(Pollock, Bailey, Berni, Fletcher, Hinton, Johnson, Roberts, & Weaver, 1998)
Last updated: March 17, 2001
This page will be updated as information becomes available.
Features Involving Unstressed Syllables
Initial and Medial Unstressed Syllable Deletion (IM-USD)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Deletion of unstressed syllables;
initial and medial word position only |
unstressed syll = V only > unstressed syll = CV
closed grammatical class > open grammatical class |
|
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Occurs in most varieties of English, most frequent in AAVE, possibly more common in older speakers | Rural: +
Urban: + |
General: Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Cukor-Avila, 1989; Rickford, 1999;
Vaughn-Cooke, 1987
Children: Vaughn-Cooke, 1976, 1986 |
Haplology (HAP)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Deletion of reduplicated syllable. | ||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Occurs in most varieties of English,
more frequent in AAVE |
Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Wolfram, 1994 |
Prevocalic Voicing of /p/ Initial Unstressed Syllables (PV-IUP)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Voicing of initial singleton /p/ in initial unstressed syllables. | ||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also occurs in SWVE | Reported in Memphis data | Pollock & Berni, 1996, 1997a, 1997b |
Features Involving Clusters
Final Cluster Reduction (F-CR)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Deletion of second consonant in final consonant cluster; both consonants must share voicing | single morpheme > double morpheme
unstressed > stressed following consonant > following vowel alveolar plosive > other consonant |
|
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Occurs in all varieties of English, more frequent in AAVE | Rural: +
Urban: + |
Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Rickford, 1999 |
Metathesis (FsC-MET)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Metathesis of final /s/ + stop
clusters |
may be lexically determined - primarily "ask" | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also occured in earlier forms of SWVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Rickford, 1999 |
Backing in /str/ Clusters (BK-str)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Substitution of /k/ for /t/ in
initial /str/clusters |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Apparently unique to AAVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Rickford, 1999 |
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
most often with unstressed "thr" or
in unstressed syllables |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Occurs in other non-standard varieties
of English, esp. in the South |
Hinton & Pollock, 2000; Wolfram, 1994 |
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Deletion of /j/ in /Cj/ sequences | usually followed by /u/ vowel | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Apparently unique to AAVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998 |
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Rhotacization of /j/ in /Cj/ sequences | usually followed by /u/ vowel
possibly a regional variant of ICR-J |
|
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Apparently unique to AAVE
(may be limited to Southern AAVE) |
Reported in Memphis data |
Features Involving Final Consonants
Final Consonant Deletion (FCD)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Deletion of singleton consonants in
syllable-final position Note: When final nasals deleted, nasality maintained on preceding vowel. When voiced obstruents deleted, length of preceding vowel maintained. Consonants remaining from reduced final clusters may be eligible for deletion. |
Nasal>non-nasal
coronal>non-coronal voiced>voiceless may be lexically determined |
|
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Apparently unique to AAVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Rickford, 1999; Wolfram, 1994 |
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Syllable-final obstruents are devoiced;
length of preceding vowel maintained |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Apparently unique to AAVE
Note: Fasold (1981) points out that although devoicing of final /d/ also occurs in Southern white vernaculars, the devoiced /d/ in AAVE is different because it is also glottalized (see F-Glot-d). |
Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Fasold, 1981; Fasold & William, 1970; Wolfram, 1994 |
Final /d/ Glottalization (F-Glot-d)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Final devoiced /d/ becomes a glottal stop or a glottalized /t/. (an extension of FDV-Ob) | ||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Apparently unique to AAVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Fasold, 1981 |
Features Involving Interdentals
Labialization of Interdental Fricatives (LAB-th)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Interdental fricatives replaced with
labiodental fricatives |
Syllable-final and intervocalic>syllable intial
voiceless>voiced |
|
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also occured in earlier forms of
SWVE |
Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Rickford, 1999 |
Stopping of Interdental Fricatives (ST-th)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Interdental fricatives replaced with stops | voiced>voiceless; initial > final | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also occurs in Northern non-standard varieties | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Rickford, 1999 |
Stopping of Interdental Voiceless Fricatives Near Nasals (ST-th-N)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also occurs in Northern non-standard varieties | Bailey & Thomas, 1998 |
Alveolarization of Voiceless Interdental Fricatives (ALV-th)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Reported in Memphis data |
Features Involving Other Fricatives
Stopping of Voiced Fricatives Before Syllabic Nasals (ST-Vd-N)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Voiced fricatives preceding syllabic nasals may
be stopped. Note: /d/ may actually go to a glottal stop through FDV-Ob and American English allophonic rule of /t/ realized as a glottal stop before syllabic nasals |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also occurs in SWVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Wolfram, 1994 |
