HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

THE TRANSLATION STRATEGIES OF NON-STANDARD LANGUAGE:

AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH

Võ Huỳnh Tiên
Course: Introduction to English Applied Linguistics
Class: 211312B
Email: 21131124@student.hcmute.edu.vn

Abstract
The study on The Translation Strategies Of Non-standard Language: African
American Vernacular English is a study of application of social language theory,
namely the dialect to clarify characteristics of African American Vernacular English
and find the suitable translation strategies for African American Vernacular English.

1. Introduction
Nowadays, the African American Vernacular English is becoming more
popular amongst young people by the spread of rapping culture, memes and social
media. One interesting fact is that even though the Z generation might access and use
the African American Vernacular English as “slang words” regularly, they didn’t
know about the name and the origin of this language. When I ask my friends to see
whether they acknowledge that the words they use such as “lit”, “bae”, “sis”, “simp”,
and “hella” are rooted in African dialects, few of them said yes. Therefore, few of
them know that using Black Vernacular English (BVE) as a non-black person is
debatable whether it is an appropriation. This paradox about youth’s BVE using ratio
and their knowledge of BVE make me want to dig deeper into the platform. After one
week, I decided to fall in the idea that there should be a translation strategies which
translators can use to translate the African American vernacular English. This study
purpose is to find translation strategies and provide the background knowledge of
African American Vernacular English, using secondary sources to lead to the
conclusions.

2. Background of the study

2.1. Source language and target language
These are convenient terms and are really self-explanatory. The source
language is the language you are working from whereas the target language is the
language you are working into (your language of habitual use).1

2.2. Language and culture

Wittgenstein once said, " The limits of my language are the limits of my
world". Language, as a part of the cultural core, is at the heart of culture. What people
do with language - narrative, poetry, songs, plays, etc – are soft expressions of a
culture; they are faces of culture. Languages are systems of verbal symbols - vocal
and/or written, organized by particular rules (grammar) & used by particular rules
(grammar) and used by particular communities in order to develop and communicate
their thoughts and affections.2
1
Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown. (2010) A Practical Guide for Translators (FifthEdition). Short Run Press Ltd.
2
Monireh Akbari. The Role of Culture in Translation, 2013.

1
 2.3. Theoretical Approaches to Translating Dialects
In case translators are supposed to deal with dialects in an assigned text, they
face a difficult issue; i.e., how to create a corresponding solution which would
function well in the target language and culture. In order to reach a successful
outcome, they should:

1. Know the rules for creating an equivalent in translation,

2. Analyze the source text, and realize what (stylistic and/or cultural) purpose
the specific dialect has in it,
3. Find out what linguistic means and features the target language offers.3

2.4. Standard language and non-standard language

A standard language is a variety of language that is used by governments, in
the media, in schools and for international communication. There are different
standard varieties of English in the world, such as North American English,
Australian English and Indian English. Although these standard varieties differ in
terms of their pronunciation, there are few differences in grammar between them. In
contrast, there are non-standard forms of a language that are used, for example, in
different regional dialects and these non-standard varieties are different from each
other4. A dialect can be defined as a regional variety of a language and can differ from
the codified standard at all linguistic levels (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar,
and/or syntax) to a greater or lesser extent. Dialects are rooted in time and space, i.e.
with its vocabulary and pronunciation a dialect will always give the reader an
association with a certain geographical space or chronological period. A dialect is a
form of non-standard language use.5

3. Aim and study questions

This study aims to explore African American Vernacular English, and then
choose the translation strategies which are suitable to translate African American
Vernacular English.
In order to achieve this aim, the following study questions will be addressed:
• What is African American Vernacular English?
• What are the features of African American Vernacular English?
• Which translation strategies would be suitable for African American Vernacular
English translations?

4. Study methods
• Secondary data collections method

5. African American Vernacular English

5.1. What is African American Vernacular English?

3
Bc. Petra Sládková. Non-Standard English Varieties in Literary Translation: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, 2013.
4
Cambridge Dictionary
5
Antonia Kjellström. Twisting the standard: Non-standard language in literature and translation from English to
Swedish.

