Masaryk university Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature

2 aFRICAN american English

I find the best way to open this chapter is to provide an example of AAE together with its translation to Standard English. Here are opening lines of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1982) with the following translation done by a class of June Jordan’s students in one of her courses in 1985.

Dear God,

I am fourteen years old. I have always been a good girl. Maybe you can give me a sign letting me know what is happening to me.

Last spring after Little Lucious come I heard them fussing. He was pulling on her arm. She say it too soon, Fonso. I aint well. Finally he leave her alone. A week go by, he pulling on her arm again. She say, Naw, I ain’t gonna. Can’t you see I’m already half dead, an all of the children.¹

Dear God,

I am fourteen years old. I have always been good. But now, could you help me to understand what is happening to me?

Last spring, after my little brother, Lucious, was born, I heard my parents fighting. My father kept pulling my mother’s arm. But she told him, “It’s too soon for sex, Alfonso. I am still not feeling well.” Finally, my father left her alone. A week went by, and then he began bothering my mother, again: Pulling her arm. She told him, “No, I won’t! Can’t you see I’m already exhausted from all of these children?

(Our favourite line was “It’s too soon for sex, Alphonso.”) ¹
2.1 Origin of African American English

Crucial and determining for making an appropriate attitude to AAE should be knowledge of its origin and evolution. Nevertheless, like in most cases, there is no universal explanation of the roots of AAE. Green provides in her work a clear overview of theories on the origin of AAE.² One of the theories claims that the beginning of AAE is dated to the period where first African slaves were brought to America, when they were thrown into a place, people and language they did not know. In the need to understand and to be understood, they simplified and modified the language they heard, which was, of course, English. Another theory believes that the basis of AAE structurally comes out of West African languages and its similarity to English is only superficial. Other theory considers the basic role of African languages in structure and sound system in contemporary AAE, and asssumes pidgin³, Jamaican Creole⁴ and Gullah⁵ to be basic constituants of AAE.

In general, the theories do not interfere as it could be perceived at the first sight. They only grade different components differently according to what they consider to be the most influential or constituing element. All the presented views are based on research data and to obtain them, researchers based the investigation on comparative data from different varieties of non standard English, pidgin, Caribbean Creole, woodoo texts and interviews with ex-slaves, as Green summarizes.⁶ On the other hand, it seems that the theories do not incorporate the data from African languages. They mention the relation of AAE with them, but one is not reassured that researchers investigated African languages in depth for there are extremely rare notes on concrete and particular words or sounds. Yet, as Green claims, an analysis of African languages should be done beforehand of any other analysis if a research dealing with the origins of AAE should be considered serious.

2.2 Status of AAE

The present status of AAE is also under investigation; approaches and attitudes vary and so does their justification. Although there are various theories that dispute whether AAE is slang, dialect, or language of its own, the most recent works tend to perceive AAE as a variety of English in which the slang plays an important role. Green’s textbook is one of them.

The exploration of linguistic aspects of AAE began in the 1960s. However, AAE was a subject in an inquiery for sociolinguistics and a few other external sciences. The pure linguistic studies were produced mostly from the 1980s. June Jordan was maybe the first one to design a university course on AAE (Black English) in 1985. A vivid discussion on AAE was raised by so called Oakland controversy.¹ Nevertheless, the resulting idea of teaching AAE as a subject next to the mainstream school English did not find many supporters. Walter Mercer expresses one of the possible reasons for rejection. “Regardless of the “genuineness” of the dialect, regardless of how remarkably it may add flavor and soul to a poem or song or novel, regarless of the solidarity it may lend to a political rally, I say, it is illogical, nonsensical, and harmful to teach an innocent black child that it’s quite all right to say ‘I done gone to school.’”²

2.3 Linguistic features of AAE

Green underlines that AAE is governed by a system and should not be therefore presented as a list of separate items. She proves it by exploration of AAE in all linguistic levels. Green studied lexicons and their meaning, syntax, phonology and speech events in AAE. Her textbook deals with the listed items in a great detail.

For the purpose of the present work, speech event patterns will be introduced here in greater detail because they will occur in the selected texts (in written form). Besides that, students can identify them in many r&b or hip hop songs by African American artists currently played on radio.

