ПОЛЕЗНЫЕ ССЫЛКИ

APPENDIX

ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ ЧТЕНИЯ И ПЕРЕВОДА

FOR Michael G

The topic of Black English is very actual in terms of sociolinguistics and language interaction development, in racial relations and ethnic cultures. Through understanding Linguistic Aspects of Black English we can observe peculiarities of language development and culture of people. Aim. The aim of this work is to research the linguistic aspects of Black English language. Objectives of the paper are: - to analyze the origin of Black English. - to analyze the development of Pidgin and Creole. - to consider differences between Black English, Standard English, British English, and British Black English. - to investigate the African American Vernacular English and its use in teaching process. - to research the phonetic peculiarities of B.E. - to investigate the grammar peculiarities of B.E. - to consider the lexical peculiarities of B.E. Black English is a social dialect of American English, originated and formed as a result of language interaction in the process of historical development. The topic of the diploma work is to study Black English as a sociolect of American variant of English language, analyze its linguistics aspects, especially phonetic, grammatic, lexical formed in the process of historical development. The historic development and linguistics characteristics make up the core content of work. Black English is the communicative and social system, originally created at the intersection of three dimensions – social class, ethnic and territorial Black English is a term going back to 1969. It is used almost exclusively as the name for a dialect of American English spoken by many black Americans. Black English is a variety of English, spoken in America and it is the subject of many controversies, the problem being that of whether considering it a language, a dialect or simply a slang talk. This language variety, also known a Ebonics, is nearly as old as Standard American English, but it has often been misinterpreted as defective, it has never been standardized and has always had lower status compared to Standard American English. From the 1960’s to the present, African American English has increasingly become also acceptable term for Black English , and the corresponding official name for the language variety used by Africans Americans is thus African American English or African American Vernacular English (AAVE).(15,65) Black English Vernacular (BEV) as coined by William Labov in 1972 defines the variety American English spoken by Black People. Its pronunciation is in some respects common to Southern American English, which is spoken by many African Americans in the United States and by many non-African American. Ebonics is a recent and controversial neologism, coined by Robert L. Williams during a 1973 conference in St. Louis, Missouri, “cognitive and Language Development of the Black Child”. It is a blend of ebony (a synonym for black that lacks its pejorative connotations) and phonics (pertaining to speech sounds) and by definition it refers specifically to an African-language-based Creole (from an earlier pidgin) that has been relexified by borrowing from English, resulting in what African Americans now speak in the United States.(34,54) Black English is complex, controversial, and only partly understood. Records of the early speech forms are sparse. It is unclear, how much influence black speech has had on the pronunciation of southern whites; according to some linguists, generation of close contact resulted in the families of the slaves owners picking up some of the speech habits of their servants, which gradually developed into the distinctive southern ‘drawl’. Slave labor in the south gave birth to diverse linguistic norms; former indentured servants from all parts of the British Isles, who often became overseers on plantations, variously influenced the foundation of Black English. First the industrial revolution then the Civil War disrupted slavery and promoted African-American migration within the U.S., s a result of which slave dialects were transplanted from Southern plantation to the factories of the North and Midwest. There was a widespread exodus to the industrial cities of the northern states, and black culture became known throughout the country for its music and dance. Many historical events have had an effect on Black English. One of this was the early use of English-based pidgins and creoles among slave populations, as almost all Africans originally were brought to the United States as slaves. Pidgin is a variety of a language which developed for some practical purpose, such as trading, among groups of people who did not know each other’s language. Creole is a pidgin which has become the first language of a social community. (17,124) Black English was investigated in the USA by D. Crystal (“The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language ”,” English Language”), by C. Baugh and T.Cable (“History of the English Language”) , in Russia by R.V. Reznic, T.S. Sookina, (“A History of The English Language”), by A.D. Schweitzer (“The Social Differentiation of English in The USA.”), in Kazakhstan by F.S.Duisebayeva (“ Linguistics Aspects of Black English”) but there are no monographic research of B.E. in our country. ( 12,8,9,13,1,10) Theoretical base of research are comprised by the works of D.Crystal, C.Baugh and T.Cable, A.D.Schweitzer, F.S. Duisebayeva and etc. Theoretical significance. The investigation of Black English Language and its linguistic aspects contribute for a further development of sociolinguistics theory, American studies etc. The practical significance. This material can be used as teaching manual in the process of teaching English Language, Lexicology, History of the English language, Area studies. Methods of research. The following methods are used in the paper: comparative, descriptive, analytical. The structure of work. The diploma work consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusion and bibliography. The introduction covers topicality, aim, objectives, and theoretical base of research, theoretical significance, the practical significance, and methods of research and the structure of work. Chapter I. Development of Black English presents historical review of Black English, analyses of the origin of Black English, the development of Pidgin and Creole. Chapter II. Development of the U.S. Black English considers differences of Black English and Standard English, British English and British Black English, A.A.V.E. and its use in teaching process. Chapter III. Linguistic aspects of B.E analyses the phonetic, grammar, lexical peculiarities of B.E. Conclusion present the results of the investigation. Bibliography covers 39 units of materials, used in the diploma paper. Introduction. Topicality. Above all, I should state, that the topic of Black English is very actual for the specialists in terms of sociolinguistics and language interaction development, in racial relations and ethnic cultures. Through understanding of Black English Linguistic Aspects we can observe peculiarities of language development and culture of people. Apart from that, personally I have chosen this topic because I am a great fan of rap-culture which is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American communities during the 1970s in New York City. The development of Hip Hop and Rap linguistics is complex. Source material include the spirituals of slaves arriving in the new world, Jamaican dub music, the laments of jazz and blues singers, patterned cockney slang and radio deejays hyping their audience in rhyme. Hip Hop has a distinctive associated slang known as "Black English", or "Ebonics". However difficult it is, but the aim of this work is to research the linguistic aspects of Black English language and to master its basics in order to use in while travelling in America and for better comprehension of lyrics and Black movies. In such a way the objectives of the paper are as follows: - first and foremost to analyze the origin of Black English. - to analyze the development of Creole generally and in particular. - to consider differences between Black English and Standard English. - to investigate the African American Vernacular English - to research the phonetic peculiarities of B.E. - to investigate the grammar peculiarities of B.E. - to consider the lexical peculiarities of B.E. As it was stated in many previous researches, Black English is a social dialect of American English, originated and formed as a result of language interaction in the process of historical development. And the topic of the diploma work is to study Black English as a “sociolect” of American variant of English language, analyze its linguistics aspects, especially phonetic, grammatical, lexical formed in the process of historical development. The historic development and linguistics characteristics make up the core content of work. Black English is the communicative and social system, originally created at the intersection of three dimensions – social class, ethnic and territorial. As far as the history of the subject is concerned Black English is a term going back to 1969. It is used almost exclusively as the name for a dialect of American English spoken by many black Americans. Therefore Black English is a variety of English, spoken in America and it is the subject of many controversies, the problem being that of whether considering it a language, a dialect or simply a slang talk. This language variety, also known a Ebonics, is nearly as old as Standard American English, but it has often been misinterpreted as defective, it has never been standardized and has always had lower status compared to Standard American English. From the 1960’s to the present, African American English has increasingly become also acceptable term for Black English , and the corresponding official name for the language variety used by Africans Americans is thus African American English or African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Black English Vernacular (BEV) as coined by William Labov in 1972 defines the variety American English spoken by Black People. Its pronunciation is in some respects common to Southern American English, which is spoken by many African Americans in the United States and by many non-African American. Ebonics is a recent and controversial neologism, coined by Robert L. Williams during a 1973 conference in St. Louis, Missouri, “cognitive and Language Development of the Black Child”. It is a blend of ebony (a synonym for black that lacks its pejorative connotations) and phonics (pertaining to speech sounds) and by definition it refers specifically to an African-language-based Creole (from an earlier pidgin) that has been relexified by borrowing from English, resulting in what African Americans now speak in the United States. Black English is complex, controversial, and only partly understood. Records of the early speech forms are sparse. It is unclear, how much influence black speech has had on the pronunciation of southern whites; according to some linguists, generation of close contact resulted in the families of the slaves owners picking up some of the speech habits of their servants, which gradually developed into the distinctive southern ‘drawl’. Slave labor in the south gave birth to diverse linguistic norms; former indentured servants from all parts of the British Isles, who often became overseers on plantations, variously influenced the foundation of Black English. First the industrial revolution then the Civil War disrupted slavery and promoted African-American migration within the U.S., s a result of which slave dialects were transplanted from Southern plantation to the factories of the North and Midwest. There was a widespread exodus to the industrial cities of the northern states, and black culture became known throughout the country for its music and dance. Many historical events have had an effect on Black English. One of this was the early use of English-based pidgins and creoles among slave populations, as almost all Africans originally were brought to the United States as slaves. Pidgin is a variety of a language which developed for some practical purpose, such as trading, among groups of people who did not know each other’s language. Creole is a pidgin which has become the first language of a social community. To all appearance the investigation of Black English Language and its linguistic aspects contribute has an utmost theoretical significance contributed greatly to a further development of sociolinguistics theory, American studies etc. This material nevertheless possesses, beyond all, practical significance and can be used as teaching manual in the process of teaching English Language, Lexicology, History of the English language, Area studies. Moreover important is the fact that there are still very few substantial works on this matter. With this aim in view I have chosen strictly scientific methods and approaches in the process of research under this paper: comparative, descriptive and analytical. The diploma work has a clear and logically designed structure and consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusion and bibliography (the list of literature).The introduction covers topicality, aim, objectives, and theoretical base of research, theoretical significance, the practical significance, and methods of research and the structure of work. Chapter I (General Review) presents the definition of the subject notion, tells about the origin of the Black English, defines the Ebonics term, tells about mimics and gestures connected with the Black English, funny cases of intercultural communications, ponders over Black English and education and finally enlists all countries over the world where the Black English is spoken. Chapter II(Theoretical Part) dwell on phonology, lexical features, describes the grammar system, analyses the written forms of the language, presents some notable works with black speech, compares British Black English and Standard English, casts a glance at African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Chapter III (Practical Part) describes my personal contacts with basketball players while staying in the United States and movies comprehension with representation of black speech. And finally in the last part of my diploma, namely in the conclusion, I dwell on officials contradictory treatment of the phenomena, multiple value of Black English for literature and media and after all affirm, that constantly changeable linguistic phenomenon of Black English requires further research, attention and investigation. Bibliography covers units of materials, used during my work over the diploma paper.

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Contents Introduction:………………………………….............................................04 Chapter I. General Review of Black English 1. The Definition………………………………….............................08 2. The Origin of the Black English………………………………….09 3. Black English All Over the World……………............................10 4. Mimics and Gestures Connected with Black English ……………12 5. Intercultural Communications……………..................................13 6. Black English and Education…………….....................................14 Chapter II. Linguistic Aspects of Black English 1. Phonology…….............................................................................19 2. Lexical features….........................................................................23 3. The Grammar System…...............................................................25 4. Written Language….....................................................................31 5. Specific use for numerals …………………….............................34 6. Ebonics………………………………….....................................39 7. Differences of B.E. and Standard English, British English and British Black English........……………………………………………….....40 8. A Look at African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and its role in the teaching process................………………………………….....46 9. Some notable works with black speech…………..........................53 Chapter III. In Touch With Black English 1. My Contacts With Basketball Players ………………...................56 2. Black English in Movies……………………………....................64 Conclusion …………………………………...........................……..........67 Bibliography ………………………………….….....................................71

