Aspectual distinctions that the White Man can only dream of
If anyone would like to speak to me in African American Vernacular English, now would be the time to do it, as I have just watched an entire season of "The Wire", and my receptive language skills in this dialect are at an all-time high.
posted by Jason at 4:00 PM
2 Comments:
"Bruce be crying when the teacher call his momma..."
do you get this as ambiguous between:
a. 'It is usually the case that Bruce is already crying when the teacher calls his momma'
b. 'It is usually the case that Bruce starts to cry when the teacher calls his momma'
??
if so, then i'm convinced!
I read it as (b) - but then again, I am not a naive subject (like I said, I be watching a lot of AAVE on TV).
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