Although this song is notably recognized as a George Thorogood song, he borrowed the lyrics from earlier musician’s: John Lee Hooker’s “House-rent Blues” (1966) and Amos Milburn’s “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One beer” (1953) (Wikipedia). Thorogood is a native of the state of Delaware and, according to a 2003 dialect survey conducted by the Harvard University Linguistics Department, the state’s residents are not known to use the Appalachian dialect. However, Thorogood embraced the Appalachian dialect due to his love for southern blues artists and their vernacular. Throughout this essay, I will analyze the differences between Standard American English and the Appalachian English used throughout the song.
Lyrics:
about the house-rent blues
I come home one Friday, had to tell the landlady I'd done lost my job
She said that don't comfort me, long as I get my money next Friday
Now next Friday come I didn't get the rent, and out the door I went
So I goes to the landlady,
I said, "You let me slide?"
I'll have the rent for you tomorrow. the next day I don't know
So said let me slide it on you know people> (Thorogood)
Audio with lyrics in the description can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ECZMvbLxg
*lyrics analyzed in this essay only account for 55 seconds of the song*
IPA transcription: http://ipa.typeit.org/full/
[‘wɑ.nɑ tɛl ju ə ‘stɔ.ri
bɑʊ də ‘hɑʊs. ɹɛn blu
ɑ kʌm hoʊm wʌn ‘fɹɑ.deɪ
hæd tə tɛ də ‘læn.leɪ.di ɑ dʌn lɔs mɑ dʒɑb
ʃi sɛ ðæt doʊn ‘kʌm.fʊɹ mi
lɔŋ æz ɑ gɛt mɑ ‘mʌ.ni nɛks ‘fɹɑ.deɪ
nɑ nɛks ‘fɹa.deɪ kʌm ɑ dɪnt gɛt də rɛn
ɛn aʊt də dɔr ɑ wɛn
soʊ ɑ goʊz tu də ‘læn.leɪ.di
ɑ sɛ ju ‘lɛ.mi slaɪd
a hæv də rɛn foʊ jə tə.’mɑ.ɹə
də nɛks deɪ ɑ doʊ...
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As a result of many negative stereotypes associated with certain variations of English many students have adapted codeswitching. When this concept came up in the book it made me think about my own language. I realized that I code switch quite often between what is seen as Standard English and African American English or Ebonics. Usually with family or other friends that speak Ebonics I use that Ebonics to communicate, but when I am in school, in a
In the essay “Newfoundland, If You Please”, the author, Diane Mooney takes the reader on a linguistic journey around Newfoundland. Written informally, the essay serves as a commentary on the various accents found in Newfoundland. Mooney wrote the essay to address potential questions a visitor might have concerning the various accents.
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The functions of Code-Switching in English Language Teaching classroom discourse by Kindergarten teachers in five Elementary schools in an Educational District in Saint Lucia.
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Overall, considering a lot of benefits that teachers and students might obtain from applying code-switching in the classroom, we should consider it as a resource in the classroom. However, Code-switching only can be fully understood in the actual context in which it takes place.
The British English was the language which had the biggest influence on current American English. Thus, it is important to introduce the features of British English.
Bieswanger, Markus und Becker Annette (2010) Introduction to English linguistics. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co.KG.
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