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African-American communities during the 1970s in New York City. The development of Hip Hop and Rap linguistics is complex. Source material include the spirituals of slaves arriving in the new world, Jamaican dub music, the laments of jazz and blues singers, patterned cockney slang and radio deejays hyping their audience in rhyme. Hip Hop has a distinctive associated slang known as "Black English", or "Ebonics". However difficult it is, but the aim of this work is to research the linguistic aspects of Black English language and to master its basics in order to use in while traveling in America and for better comprehension of lyrics and Black movies. In such a way the objectives of the paper are as follows: - first and foremost to analyze the origin of Black English. - to analyze the development of Creole generally and in particular. - to consider differences between Black English and Standard English. - to investigate the African American Vernacular English - to research the phonetic peculiarities of B.E. - to investigate the grammar peculiarities of B.E. - to consider the lexical peculiarities of B.E. As it was stated in many previous researches, Black English is a social dialect of American English, originated and formed as a result of language interaction in the process of historical development. And the topic of the diploma work is to study Black English as a “sociolect” of American variant of English language, analyze its linguistics aspects, especially phonetic, grammatical, lexical formed in the process of historical development. The historic development and linguistics characteristics make up the core content of work. Black English is the communicative and social system, originally created at the intersection of three dimensions – social class, ethnic and territorial. As far as the history of the subject is concerned Black English is a term going back to 1969. It is used almost exclusively as the name for a dialect of American English spoken by many black Americans. Therefore Black English is a variety of English, spoken in America and it is the subject of many controversies, the problem being that of whether considering it a language, a dialect or simply a slang talk. This language variety, also known a Ebonics, is nearly as old as Standard American English, but it has often been misinterpreted as defective, it has never been standardized and has always had lower status compared to Standard American English. From the 1960’s to the present, African American English has increasingly become also acceptable term for Black English , and the corresponding official name for the language variety used by Africans Americans is thus African American English or African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Black English Vernacular (BEV) as coined by William Labov in 1972 defines the variety American English spoken by Black People. Its pronunciation is in some respects common to Southern American English, which is spoken by many African Americans in the United States and by many non-African American. Ebonics is a recent and controversial neologism, coined by Robert L. Williams during a 1973 conference in St. Louis, Missouri, “cognitive and Language Development of the Black Child”. It is a blend of ebony (a synonym for black that lacks its pejorative connotations) and phonics (pertaining to speech sounds) and by definition it refers specifically to an African-language-based Creole (from an earlier pidgin) that has been relexified by borrowing from English, resulting in what African Americans now speak in the United States. Black English is complex, controversial, and only partly understood. Records of the early speech forms are sparse. It is unclear, how much influence black speech has had on the pronunciation of southern whites; according to some linguists, generation of close contact resulted in the families of the slaves owners picking up some of the speech habits of their servants, which gradually developed into the distinctive southern ‘drawl’. Slave labor in the south gave birth to diverse linguistic norms; former indentured servants from all parts of the British Isles, who often became overseers on plantations, variously influenced the foundation of Black English. First the industrial revolution then the Civil War disrupted slavery and promoted African-American migration within the U.S., s a result of which slave dialects were transplanted from Southern plantation to the factories of the North and Midwest. There was a widespread exodus to the industrial cities of the northern states, and black culture became known throughout the country for its music and dance. Many historical events have had an effect on Black English. One of this was the early use of English-based pidgins and creoles among slave populations, as almost all Africans originally were brought to the United States as slaves. Pidgin is a variety of a language which developed for some practical purpose, such as trading, among groups of people who did not know each other’s language. Creole is a pidgin which has become the first language of a social community. To all appearance the investigation of Black English Language and its linguistic aspects contribute has an utmost theoretical significance contributed greatly to a further development of sociolinguistics theory, American studies etc. This material nevertheless possesses, beyond all, practical significance and can be used as teaching manual in the process of teaching English Language, Lexicology, History of the English language, Area studies. Moreover important is the fact that there are still very few substantial works on this matter. With this aim in view I have chosen strictly scientific methods and approaches in the process of research under this paper: comparative, descriptive and analytical. The diploma work has a clear and logically designed structure and consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusion and bibliography (the list of literature).The introduction covers topicality, aim, objectives, and theoretical base of research, theoretical significance, the practical significance, and methods of research and the structure of work. Chapter I (General Review) presents the definition of the subject notion, tells about the origin of the Black English, defines the Ebonics term, tells about mimics and gestures connected with the Black English, funny cases of intercultural communications, ponders over Black English and education and finally enlists all countries over the world where the Black English is spoken. Chapter II(Theoretical Part) dwell on phonology, lexical features, describes the grammar system, analyses the written forms of the language, presents some notable works with black speech, compares British Black English and Standard English, casts a glance at African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Chapter III (Practical Part) describes my personal contacts with basketball players while staying in the United States and movies comprehension with representation of black speech. And finally in the last part of my diploma, namely in the conclusion, I dwell on officials contradictory treatment of the phenomena, multiple value of Black English for literature and media and after all affirm, that constantly changeable linguistic phenomenon of Black English requires further research, attention and investigation. Bibliography covers units of materials, used during my work over the diploma paper. Chapter I. General Review of Black English 1. Above all let us try to define the subject notion. Under Black