2
 5.2. Origins of African American Vernacular English
African American (Vernacular) English, sometimes referred to as Ebonics, is
“the paradigm case of ethnicity-based language diversity” (Wolfram and Schilling-
Estes 211), and also a controversial topic, because “race and ethnicity in American
society remain highly contentious and politically sensitive” (212). Despite the fact
that it is one of the most frequently discussed matters in linguistic-oriented academic
papers (Mufwene 64), up to now, scholars have not reached an agreement about the
origin of this dialect. They agree that African American English is “historically rooted
in a Southern-based, rural working-class variety” (Wolfram and Schilling-Estes 217);
however, four different hypotheses about its early development have been established:
the Anglicist, the creolist, the neo-Anglicist, and the substrate hypotheses (219). The
Anglicist hypothesis claims that African American English and the Southern
American dialect share the same ancestry. According to supporters of this theory,
slaves brought from Africa learned the regional and social varieties of White speakers
with whom they were in contact, and only a few traces of African languages have
been preserved in Ebonics till today (Wolfram and Schilling-Estes 219). The creolist
hypothesis, which was popular in 1970’s, maintains that African American English
developed from a creole. This argument is supported by the fact that Ebonics and
other English-based creoles, for example, in Jamaica or Barbados, have several
features in common (220). Advocates of this hypothesis claim that as a result of close
contacts with other English varieties, a process of decreolization took place, and this
creole language became more similar to the aforementioned dialects. However, as
new data emerged which indicated that “the distribution of slaves […] was not
particularly advantageous to the perpetuation of a widespread plantation creole,”
(222), the neo-Anglicist hypothesis was developed. It argues that earlier Ebonics was
directly linked to the dialect brought to North America from the British Isles, and the
differences between the African American English and the Southern American dialect
stem from Ebonics’ own, unique process of evolution (Wolfram and Schilling-Estes
222). The African American community simply innovated specific features of their

3
speech; as Labov puts it, “many important features of the modern dialect are a
creation of the twentieth century and not an inheritance of the nineteenth” (cited in
Wolfram and Schilling-Estes 222).
Nevertheless, some linguists refuse this theory about this dialect’s origin as
well, because several differences which can be observed between Ebonics and other
European American varieties are present also in enclave communities of Black
expatriates (for example, in the Dominican Republic or in Canada; Wolfram and
Schilling-Estes 221-222). On that account, the substrate hypothesis was established,
which maintains that the language of slaves brought to North America had been
influenced by contact with users of a creole (during their journey from Africa), and
with speakers of other American English varieties (223). For example, Arthur L.
Palacas argues in his paper that Ebonics is “rather a number of English words
arranged according to the syntax of the Sudan languages (Palacas 337). However,
neither this theory brings the definite answer about the roots of this dialect.
One certain fact about the origin of African American English is that it arose
in the American South, and during several migration waves, it spread throughout the
United States. Therefore, it is now perceived as a supra-regional ethnic dialect, since
it is connected to the African American community. As Wolfram and Schilling-Estes
put it, “due to the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws and the consequent segregation,
Ebonics has preserved several linguistic features” (225) which occur with most of its
speakers till today: for example, the habitual “be”, absence of copula, absence of
third-person –sin the present tense, absence of possessive and general plural –s, usage
of “ain’t” for negative forms of “do” or “be” in present and past tenses, or reduction
of final consonant clusters in speech, the result of which may be phonetic writing
(Wolfram and Schilling-Estes 214).
Results of several surveys carried out among users of African American
English showed that this dialect is connected to many cultural notions. For instance,
these speakers perceive their dialect as a source of overt pride, and as a part of their
cultural heritage. It also serves as a pillar of their
oppositional identity; i.e., it also concerns how members of this community see
themselves regarding the White society (226-227). According to John Ogbu’s
research, even though more educated African Americans speak proper English outside
their community, they often refuse to use is within their ethnic group, because it
“signifies adopting White attitudes of superiority” and it is “puttin’ on”; i.e., such a
person would be seen as “acting white”, since it is not the natural way of African
Americans’ talking (Ogbu 170-171).6

5.3. Features of African American Vernacular English

6
Bc. Petra Sládková. Non-Standard English Varieties in Literary Translation: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, 2013.

