dialect in novels

[Herb Stahlke]

This isn't a recent novel, but Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus
stories are a good example of what your student is looking for.
Compare his representation of AAVE a century ago with that of a
writer like James Baldwin, and you get a very clear study in
stereotyping vs. literary art.  The fact that Harris' intent may
have been benevolent, if condescendingly so, doesn't lessen the
effect of his heavy use of eye dialect.

Herb Stahlke

>>> zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU 02/22/01 10:41AM >>>
i have an undergraduate student who's looking for a novel
in which aave is represented ineptly, by someone (white or
black) from outside aave-speaking communities.  ideally,
a fairly recent novel, with an urban setting (this is so
the student can take advantage of knowing about the variety
in modern urban settings).  this is a small project, so
even short stories or journalism might do; it's not like
the student will be doing statistics on the data - just
getting a qualitative feel for it.

any suggestions?

arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)