grammatical features of AAVE as follows:

1. Absence of copula

Copula is a technical term for the auxiliary verb that takes the forms be, being,

am, are, is, was and were.39 Copula absence refers to sentences in AAVE that do not have a form of the copula be, especially the singular, whose absence

39_{Geoffrey K. Pullum, “American Vernacular English is not Standard English with} Mistakes”, The Workings of Language, ed. Rebecca S. Wheeler. Accessed on April 29, 2010, http://www.stanford.edu/~zwicky/aave-is-not-se-with-mistakes.pdf. P.45.

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distinguishes AAVE from other American dialects, standard and vernacular.40 There is a myth about AAVE that it is popular, copula is carelessly omitted or is used in incorrect forms.41

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,42 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?). 43

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 don't want to get cut off welfare and that's what Mrs. Lichenstein comin' to visit result in. It's 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.com/papers/shallow-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/~rosemary/55-2004-aae.pdf. p. 3-4.

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Comparing with Standard English, it becomes:

This bitch is crazy. Besides, my mother doesn't want to get cut off

welfare and that's what Mrs. Lichenstein coming to visit result in. It's 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: He's 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

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expressed only using adverbs such as usually.44 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).45

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.com/african_american_vernacular_english.

45_{Arthur K. Spears,} loc.cit.

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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.46

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 & Hearing Research. Accessed on July 11, 2010. http://corporate.britannica.com/ Past-Tense-Marking-by-African-American-EnglishSpeaking-Children-Reared-in-Poverty.htm.

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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 that's where they should go. (SE: "Check with my mother."

PRECIOUS: I'm going to the doctor now too. It's nice. Miz Rain, she

fall out when she finded out that I ain' been to no doctor. Whole

class scream 'preenatal' at me. They don't 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: I'm going to the doctor now too. It's 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 don't 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 it's 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 it's 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

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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.

That'd 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. That'd 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 don't 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 don't 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 wasn't 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.

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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

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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 isn't new.

From the dialog in the script, the writer found the using of been:

(14)PRECIOUS (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:

(15)PRECIOUS (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

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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.47 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.48

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.49

Ain’t was found in the following dialogs:

(16) CORNROWS: You still need formal discharge papers or we can't let you in. It's the law.

PRECIOUS: Mrs. Lichenstein ain' say all that. SE: Mrs. Lichenstein didn't say all that.

Jack sidnell, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) Grammar. Accessed on July 11, 2010. http://individual.utoronto.ca/jsidnell/SidnellAAVEGrammar.pdf.

48_{Darin Howe,}

Negation in African American Vernacular English. Accessed on April 29, 2010. http: www.uni-giessen.de/anglistik/.../HOsEnglishDialects/HO%20Holder.doc, p. 174.

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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 s'posed 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 anyone/anybody 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 don't say nuffin'-don't open my book even. Just sit there.

(52)

SE: I like math but I don't say anything-don't 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 AIN'T 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 don't say nuffin' and I AIN'T 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.

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions

After analyzing research findings, the writer wants to describe some conclusions about grammatical characteristics of AAVE used in Precious movie, adapted by Geoffrey Fletcher from Push, the bestselling 1996 novel by Ramona Lofton, was produced by Anthony Lapaglia, and directed by Lee Daniels.

Based on the research findings, the writer concludes that the grammatical characteristics of AAVE are used in the Precious movie including eight features. The first is absence of copula and auxiliary. AAVE does not have a form of the copula be, especially the singular. Absence of copula is also found in the question form like Where Nurse John at? Precious sometimes deletes auxiliary do or does as What you want?

Secondly, it is also found the using of habitual be. Be in AAVE is used to indicate repeated, habitual action. For example I am happy to be writing. Then, it uses regularization of past verbs as she fall out when she finded out that I ain' been to no doctor. In addition, the writer found some sentences that the verb is not agree with the subject. Moreover, there is also no signaling of the third-person singular in present tense of verb like His muver love him. Besides, aspectual marker been is also found. It functions as either remote phase marker or perfect phase marker. In negative cases, AAVE using ain’t for negation and double negation. For example Mrs. Lichenstein ain' say all that and I don't say nuffin'.

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Grammatical characteristics of AAVE have been written in the text such as

This bitch crazy, I am happy to be writing. she fall out when she finded out that I ain' been to no doctor, Nobody love me, His muver love him, I been reading to him since the day he was born almost, Mrs. Lichenstein ain' say all that, I don't say nuffin', and soon.

The comparisons of grammatical characteristics of AAVE in Precious movie with Standard English diverge in some matters. Firstly, the usage of to be and auxiliary that in Standard English is a must, it can be omitted in AAVE in the case of present tense, except verb am. Then, verb be is used as habitual marker in AAVE contrast with Standard English that uses adverb of frequently such as always, usually, often, etc. for habitual action. In addition, subject verb agreement is obligatory in Standard English while it can be found some cases that verb is not agree with the subject in AAVE.

Contrast with Standard English that differentiates regular and irregular past verb, in AAVE, it sometimes regularizes the irregular past verb form like found

becomes finded. Moreover, regular present third person singular is not obligatory, frequently omitted. It is different from Standard English that verb following the third person singular in present form must be inflected with -s/-es. Furthermore, AAVE uses ain’t for negation replacing negative form in Standard English such as isn’t or aren’t. Then, using double or multiple negations is usual. However, in Standard English, using double negations change the meaning of the sentence into positive.

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B. Suggestions

Through this thesis, the writer suggests for those who are interested in analyzing or comprehending the African American Vernacular English, particularly in its grammatical characteristics, should enlarge knowledge about AAVE from various experts and their concept for comparing them. Because of the writer’s relatively-limited knowledge on West African language, this research only concerns about the grammatical characteristics. There are phonological, syntactic, and semantic characteristics of AAVE that are interesting and need to be analyzed.

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APPENDIXES

Synopsis of Precious movie50

Precious, adapted by Geoffrey Fletcher from Push, the bestselling 1996 novel by Ramona Lofton, is a simpler, tougher work than the two preceding films and altogether more effective.

The setting is Harlem in 1987, the central character the obese 16-year-old black girl Claireece Jones, known as "Precious", unforgettably played in her first professional role by the vast, imposing Gabourey Sidibe, daughter of a New York gospel singer and a Senegalese father. Precious is illiterate, aggressive, constantly tormented by fellow high-school pupils and abused both physically and verbally by her alcoholic mother and father. She has a daughter with Down's syndrome by her father, who constantly rapes her with the mother's connivance and is pregnant again by him. Later, it's revealed that the father has died of Aids.

In 1987, obese, illiterate, 16-year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) lives in the ghetto of Harlem with her dysfunctional and abusive mother, Mary (Mo'Nique). She has been impregnated twice by her father, Carl, and suffers long term physical, sexual, and mental abuse from her unemployed mother. The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and subsists on

50_{The synopsis of precious movie was taken from}

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/movie/130015/precious and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precious_film.