#  >> K-12 >> Grammar

Dialect spoken in Spunk by zora neale hurston?

While Zora Neale Hurston doesn't explicitly state a specific dialect in *Their Eyes Were Watching God*, the language spoken by the characters reflects a blend of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Southern dialect, particularly the Southern Black dialect.

Here's a breakdown:

* AAVE features:

* Grammatical structures: The use of double negatives ("I ain't got no money"), the absence of third-person singular "s" ("He walkin' down the road"), and the use of "be" as a habitual marker ("He be workin' hard").

* Vocabulary: Words like "folks," "y'all," "ain't," and "gonna."

* Phonology: Pronunciation features like the substitution of "th" for "f" ("wif" for "with") and the use of the "a" sound instead of "i" ("pass" for "past").

* Southern dialect features:

* Vocabulary: Words like "ma'am," "sir," "reckon," and "yonder."

* Phonology: Pronunciation features like the drawl, the use of "a" for "e" ("cain't" for "can't").

Hurston uses these dialectal features to achieve several effects:

* Authenticity: She captures the specific way African Americans spoke in the South during the early 20th century.

* Character development: The way characters speak reveals their social class, education level, and regional background.

* Humor: The dialect can be used for comic effect, highlighting the wit and humor of the characters.

* Expression: The dialect allows characters to express themselves with nuance and richness.

However, it's important to note that Hurston doesn't use a single, uniform dialect. Her characters speak in a variety of ways, reflecting the diverse language patterns found in the African American community.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved