The Phonetic and Grammatical Features of American Black English

高莉

【Abstract】Black English is different from the ordinary American English， it is one of many variations in American English which has differences in many respects to other variants.However， for any kind of variation， there is always a difference from others.So was the black English， this paper briefly analyses the characteristics on its pronunciation and grammar.

【Key words】Black English； white English； voice； syntax； English variety.

Introduction

Black English is one of the most important national variations of American English.Although the view of the origin of the blacks language and the subsequent development is still diverged， but for the structure and function of Black English， the academic circles has got an agreement that Black English has an important position both in communication and literary creation.Many scholars have had a great deal of research in Black English， especially in urban Black English， and also accumulated a wealth of information.In the United States， Black English has ever been considered as a second-rate or low-level language variant， which has no proof on linguistics.Black English is different from the ordinary American English， one of many variations of American English， which has its own characteristics on pronunciation， grammar， and also it has its own unique vocabulary.Just like other variants， Black English is a rule governed system and full of expressive communication and flexibility.

1.Pronunciation

1.1 Consonants

The simplification of consonant clusters is an obvious feature of Black English.The closed consonants in American English are： [p]， [b]， [m]， [t]， [d]， [n]， [k]， [g]， [?].The black people always remove the pronunciation of the last closed sound of a word， such as， borrowed [b?raud]into borrow [b?rau]， side [said]into a sigh [sai]， h bed into be， test into tes， wasp into was.

1.2 Vowels

The vowels added by “ng” [?]， such as sing， thing， ring， etc.， they are often pronounced into “ang”， for example： ring = rang； thing = thang； sing = sang.

The abbreviated form of “going to” is changed into “gon”， here “to” is completely omitted and the nasal sound at the end of the word is shortened and the pronunciation is similar to “gone”.Such as： He was gon（was going to） tell momma goodbye.

1.3 Stress

If the stress falls on the first syllable， that the stress moves forward， such as：

police = PO-lice， Detroit = DEE-trait.

2.Grammar

2.1 Disappearance of the ending “s”

In Black English， the “s” in the plural nouns， possessive nouns and the third person singular verb is disappeared.Such as：

（1） Black English： two cat； Standard English： two cats.

（2） Black English： the dog leg； Standard English： the dogs legs.

（3） Black English： she sit； Standard English： she sits.

In the different social classes who use Black English， the inflection of missing of “s” is different.A survey on Detroits Black English shows that the loss of “s” is more obvious in the lower social and economic working classes， and the disappearance of “s” in the third person singular verb is the most obvious which occupies 75%.This means that， for many Black English speakers in the lower-class， the tense change of “s” in the third person singular verb does not exist at all.However， the contrary phenomenon is that some Black English speakers add “s” not only in the third person singular verb but also in all the verbs， such as “I walks.”， “They works hard.” and so on.For these people， the ending “s” is not a sign of the third person singular， but rather a sign of a simple present tense（Hou Weirui 1997：299）.

2.2 The use of “is” and “was”

“Is” and “was” can be used in any sentences whether the subject of the sentence

is singular or plural and they can be used in any person in Black English.

“Is” and “was” almost can be used in conjunction with any subject in the sentence.Such as：

You ain't sick， is you？

She ain't home， is she？

They was acting up and going on.

We's doing our book work and everything when she start calling us.

2.3 No change in verb person and number

There is no change in verb person and number in Black English， the subject of a sentence and the change of number are represented by the context or a certain word， such as “She have us say it”， “He do the same thang they do”.Time is expressed by the context， such as “The bus pass me last week”， “The bus pass me every clay”.Another example is the section of a blacks sermons， the preacher has clearly show that he is talking about the past， because what he talked about is the life and the sacrifice of Jesus in the past： “The man Jesus， He come here， He die to save you from your sins！ He walk the earth， He go among the thieves and try to save the unrighteous.The Master say whosoever will， let him come！”.

2.4 The collocation of “here / there” and “go”

In Black English， “here or there” can only be used in conjunction with “go” as an adverbial instead of in conjunction with “are”， such as：

There go my brother in the first row；

Here go my momma right here.

Conclusion

This paper mainly discusses about the main characteristics of Black English on its pronunciation and grammar， in fact， far more than these， there are many other aspects to be studied which will help us to have a better understanding of Black English language and culture.As we know that Black English is the most widely distributed in American English and it is also the variant of minority languages we are familiar with.This does not mean that all the blacks speak the same Black English in the same type， and all the people who speak Black English is all blacks， as the acquisition of a particular language or language variety is not dominated by the color only， just like the acquisition of a particular language is not dominated by height and weight.A good understanding of the characteristics of American Black English on its pronunciation and grammar can not only help English learners to understand the situation of American English and American literature better， but also help them to have a deeper， more comprehensive understanding of English and also America this pluralistic country.

References：

[1]張富功.美國黑人英語特色研究[J].山西財經大學學報， 2007（11）：259-261.

[2]侯維瑞.英國英語與美國英語[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，1997.

[3]方久華，熊敦禮.美國黑人英語語言特點探討[J].華中科技大學學報，2003（4）.

[4]顧嘉祖.美國英語與美國文化[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，1993.

[5]婁玉娟.淺談黑人英語對標準英語的影響[J].撫州師專學報，2002（3）.