Shirley, Shirley, Shirley
Please respond to this post and extend our class discussion to develop metalanguage - language about language. Post your grammar rule here as a reply to this thread and note if you used a rule in standardized academic English (SAE) to provide a rule for the code used in the original story. Our exploration here is to notice if we can express language rules in a way outside of SAE. I'll also be commenting and making connections across contributions.
Grammar rule: to write like Shirley, use double negatives. For example, instead of writing "I don't know anything," you might say "I don't know nothing."
ReplyDeleteI derived this from the SAE rule that it is improper to use double negatives, yet in AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) it appears that double negatives are grammatically acceptable.
Grammar rule: "'It' may be used in place of the pronoun and verb (be) that introduces a noun or phrase"? For example, instead of saying "There is a girl named Shirley Jones," you might say "It a girl named Shirley Jones".
ReplyDeleteCan I start by saying that we really need to interrogate the term or phrase of "African-American Vernacular English,"?
ReplyDeleteMy rule: Singular nouns and pronouns are followed by verbs that do not end with "s". Verbs retain as 'SEA' plural conjugation. For example, "Shirley Jones live....her mother say...Charles, he don't hardly say....Shirley treat..." In 'academic Standard English' singular nouns/pronouns are traditionally followed by singular verbs, marked with the "s", such as "likes," "says," "treats."
"Can I start by saying that we really need to interrogate the term or phrase of "African-American Vernacular English,"? Defs.
ReplyDeleteGreat! Maybe we can grab some hot cocoa and pick each other's brains. I don't like coffee. I am a child, lol. Also, it'll have to be a week where I am germ free. I'm not trying to spread the plague.
DeleteGrammar rule: use a comma for each breath. For example, "That Shirley, she so worried, she just don't want to be with nobody."
ReplyDeleteIf facing Shirley, I would remind her to be mindful of the amount of times she uses a conjunction such as "but" to connect her clauses, sentences, or words together. I would stress the use of F.A.N.B.O.Y.S to develop more complex sentences that will allow her story to flow easily. Ideally, this would of course be further into her writing process.
ReplyDeleteShirley's grammar rule: use the infinitive form of the first verb in every sentence. Ex: "Shirley Jones live in Washington," "Shirley treat all of them," "...when Valentine Day start to come."
ReplyDelete(This is similar to Aleshia's conception of the same phenomenon.)
Similar to Aleshia and Emily's rule, my rule for Shirley's grammar rule is to replace singular verbs with the infinitive form. For example: use "live" and "treat" instead of "lives" and "treats".
ReplyDeleteaccording to SAE, subject does not necessarily have to agree with the verb. can use present, infinitive, gerund, verb 3, no verb, etc. based on ease of speech and intent of author and purpose of content (persuasive? storytelling? etc.)
ReplyDeleteRule: The use of ' in place of the first syllable of words that can still be recognized once replaced can be used in order to shorten words, phrases and sentences. For example: instead of " Because and About" you can have "....Shirley, ‘cause what she been telling everybody ‘bout Charles being her boyfriend"
ReplyDeleteShirley Rule: Omit the word "is" from sentences. Example, "most everybody on her street like her 'cause she a nice girl."
ReplyDeleteOne of the rules that Shirley is using is a mixture of infinitive verbs and gerund. For example, when she says “she starts to liking him” or “Shirley starts to wondering who it could be from”, she is mixing the infinitive verb to like or to wonder with a gerund by adding ing to the verbs. In standard English it is incorrect to use the word “to” with an ing verb or use “to” with a gerund. Shirley should either say “she started to like him” or “she was starting to like him”.
ReplyDeleteI have two but I am unsure of the second one...
ReplyDeleteUse infinitive form of verbs
Eliminate use of helping verbs such as is unless pairing a singular noun to a plural helping verb such as "they was"...i think.
Avoid using the possessive. For example, "Valentine Day," "cards from they boyfriends" as opposed to "Valentine's Day" and "cards from their boyfriends"
ReplyDelete