4
 1. It adds and deletes morphemes

Third person
Zero plural
Zero Possessive Zero Past Tense singular -s
EX: A girl puttin’
EX: I ride in my EX: And then he EX: Sometimes
some glass on
brother car fix the food she wear a
the table
baseball cap

1. It adds and deletes morphemes

1. It adds and deletes morphemes
Third person
Zero Possessive 1.Zero
It adds
Pastand deletesZero
Tense morphemes
plural
singular
Third -s
person
Zero EX:Zero
A girlplural
puttin’
EX: I Possessive
ride in my Zero
EX: AndPastthen
Tense
he EX:singular -s
Sometimes
some
EX: glass
A girl on
puttin’
brother
EX: I ride incar
my EX:fixAnd
thethen
foodhe she
Third
EX: wear a
person
Sometimes
the glass
some
Zero table
pluralon
brother
Zero car
Possessive fix Past
Zero the food
Tense baseball
she cap
wear-sa
singular
the table
EX: A girl puttin’ baseball cap
EX: I ride in my EX: And then he EX: Sometimes
some glass on
brother car fix the food she wear a
the table
baseball cap

6. Translation of African American Vernacular English

6.1. An example from the translation of Mark Twain: The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a Mark Twain’s 1885 novel
condemning the institutionalized racism of the pre-Civil War South is among the most
celebrated works of American fiction. Twain’s story of a runaway boy and an escaped
slave’s travels on the Mississippi plumbs the essential meaning of freedom.
Let us now take a look at how Xuân Oanh, who is the translator of this story’s
Vietnamese version, dealt with the strong manifestation of African American dialect
in the speech of Jim, an uneducated slave.7

Mark Twain Xuân Oanh’s translation

“Well, den! Warn' dat de beatenes'
notion in de worl'? You jes' take en look
at it a minute. Dah's de stump, dah-dat's
one er de women; heah's you-dat's de
yuther one; I's Sollermun; en dish yer
dollar bill's de chile. Bofe un you claims
it. What does I do? Does I shin aroun'
mongs' de neighbors en fine out which
“Đấy! Thế! Chẳng phải là cái chuyện
cay đắng nhất trên đời ấy ư? Cậu thử
nghĩ xem. Chuyện đó rắc rối như thế,
bên này là một người đàn bà, cậu nghe
không, thí dụ cậu là một người đàn bà
khác; tôi là Sollermun, và cái tờ đô la
này là đứa trẻ con. Cả hai bên đều đòi
lấy. Vậy tôi làm thế nào. Tôi có nên đi

7
This comparison is done by taking the idea from “Bc. Petra Sládková. Non-Standard English Varieties in Literary
Translation: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, 2013”

5
un you de bill do b'long to, en han' it
over to de right one, all safe en soun', de
way dat anybody dat had any gumption
would? No; I take en whack de bill in
two, en give half un it to you, en de
yuther half to de yuther woman. Dat's de
way Sollermun was gwyne to do wid de
chile.”
hỏi láng giềng rằng tờ đô la này là của ai
không, rồi sẽ giao nó cho người nào có
nguyên vẹn cả tờ giấy bạc; tất cả những
ai có óc thực tế đều làm như vậy, có phải
không? ấy thế mà tôi lại đi xé tờ đô la ra
làm đôi và đưa một nửa cho cậu, còn
một nửa cho người đàn bà kia. Ấy đấy,
ông Sollermun ông ấy làm cái cách như
vậy đối với một đứa bé con ấy đấy.”