Features Involving Lateral Liquids
Vocalization of /l/ (VOC-l)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Note: After mid back vowels, vocalized /l/ may coalesce with vowel, as in "ball" becomes "ba" or "bowl" becomes "bo" |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Occurs in many varieties of English, frequent in AAVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Fasold & Wolfram, 1970 |
Deletion of /l/ Before Labials(DEL-l)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
When /l/ comes after a vowel and before a labial consonant in the same syllable, /l/ may be deleted | ||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Fasold & Wolfram, 1970; Rickford, 1999 |
Features Involving Vocalic & Postvocalic /r/
Derhotacization or Deletion of Vocalic and Postvocalic /r/ (DeRhot)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Vocalic /r/ (also known as syllabic /r/ or a rhotic vowel) produced as a non-rhotic vowel. Postvocalic /r/ (also known as a rhotic diphthong) produced as non-rhotic vowel or deleted. Following front vowels, most often replaced by non-rhotic vowel. Following back vowels, most often deleted. Intervocalic /r/ may also be affected, esp. when following mid back vowel. | ||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Historically well-recognized feature of SWVE, but now rapidly disappearing from this dialect; now may occur primarily in older speakers in rural areas | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Pollock & Berni, 1996, 1997a, 1997b; Rickford, 1999 |
Schwa Offglide (Schwa-off)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
A schwa offglide may follow vocalic or
postvocalic /r/. |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Unique to AAVE | Reported in Memphis data | Pollock & Berni, 1996, 1997a, 1997b |
Vowel Centralization Before /r/ (VC-r)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Front vowels preceding /r/ may be
centralized, deleted, or rhotacized |
VC-r and Schwa-off frequently co-occur | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Unique to AAVE | Reported in Memphis data | Pollock & Berni, 1996, 1997a, 1997b |
Raised Onglide to Stressed Syllabic /r/ (RO-3^)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Addition of -like quality
as
onglide to stressed syllabic /r/ |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Unique to AAVE | Reported in Memphis data | Pollock & Berni, 1996, 1997a, 1997b |
Features Involving Diphthongs (non-rhotic)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Second element of diphthong / aI/ deleted; first element typically lengthened | Only in open syllables or before nasals or voiced obstruents | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Found in SWVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Rickford, 1999; Wolfram, 1994 |
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Second element of diphthong deleted | typically in multisyllablic words before voiced obstruents | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Reported in Memphis data |
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Second element of diphthong deleted or centralized | Mostly in open syllables or multisyllablic words before voiced obstruents | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Rickford, 1999; Wolfram, 1994 |
Monophthongization & Syllable Reduction Before Liquid (MSR-L)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Found in SWVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998 |
Features Involving Vowels (non-rhotic)
Tensing of Lax Vowels (Tns)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Lax vowels are produced as tense vowels | esp. before liquids & velars | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Found in SWVE | Reported in Memphis data |
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Coronal > Non-Coronal (pin/pen > him/hem) | The words "pin" and "pen"
become homonymous. |
|
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Widespread in AAVE and SWVE after 1875 | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Brown, 1991; Labov, 1968; Wolfram, 1994 |
Tense/Lax Merger Before /l/ (MRG-T/L)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Before tautosyllablic /l/, tense front vowels
are laxed (e.g., the words "wheel" and "will" are homonymous) |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Widespread in SWVE and AAVE after 1875 | Bailey & Thomas, 1998; Wolfram, 1994 |
Raised /ae/ (Rs-ae)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also occurs in many Northern cities dialects, but probably unrelated to AAVE; does not occur in SWVE; widespread in AAVE after 1875 | Bailey & Thomas, 1998 |
Rhotacization of /I/ (Rhot-I)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Rhotacization of /I/ in words with
following postvocalic or syllabic /l/ |
||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Unique to AAVE | Reported in Memphis data | Pollock & Berni, 1996, 1997a, 1997b |
Features that Existed in Earlier Forms of AAVE
Long Offglides of /ae/ (Off-ae)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
/ae/ produced with long offglide towards [i] | Most common before voiceless fricatives | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Only used by older persons in rural areas | Southern: +
Rural: + Urban: - |
Schremp, 1996 |
Monophthongal /e/ and /o/ (Mono-e,o)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
/e/ and /o/ produced as monophthongs | ||
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Reported in Gullah and Caribbean Creoles. In English dialects, does not occur in speakers born after 1900; in 1800s, occurred only in AAVE | Bailey & Thomas, 1998 |
Prosodic Features
Front Stressing (FrStress)
Description | Internal Constraints | Examples |
Stress moved to first syllable of words | Lexically determined | |
Scope and Direction | Geographical or Rural/Urban | References |
Also in SWVE | Rickford, 1999; Wolfram, 1994 |
References
Bailey, G., & Thomas, E. (1998). Some aspects of African-American Vernacular English phonology. In S. Mufwene, J. Rickford, G. Bailey, & J. Baugh (Eds.), African American English: Structure, History, and Use. London: Routledge, pp. 85-109.
