IN GEORGIA DOYLE JOHNSON’S
FREDERICK DOUGLAS
AND LORAINE HANSBERRY’S A RAISIN IN THE SUN
A Thesis Presented to
The Graduate Program in English Language Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Magister Humaniora (M. Hum) in
English Language Studies
by
Nizamuddin Sadiq 036332021
Sanata Dharma University
Yogyakarta
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Nizamuddin Sadiq. 2006. The Informal English Style in Georgia Doyle
Johnson’s Frederick Douglas and Loraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.
Yogyakarta: English Language Studies, Graduate Program, Sanata Dharma University.
In most languages both written and spoken forms include formal and informal styles. Understanding informal English is necessary so that speakers can easily communicate in any conversational situation, which is an important social skill. However, informal English is a very broad topic and research would require many sources of data. Therefore, this thesis is limited to two plays written in African American English dialect, the purpose being to comprehend and describe the forms of a particular variety of informal English from the viewpoints of the linguistic features: pronunciation, syntax and lexicon.
This thesis is descriptive linguistics rather than a stylistic study as it does not focus on literary style. The data was taken from two plays: Georgia Doyle Johnson’s Frederick Douglas and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. The features of informal Bahasa Indonesia were used as stepping stones to analyze African American English style in the two plays. After the data was classified into linguistic elements it was tested to the theories of informal English in general and African American English in particular and was compared to Quirk et al A Comprehensive Grammar of The English Language, Volumes 1 and 2, and Standard American English rules of pronunciation, syntax and lexicon. The research findings were summarized and discussed to conclude the research.
The results of the research demonstrate that African American English, a variant of informal English, is different from the rules of Standard American English. In terms of pronunciation, African American English speakers tend to pronounce words as easily as possible. Therefore, the pronunciations of words are very different from Standard English. Thus, African American English pronunciation is difficult to understand and strange for students of non-English speaking countries.
In terms of syntax, the African American English style – if it is seen from viewpoint of grammar function – contradicts with features of Standard English: clarity, brevity and fluency. The rules of clarity are broken by the presence of ellipses, clippings, copulas and tenses; brevity by the presence of unnecessary repetition and additions; and fluency by the presence of combinations of assimilation and clipping.
African American English speakers employ polite expressions. The research revealed that polite expressions when greeting people, using please when asking for permission and using titles to show respect is done, particularly with elders. Furthermore, when the speaker is angry, she/he uses a complete name for emphasis.
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Nizamuddin Sadiq. 2006. The Informal English Style in Georgia Doyle
Johnson’s Frederick Douglas and Loraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.
Yogyakarta: English Language Studies. Graduate Program. Sanata Dharma University.
Sebagian besar bahasa baik bahasa tulis dan lisan berbentuk formal dan informal. Memahami bahasa Inggris informal perlu dilakukan sehingga penutur dapat berkomunikasi dengan mudah dalam setiap situasi percakapan, yang merupakan suatu keterampilan sosial. Namun demikian, bahasa Inggris informal merupakan topik yang sangat luas dan penelitian tersebut membutuhkan banyak sumber data. Oleh karena itu, tesis ini dibatasi pada dua naskah drama yang ditulis dalam dialog masyarakat kulit hitam Amerika, tujuannya adalah memahami dan menjabarkan pola suatu bahasa Inggris informal khusus yakni Bahasa Inggris masyarakat Afrika-Amerika dari sudut pandang linguistic: pengucapan kata, morpo-sintaksis dan leksikal.
Pendekatan penelitian ini adalah deskriptif linguistic, bukan studi stilistika, karena penelitian ini tidak terfokus kepada style karya sastra. Data diambil dari dua naskah drama yakni Frederick Douglas karya Georgia Doyle Johnson dan A Raisin in the Sun karya Lorraine Hansberry dan teks karya sastra lain yang digunakan hanyalah sebagai sumber data. Bentuk bahasa Indonesia informal digunakan sebagai batu loncatan untuk menganalisa style bahasa Inggris masyarakat Afrika-Amerika pada dua naskah drama di atas. Setelah data diklasifikasikan ke dalam elemen-elemen linguistik, data tersebut diuji dengan teori yang terkait dengan bahasa Inggris informal secara umum dan teori-teori tentang bahasa Inggris masyarakat Afrika-Amerika secara khusus; data tersebut juga dibandingkan dengan buku A Comprehensive Grammar of English Language, Volumes 1 dan 2 karya Quirk, dkk dan dengan bahasa Inggris standar Amerika yang terkait dengan aturan bagaimana kata diucapkan, morpho-sintaksis dan leksikal. Hasil penelitian disimpulkan dan didiskusikan sebagai simpulan penelitian.
Hasil penelitian menunujukkan bahwa bahasa Inggris masyarakat Afrika-Amerika, suatu varian bahasa Inggris informal, bertentangan dengan bahasa Inggris Amerika standar. Dalam hal pengucapan kata, pemakai bahasa Inggris masyarakat Afrika-Amerika cenderung mengucapkan kata-kata semudah yang bisa mereka ucapkan. Oleh karena itu, pengucapan kata-kata sangat berbeda dengan bahasa Inggris Amerika standar. Jadi, bagaimana kata diucapkan dalam bahasa Inggris masyarakat Afrika-Amerika sulit dimengerti dan terdengar aneh bagi siswa di negara- negara yang tidak berbahasa ibu bahasa Inggris.
Dalam hal morpo-sintaksis, style bahasa Inggris masyarakat Afrika-Amerika – jika dilihat dari sudut pandang fungsi grammar bertentangan dengan karakteristik bahasa Inggris standar: yakni kejelasan (clarity), keringkasan
(brevity), dan kelancaran (fluency). Aturan kejelasan dirusak oleh hadirnya
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Amerika tidak sopan tidaklah benar. Hasil penelitian membuktikan bahwa ungkapan kesopanan ketika uluk salam, menggunakan please ketika permisi dan menggunakan gelar panggilan untuk menunjukkan rasa hormat khususnya kepada mereka yang lebih tua. Selanjutnya, ketika marah, mereka menggunakan nama lengkap sebagai penakanan.
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Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin, Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the
Worlds, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful for His Blessings without which I would never have been able to finish this thesis.
I would like to express my gratitude to the following people, who criticized, always encouraged and in many instances helped and inspired me to finish this thesis.
To Prof. Dr. Soepomo Poedjosoedarmo, as my advisor, who has provided time, valuable knowledge and patience. His inspiring lectures always challenge me to reach the highest level of knowledge.