English we mean any of the non-standard varieties (or sociolects/social dialects, or ethnolects/ethnic dialects) of Standard English spoken by Black people throughout the world. Black British was, for example, an identity of Black people in Sierra Leone (known as the Krio) who considered themselves the British. East Indian Africans also use Black English. But nevertheless, «Black English" can refer to two MAIN different language varieties: (1) the type of English used by people of African and Caribbean descent who live in Britain; (2) the language of African-Americans (negroes) in the United States. This is usually called Black English Vernacular or BEV for short. "Black English" in both senses has its historical roots in a “creolized” form of English which dates back to the time of slavery. Creoles are languages which evolve from Pidgins when the pidgins become first languages for some or all of their speakers. Black English Vernacular has a somewhat different history (and is a different language) from British Black English. This unit will concentrate on British Black English [1]. In the United States, the term Black English usually refers to the everyday spoken varieties of English used by African Americans, especially of the working class in urban neighborhoods or rural communities. Linguists generally prefer the term African American Vernacular English, although some use the term Ebonics, which saw widespread use in the late 1990s. It is an error to suppose that Black English is spoken by all African Americans regardless of their background. _______________________________________________________ [1] - Duisebayeva F.S. Linguistic Aspects of Black English- В сб.: A. 2007). In fact, the English spoken by African Americans is highly varied - as varied as the English spoken by any other racial or ethnic group. Sometimes Black English is used to refer to other varieties of English spoken by Black people outside of the United States, as in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. Experts, however, can't come to the consent as to how phenomenon concerns literary English. Some of them, let us call them the extremists, consider that it is a separate language. Others name it a dialect – but a dialect supposes something regional, instead of national, moreover, it bears in itself the coloring of not politically correct value or abnormality, a kind of deviation from norm. Besides in New York, Texas, and Alabama there are their own local, so to say, variations. You can’t call «black English» a slang, since a slang exists separately in the language system as well and has its own term - jive – and there is also a standard form of language spoken in Black church. In a word, scientists carefully name Black English an Afro-American Variant of English language, for variety is a word with politically correct connotation. And the phenomenon itself is much deeper than a purely linguistic riddle because it’s a rattling mixture and a reflection of social, ethnic, cultural, and political problems; with an immemorial issue of interracial relations. 2. There are several theories concerning the origin of Black English [2].The first theory is the Creole one. The slaves, brought to North American states, have taken with them some West African languages, and contacting with their white owners have developed a primitive way of a dialogue with the use of English lexicon, coupled with the sound system borrowed from their native African sources. [2] - Baugh C. and Cable T .History of The English Language. N.Y.: Taylor&Francis, 2002). The second theory is developed by the American dialectologists. They consider that the black language has appeared on the basis of specific dialects of the south of the USA. At that they affirm that the East English dialects served as a basis for the new language which was slightly affected by African dialects. The third theory, in my opinion, is the most actual and universal – the so called sociolinguistic one. It states that language arose due to an unpleasant fact that its carriers throughout centuries have been living in black ghettoes of big cities (so-called «internal cities», inner cities) – and in those closed communities they were forced to invent a specific speech for the bottom classes. Thus in the limited space of outsiders there came into being this original phenomenon. The truth stands behind each theory – so it is better to consider during our investigation all of them. 3. Black English ALL OVER THE WORLD: Under Black English the linguists mean any of the nonstandard varieties of English spoken by Black people throughout the world in broad sense, so it is spoken on all continents of the world, having a wide spread all over the globe. You’ll find below a list of countries and dialects. Africa · Aku (dialect) (Gambia) · Cameroon English · Cameroonian Pidgin English · Chilapalapa (Zambia, Zimbabwe) · Engsh (Kenya) · Krio language (Sierra Leone) · Liberian English · Liberian Kreyol language · Malawian English · Nigerian Pidgin · South African English · Ugandan English · West African Pidgin English The Americas North America · African American Vernacular English (primarily US) · Bermudian English · Gullah language Caribbean · Caribbean English · Anguillan Creole · Antiguan Creole · Bahamian English · Bajan Creole also called Barbadian · Cayman Creole · Grenadian Creole · Jamaican English · Jamaican Patois · Montserrat Creole · Saint Martin Creole · Saint Kitts Creole · Tobagonian Creole · Trinidadian English · Trinidadian Creole · Turks and Caicos Islands Creole · Vincentian Creole · Virgin Islands Creole Central America · Belizean Kriol language · Colуn Creole (Panama) · Limуnese Creole (Costa Rica) · Miskito Coastal Creole (Nicaragua) · Rama Cay Creole (Nicaragua) · Rio Abajo Creole (Panama) South America · Guyanese Creole · Ndyuka (language) (Suriname) · San Andrйs-Providencia Creole (Colombia) · Sranan Tongo (Suriname) Australasia Australia · Australian Aboriginal English · Australian Kriol language · Light Warlpiri · Queensland Kanaka English · Torres Strait Creole Elsewhere · Bislama (Vanuatu) · Nauruan Pidgin English · Pijin language (Solomon Islands) · Tok Pisin (New Guinea) 4. Certain mimics and gestures are connected with the Black English in the system call – response, so to say the expression of the speakers reaction: for example, beating your chest as a sign of self-representation< hugging, shaking hands and fingering. A closed fist held with the thumb extended upward or downward is a gesture of approval or disapproval, respectively. The "shaka" sign is a common greeting gesture. It consists of extending the thumb and little finger while keeping the three middle fingers curled, and is often described colloquially as the "hang loose" or "chilax" gesture. It is similar to American Sign Language letter "Y", where a fist is also made with only the thumb and little finger extended. The sign is often followed by waving as a greeting or acknowledgment [3]. 5. Intercultural communications, a dialogue of representatives of different cultures is a matter of safety, both international, and cross-cultural. Misunderstanding in this sphere has caused many loud conflicts – both interpersonal and international, including misunderstanding of Black English . Here we take, for example, the word bad (bad) with Afro-American’s positive definition - it means pride, rebelliousness, advantage. A funny scandal occurred once during The Cold War when Mohammed Ali said, addressing to the people of Tanzania: “There are two bad white men in the history of the world, the Russian white man and the American white man. They are the two baddest men in the history of the world. That is two most bad white persons in the world is Russian and the American”. Naturally, Ali meant «the greatest, the most powerful, the most fearless», but he was misunderstood, and hardly escaped from a large international diplomatic scandal . [3] - Blog on African American English "http://africanamericanenglish.com/" Talks about issues relating to African American English).

