A Phonological Analysis of Black English in 50 Cent'S Song Lyrics in The Album Curtis'

A PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF BLACK ENGLISH
IN 50 CENT’S SONG LYRICS

IN THE ALBUM ‘CURTIS’
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ESTU KUNCORO ISMARTONO
Student Number: 054214033
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
A PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF BLACK ENGLISH
IN 50 CENT’S SONG LYRICS
IN THE ALBUM ‘CURTIS’
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ESTU KUNCORO ISMARTONO
Student Number: 054214033
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
i
ii
iii
B E A S H I N I N G LI G H T
IN EVERY LIFE
THAT YOU TOUCH
iv
Bapak,
Ibuk,
I finally made it …
v
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdullillah, I praise to Allah S.W.T., the Almighty Creator and the
All-Merciful for the blessing bestowed upon me. Thank You for all the people and
the situations You have placed in my life to help me be the person I am today and
for the strength You give me to lift me up when I fall.
I would like to express deep appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Fr. B. Alip,
M.Pd., M.A., who has helped me and guided me in finishing this thesis. I thank
him very much for the patience and precious time for me to consult my thesis. I
am also indebted a gratitude to my co-advisor, Dra. B. Ria Lestari M.S., for her
suggestion and willingness to do correction on my thesis. I thank my thesis
examiner, Anna Fitriati, S.Pd., M.Hum, for the her questions and appreciation for
my thesis. I also thank all lecturers in English Letters Department for providing
their precious time and energy during my study.
I owe a great deal to my loving parents for their unconditional love, for the
support since I was born, mentally and financially, and for their patience. No
words can replace my love for both of you. My utmost gratitude is forwarded to
my angelic sister, Mbak Kum, and my lovely brother, Dik Daru, who shared his
computer with me this semester to finish this thesis. Thanks for being a push when
I have stopped and a guide when I am searching. I also thank my husband, A.
Danu Fratomo, who always gives his tender love and great support for me. Lastly,
I thank my little angel, Damarjati Desta Pradana, to whom this thesis is dedicated.
Thank you for making my life so meaningful.
Estu Kuncoro Ismartono
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................... i

APPROVAL PAGE ...................................................................................... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE.................................................................................. iii
MOTTO PAGE ............................................................................................. iv
DEDICATION PAGE.................................................................................... v
Lembar Pernyataan Persetujuan Publikasi Karya Ilmiah................................. vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................. viii
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................... xi
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... xii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. xiii
ABSTRAK .................................................................................................... xiv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1

A. Background of the Study................................................................ 1
B. Problem Formulation ..................................................................... 2
C. Objective of the Study.................................................................... 3
D. Benefit of the Study ....................................................................... 3
E. Definition of Terms........................................................................ 4
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................... 6

A. Review of Related Studies ............................................................ 6
B. Review of Related Theories .......................................................... 7
B.1. Theories of Black English ...................................................... 7
B.1.a. History....................................................................... 8
B.1.b. The Growth of African-American English ............... 9
B.2. Theories of Phonetics ............................................................ 11
B.2.a. Vocal Tract................................................................ 11
B.2.b. Articulation ............................................................... 13
B.2.c. Manner of Articulation.............................................. 15
B.2.c.i. Voiced and Voiceless Sounds ................. 15
B.2.c.ii. Nasal and Oral Sounds ............................ 15
B.2.c.iii. Stops........................................................ 16
B.2.c.iv. Fricatives ................................................. 16
B.2.c.v. Affricates................................................. 16
B.2.c.vi. Liquids .................................................... 17
B.2.c.vii. Glides ...................................................... 17
B.2.d. Place of Articulation ................................................. 17
B.2.d.i. Bilabial .................................................... 18
B.2.d.ii. Labio-dental ............................................ 18
B.2.d.iii. Dental ...................................................... 18
B.2.d.iv. Alveolar................................................... 18
viii
B.2.d.v. Postalveolar ............................................. 18
B.2.d.vi. Palatal...................................................... 18
B.2.d.vii. Velar........................................................ 19
B.2.d.viii. Glottal ...................................................... 19
B.3. Theories of Phonology ......................................................... 19
B.3.a. Phonemes and Allophones ........................................ 19
B.3.b. The Rules of Phonology............................................ 20
B.3.b.i. Assimilation Rules .................................. 21
B.3.b.ii. Dissimilation Rules ................................. 21
B.3.b.iii. Feature-changing Rules........................... 22
B.3.b.iv. Feature Addition Rules ........................... 22
B.3.b.v. Segment Insertion Rules ......................... 22
B.3.b.vi. Segment Deletion Rules.......................... 23
B.3.c. Variation between Accent ......................................... 23
B.4. Theories of Song Lyrics ....................................................... 24
B.5. Review of 50 Cent ................................................................. 26
C. Theoretical Framework ................................................................. 28
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ........................................................... 30