To the lecturers and the staff of the Graduate Program in English Language Studies of Sanata Dharma University who provided me with important knowledge and beneficial help to finish this thesis, I owe much indebtedness.
To my beloved mother Khomisah who prays all the time and supports me everlastingly with tears and hope to succeed, thank you for the endless source of energy to finish this thesis that you have given to me.
To my sister Dewi Suryani, S.E. and her husband Toni, S.E., together with their sons, Ade Muhammad Ilham and Denny Rahmat Hidayat, who spent a lot of money bearing expenses to support my study.
To my younger brother, Hamiddudin Sadiq, and my younger sister, Marhama Sri Wahyuni, who wait for graduation so they can visit Jogja again.
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guide books, who was sent by God the Almighty to help me correct every single word of this thesis, to teach me how to write well and most beneficial as Cheerleader to release all burdens and stressful conditions when I got stuck and
felt exhausted. She worked hard and spent much time keeping her eye on my poor Indonesian English, which is very informal and too much putar-putar. I highly appreciate and cannot choose even the single most poetic word to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude for her kindness. Hopefully, God will respond to all her pleas.
To Prof. Dr. Ir. Budi Santosa Wignyosukarto, Dipl. HE., as coordinator of KOPERTIS Yogyakarta, who permitted me to continue studying in English Language Studies of the Graduate Program of Sanata Dharma University.
To Dra. Dyah Utary, as Director of Buana Wisata Tourism Academy and staff: Harmawan Ponco Putro, S.E., Renon Aritonang, S.T., M.M., Brilianti Sekar Taji, A.KS, Siwi Murwani, A.Md., Pak Fandi and Pak Marsijan.
Other grateful acknowledgements are due to my classmates: Pak A. Suwardi, M. Hum., Mbak Budi Setiandari, M. Hum., Pak Retang Wongahara, M. Hum., Bu Mauly Halwat Himat, M. Hum., Pak Ataburan Klemens, M. Hum.,
Mbah Dyah “Yuyun” Setyowaty, Bu Luluk, Mbak Eni, Mbak Rindang, Mbak
Rini, Sister Ines, Seno, Yusuf, Nilam, Nandi and Siska.
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Silfi, Zury and Ryan for their inspiring lives and prayers. I also cannot forget Mbak and Mas at Excellent Computer for always accompanying me late at night
waiting with patience until I was too tired and had to stop typing. They always welcomed me again the next night, smiling. A special thank you to Muh “r2n: Komaruddin and A.M. Abdul Haris. S.E.I for the togetherness in discussing the bright future of lives and for consistently serving the people at the mosque.
Needless to say, this thesis is far from being perfect. However, I hope it will be my contribution to English linguistics, especially to the Graduate Program in English Language Studies of Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta. For the betterment of this thesis, I wish to receive all constructive comments.
Yogyakarta, 2006
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COVER ... i
APPROVAL PAGE ... ii
THESIS APPROVAL COMMITTEE PAGE... iii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY... iv
ABSTRACT... v
ABSTRAK ... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ... xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ... 1
1. 1. Background ... 1
1. 2. Problem Limitations ... 4
1. 3. Problem Formulations ... 5
1. 4. Research Goal ... 6
1. 5. Benefits of the Study... 6
CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 8
2. 1. Review of Related Theories ... 8
2. 1. 1. Style... 11
2. 1. 2. Formal Style ... 12
2. 1. 3. Informal Style... 14
2. 1. 3. 1. Features of Informal English Style: Pronunciation... 15
2. 1. 3. 2. Features of Informal English Style: Syntax ... 17
2. 1. 3. 3. Features of Informal English Style: Lexicon ... 21
2. 1. 4. African American English... 22
2. 1. 4. 1. Features of African American English: Pronunciation... 24
2. 1. 4. 2. Features of African American English: Syntax... 26
2. 1. 4. 3. Features of African American English: Lexicon ... 29
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3. 1. Research Data... 34
3. 2. Research Procedures and Analysis... 35
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS ... 39
4. 1. Pronunciation ... 39
4. 2. 2. Proverbs or Idiomatic Expressions... 53
4. 2. 3. The Use of Or Something... 53
4. 2. 4. The Use of And All (That)... 53
4. 2. 5. The Use of Go... 54
4. 2. 6. Double or Multiple Negations... 54
4. 2. 7. Interjections ... 54
4. 2. 8. Syntax Deviations ... 55
4. 2. 9. Predications without Copula s... 58
4. 2. 10. Repetitions ... 58
4. 2. 11. The Use of Signposts... 60
4. 2. 12. Incorrect Tenses ... 60
4. 2. 13. Inappropriate Sentence Patterns ... 62
4. 2. 14. The High Frequency of Using Thing... 62
4. 2. 15. The Use of Got... 63
4. 2. 16. The Use of So... 64
4. 2. 17. Polite Expressions. ... 64
4. 2. 18. Inappropriate Plural Usage ... 65
4. 2. 19. Amplificatory Phrases... 65
4. 3. Lexicon ... 66
4. 3. 1. The Use of In This World and Around Here as Expletives ... 66
4. 3. 2 The Use of A Bunch Of ... 66
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4. 3. 5. The Use of Similes ... 67
4. 3. 6. Local Dialect: Slang and Colloquialisms ... 68
4. 3. 7. Rude Expressions ... 72
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ... 73
5. 1. Conclusion... 73
5. 2. Suggestions... 76
5. 2. 1. For Further Research... 76
5. 2. 2. For Students and Learners of Language ... 77
BIBLIOGRAPHY... 78
xv FD : Frederick Douglas
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1. 1 Background
In most languages both written and spoken forms include formal and informal styles. In English, the written language is formal in instances such as in textbooks, scientific and academic works, technical and official reports and application forms. Conversely, informal writing is used in fiction and popular newsthesiss.
Formal spoken English is used in particular discourses, radio and television news, seminars and prepared speeches. Informal spoken English can be heard in the everyday language used by most people in discussions and while chatting.
In addition to being involved in English speaking classes, the learners often participate in national or international seminars as part of organizing committees or as participants. This forum obviously enhances the students’ ability to learn and to produce formal spoken English.
When learners are involved in mostly formal situations, they are not learning informal English. Furthermore, they believe that the English written in textbooks, which is formal, is the English normally spoken. Therefore, when the learners talk to teachers or friends in daily conversation, they adopt the textbook formal style, when informal English would be more appropriate.
It is, of course, not necessary to speak formal English all the time. Carter (1999:158) states that it is dangerous to teach students to speak only in the formal style.