Bleile, K., & Wallach, H. (1992). A sociolinguistic investigation of the speech of African American preschoolers. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1, 54-62.
Brown, V. (1991). Evolution of the merger of /E/ and /I/ before nasals in Tennessee. American Speech, 66, 303-315.
Fasold, R. (1981). The relationship between black and white English in the South. American Speech, 56, 163-189.
Fasold, R. & Wolfram, W. (1970). Some linguistic features of Negro dialect. In R. Fasold & R. Shuy (Eds.), Teaching Standard English in the Inner City. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, pp. 41-86.
Haynes, W., & Moran, M. (1989). A cross-sectional developmental study of final consonant production in southern black children from preschool through third grade. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 20, 400-406.
Hinton, L.N. & Pollock, K.E. (2000). Regional variations in the phonological characteristics of African American Vernacular English. World Englishes, 19(1), 39-58.
Labov, W. (1972). Language in the Inner City. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Luelsdorff, P.A. (1975). A Segmental Phonology of Black English. The Hague: Mouton.
Moran, M. (1993) Final consonant deletion in African American children speaking Black English: A closer look. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 24, 161-166.
Pollock, K., & Berni, M.C. (1996). Vocalic and postvocalic /r/ in African American Memphians. Paper presented at the New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English (NWAVE) meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
Pollock, K., & Berni, M. (1997a). Variation in vocalic and postvocalic /r/ in AAVE. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Boston, MA.
Pollock, K., & Berni, M. (1997b). Acquisition of /r/ by African American and European American children. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Boston, MA.
Rickford, J. (1999). African American English: Features, Evolution,
Educational Implications. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Seymour, H., & Rablate, P. (1985). The acquisition of a phonologic
feature of Black English. Journal of Communication Disorders, 18,
139-148.
Schremp, M.B. (1996). The distribution of [ QI] in the American South. Unpublished thesis, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN.
Seymour, H., & Seymour, C. (1991). Black English and Standard American English contrasts in consonantal development for four- and five- year olds. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 46, 276-280.
Stockman, I. (1996). Phonological development and disorders in African American children. In A. Kamhi, K. Pollock, & J. Harris (Eds.), Communication Development and Disorders in African American children: research, Assessment and Intervention. Baltimore: Paul Brookes, pp. 117-153.
Vaughn-Cooke, F. (1976). The implementation of phonological change: The case for resyllabification in Black English. Dissertation Abstracts International, 38(01), 234a (University Microfilms No. AAC7714537).
Vaughn-Cooke, F. (1987). Are Black and White vernaculars diverging? Papers from the NWAVE-XVI panel discussion. American Speech, 62, 12-32.
Wolfram, W. (1969). A Sociolinguistic Description of Detroit Negro Speech. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Wolfram, W. (1989). Structural variability in phonological development: Final nasals in vernacular Black English. In R. Fasold & D. Schiffren (Eds.), Current Issues in Linguistic Theory: Language Change and Variation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 301-332.
Wolfram, W. (1994). The phonology of a sociocultural variety: The case of African American Vernacular English. In J. Bernthal & N. Bankson (Eds.), Child Phonology: Characteristics, Assessment, and Intervention with Special Populations. New York: Thieme, pp. 227-244.
Wolfram, W., & Schilling-Estes, N. (1998). American
English: Dialects and Variation. Oxford: Blackwell.