Homework #9 (Sociolinguistics)

Homework #9 (Sociolinguistics)

Linguistics 101

Homework #9 (Sociolinguistics)

Due: May 9, 2012

Name: ______

1)Compare the formation of yes-no questions in the following examples from African American English (AAE) and Mainstream American English (MAE).

MAE:

It is usually dark. →Is it usually dark?

He (always) sleeps in that car. → Does he (always) sleep in that car?

AAE:

It be dark.→ Do it be dark?

He be sleeping in that car.→ Do he be sleeping in that car?

a) How are yes-no questions formed in the MAE constructions above? (hint: review the slides on Theoretical Syntax)

b) How are yes-no questions formed in the AAE constructions above?

2)In fact, yes-no questionsin AAE differ between uninflected be, which marks habituality, and inflected be /∅, which is used in non-habitual contexts. Consider the following examples. MAE equivalents are provided on the right. Recall that * marks ungrammatical sentences, and∅ means that no word is present.

Habitual be:

The students be running. ‘The students are usually running.’

Do the students be running?‘Are the students usually running?’

*Be the students running?

He be sleeping in that car.‘He (always) sleeps in that car.’

Do he be sleeping in that car?‘Does he (always) sleep in that car?’

*Be he sleeping in that car?

Inflected be / ∅:

The student is running.‘The student is running.’

Is the student running?‘Is the student running?’

The student∅ running.‘The student is running.’

∅The student running?‘Is the student running?’

He is sleeping in that car.‘He is sleeping in that car.’

Is he sleeping in that car?‘Is he sleeping in that car?’

He ∅ sleeping in that car.‘He is sleeping in that car.’

∅ He sleeping in that car?‘Is he sleeping in that car?’

a) How are yes-no questions involving inflected be / ∅ formed in AAE? How does this compare to their related questions in MAE?

b) When does MAE add do for questions?

c) Syntactically, do habitual be and inflected be / ∅ behave the same in AAE?

3)Moving on to other English dialects, consider the following data. The data on the left indicates how I might speak in informal contexts. A less informal equivalent is provided on the right. In each case, describe the difference(s) between the forms on the left and those on the right, ignoring differences in pronunciation and spelling.

a)Whatyadoin’? ‘What are you doing?’

How yadoin’? ‘How are you doing?’

You comin’?‘Are you coming?’

You from around here?‘Are you from around here?’

You gonna eat that?‘Are you going to eat that?’

Difference:

b)You wanna join us?‘Do you want to join us?’

You see that movie yet?‘Did you see that movie yet?’

Who yawanna go with?‘Who do you want to go with?’

Difference:

c) Where ya been all day?‘Where have you been all day?’

Difference:

d) You ever see that movie about...?‘Have you ever seen that movie about...?’

You ever go to France?‘Have you ever gone to France?’

Difference:

e) There’s two guys just up the street.‘There are two guys just up the street.’

There’s a coffee waiting for you.‘There’s a coffee waiting for you.’

Difference: