Copula Absence

Palabra Mi Amor - A French song that’s mostly English and Spanish!

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The French band Shaka Ponk is known for their multilingual lyrics, as they code switch in Spanish, French, English, and Esperanto. This song is semi-exceptional as they use more French than in their other songs. (For a song with Esperanto, listen to Eh La Mala Lama Laico). They use a non standard variety of English while singing (copula deletion), and you can also see adoption of English loanwords into their French vernacular.

Posted by Michaella Joseph on September 27, 2018

Tags:
Code-switching;
Borrowing;
Multilingualism;
Slang;
Copula Absence

Cardi B's Casual Speech and Realness

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In regular speech, Cardi B uses Chicano English and AAE features; she says when she speaks, she doesn't care about her accent, unlike when she sings.

Cardi B's authentic accent

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Audiences applaud Cardi B for embracing Chicano English in her rap music. She also uses AAE features in a way that is typical for rap music.

Ghostbuster 2016-Subway Scene

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This is a clip from the movie Ghostbusters, with actresses Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, and Kate McKinnon. Leslie Jones, an AAE speaker, uses the monophthong version of /ai/ in this clip.

Posted by Caroline Wright on March 7, 2018

Tags:
African American Language;
ai monophthongization;
ING;
Copula Absence

He is Mi and I am Yu

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This is a clip from the movie Rush Hour 3 where Agent Carter is confused because of translations between Chinese and English. This clip touches issues on multilinguistic practices, translation, communication barriers, and so on. Because of the differences Agent Carter was getting frustrated making the situation worse.

The Language of Maya Angelou

Sociolinguist Anne H. Charity Hudley discusses the linguistic legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou. Although Angelou spoke out against the legitimacy of African American English during the Ebonics Controversy in the late 1990s, Charity Hudley points out her use of many features of AAE, from morphosyntax to discourse. [Published on 05-29-2014]

Copula deletion by environment

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