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6. AAVE has been the center of controversy about the education of African American youths, the role AAVE should play in public schools and education, and its place in broader society. Educators have held that attempts should be made to eliminate AAVE usage through the public education system [4]. Criticism from social commentators and educators has ranged from asserting that AAVE is an intrinsically deficient form of speech to arguments that its use, by being considered unacceptable in most cultural contexts, is socially limiting. Some of the harshest criticism of AAVE or its use has come from other African Americans. A conspicuous example was the "Pound Cake speech", in which Bill Cosby criticized many African Americans for various social behaviors, including exclusive use of AAVE. Faced with such attitudes, the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), a division of National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), issued a position statement on students' rights to their own language. This was adopted by CCCC members in April 1974 and appeared in a special issue of College Composition and Communication in Fall of 1974. The resolution was as follows: "We affirm the students' right to their own patterns and varieties of language—the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their own identity and style. Language scholars long ago denied that the myth of a standard American dialect has any validity. The claim that any one dialect is unacceptable amounts to an attempt of one social group to exert its dominance over another. Such a claim leads to false advice for speakers and writers and immoral advice for humans. A nation proud of its diverse heritage and its cultural and racial variety will preserve its heritage of dialects. We affirm strongly that teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect diversity and uphold the right of students to their own language." [4] - Pollock, K.; Bailey, G.; Berni; Fletcher; Hinton, L.N.; Johnson; Roberts; Weaver (1998). "Phonological Features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE)". Around this time, pedagogical techniques similar to those used to teach English to speakers of foreign languages were shown to hold promise for speakers of AAVE. William Stewart experimented with the use of dialect readers—sets of text in both AAVE and SAE. The idea was that children could learn to read in their own dialect and then shift to Standard English with subsequent textbooks. Simpkins, Holt & Simpkins (1977) developed a comprehensive set of dialect readers, called bridge readers, which included the same content in three different dialects: AAVE, a "bridge" version that was closer to SAE without being prohibitively formal, and a Standard English version. Despite studies that showed promise for such "Standard English as a Second Dialect" (SESD) programs, reaction to them was largely hostile and both Stewart's research and the Bridge Program were rejected for various political and social reasons, including strong resistance from parents. A more formal shift in the recognition of AAVE came in the "Ann Arbor Decision" of 1979 (Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children et al., v. Ann Arbor School District). In it, a federal judge ruled that in teaching black children to read, a school board must adjust to the children's dialect, not the children to the school, and that, by not taking students’ language into consideration, teachers were contributing to the failure of such students to read and use mainstream English proficiently. National attitudes towards AAVE were revisited when a controversial resolution from the Oakland (California) school board on December 18, 1996, called on "Ebonics" to be recognized as a language of African Americans. The proposal was to implement a program similar to the Language Development Program for African American Students (LPDAAS) in Los Angeles, which began in 1988 and uses methods from the SESD programs mentioned above. Like other similar programs, the Oakland resolution was widely misunderstood as intended to teach AAVE and "elevate it to the status of a written language." It gained national attention and was derided and criticized, most notably by Jesse Jackson and Kweisi Mfume who regarded it as an attempt to teach slang to children.The statement that "African Language Systems are genetically based" also contributed to widespread hostility because "genetically" was popularly misunderstood to imply that African Americans had a biological predisposition to a particular language. In an amended resolution, this phrase was removed and replaced with wording that states African American language systems "have origins in West [sic] and Niger-Congo languages and are not merely dialects of English. . . ." In reality, the belief underlying the Oakland proposal was that black students would perform better in school and more easily learn standard American English if textbooks and teachers incorporated AAVE in teaching black children to speak Standard English rather than mistakenly equating nonstandard with substandard and dismissing AAVE as the latter. Baratz & Shuy (1969:93) point to these linguistic barriers, and common reactions by teachers, as a primary cause of reading difficulties and poor school performance. More recently, research has been conducted on the overrepresentation of African Americans in special education. Van Keulen, Weddington & DeBose (1998:112–113) argue that this is because AAVE speech characteristics are often erroneously considered to be signs of speech development problems, prompting teachers to refer children to speech pathologists. According to Smitherman, the controversy and debates concerning AAVE in public schools imply deeper deterministic attitudes towards the African-American community as a whole. Smitherman describes this as a reflection of the "power elite's perceived insignificance and hence rejection of Afro-American language and culture". She also asserts that African Americans are forced to conform to European American society in order to succeed, and that conformity ultimately means the "eradication of black language . . . and the adoption of the linguistic norms of the white middle class." The necessity for "bi-dialectialism" (AAVE and SAE) means "some blacks contend that being bi-dialectal not only causes a schism in the black personality, but it also implies such dialects are 'good enough' for blacks but not for whites." Linguists maintain that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with AAVE as a variety since, like all dialects, AAVE shows consistent internal logic and is used earnestly to express thoughts and ideas. However, non-specialist attitudes towards AAVE can be negative, especially amongst African Americans, as it both deviates from the standard and its use is interpreted, at best, as a sign of ignorance or laziness. Perhaps because of this attitude (as well as similar attitudes outside the African American community), most speakers of AAVE are bidialectal, being able to use Standard American English to varying degrees as well as AAVE. Such linguistic adaptation in different environments is called code-switching –though Linnes (1998) argues that the situation is actually one of diglossia –Each dialect, or code, is applied in different settings. Generally speaking, the degree of exclusive use of AAVE decreases with increasing socioeconomic status (although AAVE is still used by even well educated African Americans). Amid related research in the 1960s and 1970s–including William Labov's groundbreaking thorough grammatical study, Language in the Inner City–there was doubt as to the existence of a distinct variety of English spoken by African Americans; Williamson (1970) noted that distinctive features of African American speech were present in the speech of Southerners and Farrison (1970) argued that there were really no substantial vocabulary or grammatical differences between the speech of blacks and that of other English dialects. Why do black students score lower than whites on standardized tests? Even when both groups are in equally wealthy and racially integrated schools? The subtitle of Berkeley anthropologist John U. Ogbu's recent book says it all: "Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement." Ogbu's work documents black students, since the 1980s, staying away from "acting white" behaviors such as dancing a certain way, speaking standard English - or even doing well in school. Language plays a big role in this. Take slang. Why does something like slang exist at all? Mostly, groups use slang to define themselves — who's in, who's out, who's "us" and who's "the stranger." Slang terms are passwords. Through 20 years of fieldwork, my students and I have investigated slang and other secret vocabularies, and we can document something startling: White groups take black slang; black groups almost never adopt white slang [5]. That should strike us as odd, because