Mastering the informal style of English is necessary so that speakers can easily communicate in any conversational situation, which is an important social skill. Shepperd (1994:108) advocates the thesis above. He states that the students who have both standard (formal) and non-standard (informal) English in their repertoire could, in theory, consider their alternatives and deliberately choose the variety of English they find most communicative in a particular context. At the least they might not feel uneasy when they hear another speaker’s unusual choice of words and pronunciations or when they hear a strange dialect of English.
intimate friends or on matters of little importance may be extremely informal and casual (Wardhaugh, 1992:48).
The examples of the variety of circumstances given by Wardhaugh above prove that mastering informal English is very important. Moreover, spoken daily informal conversations are more frequent uses of language than the written formal form. Additionally, speaking plays an important role in social relationships. Steward (1978:4) states that when people intend to communicate, they are essentially trying to build a good social relationship. A good social relationship can be built when it is supported by social skills and social awareness. Therefore, it is important to master informal English.
arrangements. Fifth, informal Bahasa Indonesia is often repeated to clear-cut the meaning. Sixth, informal Bahasa Indonesia is influenced by local dialect either in phonology, syntax or in lexicon. Seventh, informal Bahasa Indonesia very often employs code-switching, such as switching to another language, to a variation of another language, or to a direct quotation. Eighth, informal Bahasa Indonesia often contains things irrelevant to the topic. Ninth, informal Bahasa Indonesia employs many slang and idiomatic expressions; and tenth, informal Bahasa Indonesia employs a very high frequency of kernel or compound sentences.
By considering what has been described by Poedjoseodarmo above, it becomes more interesting to observe the forms of informal English. However, informal English is a very broad topic and research would require many sources of data. Therefore, this thesis is limited to two plays written in African American English dialogue, one variant of informal English.
1. 2 Problem Limitations
According to Holmes (2001), linguistic variations in terms of pronunciations, syntax and lexicon provide different linguistic styles for use in different social contexts. When the contexts are formal, the choice of the linguistic variation will also be formal. When the contexts are informal, the choice of the linguistic variation will also be informal.
To add more results it is also important to elaborate on other phenomena used in informal style besides linguistics forms, such as local dialect and rude expressions.
Based on the considerations above, the problems of the research were limited to the following:
a) The phonological pattern marking informal English in the two plays. b) The syntactic patterns marking informal English in the two plays. c) The form of lexical items marking informal English in the two plays.
1. 3 Problem Formulations
The problem formulations of the research are:
a) What phonological patterns mark informal English in the two plays? b) What morpho-syntactic patterns mark informal English in the two
plays?
c) What lexical items mark informal English in the two plays?
of informal English) and how the characters communicate. Second, the syntactic form focuses on grammar and usage. How people construct words and sentences and how they deliver them are indications of formal or informal style. Furthermore, it is said that one of revealing evidences of informal style is that the sentence is incomplete and there are many ellipses throughout. It is important, therefore, to know how ellipses are employed in informal English style.
This thesis is intended to contribute new knowledge about informal style of English in general and one particular variant, African American English, in particular.
1. 4 Research Goal
The goal of the research is to comprehend an informal style of English from the viewpoints of its phonological, syntactical, and lexical forms in two plays.
1. 5 Benefits of the Study
This research could be very beneficial for people of countries where English is considered a foreign language. There are at least three groups which could benefit from this research: informal language learners, classroom students, and teachers. Because they use English more frequently than other groups, it is necessary for them to know informal English.
For teachers, it would be very useful for them to teach more comprehensively about informal English and the social contexts they are engaged in. The style must be appropriate to the subject, the situation and the intended audience.
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THEORETICAL REVIEW
2. 1 Review of Related Theories
In a sociolinguistic context, it is not easy to define style, dialect and language. There are no hard and fast divisions among them; one melds into the other. Style is a relatively minor variation in usage. Dialect involves rather more difference and language the most.
It is virtually impossible to pinpoint exactly when a style switch graduates into a dialect change (Chaika, 1982:38). Additionally, no sharp demarcation exists between language and dialect. If two varieties of speech are mutually intelligible, if speakers of one language variety can understand speakers of another language variety and vice versa then dialect becomes language (McManis et al, 1987:341). If they are not, they are considered separate languages (Chaika, 1982:102)
According to Poedjosoedarmo (1979) a language has at least five variants. They are: dialect, idiolect, style, level and register. Each of these language variants has a so-called determining factor. Dialects are determined by the group background; idiolects by individual background; styles by situation or condition; levels by relationships or attitude toward the addressee; and registers by objectives or aims.
Chaika (1982:38) says a working rule is that dialect signals a regional variety of speech or that one is associated with a social group (either class or ethnic group), whereas style signals only a change in mood or intimacy.
speech. For example, the style of speech one would use at a funeral as opposed to a barbecue would be two different registers. Another example is when a bi-dialectal speaker switches to a second dialect or when a bilingual speaker changes to another language. The dialect or language switch is associated with the occasion or perhaps even the mood. Therefore, categorizing style, dialect and language cannot be done neatly.
Chaika (1982) further believes that there is a continuum from style to dialect to language and suggests the thing to remember is that it is the elements of speech that become varied whether the variation occurs in style, dialect, or language.
Alternatively, Wardhaugh (1992) says that style, dialect, and language are largely independent. He explains that one can speak casually about mountain climbing in a local variety of language, whereas a technical study of wine- making requires a comprehensive knowledge and therefore a formal style is needed. Additionally, Wardhaugh says that one can also be judged to speak better or worse than other speakers who have much the same background depending on the style, dialect, or language used.
and whose characteristics differ will usually be divergent in their language as well.
Wolfram and Christian explain further that the technical meaning of dialect has a consequence to the term language. Varia tion is so much a part of language that a person cannot speak without speaking a dialect of language. Everyone is part of some group that can be distinguished from other groups, and one of the indications of these groupings is how one talks. In other words, if a person speaks the English language, that person necessarily speaks some dialect of English.
The last statement made by Wolfram and Christian above then becomes a starting point from which to reach a clear understanding of the two terms by following their flow of thought. English is a language and when employed in informal situations it is called informal English. When people speak informal English, they certainly employ a certain dialect of English. Therefore, the co-occurrence of language and dialect meld into an informal English dialect which is a variety of language used by members of a certain community.
Holmes (2001:212) says that writers use non-standard language in novels and short stories to tell readers that their characters speak in a regional or social dialect, and they use distinctive pronunciation to demonstrate social class by having characters in novels, stories or plays speak in dialect.
