Date:  Sat, 1 Jan 1994 10:39:42 -0700

From:  Rudy Troike <RTROIKE[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ARIZVMS.BITNET>

Subject: Re: Variation in AAVE



Thanks to Don Lance for the Guy Bailey reference. When I was living in

Urbana, Illinois, it was very obvious to hear differences between "natives"

and those who (or whose families) had moved up from the Lower Mississippi

River and settled out enroute to Chicago. Urbana/Champaign would be a very

good spot to do a full community study (something I was too tied up with other

things at the time to consider). As James Sledd long ago noted, there have

always been social differences in the speech of AA communities, but these have

been inadequately explored as well. If one could gain access, a fascinating

group to study would be the old upper-class AA community in the Washington, DC

area, which was highly closed but very significant. Migration to the cities

is creating an rural/urban split in AA and Anglo communities both, but it will

be useful to rescue evidence of older arrangements before these are totally

subordinated to the rural/urban distinction.

    Happy New Year, y'all

        --Rudy Troike