usually fashion imitates the more powerful. It goes beyond slang, to grammar, pronunciation and other issues. In the 1960s, the renowned sociolinguist William Labov, under whom I studied at Columbia University, discovered through field interviews of Harlem adolescents that more social success went along with less standard English. Those who spoke standard English were branded the "lames." Some of the most brilliant, verbally gifted and socially skilled youths in the study spoke a dialect as different as possible from standard English. Standard English was for lames, and whites. The more the school culture — viewed as white — degrades behaviors like speaking black English, the more students see its value as a black identifier. Of course, not all black Americans speak "black English," nor do they all disdain standard English and professional development. But black English is uniquely anchored in the black culture. The school culture couldn't wrench the language out in the 1960s, and it can't now. There is no scientific reason to uproot black English. Any professional linguist will tell you that, as a language system of communication, black English and standard English are equal, in the same way that French and Greek and Chinese and English are all equal. They do things differently, but there is no factual way to say one is better than the other. All languages are equal. Of course, this equality doesn't apply to the mistakes we make when we try to speak a foreign language or someone else's dialect. [5] - Аврамова С. Ю. Африка: 4 столетия работорговли., М.: Госполитиздат, 1992. But if black English is not deficient, why do so many people believe it is? Because black Americans have a history of powerlessness. And every society I know worldwide looks down on the speech of the powerless. We learn this attitude unconsciously when we learn the million and one rules and beliefs of our society. Most of what we know we learn without being explicitly taught — by observation and deduction. Often, we are not even aware of what we know. Texas researcher Frederick Williams asked white student teachers to watch videotapes and rate black, Mexican-American and white Anglo children on whether their English was standard and how fluently they spoke. The white children scored highest. But the videotapes were specially done. Even though the visuals showed different children, there was only one voice track: standard English. Stereotypes were stronger than reality. Imagine an English-speaking child going to a Spanish school. No one would accuse the child of stupidity for trying and failing to speak Spanish, since everyone would realize the child is speaking another language. But contrast this with students who speak black English (or Southern English, or New York English) in an English-speaking school. They are often treated, in the words of one student, "as if our parents didn't bring us up right." It would be great if these students could hear: "The school language here is called standard American English. It is somewhat different from your native language, which you learned at home and in your neighborhood. Linguistically it is no better or worse than your language, but it carries social prestige; it unites educated Americans. "Rightly or wrongly, you will be expected to command this language if you want to do well on standardized tests, succeed in school and be accepted by the economic powers-that-be of the U.S.A. Standard English is the exact equivalent of a linguistic jacket and tie. As you learn, you will of course make mistakes, but that will happen with any new language. You will of course continue to speak your neighborhood language on the playground, at home and when you want to be informal. But when you take tests, go for a job interview or are in other formal situations, you will be glad you can speak the standard." Black students, like everyone else, want a solid sense of their cultural identity [6]. The view that black English is bad English is scientifically baseless — and it unnecessarily drives students away from doing well in school because it wrongly defines black cultural identity as the opposite of school values. If we want to decrease alienation from school, we should teach what is right — that standard English should be added on to a student's home language instead of rooting it out. Chapter II. Linguistic Aspects of Black English 1. The peculiarities of the Sound System (Phonology) is very similar to one invented by Russian idle scholars [7]. They omit, for example, dense American “R” after vowels: the words “car, summertime” are pronounced as “cah, summahtime”. Also like Russian students they ignore so hated inter-dental consonants “th” – with that difference that our compatriots change it into «с» and «з», while Afro-Americans substitute it with «t» in the beginning of the word ( “tousand” instead of “thousand”), they use «d» in the definite article in personal pronouns ( “de” instead of “the”, “dey” instead of “they”), they use «v» in the middle of the word ( “bavva” instead of “brother”), and substitute «f» in the end of the word: say, «def» is “death”, while «paf» is “path”, “bafrum” for “bathroom”. The word health they pronounce as “helt”. [6] - Швейцер. А.Д.Социальная дифференциация английского языка в США. М.: Наука, 1983.). [7] - Duisebayeva F.S. Linguistic Aspects of Black English- В сб.: A. 2007. BRITISH BLACK ENGLISH. What is usually referred to as 'Black English' in Britain, is the Jamaican Creole or Patois, which is spoken by the Black Caribbean community living mainly in London , but other parts of GB too, even though the London community are the largest. There are obviously other black ethnic groupings in Britain, but none of the same magnitude. Jamaican Creole – the verb system by Sara Vestman, British Black English by David Sutcliffe, London Jamaican by Mark Sebba and Sociolinguistics – an introduction to language and society by Peter Trudgill. Some features in Jamaican Creole 1) Personal pronouns 2) The verb system 3) The negative 4) Tense and aspect 5) The phonology 6) Stress and tone For a long time, JC and other Creoles have been regarded as non-standard varieties inferior to Standard British English and the question of whether JC is a dialect or in fact a language, still has not been resolved. Regardless of that, JC has been recognised as an independent variety with its own grammar-system and vocabulary – as systematic and rule-governed as any other language – joined with SE by means of a dialect continuum. The discussion about how to classify JC may seem to be of little importance, but if it were to be regarded as an English dialect comparable to Cockney or any other variety of English, it would be difficult to claim its relevancy as a school subject, since no other dialects are being taught in British schools. However, the situation for JC speakers seems to be rather different than that of 'normal' dialect speakers. JC speakers experience more difficulties in code switching, thus are more inclined to make mistakes in writing and speaking SE. JC should be regarded as a language rather than a dialect, since the JC structure is so prominent that it becomes an obstruction to its speakers' use of SE. Sutcliffe claims that the degree of intelligibility between JC and SE is more comparable to that of Swiss German vs. Standard German and Catalan vs. Castilian Spanish, than to that of SE and even the broadest Scottish dialect. (39) Seeing how great the diversity between JC and SE is, it would be of great importance to JC speakers to be able to learn their mother-tongue in school, alongside with SE. by learning JC in a similar way that they learn SE, the pupils would become better at distinguishing between the two, and thus the code-switching would come more natural to them. One problem (amongst many) which is still to be solved is the fact that there is no accepted written standard. Attempts have been made to change this, and it is my beliefs that but still, the JC writings differ greatly with regards to spelling. Another problem that must be overcome is the fact that the whole state education system is predicated on British SE. As I mentioned earlier, non-standard varieties of English have traditionally been regarded as inferior, and the school has disregarded and even penalised non-standard usage. This is slowly beginning to change, and with a newly awakened awareness of the important role that JC – as well as other language varieties – play in the maintaining of a child's identity, the demand for a curriculum that includes JC has been put forward. (39) 2. African American Vernacular English and its use in teaching process. African American Vernacular English (AAVE) – also called African American English or Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular (BEV), or Black Vernacular English (BVE); or controversially Ebonics – is an African American variety (dialect, ethnolect and sociolect) of American English. Its pronunciation is in some respects common to Southern American English, which