Newsgroups: sci.lang
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From: cq315@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Hank Walker)
Subject: Re: African languages in North America
Message-ID: <DGKGEz.IAE@freenet.carleton.ca>
Sender: cq315@freenet3.carleton.ca (Hank Walker)
Reply-To: cq315@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Hank Walker)
Organization: The National Capital FreeNet
References:  <45oefu$jpc@nms.telepost.no>
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 1995 00:08:59 GMT
Lines: 36

Jon Harald Haug (jonhaug@telepost.no) writes:
> ... One unknown part of it, however, is the fate of the native
> languages of the African slaves after their arrival in America. For
> obvious reasons, they did not have the same opportunities to 
> keep their own languages, as immigrants from the European continent. If I 
> am right, all African Americans today are speaking only English. Does 
> anyone know how long African languages did survive in the USA (or the 
> colonies preceding it)?
 
Unfortunately I don't know much about the small pockets where African
languages remained in use.  I can only add that one consequence of 
the African slaves being separated from others of their own language
group and forced to speak English to their masters, and pidgins, then
creoles amongst themselves is the very character of contemporary 
"Black English".  It's not considered literary, but it has a number
of interesting rules.  Here's one:

	He workin'	= 	He is working (in general, i.e.
				he is employed

	He be workin'	=	He is working (right now)

As can be seen, the verb "to be" is not conjugated, but has a specific
function nonetheless, so that the translations above into Standard 
English are ambiguous.

There are more differences, though I can provide no examples; I am
not an expert on the subject.

I don't think, however, that these differences represent remnants of
African languages; rather, they're the characteristics of the common
English post-creole speech of Blacks in most of North America.



hank.
