copula deletion and BEV

[Michael H Covarrubias]

It's a very specific claim that Labov made regarding the incidence of deletion
relative to an individual's place in the community.  It was part of his study
of peer groups in Harlem.  Late 60s/early 70s.

In one group (the Jets) he identified four tiers based on association and
mutual regard: the core members, the secondary members, the peripheral members
and the "lames." According to his findings the core and secondary members used
the zero form copula 46 percent of the time while the peripheral members used
it 26 percent and the lames used it 20 percent of the time.

It'll be hard to attest such a conclusion of social significance 40 years later.



> Quoting Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>:
>
> I don't know. What does "an important community marker" mean?
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 1/24/07, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
> > Subject:      copula deletion and BEV
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> >
> > Thanks for educating me. It's something that I've never noticed before.
> > Does Labov's claim hold up under scrutiny?
> >
> > ---Amy West
> >
> > >Date:    Tue, 23 Jan 2007 12:23:09 -0500
> > >From:    Michael H Covarrubias <mcovarru at PURDUE.EDU>
> > >Subject: Re: a dialect using just participle?
> > >
> > >It looks like copula deletion.  Labov claimed this feature was an
> important
> > >community marker of Black English Vernacular.
> > >
> > >Quoting Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>:
> > >  > Now, finally, I'm reading the handbook (Longman Writer's Companion)
> > >>  and in their discussion of the progressive & perfect tenses they
> > >  > identify as a dialect example this:
> > >>
> > >>  The interview starting five minutes late.
> > >>  (They analyze it as omitting _is_ in _is starting_.)
> > >>
> > >>  I've never run across this dialectical variant. Now I feel really
> > >  > stupid for thinking that my student was stupid.
> >
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> >
>
>
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> -----
> -Sam'l Clemens
>
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>


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