R.

Albu, Varieties of P-D English

BLACK ENGLISH

Definition
Why?
Phonology:
 consonants /r/... Harold Hal
carrot cat
/l/... help tall
silk goal
 final clusters: missed, band, talks
(Note on send, rent or thumbs, thump)
 th
/t/, /d/ in initial position: them
/f/, /v/ in medial and final position: something, soothe
 -ing -> /n/
 vowels buy, toy
send, rent
 prosody, pitch; stress: defense, Detroit, police

Grammar

Features shared by other dialects of nonstandard E.:

 the use of multiple negation: He don't never say anything.
 redundant subjects My brother, he took me;
 deviant verb forms: She begun working just yesterday;
 use of a instead of an: You want a orange!
 deviant prepositional usage: different to me; married with him
 use of ain't rather than haven't/hasn't as an auxiliary: I ain't been told; They aint never come back.
 inversion after an interrogation adverb that introduces a subordinate clause: He asked me when did I come.
 omission of the have auxiliary in perfect tenses: We been eating popcorn; He seen that before.
(In the last case it may also be the non-standard past of see)
 loss of inflections:
-esp. of the plural marker -s when meaning is clear: I got three sister
-deletion of possessive marker if redundant:
That Jim bike. This you hat? (but not: This hat you?)
-3rd pers. sing pres. -s: She make me breakfast every morning
-past endings: He talk to me last week
(That does not mean these categories are absent. The same speaker may say Yesterday I walk hom and also
Yesterday I went home, not "I go". The /t/ of walked is often dropped for phonological reasons.)

Omission of the copula - characteristic of Black English:

He talikng now. He tired. (But: Can you tell me where I am? - if necessary)
Note: - invariant, uninflected be - repeated or continuing actions: He be grouchy
- no be - true at the moment of speaking: He grouchy.

Recent vs. remote past – characteristic of Black English:

That cat done bit me (=just bit me)
He done broke the jar.
but:
That been gone. (distant past)