The theories above clearly indicate that style is closely related to dialect and dialect is closely related to language. Thus, there is no attempt made in this paper to categorize the African American English in Georgia Doyle Johnson’s Frederick Douglas and Lorraine Hansbery’s A Raisin in the Sun as style, dialect
or language. Instead, it is simply referred to as one variant of informal English.
2. 1. 1 Style
To use a language properly, in addition to knowing the grammatical forms and structure, one also has to know what forms of language are appropriate for a given situation. Therefore, for this purpose, variety labels such as formal and informal style are important (Leech and Svartvik, 1975:9).
Trudgill (1999) characterizes style as a variety of language viewed on a sliding scale of formality ranging from very formal to very informal, with English having the fullest possible range. In addition, the degree of formality of a social situation can be influenced and changed by manipulating stylistic choice, and stylistic switching occurs within dialects and not between them.
purpose of communication. Therefore, Quirk et al recognize a gradient in attitude between formal (relatively stiff, cold, polite, impersonal) on the one hand and informal (relatively relaxed, warm, friendly) on the other.
Cruse (1986) offers a more complete definition. He states:
Style refers to language characteristics which mark different relationships between the participants in a linguistics exchange. These may depend on a number of factors – roles defined by situation (e.g. interviewer and interviewee), how familiar the participants are with each other, what their relative social positions are, whether they are mutually hostile, indifferent, or friendly and so on. To some extent, this may be regarded as formal- informal dimension.
Trudgill, Quirk et al and Cruse simply categorize style into formal and informal. Poedjosoedarmo’s (1979) definition of style based on the situation is divided into three categories: formal, informal and sacred. These classifications particularly exist in a language community which has a written literature culture. Since sacred style is not directly interconnected to the research, this style will not be discussed.
2. 1. 2 Formal Style
Since the focus of this research is informal English style, in particular the African American dialect, this section is included only to point out the differences between formal and informal English.
Poedjosoedarmo (1979) says that formal style is usually employed in written language. Written English discourse, sentences, and words must be complete and should follow standardized grammatical form, causing it to be referred to as official, written, complete or standard style.
prescribed in grammar books and is most typically preferred in the written language of certain people such as the highly educated, and probably older members, of society.
According to Leech and Svartvik (1975:29), formal language is the type of language used publicly for some serious purpose, for example in official reports, business letters, regulations and academic writing. Formal English is nearly always written, but can be used in speech, for example in formal public speeches or lectures.
Leech and Svartvik (1975:30) give their example that there are many
friends to whom one would hesitate to entrust one’s own children (1) leans
towards the formal end of the scale for a number of reasons. They are: a) Use of
there are, which, unlike the less formal there’s or there is, maintains the plural concord with many friends as the subject; b) Use of many friends, rather than the more informal a lot of friends or lots of friends; c) Use of the initial preposition to introduce a relative clause (to whom), rather than a construction with a final preposition who(m)…to; d) Related to the preceding feature is the use of whom, which is a rather formal pronoun compared with who; and e) Use of the generic personal pronoun one, rather than the more informal use of the generic you.
Leech and Svartvik suggest that if replacing the more formal sentence (1) above with its informal equivalents, it would read stiffly as follows: There’s lots of friends to who you would hesitate to entrust your own children to (1a).
than more formal vocabulary such as entrust. As an example of informal English, the following is a more natural-sounding sentence than (1a): There’s lots of friends you’d never trust with your own children (1b).
According to Leech and Svartvik (1975:30) there is room to make lexical changes to increase or decrease the formality of the sentence. For example, replacing children with kids would make the sentence even more informal:
There’s lots of friends you’d never trust with your own kids (1c).
On the other hand, the following, with its use of there are and would, is a more formal variant: There are lots of friends you would never trust with your own children (1d).
2. 1. 3 Informal Style
Poedjosoedarmo (1979:8) states that informal style is usually not employed in written form, causing most people to call it spoken style, even though other sociolinguists say that some written types can also be informal. Poedjosoedarmo explains further that discourses and words in informal style are often elliptic, cut and shortened. This style is also called short/simple style.
unnecessary and possibly even insulting to close friends, to spell everything out and make it explicit (http://claweb.cla.unipd.it/home/scloke/style.html).
Leech and Svartvik (1975:29) state that informal language is described as the language of ordinary conversation, of personal letters and private interactions in general. It is the first variety of language that a child becomes familiar with. Because it is generally more accessible to readers or listeners than formal English is, it is used more and more nowadays in public communications, for example in advertisements, newspapers, popular fiction and broadcasting. It also is found private communication, e.g. in diaries and personal letters.
2. 1. 3. 1 Features of Informal English Style: Pronunciation
Some features of style that make up proper language are phonetic variants, different ways of pronouncing the same words; lexical variants, different words for the same thing; and syntactic variants, different grammatical constructions for the same meaning (Chaika, 1992:43).
Chaika (1992) calls these variants stylistic when the choice of one or the other does not change the content of the message but does signal a different social or emotional message, a different register. Chaika gives examples that it is normal and usual in American English to convert a final [t] into [ch] or [c] if the next words starts with [y]; or a final [d] turns into [j] under the same condition. For example, won’t you become woncha and did you become dija.
ordinary. Second, the words are perceived as remaining the same, whichever pronunciation is adapted.
In contrast, tin and thin; dale and jail are perceived as being different words because of the differences between [t] and [d] and [d] and [j]. The meanings and possible contexts of usage are changed because of the presence of one or the other pronunciations. There is no such difference between won’t you
and woncha and did you and dija, despite the fact that the same pronunciations are alternating in each pair.
According to Chaika, the change from [t] to [c] and [d] to [j] is perceived as linguistic in tin vs thin, and dale vs jail but is stylistic in woncha vs
won’t you and dija vs did you. When Would you please eat your lunch? is
pronounced without palatalization and each [t] and [d] is clearly articulated separately from the [y]s, it signifies that the speaker outranks the person spoken to or is angry, or wishes to keep distance between them, or all three.
Moreover, Chaika states that the differences between dialects pervade the entire speech pattern, whereas the differences between styles are concentrated on the outset of social interaction. The markers of style and the markers of dialect neatly correlate with their function, illustrating how language is a finely tuned social instrument.
acquaintance it might be What do ya feel like doin’?; and in a formal context, the sentence might sound like What do you feel like doing?