A. Object of the Study ....................................................................... 30
B. Approach of the Study .................................................................. 30
C. Method of the Study ...................................................................... 31
C.1. Population and Sample .......................................................... 31
C.2. Instrument and Data Collection............................................. 31
C.3. Data Analysis......................................................................... 32
CHAPTER IV: RESULT OF ANALYSIS ................................................. 34

A. Phonological Processes Occurred in the Black English Words
Pronunciation of 50 Cent’s Song Lyrics in the Album ‘Curtis’..... 35
A.1. Alveolarization ...................................................................... 35
A.1.a. Velar Alveolarization................................................ 35
A.1.b. Voiced Continuant Alveolarization .......................... 36
A.1.c. Voiceless Continuant Alveolarization ...................... 37
A.2. Vowel Weakening ................................................................. 38
A.3. Deletion ................................................................................. 39
A.3.a. Consonant Deletion................................................... 39
A.3.b. Vowel Deletion ......................................................... 43
A.3.c. Monophtongization ................................................... 44
A.3.d. Segment Deletion...................................................... 45
A.4. Affricatisation ....................................................................... 45
B. Phonological Characteristics of Black English .............................. 46
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ................................................................... 51

Pronunciation of 50 Cent’s Song Lyrics in the Album ‘Curtis’..... 51
B. Phonological Characteristic of Black English................................ 52
ix
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 55
APPENDICES ............................................................................................... 57
Appendix 1 List of the Analyzed Data ............................................... 57
Appendix 2 List of Words Experiencing Velar Alveolarization
Rule (/ŋ/ Æ /n/)................................................................. 63
Appendix 3 List of Words Experiencing Vowel Weakening Rule ...... 64
Appendix 4 List of Words Experiencing ð-deletion Rule.................... 65
Appendix 5 List of Words Experiencing r-deletion Rule .................... 65
Appendix 6 List of Words Experiencing t-deletion Rule .................... 65
Appendix 7 List of Words Experiencing Vowel Deletion Rule .......... 65
Appendix 8 List of Words Experiencing Monophtongization Rule .... 66
Appendix 9 List of Words Experiencing Affricatisation Rule ............ 66
x
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 The Examples of the Analyzed Data.................................................. 34

Table 2 Phonological Process Applying Velar Alveolarization
Rule (/ŋ/ Æ /n/) .................................................................................. 36
Table 3 Phonological Process Applying Voiced Continuant
Alveolarization Rule (/ð/ Æ /d/) ........................................................ 37
Table 4 Phonological Process Applying Voiceless Continuant
Alveolarization Rule (/θ/ Æ /t/) ......................................................... 37
Table 5 Phonological Process Applying Vowel Weakening Rule .................. 38
Table 6 Phonological Process Applying ð-deletion Rule................................ 39
Table 7 Phonological Process Applying θ-deletion Rule................................ 40
Table 8 Phonological Process Applying r-deletion Rule ................................ 41
Table 9 Phonological Process Applying t-deletion Rule ................................ 41
Table 10 Phonological Process Applying v-deletion Rule................................ 42
Table 11 Phonological Process Applying Vowel Deletion Rule ...................... 43
Table 12 Phonological Process Applying Monophtongization Rule ................ 44
Table 13 Phonological Process Applying Segment Deletion Rule ................... 45
Table 14 Phonological Process Applying Affricatisation Rule ........................ 46
xi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Parts of the Vocal Tracts .....................................................................14

Figure 2 Areas of the Tongue ............................................................................14
xii
ABSTRACT
Estu Kuncoro Ismartono. A Phonological Analysis of Black English in 50

Cent’s Song lyrics in the Album ‘Curtis’. Yogyakarta: Department of English
Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2009.
Nowadays, rap music which is mostly performed by Black artist is loved by

millions of youth all around the world. One of the famous black rappers today is
50 Cent, the pseudonym of Curtis James Jackson III. He launched his newest
album, ‘Curtis’ in 2007 and it has been sold for approximately 691,000 copies in
USA in its first week of release (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_50_Cent_
album accessed on March 19, 2009). Since 50 Cent’s songs use Black English,
which has different pronunciation from Standard English, it becomes interesting
for the writer to analyze the lyrics to find their differences.
There are two problems to answer in this research. The first problem is what
phonological processes occurred in the Black English words pronunciation of the
50 Cent’s song lyrics in the album ‘Curtis’, and the second problem is what
phonological characteristics of Black English that can be seen through the
processes.
Some steps were taken in accomplishing the study. The writer firstly listed
the Black English words found in the eighteen song lyrics. The writer included the
phonetic transcriptions of both the Standard English (based on Oxford Advance
Learner’s Dictionary of Current English) and Black English (based on the
writer’s listening to the pronunciations of the songs). Secondly, from the
comparison of the phonetic transcription of Standard and Black English, the writer
analyzed each word into its phonological process by applying all possible
phonological rules. From the analysis, the writer then categorized those possible
processes in each table according to the phonological processes orderly. The next
step was deriving notations from each classified process to state the general rule
of its phonological process so that the writer could derive the characteristics of
Black English phonology.
Based on the analysis, the writer concluded that the phonological processes
occurred in the pronunciations of Black English words of 50 Cent song lyrics in
the album ‘Curtis’ are alveolarization, vowel weakening, deletion, and alveolar
stop palatalisation. From those processes, the writer found eight characteristics of
Black English words pronunciations. One of them is Black English words
alveolarized velar nasal if it occurs in the last syllable of a word. In spelling,
Black English words are different from Standard English as the result of the
phonological characteristics.
xiii
ABSTRAK
Estu Kuncoro Ismartono. A Phonological Analysis of Black English in 50

