Southern drawl origin? (non-member query)

[Salikoko Mufwene]

At 04:04 PM 7/6/2000 -0400, you wrote:
>Is there any sort of consensus on the origin of
>the U.S. southern states dialect, especially the
>drawl?  Is there any evidence of African-American
>slave influence on the development of the southern
>dialect?   Is there is any publication which
>summarizes the state of knowledge/opinion on
>this matter?
>
      I should know better and keep "my mouth shut" at a time when I am far
behind on several deadlines. But I find it interesting that the first
explanation that is suggested is "African-American slave influence."
Caribbean English varieties don't have a drawl, nor do West African
varieties. Ah! the "black nanny myth" again.

Sali.


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Salikoko S. Mufwene                        s-mufwene at uchicago.edu
University of Chicago                      773-702-8531; FAX 773-834-0924
Department of Linguistics
1010 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/humanities/linguistics/faculty/mufwene.html
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