Wolfram and Christian (1989) describe informal English features from the viewpoint of pronunciation or phonology. First, all speakers of English will sometimes pronounce a word such as fast as fas, leaving off the final [t], as in fas’ break. It is not sloppy speech, it just one of the pronunciation patterns in Standard English that happens more often in casual speech. Second, working-class speakers always use [d] for [th] when they pronounce these, them, and those by dese, dem
and dose. At the beginning of the word, the [th] may be pronounced like [d], a stop consonant. Third, after a vowel, the [r] may be lost and an [uh]- like vowel (schwa or dictionary [u]) may take its place. The ca or fou pronunciation for car
and four are typical of this variation. In southern areas of the United States, the so-called [r]- less pronunciation of a word gives Ca’ol for Carol or sto’y for story. Fourth, the [l] following a vowel may be lost like [r], so that words such as table
and Bill may be pronounced something like tabu and biu. In some instances, the [l] may be lost completely, including the [l] before [p] (for example hep for help) or [f] (for example sef for self). Fifth, syllables that are not stressed within a word may be eliminated. In casual speech, practically all speakers of American English show this pattern to some extent, as indicated in pronunciations such as cause for
because and bout for about. This rule, however, may be extended considerably beyond these kinds of words, affecting words ranging from lectricity for
electricity and el’phant for elephant to tatoes for potatoes and member for
Holmes (2001:140) states that one linguistic form which has proved particularly interesting to sociolinguistics studying English-speaking speech communities is the variable pronunciation of [r] in words like car and card, for
and form. There are two possible variants of [r] encountered. Either it is present and pronounced [r] or it is absent. If a range of dialects is heard, it will reveal that sometimes people pronounce [r] following a vowel and sometimes they do not. In some regions, pronouncing [r] is part of the standard prestige dialect – the dialect used by higher social classes – as in Scotland, Ireland and in the Boston and New York areas of the eastern United States. In other areas, standard dialect speakers do not pronounce [r] after vowels in words like car and card.
2. 1. 3. 2 Features of Informal English Style: Syntax
Chaika (1982) states for the purpose of giving a different social message, syntactic variants involve the choice of one grammatical construction over another. For example, saying Have I not? instead Haven’t I? Another syntactic variant is the use slang words such as ain’t. It is often a difference between educated and uneducated dialects that educated speakers, especially younger ones, will on occasion use such forms stylistically. Educated middle-class speakers might say double negatives and slang words such as ain’t at casual parties, rock concerts, and sports events to emphasize a point. Wolfram and Christian (1989) state ain’t is a highly stigmatized feature of negation among working-class dialects. This form is used to correspond to Standard English is, am, are, has and
Holmes (2001:145) states that multiple negations are a very salient vernacular form. The dramatic split evident between middle-class and lower-class usage of multiple negations reflects this salience. Middle-class speakers tend to avoid it, while lower-class speakers use it more comfortably.
Leech and Svartvik (1975:14-16) describe typical features of informal English as follows. First, the tag question: We met before, haven’t we?; We haven’t met before, have we? Second, ellipsis: Hope she’s coming for I hope she’s coming and Want a drink? for Do you want a drink? Third is coordination rather than subordination of a clause: Push the door hard and it’ll open for If the door is pushed hard, it will open. Fourth is finite clauses: A Labrador is an excellent retriever if it’s fit and I felt tired and went to bed early. Fifth is signposts, expressions introducing new points: and so; in other words; all the same;and the first thing is. Sixth is contractions, which can be in the form of the negative not such as haven’t, didn’t, doesn’t, etc. and in verb forms such as I’ve, I’m, I’d, and they’ve.
Leech and Svartvik (1975) also note other typical features of informal speech. First is silent pauses. For example: they’ve probably left by now – so I didn’t – and – twelve thirty – now that can’t be them – and it was – and. Second, voice-filled pauses are indicated by erm which shows hesitation. For example,
Sunday’s like anyway and – I’d – I was behind in any case and I I get really
erm – you know when when I’m trying to cook – and people come and chat I I
get terribly put off. Fourth are fillers, certain words and phrases such as well and
you know. The opening well in the extract is a typical spoken discourse item in this use of topic opener. When speaking, the speakers often fill in gaps with other fillers such as you know, you see, I mean, kind of, and sort of to allow the speaker to think of what to say next, or just to indicate that the speaker is intending to go on talking.
Wolfram and Christian (1989) also describe two additional features of informal English in working-class communities. First, the use of done signals completion of an action, as in I done threw it away or they’ve done sold it. Done
modifies other verbs as a helping verb or auxiliary verb. Second, the agreement pattern allows the use of is and was with a plural subject, for example: the dogs is, or they was.
Quirk et al (1985) also recognize some features of informal style. According to them, informality is shown by: a) Omission of initial words in a sentence, for example: Don’t know where they are (missing I…) and Want another thing?
(missing Do you…); b) Presenting non-sentences, usually but not exclusively noun phrases, in speech. For example: The clothes she wears! and You and your statistics!; c) The construction frequently used to express futurity is the verb form
goodies. It should be: all full of goodies or full of all goodies; g) Downtoners (e.g. quite, rather) and intensifiers (e.g. great, absolute); h) Informal approximation, for example: things (screw things, the screw-like things), sort of, exactly, and just.
However, Chaika (1982) proposes the challenging statement that syntactic markers for style in American English are relatively few. According to Chaika this is because usage of certain correct grammar forms is so important for one to be pegged as a member of the educated middle-class. If one does not use these forms, it leads to the risk of being misidentified as ignorant. Consequently, Chaika adds, Americans may be somewhat more prone to rely upon phonological and lexical variants than on syntax to affect stylistic messages.
2. 1. 3. 3 Features of Informal English Style: Lexicon
Lexical items – words – may also show stylistic variation. The choice of
one word or phrase rather than another gives a stylistic message although the linguistic meaning remains the same (Chaika, 1982).
Chaika adds that lexical variants can also give quite the opposite stylistic message. For example, choosing let’s split over let’s go shows one’s identity with youth and establishes an informal, casual mood. Referring to a man as a dude
shows one’s hipness. Saying dichotomy instead of split, division, or even two sided question shows that one is educated. The person who speaks of shooting the breeze instead of chatting is involved in a very casual conversation and is likely to be a male.
certain regional dialects that exist in the United States. Lexical (vocabulary) differences can affect all classes of language structure including nouns
(hogie/grinder/submarine sandwich), verbs (carry/take), prepositions (sick at/to/ in stomach), adjectives (right smart fella), and adverbs (fell plumb asleep).
Furthermore, vocabulary differences may affect a range of topics, such as: food, shelter, work, play, and weather. In rural areas, expressions for the land, animals, crops, and farming apparatus are particularly sensitive to regional and local differences, so that there are more extended vocabulary differences associated with rural than with urban living.
2. 1. 4 African American English
The voice of Black America has been variously labeled Black English, Black Dialect, Black Idiom, African American Vernacular English, and recently Ebonic (Laundrum-Brown). Wardhaugh (1992) states that the variety of English language spoken by African Americans who live throughout the United States is also called Black English Vernacular, Non-standard Negro English and Afro American Vernacular English. Crystal (1995) mentions that the respectful and politically acceptable term to use for American Blacks is African American. Therefore, following Crystal, the term used throughout this thesis is African American English, and the originally referenced community or its language follows in parentheses.
Vernaculars are usually the first languages learned by people in multilingual communities and they are often used for a relatively narrow range of informal functions (Holmes, 2001:74).
Wolfram and Christian (1989) and Chaika (1982) define African American English (Black English/Non-standard Negro English) as the non-standard ethnic dialect of English used by African Americans. Wolfram and Christian (1989) and Baugh (1978) concur that African American English (Black English) is certainly one of the most prominent vernacular dialects of English, as it – according to Wolfram and Christian – combines a number of non-standard English forms in a unique way. Its uniqueness lays not so much in the distinct language forms that are found only in that dialect but in the particular combination of forms that make up the dialect.
Echoing Laundrum-Brown, Holmes (2001) points out that some linguistic features in a community are stable (relatively rigid and fixed) and the patterns are predictable. Pronunciations such as [i?] vs [in], droppings, multiple negations and tense markers are reliable indications of sociolinguistic pattering in a community. African American English (Afro American) as a vernacular language is clearly patterned and systematic, not random and haphazard. Therefore, because of its stability and its style, or at least the characteristics of its style, it can be studied.
Other linguists say that African American English (Black English) is a hybrid language containing elements of Euro-American English (Standard English) and elements of West African languages (surviving Africanism from Yaruba, Ibo, Ewe, etc.). The linguists of this theory state that the vocabulary of African American English is fairly easy to master, but the syntactical structure and idiomatic rules require considerable time and practice to grasp. They also say that while all languages change over time, the structure of African American English is relatively rigid and fixed. Therefore, it is important to note that the greatest difference between African American English and Standard American English are on the level of syntax (Laundrum- Brown). McManis et al (1987) complete the idea saying that not only in grammatical structure is African American English different from Standard American English, but it also occurs in pronunciation and lexicon.
2. 1. 4. 1 Features of African American English: Pronunciation
Wolfram and Christian (1989) describe several features of African American English from the viewpoint of pronunciation. According to them, working-class African American communities most typically pronounce [th] in the middle or at the end of a word [f] or [v]. The [th] of author or tooth may be pronounced aufor or toof. In words such as brother and smooth, a [v] may occur as brovuh and smoov. However, the [f] pronunciation is more common than the use of [v].
Another feature that is particularly prominent in working-class African American communities is consonant blends. Letters in words such as west [st],
find [nd], and act [t] may be reduced to single consonant, as in wes, fin, and ac. However, this pattern does not affect all blends at the end of a word. It is limited to those that end in a stop such as [t], [d], [k], or [p], and takes place only with certain combinations of these blends. Therefore, lexical items such as sense or
waltz, which do not end in a stop combination are not affected nor are words such as milk, jump, front, or gulp, where the first consonant is [l], [m], or [n], and the final member is [t], [k], or [p]. This rule also affects words in which the consonant blend is formed by the addition of the [-ed] suffix, such as missed (formed with an [st] blend, as in mist) or talked (actually pronounced talkt) or banned
(pronounced band), making them mis’, talk’, and ban’.
as last time, to pronounce both [t]s distinctly. Most people drop the first [t] so the consonant cluster [st] at the end of last becomes simply [s]. African American English also simplifies consonant clusters at the end of words, but they do so much more often and more extensively than speakers of Standard and regional dialects of English.
Playing the dozens, a competitive style of speech which consists of ritual
insult usually referring to the opponent’s mother, is frequently used by young African American males. In the example Yo mama so bowlegged, she looks like the bite out of a donut, the use of mama is typical of African American dialect and the pronunciation suggested by yo provides another ethnic code. Another grammatical clue is the omission of the verb form is after the word mama.
Another feature of African American English (Black English) is pronouncing words as the speaker likes. Wardhaugh (1992) gives several examples: a) thing is pronounced ting; this is dis; bath is baff; brother is bruvver;
nothing is nuffin; thread is tred; big is bik; and kid is kit (final stops are devoiced); b) cub is cup; test is tes; desk is des (pronounced without final consonants); c) end is en (final [d] is omitted); tests is tess or tesses ([t] is replaced by [s] or [ses]); d) Carol, Paris, from are pronounced ca’ol, pa’is, f’om, (loss of [r]); e) your brother is yo brother (last consonant cluster [ur] is omitted; f) cold is col’ even co’ because [l] after a vowel is often deleted; and g) bold is
2. 1. 4. 2 Features of African American English: Syntax
Chaika (1982) states that speakers of African American English (Non-standard Negro English) do not use verb tenses at all or do not use them correctly. For instance they often say play for played or other unusual forms such as I done rung or He been gone. At other times, they seem to leave verbs out altogether, as in I goin’ or He busy.
Wolfram and Christian (1989) say that in many vernacular dialects the [-ed] suffix used to mark past tense on verbs (they walked and they have walked) may be absent. It has been found that all speakers will occasionally omit this particular suffix in a sentence, such as yesterday they walk’ four miles. However, research has amply demonstrated that this is a common pronunciation rather than a feature of particular vernacular.
Wolfram and Christian (1989) describe another suffix that affects verbs in the vernacular English system. Whereas the [-s] suffix is used in the present tense to mark agreement with certain subjects (third person singular) as in the dog barks or the child plays, this suffix may be absent in working-class dialects in some African American communities. For example, he go or she have a car may be used. Furthermore, in working-class African American communities, the absence of the plural [–s] suffix has been observed in phrases such as two card or
all them book. Similarly, often nouns that do not take the suffix but rather form the plural another way, for example feet or sheep, also take different forms, such
as two foots or many sheeps. In addition, some speakers from working-class
Wolfram and Christian (1989) describe that in working-class African American communities, the unusual use of the verb form tobe seems to indicate an additional vernacular distinction, as in they be nice. The habitual non-standard use of the verb form tobe in cases such as she not going or they nice affects the patterns of usage of the verb form is and are. The absence of are has been documented as a pattern in many Southern American and African American working-class communities, while the absence of is has been found mainly in African American communities.
