美国黑人说唱乐的语言特色及其社会影响
关键词：黑人英语；说唱乐；语言特点；社会影响
Abstract Nowadays, the American Black Rap music has been attracting more and more attention all over the world. Some of the musicians of different countries even feel proud for having their own typical Rap music. It is Rap music’s inheriting the characteristics of American Black English that makes it achieve such a great success. And the English itself even has been changed by Rap music because of its great influence, especially in American English. Rap music is especially popular among youths and has affected both their language and their behaviors, no matter whether it is in the United States or European countries, even in some third world countries. As a result, this paper analyzes the typical characteristics of the English language used in Rap music and the influences of rap music on American society.
Key words: Black English; rap music; language features; social influence
Contents
摘 要..….i
Abstract…...ii
I. Introduction…..…1
II. Researches on Black English and Rap Music 2
2.1 Researches on Black English at Home and Abroad 2
2.2 Researches on Rap Music at Home and Abroad 3
III. The Black English in Rap Music 4
3.1 Definition of Black English 4
3.2 Characteristics of Black English 5
3.3 Language Features of the Black English in Rap 6
3.3.1 Phonological Features 6
3.3.2 Grammatical Feature 7
3.3.3 Lexical Features 9
IV. Influences of Rap Music on American Society 11
4.1 Social Values of Rap Lyrics 11
4.2 Impact of Rap Music on Youths 12
V. Conclusion 14
Bibliography 16
Acknowledgements 17The Language Features and the Social Influence of Afro-American Rap Music
I. Introduction
Language can be regarded as a communicative medium and carrier of culture and music historically has been a medium for social expression. This social expression can take many forms, from triumph and hope to utter frustration and despair. Regardless of the catalyst that creates it, music serves to stimulate the mind, stir the soul, and elicit emotions (Luomala 15-16). Rap or Hip Hop music, emerging in the rough and tumble of America’s predominantly black inner city neighborhoods, is one of the most fashionable musical genres in popular culture today. The combinative product of language and music employs its unique strength to shake and move people’s hearts, especially those of American youth.
My interest in the study of rap music was prompted by those excellent records that rap songs achieved even in this competitive art circle. It has been said that music is a reflection of the cultural and political environment from which it is born. Rap music emerged as an aesthetic cultural expression of urban African American youth in Bronx, New York, in the early 1970s. It has been denoted as the poetry of the youth who are often disregarded as a result of their race and class (Luomala 15-16) . The United States is acknowledged for its advance in modernization, democracy and freedom but is also notorious for the violence, drug, crimes, political scandals, etc. All of these issues are exhibited incisively and vividly by rap artists with the frequent use of Black English. Therefore, the study on rap music would be a new visual angle for us to explore African American English variety and subculture of the United States.
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