2.3.1 Speech event patterns

Call and response represents the basic model of interaction between many African Americans and therefore can be heard in streets as well as in churches. Almost all speech events in AAE follow the pattern. The exchanges may lead to a great amusement on one hand, on the other they can bring down a sensitive person who has no idea about their rules. Most visible in the dozens but characteristics of all mentioned types, the interaction between speaker and listener and the listner’s feedback are very important.

Here is a list of the most frequent speech events with a short explanation.

• 
  Playing the dozens can be simply described as a mean game. It is a set of exchanges where the speakers are trying to bear down each other by critisizing him but mostly his family. The statements are exaggerated which implies that they cannot be true and should not therefore hurt the person to whom they are delivered. Nevertheless, playing the dozens with somebody outside a group of ‘buddies’ can come to blows. Sometimes signifying is supposed to be a ‘lighter’ version of playing the dozens, because it presupposes the speakers themselves to be the only aim of verbal attacs, family and friends are excluded.
  
• 
  Rapping is decribed as a stylized speech; examples are easy to find in popular songs, in particular in the ‘branches’ of music like rap, hip hop and r&b.
  
• 
  Loud-talking can be immensely rude if a partner does not know its rules. It is the situation, when someone says a line that was alloted to somebody else loud enough to be heard by people outside the original conversation.
  
• 
  Toasts are performed when someone wants to render homage to somebody, they are usually narrated in the first person singular, and the lines are prepared beforehand and include a hero and his brave achievements.
  

The problematics of AAE is being under investigation and discussion of theorists, therefore one cannot conclude simply and explicitely on its status and origin. In this chapter I pointed at some theories to demonstrate the evolution of AAE itself and opinions about its origin and status. I also offered short list of AAE speech events that will occur in the selected texts and students should be able to recognize them.

The next chapter focuses on the history of African American literature and provides the brief summary of chronologically ranged important dates and events that may have affected it.

3 History of african american literature

The chart was based on the folowing sources: Gates and McKay’s Northon Anthology, Davidson’s Nation of Nations and Encyklopedie Diderot.

The period of Harlem Renaissance is supposed to be the golden age of African American intelligence and literature. This age is limited approximately by the years 1917 to 1935. As Johnson suggests, the term of “renaissance” - rebirth, is not as proper as it may seem, for it is in fact the first blossom of fiction (belles-lettres) that resulted from various social changes.¹ Harlem, a quarter of New York City, was one of quickly growing neighbourhoods in the North. Originally designed for the middle and upper class white families that did not filled them, it offered wide streets and nice houses for African Americans whose number was growing over the past years and over the years to come. The number of African Americans in Harlem reached already 200,000 by 1930.² Harlem therefore constituted a large basis for African American population. A considerable portion of African American writers came or come from this part of the U.S. biggest city.

The leaders of the Harlem Rennaisance movement were young intellectuals, artists and writers of the new generation that had already the chance to attend courses at universities and gain degrees.¹ Educated and aware of their roots, they desire to prove their qualities and confess the pride of being black. In comparison to the previous generation of writers and artists, there was a significant difference in their works. In contrary to what the old generation considered to be crucial and inevitable in works of black artists, the young generation was trying to stay out of the political issues and engagement. The young wanted to free themselves not only in the content but also in the form of their works. Some of the old generation went on with the young freeing and optimistic spirit, others, like W. E. B. Du Bois for instance, did not hesitate to critize their works judging them as “immoral”, as Rampersad records.²

The situation of blacks in the South did not differ much from those of slavery times. As Rampersad puts it, legal separation and continuing lynching proved that in the eyes of many whites, black continued to be less than human.³ In spite of that, the South was the homeland of one of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance – Zora Neal Hurston (1891-1960). Her Mules and Men (1935) and Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) reflected the beauty of Southern vernacular and country traditions. Although produced after the end of the Harlem Renaissance movement, these works are considered to be of the best that resulted from the Harlem Renaissance era. Other work that deals with South is Jean Tommer’s novel Cane (1923). The book inspired and motivated many young authors by its new style rooted in modernism, combining poetry, prose and songs. Striking was not only the new form, but also the atmosphere of its content that expressed author’s experiences from the life in South and in Washington D. C. “Cane recovered both the beauty and the pain of African American life in the South and as celebration of racial self-discovery it recuperated an identity that had been undetermined and distorted by racial oppression and economic victimization”.⁴

The 1920s were also time of black music. It was the music that had a great influence not only on writers but also on all the nation of the United States and later it spread all around the world. Blues and jazz gave new spirit to the literature, especially to poems. The twenties were marked by the great generation of black musicians as were Duke Ellington, Lewis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. Black music has been so strong and inspiring that even many contemporary authors admit being influenced by the blues or jazz rhytm, sound and authenticity.