Cent’s Song lyrics in the Album ‘Curtis’. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris,
Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2009.
Dewasa ini, musik rap yang banyak dinyanyikan oleh artis kulit hitam,
sangat populer di kalangan kaum muda di seluruh dunia. Salah satu rapper kulit
hitam yang terkenal saat ini adalah 50 Cent, atau Curtis James Jackson III, yang
merilis album terbarunya ‘Curtis’ pada tahun 2007. Album tersebut terjual
691,000 copy pada minggu pertama setelah dirilis
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_50_ Cent_ album, diakses pada tanggal 19
Maret 2009). Penulis tertarik untuk menganalisa lirik-lirik lagu 50 Cent karena
rapper tersebut menggunakan dialek Black English yang mempunyai pelafalan
dan ejaan yang berbeda dari Bahasa Inggris standar.
Ada dua permasalahan yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini. Permasalahan
pertama adalah proses fonologi apa yang terjadi pada pelafalan kata-kata yang
menggunakan dialek bahasa Inggris Black dalam lirik lagu 50 Cent di album
‘Curtis’. Permasalahan kedua adalah ciri khas fonologi apa yang terdapat dalam
pelafalan kata-kata yang menggunakan dialek tersebut berdasarkan proses
fonologi yang telah dianalisa.
Ada beberapa langkah yang dilakukan dalam menyelesaikan penelitian ini.
Pertama, penulis membuat daftar kata-kata yang menggunakan dialek bahasa
Inggris Black yang ada dalam delapan belas lagu di album ‘Curtis’. Penulis
menyertakan transkrip fonetik, baik transkrip fonetik bahasa Inggris Standar
(berdasarkan Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary of Current English) maupun
transkrip fonetik bahasa Inggris Black (berdasarkan pendengaran penulis terhadap
pelafalan kata-kata dalam lagu). Kedua, berdasarkan perbandingan transkrip
fonetik kedua dialek tersebut, penulis menganalisa setiap kata dengan menerapkan
berbagai pola fonologi yang memungkinkan. Dari analisa tersebut, penulis dapat
mengelompokkan proses fonologi yang terjadi ke dalam tabel secara berurutan.
Langkah selanjutnya adalah membuat notasi dari setiap proses fonologi tersebut
untuk menyatakan pola-pola fonologi umum sehingga penulis dapat menemukan
ciri khas fonologi yang terdapat dalam kata-kata yang menggunakan dialek bahasa
Inggris Black.
Berdasarkan analisa yang telah dilakukan, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa
proses fonologi yang terjadi pada pelafalan kata-kata yang menggunakan dialek
bahasa Inggris Black dalam lirik lagu 50 Cent di album ‘Curtis’ adalah proses
alveolarisasi, pelemahan vokal, peluruhan, dan palatalisasi konsonan alveolar
henti. Dari proses-proses tersebut, penulis menemukan delapan ciri khas fonologi
yang terdapat dalam pelafalan kata-kata dengan dialek bahasa Inggris Black. Salah
satunya adalah kata-kata dengan dengan dialek bahasa Inggris Black mengubah
konsonan velar nasal menjadi konsonan alveolar henti jika konsonan tersebut
terdapat di akhir suku kata. Dalam hal ejaan, kata-kata dengan dengan dialek
bahasa Inggris Black berbeda dengan bahasa Inggris standar sebagai akibat dari
ciri khas fonologi tersebut.
xiv
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Music has an important role in human life for it becomes a means of
entertainment and self-expression. Nowadays, rap music, which is mostly
performed by Black singers, are addicted by millions of youth all around the
world. Robert McCrum et.al in their book The Story of English said that the word
‘rap’ itself gained its new meaning in 1960’s. To rap was used by Blacks to
criticize whites, to demand Black rights and finally, by extension, ‘to talk’. It is
very interesting for the word rap has meant ‘a rebuke’ or ‘blame’ in England since
1733 (1986: 229). Therefore, music can also be a tool to voice one’s demand. In
this case, rap music was always associated with Black people that historically, it
was used for criticizing the Whites. That is why the writer considers rap music
appropriate to be the representation of Black English usage in daily conversation.
One of the famous black rappers today is 50 Cent. He launched his newest album,
‘Curtis’ in 2007 and it has been sold for approximately 691,000 copies in USA in
its first week of release (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_50_Cent_album
accessed on March 19, 2009).
Since 50 Cent’s songs are using Black dialect that has different
pronunciation and spelling from Standard English, it becomes interesting for the
writer to analyze the lyrics to find their differences. The writer found that
analyzing song lyrics is fun because by listening and enjoying the music, the
1
2
writer can apply the linguistics study, in this case phonological study, to find some
new facts on Black English phonology.
In addition to that, it is very interesting for the writer to study Black English
phonology because the pronunciations of the words are so much different from the
Standard-English-word pronunciations. As the effect, the spellings of Black
English words also have some differences in comparison with the standard one.
Emerging among slaves in the southern colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries,
Black English or often mentioned as Black English Vernacular, was considered as
an ungrammatical language, or even suggests an inferior intelligent. Now, it is
widely spoken by both White and Black people (McCrum, et.al, 1986: 195).
Therefore, the writer chooses to study the phonological analysis on Black English
words through the sample, i.e. the song lyric of 50 Cent in the album ‘Curtis’,
since 50 Cent is a famous Black rapper nowadays who uses Black English as the
style of his song lyrics. There are eighteen lyrics in the album. The lyrics that are
going to be analyzed later are Intro, My Gun Go off, Man Down, I’ll Still Kill, I
Get Money, Come & Go, Ayo Technology, Follow My Lead, Movin’ On Up,
