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Some structural consequences of diffusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2012

Patricia Cukor-Avila
Patricia Cukor-Avila*
Affiliation:
University of North Texas, Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication, 1155 Union Circle #305298, Denton, TX 76203-5017, [email protected]
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Abstract

This study investigates the diffusion and structural adaptation of quotative be like into a rural African American speech community. The data come from a longitudinal corpus of recordings (1988–2010) with rural African American Vernacular English (AAVE) speakers born between 1894–2002. Previous research suggests other innovative AAVE features have diffused into this community from neighboring urban areas (Cukor-Avila 1995, 2001; Cukor-Avila & Bailey 1995b, 1996) approximately a generation after they appear in urban varieties. The present analysis supports Cukor-Avila (2002) that be like has followed a similar path of diffusion, and adds new recordings of young speakers to provide necessary data to explore the transmission of be like in the community, its continued diffusion, and how these processes reinforce each other as be like becomes the primary means of expressing quoted speech. In addition, the present study explores how quotative be like has been structurally adapted into the AAVE copula system. (AAVE, transmission, diffusion, adaptation, quotative be like)*

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 41 , Issue 5 , November 2012 , pp. 615 - 640
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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