First: Take this quiz to figure out where your dialect comes from: American Dialect
This week's topic:
Last week, when we started listening to the audio book of Their Eyes Were Watching God, we talked about the dialect and people's reactions to hearing and reading it. Other people have also wondered about it and have studied it. In fact, Hurston's heavy use of dialect and folk speech drew both praise and criticism from her African-American contemporaries.
Philosopher and critic Alain Locke praised Hurston's "gift for poetic phrase...and rare dialect," and considered it a welcome replacement "for so much faulty local color fiction about Negroes."
The harshest criticism came from Richard Wright, who wrote that Hurston "exploits that phase of Negro life which is 'quaint.' Wright said Hurston's dialogue captured only the "psychological movements of the Negro folk-mind in their pure simplicity," and likened Hurston's technique to that of a minstrel show designed to appease a white audience."
Sherley Anne Williams, another literary critic, wrote of Hurston that "to characterize her diction solely in terms of exotic 'dialect' spellings is to miss her deftness with language. In the speech of her characters, black voices -- whether rural or urban, northern or southern -- come alive. Her fidelity to diction, metaphor, and syntax...rings, even across forty years, with an aching familiarity that is a testament to Hurston's skill and to the durability of black speech." (citation)
Prompt: Choose a selection of dialogue from Their Eyes Were Watching God that highlights this dialect and folk speech. Then, in 300 words, dissect that selection carefully making an argument from both critical positions -- both Locke's/Williams' position and Richard Wright's position on the topic.
"What she doin coming back here in dem overhalls? Can't she find no dress to put on? Where's dat blue satin dress she left here in? Where all dat money her husband took and died and left her?—What dat ole forty year ole 'oman doin' wid her hair swingin' down her back lak some young gal?—Where she left dat young lad of a boy she went off here wid?—Thought she was going to marry?—Where he left her ?—What he done wid all her money?—Betcha he off wid some gal so young she ain't even got no hairs—why she don't stay in her class?—"
ReplyDeleteThis passage does a very good job of supporting both arguments made by Writes and Williams argument. Firstly, I would like to say that I do agree with both of the scholars arguments. I think this type of writing can have a negative connotation towards the southern African American community. The way it reads makes them come of as uneducated group of a people, further past stereotypes. Yet, I also agree that there is a form of beauty in the way they converse with one another. How almost everything they has a greater meaning, making their conversation almost more complex of those between two professors at Harvard.
We see this sense of lack of education write away in the way they talk with one another. Not finishing sentences, not using proper grammar, not even using real word! For many when they read this, they might just fall back on the stereotypes that have been taught, about how southern people, African American more specifically, how they way the talk automatically means they are stupid. Its not hard for one to think this especially in the world we live in today, so I completely see the citizime of how this book actually hurts those its trying to portray.
On the other hand I love reading this type of text. The way the sentences are phrased and read in my mind are beautiful. It sounds like a slow rolling poem placed in the middle of the field while the sun slowly sinks. Yet, the language actually much more complex than one would think. A lot of things are not said outright like they are in the north, but they have to be deciphered from the text. So In this way I also see the argument of beauty and complexity that this book shows is very apparent in the southern black south.
Because African American women and men have been seen as less equal to white people in the past, and because this matter can be very sensitive to some, many people feel the pressure or need to defend any way they feel somebody trying to tease their race. Listening to Hurston read this text, it is obvious that she is intentionally trying to read with a dialect.
ReplyDelete"'Maybe us don't know into things lak you do, but we all know how she went 'way from here and us sho seen her come back. 'Tain't no use in your tryin' to cloak no ole woman lak Janie Starks, Pheoby, friend or no friend.' 'At dat she ain't so ole as some of y'all dat's talking.' 'She's way past forty to my knowledge, Pheoby.' 'No more'n fort at de outside.' 'She's 'way too old for a boy like Tea Cake.'" (3)
Williams certainly has a point. There have been times when people try to mimic the way African American people talk in a way that can be deliberately mocking the other race in a hurtful way. Then there are also other situations where the person may be trying to "honor" this type of speech–the manner in which I think Hurston is coming from. This matter, though, can be very uneasy for some people and readers have to be cautious of this. Williams might have felt that even without an intention to disrespect this race, it may be awkward if an African American hears this, especially if it is incorrect. Also, since African American's have a preconceived image of being less educated, some people may feel like bringing awareness to this dialect may be a way of exhibiting this idea–associating the dialect as unintelligent. In reality, this way of talking does not change your intellectual capacity. Reading like Hurston could, however, be considered a gracious act to study this language and engage with it as a reader–showing a real fascination toward this culture. Shown in the map at the top of the blog page, accents could just be a way of dividing where you are from–not your value–and it is interesting to study these dialects and cultures based on the places these people are from.