Straight to the Bank, Amusement Park, Fully Loaded Clip, Peep Show, Fire, All of
Me, Curtis 187, Touch the Sky, and bonus track Hustler’s Ambition.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to make this study better organized, the writer has set up some
questions that will be answered. The questions are as follows:
2
3
1. What phonological processes occurred in the Black English words
pronunciation of the 50 Cent’s song lyrics in the album ‘Curtis’?
2. What are the phonological characteristics of Black English as seen through the
processes?
C. Objective of the Study
The aim of this thesis is to answer the questions set up in the Problem
Formulations. The answers of the problems will result in deeper and better
understanding on the Black English phonology. Since the album that consists of
eighteen songs and all of them are written in Black English dialect, the album
provides us with the data of Black English words.
The main objective of this thesis is, therefore, to know the phonological
processes of the Black English word pronunciation that lead to different spellings.
The other objective of this thesis is also to find out the phonological
characteristics of Black English. Later, when the writer has already understood the
characteristics of Black English phonology, the writer can find the differences
between Black English and Standard English phonology.
D. Benefit of the Study
Studying the phonology of Black English through 50 Cent’s lyrics makes a
better understanding on Black English phonology. We can understand the
comparison of Black English and Standard English both in phonology and in
orthography. The benefit of the study is that it helps in understanding the
3
4
characteristics of a particular dialect, in this case, Black English Vernacular so
that it can enrich our knowledge in pronouncing a word in different dialect.
Basically, all human beings have the same structures in their vocal tracts and in
their ears. By doing this research, the writer began to understand why dialects of
one language are different one from the other.
Doing the research also improves the writer’s phonological knowledge, so
that the writer understands the way to produce sounds which form meaningful
utterances, to recognize a foreign ‘accent’, to know what is or is not a sound in her
language, and to know that different phonetic strings may represent the same
morpheme.
E. Definition of Terms
Before continuing the discussion, it is better for the writer to define some
terms that are greatly used in this thesis. To avoid misunderstanding of each term,
the writer gives the definitions below:
a. Phonological Analysis
Baverly Collins and Inger M. Mees in their book Practical Phonetics and
Phonology stated that phonological analysis is the analysis on the system and
sound patterning in a language (2003: 246).
b. Black English
Matthews in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms stated Black
English as any distinct variety of English native to black, especially urban,
populations in the USA and, by extension, in other societies whose members are
4
5
predominantly white; also referred to by the abbreviation BEV, for ‘Black English
Vernacular’ (1997: 38).
5
6
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In the second chapter, the writer will discuss three parts. The first is the
review of the related studies, the second is review of the related theories, and the
third will be the review of the theoretical framework. The review of the related
studies contains the review on what others have done, especially those connected
with the study on Black English phonology. The review of the related theories
contains the theories taken from some sources that will be useful for the writer to
conduct the analysis in order to answer the problems, while theoretical framework
contains the role of the theories, which have been mentioned in the review of
related theories, to solve the problems.
A. Review of Related Studies
In order to support the study, especially to conduct the analysis, it is
necessary for the writer to state the previous studies that have been done related to
the topic of this thesis. After searching for some sources, two related studies were
found.
One of the studies is taken from the thesis done by Wahyu Adi Putra Ginting
entitled Back Vowel Lengthening Process in American-English Pronunciation. In
his study, Ginting tried to find out how the voiced and voiceless stop consonants
influence the duration of the preceding back vowel’s lengthening. He focused his
observation on American-English pronunciation (2007: xi).
6
7
This paper has the same focus, that is the phonological study on back vowels’
lengthening of American-English pronunciation, but it is different in a way that
the writer wants to do the research on the different object. In this case, the writer
focuses the research on Black English Vernacular dialect through the song lyrics
of rap singer, 50 Cent.
The writer also takes another thesis discussing Black English. The thesis
entitled The Character’s Dialect and Their Social Background In Mark Twain’s
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Wivina Tomas. The writer takes this
thesis because it discussed Black English as the dialect that represents the
character’s background. Black English, in the novel, is the dialect used by Jim,
one of the major characters. Although Tomas study the same object of the study,
i.e. Black English, the focus of the thesis is different in a way that it does not
discuss the morphology of the Black English words.
B. Review of Related Theories
To analyze the object of the study, which means to answer the problems
mentioned in the problem formulations, the writer will review some theories in
order to find out which theories might be able to be used to answer those
problems. From the problem formulations we can see that the possible theories
might be used are those on Black English, phonetics, phonology, theory on lyrics,