Through this translation of Xuân Oanh, we can see how African American
dialect can be translated by standardization refers to substitutions of dialect in the
original work with standard language in the target culture. The translation avoids any
domestic connotations while maintaining the setting and topical references from the
original.

6.2. African American Vernacular English translation strategies

Base on the features of African American Vernacular English and the study
case of Xuân Oanh’s translation, I had find the suitable strategies for African
American Vernacular English translation from the research of Perteghella (2012),
who studies the German translation of Cockney dialogues in Pygmalion and the
Italian translation of the play Saved, identified five textual strategies available for
translators to address issues in translating non-standard language, such as slang and
dialect, in theater plays. The strategies include:

(1)Dialect Compilation in which translators replace a dialect or slang language

with a mixture of dialects or idioms known by target readers while
maintaining the original setting.

(2)Pseudo-Dialect Translation in which translators make up a fictitious, vague

dialect that may be composed of nonstandard language and idiomatic features
of different regional dialects in the target culture, while maintaining proper
names and topical or cultural references that exist in the source material.

(3)Parallel Dialect Translation, which is replacing the original dialect or slang

with a target culture dialect or slang that has similar connotations or an
analogous position in the target culture’s linguistic system. The translator may
choose to keep proper names, topical jokes, and other cultural references from
the original work.

(4)Dialect Localization, that is, a domestication strategy in which translators

localize a dialect from the original work into a specific dialect in the target
culture. Proper names, topical jokes, settings, and other cultural references in
the original work may be adapted into those more familiar to the target
culture’s audience.

(5) Standardization refers to substitutions of dialect, slang, or jargon in the

original work with standard language in the target culture. The translation
avoids any domestic connotations while maintaining the setting and topical
references from the original.

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7. Conclusion
The study is a practical approach to translation of dialects, namely of African
American Vernacular English. The study's chosen translation strategies not only
suitable for African American Vernacular English translation; but also a modern
translation solution, which can give the readers better experience that they could
understand the dialects through their familiar language in written contents.

8. List of references

ALL OF SOURCES THAT ARE USED IN THIS STUDY

Perteghella, Manuella. 2012. Language and politics on stage: strategies for

translating dialect
and slang with references to Shaw's Pygmalion and Bond's Saved.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Harper & Row,
1987.
<https://contentserver.adobe.com/store/books/HuckFinn.pdf>
Twain, Mark. Những cuộc phiêu lưu của Huckleberry Finn. Translated by Xuân
Oanh. Place of publication: Công ty CP Văn hóa Huy Hoàng, 2021.
<http://lequydonhanoi.edu.vn/upload_images/S%C3%A1ch%20V%C4%83n%20h
%E1%BB%8Dc/nhungcuocphieuluucuaH.pdf>
Geoffrey Samuelsson-Brown. (2010) A Practical Guide for Translators
(FifthEdition). Short Run Press Ltd.
<https://dpsionline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/A-Practical-Guide-for-
Translators-by-G.-Samuelsson-Brown.pdf>
Bc. Petra Sládková. Non-Standard English Varieties in Literary Translation: The
Help by Kathryn Stockett, 2013.
<https://is.muni.cz/th/261866/ff_m/Sladkova_Diploma_Thesis.pdf>
Monireh Akbari. The Role of Culture in Translation, 2013.
<https://academians.org/Media/Default/Articles/August2013/August2013-2.pdf>
Andika Wijaya. Translation of Nonstandard Language and Readability: Analysis of
Joseph’s Speech in an Indonesian version of Wuthering Heights.
<http://www.skase.sk/Volumes/JTI18/pdf_doc/03.pdf>
Antonia Kjellström. Twisting the standard: Non-standard language in literature and
translation from English to Swedish.
<http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1176373/FULLTEXT01.pdf>

7
Cambridge Dictionary: <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/vi/grammar/british-
grammar/standard-and-non-standard-language>
The figures are referenced from www.corelearn.com:
<https://www.corelearn.com/webinar-download-the-challenges-of-language-and-
reading-for-low-income-african-american/>