copula deletion and BEV

[Seán Fitzpatrick]

Is this different from degrees of talking White?

 

How smart is it to use an inappropriate dialectical variant that is an
egregious solecism in the appropriate dialect?

Seán Fitzpatrick
Stupidity should be painful
 <http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/> http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/

-----Original Message-----



> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>

> Poster:       Michael H Covarrubias <mcovarru at PURDUE.EDU>

> Subject:      Re: copula deletion and BEV

>
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---

> 

> 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

> > >

> >
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--

> -

> > >

> > > 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.

> > >

> > > ------------------------------------------------------------

> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

> > >

> >

> >

> > --

> > All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to

> > come from the mouths of people who have had to live.

> > -----

> > -Sam'l Clemens

> >

> > ------------------------------------------------------------

> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

> >

> 

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> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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>    English Language & Linguistics

>    Purdue University

>    mcovarru at purdue.edu

> 

>    web.ics.purdue.edu/~mcovarru

>   <http://wishydig.blogspot.com>

> 

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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