Course materials for/by Peter L. Patrick. May contain
copyright material used for educational purposes. Please respect copyright.
Text for LG449
by Prof. Peter L. Patrick, Univ. of Essex
African American Vernacular English Data
(Adapted from Bengt Loman, Conversations in a Negro Dialect.
Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1967.)
|
0 |
Mike: |
Jo
Ann Hayes an' nem not my girl frien'. |
|
1 |
|
Cause
I took deir ball an' ney ain' gettin' i' back. |
|
2 |
Greg: |
You
took my tennis ba', an' I got dat back too, boy. |
|
3 |
Mike: |
I
t'rew your tennis ball up on'ne roof! |
|
4 |
|
You
got Harry Lee tennis ba', you do. |
|
5 |
Greg: |
So
you th'ow mines up dere an', keep Harry Lee's. |
|
6 |
Mike: |
So,
'pose Harry Lee tell your mother now.
(laughs) |
|
7 |
Greg: |
I
migh' tell my mother dat you t'row mines up dere on'ne roof. |
|
8 |
Mike: |
Aw
Gregory let' talks ... slowly,
slowly, Gregory. ... |
|
9 |
|
How
did you like Marsha' Hall, Gregory? |
|
10 |
Greg: |
How
did YOU like Marsha' Hall? You fell down an' -- |
|
11 |
Mike: |
I
was scare' when I got in'na scary house. |
|
12 |
Greg: |
I
know you scare', you a'ways be scare'
you little skinny self. |
|
13 |
Mike: |
--because
we were bumpin' up into peopuh. |
|
14 |
Greg: |
So,
we bump up to de people, it's fun. |
|
15 |
Mike: |
S'pose
you would'a slug your hea' ... |
|
16 |
|
into
another man hea', now (laughs) |
|
17 |
Greg: |
'pose,
'pose a glass break up on your hea'. |
|
18 |
|
What
you do abou' da', i' bus' all up. |
|
19 |
Mike: |
S'pose
Superman would'a slug your head in! |
|
|
|
..........
(some conversation skipped)......... |
|
20 |
Mike: |
Gregory.
Gregory. How many trophies did you win? |
|
21 |
Greg: |
You
didn' win none! |
|
22 |
Mike: |
None!
I bet you. (laughs) |
|
23 |
|
I
bet you I won a footba'. |
|
24 |
Greg: |
You
ain' won no football. |
|
25 |
Mike: |
Yeah
I did so! I won a footba' |
|
26 |
|
an'
Marsha' t'rew it up on'ne roof. (laughs) Now-- |
|
27 |
Greg: |
Who,
Michael Smif? |
|
28 |
Mike: |
Marsha'. |
|
29 |
|
..........
(some conversation skipped)......... |
|
30 |
Greg: |
Gi'
me five. Michael. Jus' fi'. |
|
31 |
Mike: |
Two. |
|
32 |
Greg: |
Da's
five. Now le' me gi' you thi'ty. |
|
33 |
|
I
wou' gi' you thirty, but's your han's so dirty! (laughs) |
|
34 |
Mike: |
You
got me that time, didn' you Gregory. |
|
35 |
Greg: |
You
could a did dat on me too. |
|
36 |
|
You
ain' look out, I'm gon' get you back one mo' time. |
|
37 |
Mike: |
I
bet you a nickel da' I be lookin' sharper dan you tonight. |
|
38 |
Greg: |
No you won'. |
|
39 |
Mike: |
You
wanna bet? |
|
40 |
Greg: |
No
you ain'. |
|
41 |
|
You
come here wit your shir' goin' a way down here, |
|
42 |
|
an'
your shir' stickin' out. So be quiet, big mouf. |
|
|
|
|
(Slightly adapted from the original for teaching
purposes by PL Patrick)
Last updated 16 May 2003