is spoken by many African Americans and many non-African Americans in the United States. There is little regional variation among speakers of AAVE. ( 22, 547 ) African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is the variety formerly known as Black English Vernacular or Vernacular Black English among sociolinguists, and commonly called Ebonics outside the academic community. While some features of AAVE are apparently unique to this variety, in its structure it also shows many commonalties with other varieties including a number of standard and nonstandard English varieties spoken in the US and the Caribbean. AAVE has been at the heart of several public debates and the analysis of this variety has also sparked and sustained debates among sociolinguists. It is extremely difficult to say how many people speak AAVE because it is not clear what exactly this would mean. Some speakers may use some distinctive aspects of phonology (pronunciation) and lexis (vocabulary) but none of the grammatical features associated with the variety. Many sociolinguists would reserve the term AAVE for varieties which are marked by the occurrence of certain distinctive grammatical features some of which are discussed below. Even so it may still be difficult to say with any exactitude how many AAVE speakers there are since such grammatical features occur variably, that is, in alternation with standard features. Such variability in the speech both of groups and individuals reflects the complex social attitudes surrounding AAVE and other nonstandard varieties of English and it was this variability which initially attracted the attention of sociolinguists such as William Labov.(34, 214) The history of AAVE and its genetic affiliation, by which we mean what language varieties it is related to, are also a matter of controversy. Some scholars contend that AAVE developed out of the contact between speakers of West African languages and speakers of vernacular English varieties. According to such a view, West Africans learnt English on plantations in the southern Coastal States (Georgia, South Carolina, etc.) from a very small number of native speakers (the indentured laborers). Some suggest that this led to the development of a rudimentary pidgin which was later expanded through a process of creolization. Others who advocate a contact scenario for the development of AAVE suggest that the contact language (an early Creole-like AAVE) developed through processes of second language acquisition. According to such a view West Africans newly arrived on plantations would have limited access to English grammatical models because the number of native speakers was so small (just a few indentured servants on each plantation). In such a situation a community of second language learners might graft what English vocabulary that could be garnered from transient encounters onto the few grammatical patterns which are common to the languages of West Africa. (28, 49) What linguists refer to as universal grammar (the law-like rules and tendencies which apply to all natural human language) would have played a significant role in such processes as well. This kind of thing seems to have taken place in the Caribbean and may also have happened in some places, at some times in the United States. For instance Gullah or Sea Islands Creole spoken in the Coastal Islands of South Carolina and Georgia seems to have formed in this way. The demographic conditions in the US and the Caribbean (where restructured Creole languages are widely spoken) were really quite different and that the conditions necessary for the emergence of a fully fledged Creole language were never met in the US. These scholars have shown on a number of occasions that what look like distinctive features of AAVE today actually have a precedent in various varieties of English spoken in Great Britain and the Southern United States. It seems reasonable to suggest that both views are partially correct and that AAVE developed to some extent through restructuring while it also inherited many of its today distinctive features from older varieties of English which were once widely spoken. As mentioned above AAVE is a matter of some public controversy as was seen most recently in the debate over the Ebonics ruling by the Oakland School Board. More than anything this debate made it clear to sociolinguists that they had failed in one of their primary objectives -- to educate the public and to disseminate the results of over twenty-five years of intense research. Unfortunately, many public policy makers and sections of the public hold on to mistaken and prejudiced understandings of what AAVE is and what it says about the people who speak it. This matter is compounded by the fact that, with the AAVE-speaking community, attitudes towards the language are complex and equivocal. Many AAVE speakers contrast the variety with something they refer to as "Talking Proper". (23,78) At the same time these same speakers may also express clearly positive attitudes towards AAVE on other occasions and may also remark on the inappropriateness of using Standard English in certain situations. While the situation in this case is made more extreme by the context of racial and ethnic conflict, inequality and prejudice in the United States, it is not unique. Such ambivalent and multivalent attitudes towards nonstandard varieties of a language have been documented for a great many communities around the world and in the United States. American society has made concessions for many groups of people with special interests, such as animal activists, environmental activists and a host of ethnic groups. Tough animal rights laws have been passed to ensure the safety and future of a variety of species ranging from the domestic cat to the bald eagle. The development of Wetlands has been curtailed in an effort to protect our swamps and forests from extinction. Educational system has implemented a program known as, English as a Second Language, which lends itself to the special needs of immigrants in our school systems. This program offers extra tutoring and extra time on tests for immigrants who primarily speak a language other than English. Dudley Scholarship and Bethel Foundation Scholarship, along with over twelve-hundred others, have been created exclusively for minorities in an effort to encourage furthering their education. A list of these scholarships can be found in Directory of Financial Aids for Minorities, 1993-1995. In an effort to promote equal opportunity in the work place, the United States Government adopted the Affirmative Action Program, which forces companies to place a certain number of minorities within their work force. Now, some politicians and educators in this country want to make concessions for those Americans who have grown up learning to speak what some people call street slang, as opposed to speaking Standard English, which at last was still America's primary language. (31,71) According to Caroline Boarder, a political columnist, a program known as Ebonics has been introduced in Oakland, Ca. as a way to bridge the gap between Black English or bad English-speaking students and standard English-speaking students in an effort to raise reading and writing test scores of African Americans. She also states that the Oakland school board contends that this bridge is necessary because the speaking of Ebonics is genetically related to African Americans. This hypothesis suggests that black students are incapable of learning the English language through conventional teaching methods, and we must devise an easier way to teach them. Having grown up in the American school system, both public and private, was exposed to people from various ethnic groups who had poor reading and writing skills, most of whom were black. The one thing about these fellow students is that they shared a common speech deficiency including incorrect pronunciation, subject verb agreement and problems with general sentence structure. It was no surprise that they could barely read or write; they couldn't or wouldn't even speak, and other classmates felt the same way. (29, 55) For example, Floyd Brown was one of these students. One day he was going after school, and he replied: "Ima fi'n na go to da crib n axe ma fo some bread." – “You think that he was going to kill his mother who was in a baby crib (obviously a midget) and take her food. But it is he was going home to ask his mother for some money”. Ebonics had been coined for this speech deficiency in 1973. A dissection of the word Ebonics, which you will not find in the dictionary and should not find in any classroom in American school systems, yields a definition based on its two syllables. Ebo means black, and nics, which is taken from phonics, means sounds. This breaking apart of the word Ebonics simply yields its meaning as, black sounds. According to Jane Hill, a political columnist for the Chicago Tribune, Ebonics was first recognized in America in the 1800's when African slaves were first brought to