Wardhaugh (1992) also says that African American English (Black English) has special uses of tobe, or the lack of to be (the zero copula), as shown in a contrast between He nice (He is nice now) and He be nice (He is nice sometimes). The negatives of these sentences would be He ain’t nice and He don’t be nice, respectively. Ain’t is frequently used as is multiple negation, and there are also special auxiliary verb uses of done and been, as in He done told me and I been washing it. African American English also employs constructions such as I asked Joe what can he do, can’t nobody do that (as a statement) and it ain’t no heaven for you to go to, in which it functions like there in Standard English.
Wolfram and Christian (1989) listed some other features of African American English syntax: c. Personal pronouns as subjects
: There is a man lives down the street
(Absence of the relative pronoun, who)
: They gave me a cigar which they know I don’t like it
d. Reflexives
b. Use of These here, them there
: Give me some of them candles : These here cookies are delicious
d) Questions
a. Word order : What that is?
b. Indirect question : I asked them could they come too
(inverted pattern like a direct question)
2. 1. 4. 3 Features of African American English: Lexicon
Holmes (2001:136) states that social class division, upper-class and non upper-class, influence how people speak. People from different social classes speak differently. For example, upper-class American speakers say sitting room
while non upper-class American speakers are accustomed to saying den. Holmes adds that the setting also influences the choice of vocabulary. Formal and Latinate vocabularies are appropriate to very formal settings, and informal vocabularies are normally heard in much more casual contexts.
A discussion of African American English vocabulary might proceed by noting that words can be seen to be composed of a form (a pronunciation signal) and a meaning. In some cases both the form and the meaning are taken from West African sources. In other cases the form is from English but the meaning appears to be derived from West African sources. Some cases are ambiguous and seem to involve what the late Fredrick Cassidy called a multiple etymology. Examples of West African Form + West African meaning are: bogus is derived from Hausa boko, meaning deceit or fraud; and hep or hip comes from Wolof hepi or hipi
meaning to open one's eye s or be aware of what is going on. Conversely, the examples of English Form + West African meaning are: cat (as in hep cats) is the suffix [kat] from Wolof, which denotes a person; and dig comes from Wolof deg
or dega, meaning to understand or appreciate. In West African and Caribbean Creole languages a word meaning bad is often used to mean good, a lot or
intense.
a white person. Kitchen refers to the particularly curly or kinky hair at the nape of the neck, siditty means snobbish or bourgeois, and roach-in-the-corner killers are pointy-toed shoes (http://www.biocrawler.com).
2. 2 Theoretical Framework
Languages have variant s and the variations are so much a part of language that a person cannot speak without speaking a dialect of language. Everyone is part of some group that can be distinguished from other groups, and one of the indications of these groupings is how one talks. In other words, if a person speaks the English language, that person necessarily speaks some dialect of English.
English is a language and when employed in informal situations it is called informal English. When people speak informal English, they certainly employ a certain dialect of English. Therefore, the co-occurrence of language and dialect meld into an informal English dialect which is a variety of language used by members of a certain community.
As African American English is an ethnic dialect of English that is considered non-standard, it can also be called a vernacular dialect and is considered to be the most conspicuous and prominent example of non-standard dialect.
African American English is a type of informal English style that is spoken by most working and lower-class African Americans every day. Its linguistic features are a reflection of the people themselves. Thus, the elements of this particular type of speech pronunciation, morpho-syntax and lexicon were the focus of this research.
When observing standard pronunciation, African American English speakers break standard pronunciation rules. Evidence in a theoretical framework demonstrates how words are pronounced differently from Standard American English. African American English speakers pronounce [th] in the middle or at the end of a word [f] or [v], as the words author and tooth are pronounced aufor or
toof. They also reduce words into a single consonant, for example: west is pronounced wes; find is fin; and act is ac. Other examples are thing is pronounced ting; this is dis; big is bik; cub is cup; paris is pa’is; cutting is
cuttin’; etc. These facts become the foundation to analyze how words in the two plays are pronounced.
When observing the function of morpho-syntax, especially the syntax or grammatical structures, the speakers of African American English use more relaxed grammar which does not follow the rules of Standard American English: 1) use of inappropriate grammatical construction; 2) ellipsing sentences; 3) inappropriate finite clauses, 4) use of signposts, 5) use of contractions, 6) use of
use of inappropriate tenses or not using them at all; 16) absence of the [-s] suffix to mark agreement with the first person singular subject; 17) absence of the [-s] suffix in plural forms but employed in plural nouns that do not necessarily take a suffix; 18) absence of the [-s] ending in possessive constructions; 19) absence of the verb form to be; 20) use of the verb form to be to mark habitual activity; 21) use of negative ain’t; 22) use of it replacing there; 23) use of a- prefix; 24) use of double modals; 25) absence of relative clauses; 26) use of which as a conjunction; 27) use of personal pronouns as the subject; 28) use of inappropriate reflexives; 29) use of repeated subjects; 30) use of them for those; 31) use of these here or them there; 32) questions worded incorrectly; and 33) use of inappropriate indirect questions. These broken rules were used to analyze how syntax in the two plays are employed.
34
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3. 1 Research Data
The focus of the research was Georgia Doyle Johnson’s Frederick Douglas and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. The former is an African
American history play taken from Plays for Reading: Using Drama in EFL, a compilation of plays edited by Thomas Kral published by United States Information Agency in 1997, page 139-150. The latter is also an African American history drama, published in 1958, page 23-151. As the former is a compilation book and therefore written in a shortened version, there was not adequate data for a comprehensive comparison of the two plays.
These plays were chosen because they contain a variant of informal English. Because they are plays, the forms of expressions are written. Thus, the research focused on isolating linguistic phenomena: words, phrases, sentences and even paragraphs.
This paper is descriptive linguistic. According to Poedjosoedarmo, descriptive research is another term for structural analytical research. Descriptive refers to the research findings is in the form of description of systems of language to be research. The results are reported as an original (as it is) portrait of ele ment or structure of element the research data.
determine if the rules are not followed, so the language need is not correct because breaks the determined rules. The important idea is that how the language is used in appropriate context.
According to Jackson (1982:ix) descriptive linguistic entails describing languages rather than constructing theories or models about them. The paper must, of course, use categories of description, but these arise inductively from a consideration of the language data rather than deductively from axioms of theory.
