Tag Archives: African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

‘Hey!’ and its Variants

The word ‘hey’ has been around for a good thousand years or so (probably more). A remarkably versatile little word, it can be used in American English in any number of contexts. For example, to express annoyance: “Hey! Stop doing … Continue reading

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Posted in Miscellaneous Accents and Dialects | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

‘Going to’ Contractions

The phrase ‘going to‘ has two meanings in English. It can, of course, refer to one’s intent to make a physical journey (as in ‘I am going to the store’). But it can also refer to the intent to do … Continue reading

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Posted in English Phonetics | Tagged , | 50 Comments

Inner-City Dialects

This week’s Economist features an article about the Kiezdeutsch dialect of German, mostly spoken by inner-city youth. One may recognize controversies similar to those about non-standard English: ‘purists’ argue that Kiezdeutsh is bad/lazy German, while linguists see it is a legitimate variant of … Continue reading

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Posted in Miscellaneous Accents and Dialects | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Nasal Vowels

In French, the /n/ at the end of words like ‘garcon,’ ‘mon,’ and ‘Americain’ is typically  unpronounced.  Instead, the vowel before ‘n’ is nasalized, while dropping ‘n’ itself. How does one ‘nasalize’ a vowel, exactly? It’s fairly simple. The speaker … Continue reading

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Posted in English Phonetics | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Anovver Fing About Th-Fronting

In our discussions of dialect evolution in the UK, a common denominator is th-fronting. To review: th-fronters turn ‘th‘ words into ‘f’ or ‘v’ words: ‘thing’ becomes ‘fing,’ ‘bother’ becomes ‘bovver,’ and ‘both’ becomes ‘bof.’ It’s a feature common in … Continue reading

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Posted in British English | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Dialects and Registers

One afternoon some years ago, an overheard conversation on the subway piqued my interest. A few train stops before my apartment, a pair of young men got on the car and sat across from me.  After exchanging a few friendly greetings … Continue reading

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Posted in American English | Tagged , , | 19 Comments

The Changing Dialect of Hip Hop

This morning, I stumbled upon the newest music video of Irish hip-hop artist Lethal Dialect. Take a listen: As you may notice, this young man raps in a thick Dublin accent. Anyone accustomed to American hip hop is likely to … Continue reading

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Posted in Miscellaneous Accents and Dialects | Tagged | 33 Comments

‘Son’ in African American English

I don’t have time for a lengthy post today, so I’d like to briefly mention a dialect curiosity that has befuddled me for over a decade: the use of the word ‘son’ in African American Vernacular English.  The word is … Continue reading

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Posted in American English | Tagged | 12 Comments

The “Trubbow” with L-Vocalization

Listen to a three-year-old say “doll,” and it will probably sound like “dow.”  Along the same lines, a young child’s “trouble” becomes “trubbow,” “fall” becomes “foe,” “bell” becomes “bew.”  Or so it sounds to the average listener.  This  is what is … Continue reading

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Posted in English Phonetics | Tagged , , , | 83 Comments

Literary Dialect Transcription

We normally discuss spoken accents or dialects. But what about how they are written? Phonetic transcription isn’t so common in English-language literature these days. And that’s probably for the best. As a reader, I hate it when old novels spell … Continue reading

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 31 Comments