Language Variation and Music African American English As a Lyrical Strategy in the Blues
Language Variation and Music African American English as a Lyrical Strategy in the Blues Word count: 22,317 Romeo De Timmerman Student number: 01507549 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Stef Slembrouck A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics and Literature: language combination English - Dutch Academic year: 2019 - 2020 [PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] I hereby grant Ghent University my written consent and permission to release and/or use this master’s dissertation as part of the university's internal self-evaluation and/or assessment procedures, internal efforts to improve teaching and learning effectiveness, or to recognize student achievement. Romeo De Timmerman, August 2020 [PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] Abstract Traditionally, language variation was considered to be governed primarily by geographical location, ethnicity and socio-economic status (Bailey & Bassett, 1986; Fasold, 1981; Labov, 1966, 1972). Over the last few decades, however, sociolinguists have started to deviate from this consensus, e.g. by examining the use of African American English [AAE] by non-African Americans (Bucholtz, 2010; Chun, 2001; Cutler, 1999, 2015; Fix, 2014; Reyes, 2005). Additionally, recent sociological and psychological research has shown that music preference plays an instrumental role in shaping the personality of individuals and their judgement of others (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2007; Halliday, 2019; Marshall & Naumann, 2018; Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; Vella & Mills, 2016). To date, few scholars have attempted to combine these findings to consider the potential influence music has on language use. Consequently, the present study aims to provide support for the consideration of music as a factor governing language variation by comparing the lyrical language use of blues artists with a variety of socio-cultural backgrounds.
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