America. These slaves did not speak Standard English because they were not taught to do so. They spoke a form of what some people now call Ebonics, because they did not know any better, but African Americans in today's school systems have been taught better and should know better. (35, 33) Education is best built upon what we already know, but if what we already know is incorrect English, then we must discard it and learn from correct tutorial tools. This includes practicing reading, writing and speaking with adherence to English grammar rules. Strong reinforcement of Standard English through repetitious reading and writing exercises is one solution to the problem of illiteracy in ethnic groups in America. When necessary, another solution may be speech therapy. This is the kind of learning structure we need in the classrooms in their country. They must demand it of their teachers, and they must deliver. They should be culturally sensitive to all ethnic groups in an educational setting, but let's not lose sight of the goal in the process, which is mastery of the English language. Any incorporation of non-standard use of the English language could make it harder for all students to learn Standard English. What is worse is that these bad English-speaking students may become complacent with Ebonics and feel that they now have their own identifiable language and not attempt to learn Standard English. If students transfer nothing other than proper English to their long-term memory during their education, they will at least have the basis for success in the general population. Good communication skills are a must in almost every occupational field. (33, 56) Who will lose as a result of a mandatory incorporation of Ebonics into our school systems? First, those students in English as a Second Language programs will feel the effects of such a fiasco. Funding for Ebonics will most likely come from this area and as a result, necessary, commendable programs such as this could be short-changed. Secondly, teachers who have spent their careers attempting to condition the tongues of their students to English discipline will have to concede to bad English. Lastly, the students who are placed in these classes will suffer the greatest loss. Ebonics classes will be composed primarily of students who belong to various ethnic groups, which will contribute to segregation and racism, and American history has proven that segregation in any form can only serve to keep minorities down. While it is true that many of the words Americans speak today come from African origin, those words are clearly pronounceable and are understood by most Americans. Some of these words are: jubilee, banana, jumbo, gumbo, jazz and banjo. These words are not slang. According to Connie Eble, a member of the linguistic association of Canada and the US, slang can be defined as the dropping of a consonant at the end of a word and attaching it to the next word. The following is an example of slang: (working last) translated into slang as (workinlas). This is a common combination that some people believe composes parts of Ebonics. This type of slang has artistically contributed to the film industry with productions such as Roots and Glory, but that only makes it marketable, not correct. It as exploitation of inadequate education of both the characters in the film who speak it, and the viewer who pays to see it. In Martin Luther's speech “I Have a Dream”, and in his writings such as “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, you can’t find one word of what may be deemed improper English or Ebonics. If Martin Luther King could speak and write this clearly without the aid of Ebonics to bridge the gap, this must surely dispel any theory of the speaking of bad English being genetically connected to African Americans. I believe that if he could hear the arguments supporting Ebonics he would roll over in his grave. Ebonics was not part of his dreams for black Americans; he hoped for educational boundaries to be broken not re-created as Ebonics has the potential of doing The list of prominent figures in society who oppose Ebonics includes Jessie Jackson who openly speaks on television broadcast shows and in various publications about his contempt for Ebonics. United States Secretary of Education Richard Riley has publicly declared Oakland's program of Ebonics ineligible for federal funding. Bill Cosby calls Ebonics "Igmo-bonics." An urbanized version of the English language which if allowed evolving will leave only body language as a common standard language to the next generation. (34, 144). As a society interested in the future of our youth we must realize that there is no substitute for hard work and study in the classroom, and there are no shortcuts to learning the English language. The educational system must strive to make children mainstream communicators. Ebonics is a misguided, ill represented, detrimental shortcut that will only create confusion and disappointment in the classroom. It is a cancer that must be sent into permanent remission by the clear and coherent voices of Americans. Chapter III. Linguistic Aspects of Black English. 1. Phonetic peculiarities AAVE and Standard English pronunciation are sometimes quite different. People frequently attach significance to such differences in pronunciation or accent and as such the study of phonology (the systematic a patterning of sounds in language) is an important part of sociolinguistics. It should be noted that phonology has nothing to do with spelling. The way something is spelt is often not a good indication of the way it "should be", or much less is, pronounced. When two consonants appear at the end of a word (for instance the st in test), they are often reduced: the final t is deleted. This happens, to some extent, in every variety of English including standard ones. In AAVE the consonant cluster is reduced variably (i.e. it does not happen every time) and systematically. Sociolinguists have shown that the frequency of reduction can be expressed by a rule which takes account of a number of interacting facts. Crucially, the frequency of reduction depends on the environment in which the sound occurs. The following two factors, among others, have been found to affect the frequency of reduction in consonant clusters If the next word starts with a consonant, it is more likely to reduce than if the next word starts with a vowel. For example, reduction is more likely to occur in west side (becoming Wes side) than in west end. A final t or d is more likely to be deleted if it is not part of the past tense -ed than if it is. (The past tense -ed suffix is pronounced as t or d or Id in English depending on the preceding sound.) For example, reduction is more likely to occur in John ran fast (becoming John ran fas) than in John passed the teacher in his car. The th sounds: The written symbol th can represent two different sounds in English: both an "unvoiced" sound as in thought, thin and think, and a "voiced" sound as in the, they and that. In AAVE the pronunciation of this sound depends on where in a word it is found. At the beginning of a word, the voiced sound (e.g. in that) is regularly pronounced as d so 'the', 'they' and 'that' are pronounced as de, dey and dat. AAVE shares this feature with many other nonstandard dialects, including those of the East Coast of United States and Canada. Less common in AAVE is the pronunciation of the unvoiced sound as t. Thus 'thin' can become tin but rarely does. This however is a very common feature of Caribbean creoles in which 'think' is regularly pronounced as tink, etc. When the th sound is followed by r, it is possible in AAVE to pronounce the th as f as in froat for 'throat'. Within a word, the unvoiced sound as in nothing, author or ether is often pronounced as f. Thus AAVE speakers will sometimes say nufn 'nothing' and ahfuh 'author'. The voiced sound, within a word, may be pronounced v. So 'brother' becomes bruvah, etc. At the end of a word, th is often pronounced f in AAVE. For instance 'Ruth' is pronounced Ruf; 'south' is pronounced souf. When the preceding sound is a nasal (e.g. n or m) the th is often pronounced as t as in tent for 'tenth'; mont for 'month'. (10, 69) The sounds l and r: When they do not occur at the beginning of a word l and r often undergoes a process known as "vocalization" and are pronounced as uh. This is most apparent in a post-vocalic position (after a vowel). For instance 'steal', 'sister', 'nickel' become steauh, sistuh, nickuh. In some varieties of AAVE (e.g. in the Southern US), r is not pronounced after the vowels o and u. The words door and doe, four and foe, and sure and show can be pronounced alike. Vowels. /Nasalized vowels: When a nasal (n or m) follows a vowel, AAVE speakers sometimes delete the nasal consonant and nasalize the vowel. This nasalization is written with a tilde (~) above the vowel. So 'man' becomes mг. Nasals consonants and front vowels: In many varieties of English, including standard varieties, the vowels i in