One of the first and best known books of poetry to combine words with music is The Weary Blues. The collection was written by Langston Hughes (1902-1967), poet, essayist, intellectual, and the leading spirit of the movement. The essay The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain (1926), in which he stresses and fiercely defends the influence of family background, street life and exploiting the colour (‘blackness”), can be viewed as a manifesto for himself and his contemporaries.¹ He was very productive throughout all his life and therefore his works can be identified even in 1950s, as for example the appreciated collection of poems Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951).


3.2.4 More representatives

Among other remarkable authors should be certainly mentioned Counté Cullen – Color (1925), Claude McKay – Harlem Shadows (1922) and Home to Harlem (1928), and Wallace Thurman – editor, critic, and author of novel Blacker the Berry.

From the 1970s, writers and artists continue in tendencies which were introduced by the previous generation and put up to their African roots. Literature opens to the flood of woman writers, partly probably as a reaction to mostly man-dominated last decade. Other argumentation is proposed by Ruland and Bradbury who claim that thanks to the fight for rights of black people, a larger group of population – women, realized that they were forced to accept their roles in mostly white, but man dominated world; so women decided to muscle in, too.¹ One way or another, the most important break is in the reality that women writers picture in their works. For the first time, we do not see a ‘monolithical’ black community, in contrary, literature reflects the real life with all the predjudice, hatred, racism within the black community. Up to these years, it used to be only the white people who caused problems and was the originator of all the evil in black’s life. Reasons for the important change may be various, although one will prevail. In the past, from the beginning of African American presence in America till the success of the Civil Rights Movement, blacks were oppressed so hard and continuously, that they needed to hold together very closely in order to be able to gain a little progress in their rights and status. Though the fight against racial predjudice and discrimination has not ended till today, the seventies were already liberate enough to break down the tie.

As the inlook to the diversity of black community reveals relations between its members and as the literature is produced predominantly by female authors, it gets close to observe the role of woman, woman-mother and mother-daughter relationship. Examples can be found, among others, in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970), June Jordan – His Own Where (1970), and Alice Walker – The Color Purple (1982). Another focus of the 1970s and 1980s literature is that on the sexual identity and preference of African Americans. It is probably for the first time when the topic is openly inquired in fiction. June Jordan’s A New Politics of Sexuality (1991) is one of works that represents this trend. If the sexual identity was being discussed, one can assume that it originated in or soon turned to question of identity in general.

One can assume that the search for the identity is natural for every human being. From the very beginnig of their presence in America, the black were immersed into slavery, their basic human rights have been often violated as the African Americans were subject to constant humiliation. The search of identity is pictured in the literary works.

One guideline can be contents of literary works, starting from slave narratives in the 19^th century, through dreams of the 1920s and the following rage of the 1950s and the 1960s, reaching the inner diversity in the 1970s, and continuing in the 21^st century in ficton, poetry and prose that does not differ significantly from the mainstream literature for it is one of its constituents.

Another distinctive feature of search for identity can be the notion for black people. At first, black people reffered to themselves in literary works “negroes”, then “Negroes”, later “coloured people”, “black people”, till the evolution reached today’s label “African American”. Today, “Negro” is a highly offensive term, “black” is neutral and “African American” is considered to be the only “politically correct” expression, although some people strongly disagree with the term. As Amiri Baraka claimed in an interview, “African American” is a term for specific nationality and not every black man you will meet will be an “African American”, in comparison with the term “black” which is common for all black people and is therefore right.¹

All the generations with all their movements and streams had one common aim – the effort to picture their view of the world in which they try to find themselves. As with new blood comes new spirit, generations varied in their ideas on the world and relations covered under its lid. The majority of the black who escaped slavery felt hatred and wanted to forget this part of their people’s history. Generations after sought back though. They realized that the time of slavery must not be forget, because of the influence it has on contemporary society.

