[Ads-l] Antedating of "Harlemese'

[Shapiro, Fred]

Harlemese (OED 1928)

1895 Evening Bee (Omaha) 19 July 8/5 (Newspapers.com)  She exclaimed in pure Harlemese: "While a trolley car runs in Brooklyn it's dead easy to get rid of any man I don't like."

1925 The Borzoi 1925 222 (Google Books)  Wiley's nigger speaks lines as far removed from Harlemese and from vaudeville black-face gags as did the gentle raconteur of Bre'r Rabbit's career.

NOTE: In the 1895 citation and other early citations, it is not clear whether the speech of African-Americans is being described.

Fred Shapiro


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