“‘Humph! Y’all let her worry yuh. You ain’t like me. Ah ain’t got her to study ‘bout. If she ain’t got manners enough to stop and let folks know how she been makin’ out, let her g’wan!’ ‘She ain’t even worth talkin’ after, ‘ Lulu Moss drawled through her nose. ‘She sits high, but she looks low. Dat’s what Ah say ‘bout dese ol women runnin’ after young boys.’”(3)
ReplyDeleteI would like to start off by saying I can’t judge this. I have no experience with southern accents. But I feel that Zora Hurston, who was born and lived in the south, captivates the voices of the characters well in her writing. She lived with those voices all around her, so I think she has a pretty good understanding of dialect. I think that, like Locke says, the accents show a different dialect. Hurston uses the dialect to enhance the writing and show the different sides of the characters. Adding this dialect makes it more challenging for readers, which means that they will have to dissect and look at the text more deeply. Then on the other side of the argument is Wright. I understand where Wright is coming from. The dialect makes it seem as if the characters are less educated, because they don’t use full sentences and complete words. That being said, I think Hurston has a way with words that captivates the reader. At times the wording is tricky and confusing, but that is half of the fun. To try to understand this type of dialect. It is clear from the text that surrounds the quotes that, Hurston is a skilled writer. I don’t think so much emphasis should be put on the text.
"Lawd, " Pearl agreed, "Ah done scorched-up dat lil meat and bread too long to talk about. Ah kin stay 'way from home long as Ah please. Mah husband ain't fussy." "Oh, er, Pheoby, if youse ready to go, Ah could walk over dere wid you, " Mrs.Sumpkins volunteered. "It's sort of duskin' down dark. De booger man might ketch ya."
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of how dialect and folk speech is used in Their Eyes Were Watching God. It is understandable how to some this kind of language may be offensive to African Americans from the south, as it may make the characters in the story seem less intelligent and less educated. I think Zora Neale Hurston uses this kind of language to develop the characters and deepen their background. Language is a huge part of a persons identity and Hurston uses it to broaden the reader’s understanding of the characters as each of them have a unique voice. People react to different accents and dialects and are often quick to judge other based off of them. For example, when people hear a New Jersey accent there are many stereotypes that pop into their head, the same thing goes with a southern accent. When people have southern accents many people normally view them as laid back and lazy. This makes it easy for critics like Richard Wright who has spoken very harshly of the dialect and folk speech used in the book. But, there is a genius behind this dialect and language. Which leads me to believe why this is why we are listening to the book instead of reading it. Listening to the conversations in the story every character has a unique voice, making the special. In most books it is easy to get lost when trying to figure out who said what but this specific dialect is spoken a little differently with each character. It is hard to imagine that Hurston wrote using this dialect to offend people.
“Yes indeed. You know if you pass some people and don’t speak tuh suit ‘em dey got tuh go way back in yo’ life and see whut you ever done. They know mo’ ‘bout yuh than you do yo’ self. An envious heart makes a treacherous ear. They done ‘heard’ ‘bout you just what they hope done happened.” (5)
ReplyDeleteOne of the most important aspects of a book is the voice of the author. A voice decides the tone for the entire book and gives a sense of tangibility to the words on the paper. Sometimes the voice can be controversial, like in Their Eyes Were Watching God, where many opinions were formed about the voice. Each interpretation brings up interesting ideas about the voice within the book, but I personally do not agree with all of them. For instance, Richard Wright’s opinion of the use of dialect in the book is that it dumbs down the language, and does not show an accurate representation of the black southern population. His point is shown in the selected passage where there is a heavy reliance on the southern folk speech. Such language can be viewed as a way to dilute the dialogue and create a false representation of black southerners. Though Wright’s opinion on the matter is justified, I can not agree with him. I lean more towards the perspective of Alain Locke and Sherley Williams. This is because I believe that such language is the catalyst for the visualization of the book, and for delivering the most accurate narrative possible. The language that Hurston uses creates a time capsule back to the setting of the book. I think her language is comparable to the language of shakespearian english, even if it is not as complex. It still has the same poetic equivalent. The language represents a period of time, and it should be understood as such. Another point that Williams talks about is how the language allows the words to come alive. Every single bit of dialogue pops out and each word is very intentional. Hurston successfully used language to illustrate each scene and the time period itself. The dialect is a result of studying the very nature of the south, and is a work of art.
“What she doin’ coming back here in dem overhalls? Can't she find no dress to put on? - Where all dat money her husband took and died and left her? - What dat ole forty year ole ‘oman doin’ wid her hair swingin’ down her black lak some young gal? - Where she left dat young lad of a boy she went off here wid... Betcha he off wid some gal so young she ain’t even got no hairs…” (Hurston 2)
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree more with Williams than Wright, although I can understand Wright’s point. I think that the use of such detailed dialect in this book enhanced it, because it makes the reader feel like they are truly apart of an old southern community. And although there are plenty of books that seem to have the same effect, this one stands out because of the heavy accent. I feel like people might have a problem with the same way that people today mock the way people of color talk today - that uneducated, “ghetto” stereotype that is placed over the black community as a whole. Personally, I have been told many times that I do not sound like a black person. I have been ask to say something a black person would say. And I have taken offence to that. So it is understandable that Wright might think that Hurston is just using this dialect "exploits that phase of Negro life which is 'quaint.'”. But in my opinion, Hurston did this because she wanted the book to feel authentic. The dialectic in this book is not a stereotype because that is how people talked in this time period. They really would be uneducated, hence the dropping of letters and shortening of phrases. Hurston is just making the characters more real.
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ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe use of realistic dialect is essential to painting the scene and tone of this book. Through the language alone we can infer the era, the formality of the situation and the culture within this community. I chose to analyze the scene between Pearl and Janie in Pearl’s kitchen because thats where they seem to be at ease and speak naturally. There are many southern nouns in this book “a mean fanny around the kitchen”. There is a certain attitude that seems to hang in the social interactions between people in the neighborhood, however this scene is a very genuine conversation between friends.
"Give it here and have a seat."
"Ah knowed you'd be hongry. No time to be huntin' stove
wood after dark. Mah mulatto rice ain't so good dis time. Not
enough bacon grease, but Ah reckon it'll kill hongry."
"Ah'll tell you in a minute," Janie said, lifting the cover. "Gal,
it's too good! you switches a mean fanny round in a kitchen."
"Aw, dat ain't much to eat, Janie. But Ah'm liable to have
something sho nuff good tomorrow, 'cause you done come."
Janie ate heartily and said nothing. The varicolored cloud dust
that the sun had stirred up in the sky was settling by slow degrees.
"Here, Pheoby, take yo' ole plate. Ah ain't got a bit of use for
a empty dish. Dat grub sho come in handy."
Pheoby laughed at her friend's rough joke. "Youse just as
crazy as you ever was.”
I like this passage because it talks about food, which is important in every culture. The two women use a very casual slang demeanor in their speech and joke freely with each other. Its clear they are close using words like “honey for affection. Even though the atmosphere is relaxed, pearl takes her role as hostess seriously and is determined to feed Janie. This sense of responsibility between friends highlights the closeness of the community. We can tell that their economic situation is middle to lower class because they are collecting firewood to light their stoves. They both try to mother each other. This may be specific to their relationship, but I sense a theme of family within the neighborhood. (especially with the nosiness) I can understand how some may believe this use of slang in literature could be offensive or generalizing. However I feel if its historically correct, books should be written like this. If this book was written formally we would lose that emotion and identity that surfaces in speech.
"'Maybe us don't know into things lak you do, but we all know how she went 'way from here and us sho seen her come back. 'Tain't no use in your tryin' to cloak no ole woman lak Janie Starks, Pheoby, friend or no friend.' 'At dat she ain't so ole as some of y'all dat's talking.' 'She's way past forty to my knowledge, Pheoby.’ (3)
ReplyDeleteThe point of the particular quote shows how people tend to make a mockery of the wat African Americans speak. People often try to make up for things they don’t know. If someone is unaware of the dialect then they might set across the wrong message of how people actually talk. With this comes a lot of stereo types. For one person to say something about a culture, it may be the complete oposite for someone of that background, and if someone is wrong it may come off as offensive. Reading in a set dialect though, someone can get the idea of what a particular culture is like if the dialect is done properly. So, the idea is, if a writer writes correctly someone is able to really know what its like. For example, with this you can see in the eyes of Hurston and know what is going on in that culture.