Social changes can be usually observed in long-time period and therefore it is hard to believe that once the slavery and apartheid is over, the identity of black people will be onlooked as if the history has not existed at all. Still, there are black neighbourhoods, schools with predominantly white or black pupils and students.

4 African American writers and their selected works

The present chapter is divided into nine main undersections, each one is dedicated to an African American writer’s life, work, selected text and suggestions for the use of the text in school practice. A deeper analysis of the text itself is not provided, for the aim is discovering the texts by students and the developement of their thoughts. Literature and poetry especially should always involve the reader’s interaction as it appeals to his or her experience and feelings. Students at schools are often discouraged from reading when they are forced to “guess” one single possible “right” meaning. Consequently, a teacher wishing to follow the designed lessons should not demand any “right” answers from students.

However, some of the selected works may seem not to be appropriate for the secondary school learners. As the present work is designed for the third or fourth year of Czech grammar school, students should be on the level of English to get over the laguage difficulties. Concerning the core and value of the selected texts, I believe that students are able to think in depth and find the texts therefore enriching. I refer here to one of Rita Dove’s statements, which can be applied to these selected texts and grammar school students, too. “I believe even 5-year-olds can get something from a Shakespearean sonnet...as long as you DON’T tell them, ‘This is really hard.’”.¹

The Suggestion parts include prereading or warm up activities as well as follow up questions. The majority of provided possibilities how to start or finish the topic are based on questions. With one or two exceptions, the organization in class is up to the teacher. The original thought is that students usually work in groups of 2-3, come up with some conclusions and share them with other students in a circle; the follow up questions then serve as a base for furhter discussion that can develop from what has been said. On the other hand, different students, topics and forms demand different approach. Sometimes it may be useful to hide the title of a poem and let students figure out their own, sometimes to give the title and let them figure out the poem, etc. Objectives are stated in the beginning of each Suggestions and the teacher should bear them in mind when he or she prepares their lesson plan.

4. 1 Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

4.1.1 Biography

Born in 1902, Langston Hughes witnessed as a young student the beginings of the Harlem Renaissance², and let himself carried by the emotive feeling of proudness to be black. Hughes soon became the leading spirit of the movement. As a brilliant poet, essayist, writer and intellectual, he produced many works that expressed the fierce voice of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Hughes was one of the very first writers who could make their living through writing. Unlike the other authors of that time, Hughes continued writing after the end of the Harlem Renaissance and was in favour with new tendencies in literature that came after 1940s. Hughes’ popularity was world-wide; even some Czech poets (e.g. Josef Kainar) admitted having been influenced by his poetry.

4.1.2 Work

Hughes’s wrote his first remarcable poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” in 1921, but his first collection of poems was The Weary Blues published in 1926. It was widely accepted for the novatory use of blues form in poetry. Although the next collection Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927) is now considered Hughes’ finest single book of verse, critics of that time gave it very harsh evalution.¹ They disliked probably most the fact that Hughes decided to picture black people of low working-class and even some rude or erotic aspects of their life. This attitude towards own community had to wait to be appreciated till 1970s.² Hughes reacted by a brilliant essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” published in the Nation, that became a manifesto for the new genaration of young artists. Later Hughes sough inspiration in his childhood to create his first novel Not without Laughter (1930). Then, a certain shift to the left can be marked in Hughes work, for he starts to publish his essays and poems in New Masses, a journal controlled by Communist Party. Hughes easily passed the end of the Harlem Renaissance movement, for he was busy in many other areas. In 1930s he wrote plays and published his first collection of short stories The Ways of White Folks. Hughes also published his autobiography The Big Sea (1940), where he overviewed the Harlem Renaissance movement. A number of essays, poems, collums, and books followed; the book of verse Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951) among them.

4.1.3 Reading

Objectives

Cultural	Historical	Literary
to show the ways how black people in America saw themselves to realize the barriers which cultures build and should also pass to think of what is a dream and how to achieve it	to show that literature reflects history to compare the dreams of black people in the 1920s with the reality of present world	to observe the figurative language of poetry to think of what it means to be a writer (or an artist)

Download 342.59 Kb.

Share with your friends: