Course materials © for/by Peter L. Patrick. May contain
copyright material used for educational purposes. Please respect copyright.
LG 449 Out of Africa: Black Englishes
2003-2004, term 1
Some genres of African American discourse
signifiyin instigatin breakin bad markin
soundin dissin bein cool readin someone
jonin snappin loud-talkin he-said-she-said
jivin frontin rappin suck-teeth
talkin trash testifyin shoutin woofin
playin the dozens droppin remarks talkin that talk…
and many more
“I was once whipped because I said to
missis, ‘My mother sent me.’ We were not
allowed to call our mammies ‘mother’. It
made it come too near the way of the white folks.”
Howard
Roundtree, born in Virginia c. 1920:
“The slavery-time people had it right. My grandfather said that back then, if they wanted to say that some crackers were around they would make a noise like a turkey buzzard or they would draw a buzzard on a tree… We called this [one] poor little cracker ‘Turk’ and he really did like that! He didn’t know that when we were talking about him, “turk” was short for turkey buzzard. We used to laugh about that a lot.”
(Gwaltney
1980:59-60)
A
satirical song recorded before the end of slavery:
Poor Massa, so dey say
Got no money, so dey say
Not one shillin, so dey say
God A’mighty bress you, so dey say.
Mabel
Lincoln, born 1903 in South Carolina, says about cool:
I don’ have to tell you that in the
Book of Proverbs, in the 29th chapter in the 11th verse,
it says that “a fool uttereth all his mind”. Out in the street people say “Be
cool” when they mean look out for something or somebody, but being cool is a
more weighty thing than that. My father used to say, “Laugh with your friends,
but smile with strangers.” When I was coming up, you didn’t frown with anybody.
(Gwaltney:69)
Back
to Main Coursepage for LG 449
Page last updated on 20 November 2003