Based on the definitions above, one important idea about descriptive linguistic is that the description of the language must be as it is.
3. 2. Research Procedures and Analysis
This paper does not focus on literary style; therefore, it is not a stylistic study. Rather, the plays were used as basis of analysis of a particular style of informal English.
The research involved several steps. First, linguistic phenomena in the two plays were identified and analyzed using the criteria for analyzing informal Bahasa Indonesia. Although this paper is not a comparative analysis, using Poedjosoedarmo’s technique, African American English can be studied in an Indonesian context.
Non-linguistic forms were categorized as: terms of address; dialect of local language; code-switching; and irrelevant expressions, as shown in the table below.
NO FORMS Informal Bahasa Indonesia Informal English 1. Linguistic
Using the criteria above as a guideline, linguistic phenomena from the plays were collected and the list was expanded when other phenomena were encountered. Because the language style in the plays was so distinctive, Bloch’s opinion about analyzing style was employed. Bloch, as described by Leech and Svartvik (1981:43), writes that the distinctive style of a certain corpus or a text that is frequently encountered is then measured against equivalent features which exist in standard language.
After the data was collected, each datum was analyzed and compared to the rules of Standard English. It was assumed that: a) Pronunciation was determined by spelling. When the pronunciation was unique it was considered to be African American English. b) Since syntax can be categorized by function (brevity, clarity and fluency), when the rules of grammar were broken, phases and sentences were considered to be African American English. c) Lexicon was analyzed by scrutinizing high frequency words and word choice.
The above procedure was followed until there were no linguistic elements left and the data was redundant.
After analyzing the data, the results of the research were tested to Quirk’s A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, Volumes 1 and 2 and other grammar and sociolinguistics books describing the characteristics of informal English. Additionally, other relevant research findings were consulted to gain more comprehensive knowledge. If there was no supporting explanation from the references examined for some of the data collected, the findings were considered to be the contribution of this research to the knowledge of informal English in general and of African American English in particular.
The following flow chart of the procedures states the process more clearly:
Frederick Douglas A Raisin in the Sun
Collecting Data
Data Classifying Data
Classified Data Analyzing Data
Testing Comparing
Theories of Informal
English
1. Standard Pronunciation 2. Standard Syntax 3. Standard Lexicon
Research Findings
39
DISCUSSION
Linguistic elements play an important role in language. By comprehending these features, a language structure can be identified. Therefore, in order to have a more complete discussion, this section will be classified into three linguistic elements. They are: pronunciation, syntax and le xicon.
4. 1 Pronunciation
Pronunciation simply refers to how words are pronounced. Sound is a very important part of spoken language. Without sound, meaning cannot be conveyed. Therefore, the way words are pronounced identifies the style of the language as formal or informal.
For the purposes of this paper, formal style, also called standard phonology, refers to one of the widely accepted American accents, Standard American English. Standard American English or General American is primarily used by educated people in the United States (Colin and Mees, 2003:3, 6) and reflects standard phonology used in very formal speech.
Conversely, the forms of sound used in African American English break the rules of standardization and are difficult to understand because the data taken was in the form of conversational scripts, and not by audio recordings of actual conversations, this paper assumes that the scripts symbolize how the words are actually pronounced in African American English.
4. 1. 1 Droppings
Dropping a phoneme or a syllable at the front or at the back of a word is frequent features of African American English. Three forms of droppings which do not comply with the rules of Standard American English were found in the research. Each will be described consecutively. They are final dental stop consonant droppings, final velar stop consonant droppings, front or the back of the word or both droppings, [th] droppings and shortenings.
The first, the speakers of African American English drop the final dental stop consonant [t] and [d]. It could be assumed that dropping the final dental stop [t] is done because it makes words easier to pronounce, as in the following examples from Frederick Douglas:
Honey you jes' like a rock in a weary land…weary land (FD); I’ll do my bes'. You’se lak a son to me, boy! (FD);
I’s a-lissenin’. I can’t res' in my grave. Till he quits that drinkin’ (FD); Marse Tom’s brother, Marse George come in dat las' boat… (FD).
In the examples above, jes' refers to just; bes' to best; res' to rest; and
las' to last. The same assumption could be applied to dropping the final [d], as in the examples below, also taken from Frederick Douglas :
Oh, Fred, I hopes he don’t fin' out 'bout it 'fore we gits away (FD);
Here I am a talkin' 'bout marryin' an' cake an' such like an' me just a poor slave! (FD);
Tain’t fur long, Fred. You boun' to be free – I feels it – you got them big free ways (FD);
Slaves roun' here can’t read nothin’, even down to free ones don’t know nothin’. Look at me, Bud! (FD);
Tell him to han' it to her quick (FD).
In the examples above, fin'refers to find; an' to and; boun' to bound;
The second, they drop the final velar stop consonant [g] especially in – ing, changing [–ing] to [–in]. This type dropping occurs in [–ing] verbs form and other words ending in [–ing]. The examples below are of verbs ending in [-ing]:
‘Twas when I was around six years old. I remember wakin’ up long about midnight, I never will forget it. She was huggin’ and kissin’ me an’ her tears was
fallin’ all down in my face like rain. She said “My poor baby…my poor
baby…I’m your ma, honey”. An’ she went on callin’ me sweet names an’ cryin’; then all sudden like, she almost throwed me down on the pallet an’ darted out through the door like mad! (FD, 142).
In the examples above, wakin’ refers to waking; huggin’ to hugging;
kissin’ to kissing; fallin’ to falling; callin’ to calling; and cryin’ to crying. Examples of other words ending in [–ing] are displayed below:
But look, I got somethin’ good fur you (FD);
I do everythin’ for him now (FD);
Slaves roun' here can’t read nothin’, even down to free ones don’t
know nothin’ (FD).
The correct words for somethin’, everythin’, and nothin’ are something, everything, and nothing.
The third, droppings at the front or the back of the word or both also happens.
Who at that back door, you reckin? I ain’t spectin’ nobody but Bud. (FD).
Spectin' is expecting. The [ex] in front and [g]at the back of the word are dropped. Additionally, the [ex] is changed to [s], creating spectin' .
Another dropping of a letter or a syllable either in front or at the back of a word, or both, occurs repeatedly. Examples of a dropped front syllable are:
How many mo’ Saddays ‘fore you goin’ to have enuf fur us to go on?(FD); I think it’s so sad the way our American Negroes don’t know nothing about Africa ‘cept Tarzan and all that (ARITS);
I don’t ‘low no yellin’ in this house, Walter Lee, and you know it (ARITS);
