设计论美国黑人说唱乐的语言特色及其社会影响.docx

设计论美国黑人说唱乐的语言特色及其社会影响.docx

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设计论美国黑人说唱乐的语言特色及其社会影响

摘要

当今世界美国黑人说唱乐已经引起了越来越多的关注，有的国家的音乐人甚至以有自己的说唱乐感到荣耀。

说唱乐由于继承了黑人英语的语言特点而自成一格，正是由于这样的语言特点才使得说唱乐获得如此的成功。

本文正是对说唱乐里独特的语言特点进行了分析。

而说唱乐由于其巨大的影响，甚至已经使英语本身发生了变化，尤其是在美语当中。

不论是在美国还是在其他国家，说唱乐尤其受到年轻人的喜欢，并对他们产生了重要的影响。

对于这一方面本文也有分析。

关键词：

黑人英语；说唱乐；语言特点；社会影响

ABSTRACT

Nowadays,theAmericanBlackRapmusichasbeenattractingmoreandmoreattentionallovertheworld.SomeofthemusiciansofdifferentcountriesevenfeelproudforhavingtheirowntypicalRapmusic.ItisRapmusic’sinheritingthecharacteristicsofAmericanBlackEnglishthatmakesitachievesuchagreatsuccess.Asaresult,thisthesisanalyzedtherepresentativecharacteristicsoftheEnglishlanguageusedinRapmusic.TheEnglishitselfevenhasbeenchangedbyRapmusicbecauseofitsgreatinfluence,especiallyinAmericanEnglish.Rapmusicisespeciallyhotamongyouthsandhasmadegreatinfluenceonboththeirlanguageandtheirbehaviors,nomatterwhetheritisintheUnitedStatesorEuropeancountries,eveninsomethirdworldcountries.Thisthesisalsocoveredsomeofthisaspect.

Keywords：

BlackEnglish;rapmusic;languagefeatures;socialinfluence

Contents

1．Introduction

Languagecanberegardedasacommunicativemediumandcarrierofcultureandmusichistoricallyhasbeenamediumforsocialexpression.Thissocialexpressioncantakemanyforms,fromtriumphandhopetoutterfrustrationanddespair.Regardlessofthecatalystthatcreatesit,musicservestostimulatethemind,stirthesoul,andelicitemotions[1].RaporHipHopmusic,emergingintheroughandtumbleofAmerica'spredominantlyblackinnercityneighborhoods,isoneofthemostfashionablemusicalgenresinpopularculturetoday.Thecombinativeproductoflanguageandmusicemploysitsuniquestrengthtoshakeandmovepeople'shearts,especiallythoseofAmericanyouth.

Myinterestinthestudyofrapmusicwaspromptedbythoseexcellentrecordsthatrapsongsachievedeveninthiscompetitiveartcircle.Ithasbeensaidthatmusicisareflectionoftheculturalandpoliticalenvironmentfromwhichitisborn.RapmusicemergedasanaestheticculturalexpressionofurbanAfricanAmericanyouthinBronx,NewYork,intheearly1970s.Ithasbeendenotedasthepoetryoftheyouthwhoareoftendisregardedasaresultoftheirraceandclass[1].TheUnitedStatesisacknowledgedforitsadvanceinmodernization,democracyandfreedombutisalsonotoriousfortheviolence,drug,crimes,politicalscandals,etc.AlloftheseissuesareexhibitedincisivelyandvividlybyrapartistswiththefrequentuseofBlackEnglish.Therefore,thestudyonrapmusicwouldbeanewvisualangleforustoexploreAfricanAmericanEnglishvarietyandsubcultureoftheUnitedStates.

Inspiteofthat,recentstudiesarenotveryencouraginginthefieldofthisspecificlanguagevarietyforitsspecialcombinationwiththeblackmusicculture.Mostsociologists,linguistsandpsychologistbelievethatRapbecomesameansofself-differentiationthathelpsforgegroupidentity,solidarityandethnicpride,andthelanguageusedinRapisoftenakindofpassiveresistancetooppression,discriminationorculturalaggression.Likewise,it'safactthatBlackEnglishhasbecomeanimportantconstituentofAmericanEnglishwiththeflourishofRapmusic.

ThelastbutnottheleastimportantreasonfortakingupthepresentstudyisthegreatinfluenceofBlackEnglishonAmericanEnglishasaresultoftherapiddevelopmentofpopularculture.Inaddition,withtheRapmusic'sentryintoChina,thezealforthewesternpopularcultureishigherthaneverbefore.ThatwouldnotonlybenefitChinesepeople'sEnglishlearningalot,butalsopushthedevelopmentofChineseRapmusicintoanewstage.

2ResearchesonBlackEnglishandRapmusic

2.1ResearchesonBlackEnglishhomeandabroad

BlackEnglishisthetermusedforEnglishvariantsspokenbysomeAfrican-Americans,andsomestudiesshowthatsomenone-African-Americansevenspeakit.EdwardsW.F.pointedout,“Ithasgonethroughdecadesbeforegettingthetermof“African-AmericanvernacularEnglish”,whichsometimesisshortenedasAAEinhisSociolinguisticBehaviorinaDetroitInner-cityBlackNeighborhood[2]93-115.BeforeBlackEnglish,anumberofnameshavebeenused,suchasEbonicsandBlackVernacularEnglish.Duringthemidandlate1960s,thenameNegro-None-StandardEnglishwasoftenusedinZhaoShuguang’sresearchduringthewritingPrelimilaryExplorationoftheImpactontheDevelopmentofSouthandNorthAmerica’sMusicfromBlackEnglish[3].Itisobviousthatthetermsforthislanguagevarietychangemoreorlessinstepwithtermsofself-identificationthatspeakforit.

Sociologists,linguistsandpsychologistsgenerallybelievethatitiscommonforoppressedpeople（likeAfricanslavesintheAmericas）tochooseadifferentdialectfromtheiroppressors.Thisisdonetosubtlyrebelagainsttheoppressorandhisculture,andtodifferentiatethemselves,aswellastocultivateprideamongtheircommunity.ZhangMinglaidouthisviewaboveinthearticleThecomingintobeingandfeaturesofBlackEnglish[4]23-26.

Likeotherstudies,themainpurposeofstudyingBlackEnglishisbettertoservethesociety.Thosearethefavoritesubjectsforwesternlinguistics,whereasstudiesonBlackEnglishinChinaarenotasheatedasthatofAmerica.

StudiesonrelationshipbetweensocietyandlanguageinChinamaybetracedbacktothebeginningofcivilization.However,thenotionofsociolinguisticshasbeenintroducedinChinain1980swiththeintroductionoftheforeignmonographs.Fromthenon,adisciplinecalledsociolinguisticshasbeensetupinChina.ButstudiesofBlackEnglisharereallyscantcomparedwiththatofAmerica,becausethemainpurposeofthestudyistobenefitsociety.TherearemoregeneralintroductionsofsociolinguisticsthandetaileddescriptionsofBlackEnglish,whichiscertainlydeterminedbythesituationsofChina.TherearestillsomepapersorchaptersinbooksintroducingwhatBlackEnglishisandwhatfeaturesitpossesses,thoughtheycomeoutmuchlaterandhavenobreakthroughinresearching,justrepresentingwhathavealreadybeenfoundinUSA.

2.2ResearchesonRapmusichomeandabroad

TheOxfordEnglishDictionarydefines“Rap”as“astyleofpopularmusic（developedbyNewYorkBlacksinthe1970s）inwhichwords（usuallyimprovised）arespokenrhythmicallyandofteninrhymingsentencesoveraninstrumentalbacking”.ItsoriginalmeaningistoidentifyandsignifyaparticularsoundthatismadewhenonesolidobjectisstruckagainstanotherandthesoundofaRapissometimesusedasameansofsignalinganythingheavierthanwhatwouldbeanordinaryblow.AsChenDaomingput,“Rapitselfisamusicalgenre,whichcombinesunsungrhythmicalrhymingtextswithbeats,whichareinfactthesamethatfunkmusicuses”,inTheFeelingstowardsColoredSkin─CultureofBlackAmericans’Music[5]47-80.

GregDimitriadis[6]58-95exploresthefascinatingsubjectofblackyouth'stextualreadingsanddynamicusageofHipHopandRapmusicinhisbookPerformingIdentityorPerformingCulture.Hisfreshpointistheefforttolinkhisclaimabouttheperformativityofidentitytogroundedpedagogicalpracticeandpolicyinitiatives.

InAfricanAmericanEnglish,Green[7]124-146presentsanoverviewofspeechevents,withinwhichbraggadociostyle,significationandtoastsarediscussedinRaplyrics.

Spears[8]examinesRapfromahistoricalstandpoint,byconcentratingonformandcontentinRaceandIdeology:

LanguageSymbolism,andPopularCulture.HeholdsthatthelanguageofRapisprimarilyAAE,andRapcanbeunderstoodasaformofculturalresistance.

WhywhitekidsloveHip-HopunmasksthereasonwhyHipHopappealtowhiteyouth.Kitwana[9]45-49largelyconcernsHipHopitself,especiallytheterrainofpopularculture,youthculture,economicsandpolitics,whereBlackandwhitekidsinteract.

Basedonthepreviousresearches,it'scanbefoundthatRaphasalwaysbeenatopicexaminedinthecontextofsociology,andlittlestudylinkedtomicrolinguisticscanbefound,namely,theresearchesofRapslangarelimited.Furthermore,thereishardlyanybookaboutAmericanRapmusicinChinasinceitisstillonitswayofformationandmostofChinesepeople,especiallytheoldergenerationmisreadandrejectthispopularculture.

3.TheBlackEnglishinRapmusic

3.1DefinitionofBlackEnglish

BlackEnglishisaformofAmericanEnglishspokenprimarilybyAfricanAmerican.AlthoughaBlackEnglishspeaker’sdialectmaydisplayregionalvariation,therearestillmanysalientfeatures.Thespeaker’sidiolectcouldcontainallthesefeatures;itisalsocalledBlackVernacularEnglish（BVE）orEbonics[10].African-Americanshavedevelopedthisdistinctdialectduetoasetofspecialhistoricalcircumstance.African-Americanswereslavesuntiljust150yearsagoandtheirancestorswereAfricanswhoatfirstspokemanydifferentlanguages.Also,theyhavebeenbyandlargesegregatedfromallothersectionsofthepopulationuntilasrecentlyas40yearsago,andtheyhaveenduredfrequentharshtreatmentandracistgovernmentpolicies[10].Alltheseconditionscombinedhaveledtothedialectthatisdifferentfromthewhites’languageandhasbecomeasignofgroupidentity.

MostofthetimewhenpeoplequestionwhetherblackEnglishisalanguage,theymean,isitaseparatesystemfromEnglishinthewayGerman,Chinese,orJamaicanCreoleareseparatesystems?

Inthissense,adialectisacompletesystemthatoverlapstoagreatdegreewithsomeother,super-system[11].ThusBavarianGermanisadialectofGerman-in-general（butisnotadialectofSwissGerman）;LondonEng