and the review of the singer of the songs, 50 Cent.
B.1. Theories of Black English
Before we talk further about Black English phonology, we should know first
7
8
about what people refer to as Black English. What people refer to as ‘Black
English’ is certainly one of the prominent vernacular dialects of English, but it is
difficult to pick out one dialect as the most different.
Wolfram, et.al, in Dialect and Education, Issues and Answers said that
Black English is a variety of English that has combined a number of the
nonstandard English forms in a unique way. Its uniqueness lies not so much in the
distinct language forms that are found only in that dialect, although there are a
few, but in the particular combination of forms that make up the dialect (1986:
40).
B.1.a. History
Black English itself was the product of the slave trade. McCrum, et.al in The
Story of English stated that today, Black English speakers are members of a
scattered family that includes African pidgins, Caribbean creole, the English of
Southern states of America and the Black English of the post-colonial British Isles
(1986: 196).
According to David Crystal in his book Cambridge Encyclopedia of the
English Language, during the early years of American settlement, a highly
distinctive form of English was emerging in the islands of the West Indies and the
southern part of the mainland, spoken by the incoming black population. This was
a consequence of the importation of African slaves to work on the sugar
plantations, a practice started by the Spanish as early as 1517. From the early 17th
century, ships from Europe traveled to the West African coast, where they
exchanged cheap goods for black slaves. The slaves were shipped in barbarous
8
9
conditions to the Caribbean islands and the American coast, where they were in
turn exchanged for such commodities as sugar, rum, and molasses. The ships then
returned to England, completing an ‘Atlantic triangle’ of journeys, and the process
began again. The first 20 African slaves arrived in Virginia on a Dutch ship in
1619. By the time of the American Revolution (1776) their numbers had grown to
half a million, and there were over 4 million by the time slavery was abolished, at
the end of the US Civil War in 1865 (2005: 96).
The policy of the slave-traders was to bring people of different language
backgrounds together in the ships, to make it difficult for groups to plot rebellion.
The result was the growth of several pidgin forms of communication, and in
particular a pidgin between the slaves and the sailors, many of whom spoke
English. Once arrived in the Caribbean, this pidgin English continued to act as a
major means of communication between the black population and the new
landowners, and among the blacks themselves. Then, when their children were
born, the pidgin gradually began to be used as a mother tongue, producing the first
black creole speech in the region.
It is this creole English, which rapidly came to be used throughout the
southern plantations, and in many of the coastal towns, and islands. At the same
time, standard British English was becoming a prestige variety throughout the
area, as a consequence of the emerging political influence of Britain (Crystal,
2005:96).
B.1.b. The Growth of African-American English
David Crystal in his book Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
9
10
said that black culture became known throughout the country, especially for its
music following the widespread movement to the industrial cities of the northern
states in the late 19th century in the USA. The linguistic result was a large influx
of new, informal vocabulary into general use, as whites picked up the lively
speech patterns of those who sang, played, and danced –from the early spirituals,
through the many forms of jazz and blues, to later fashions in rapping, soul music,
and break dancing. At the same time, there was a growth in educational
opportunities for black people, and an increasing involvement in political and
professional roles. The civil rights movement in the 1960s had its linguistic as
well as its political successes, with school being obliged to take account of the
distinctive character of Black English Vernacular, following the successful
outcome of a test case at Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1977 (Crystal, 2005: 97).
In the 1980s, the public use many expressions in the language for talking
about this group of people. The current respectability of African-American (which
dates from the 1980s) has replaced such forms as Afro-American, Africo-
American, Afro (all in evidence from the 1830s), colored (preferred in the period
after the Civil War), negro (preferred after the 1880s, and with a capital N some
50 years later), and black/Black (which became the preferred form during the
1960s, and is still the commonest use). Black is now often proscribed, and
language conflicts have grown as people strive to find fresh forms of expression
lacking the pejorative connotations they sense in earlier usage (2005: 96).
10
11
B.2. Theories of Phonetics
Phonology can never be completely divorced from phonetics, since sound
patterns can never be completely separated from how they are produced and
heard. Phonetics is a part of phonology, and provides the means for describing
speech sounds. The writer only takes the theory on articulatory phonetics, which
deals with how the vocal tract produces the sounds of language.
B.2.a. Vocal Tract
Basically, sound is produced by vibrating air. Speaking means using the
vocal tract (lungs, trachea, larynx, mouth, and nose) to get air moving and
vibrating, and then shaping that movement in different ways. According to
Elizabeth Zsiga in the compilation edited by Ralph Fasold and Jeff Connor-Linton
An Introduction to Language and Linguistics, said that speech begins with breath
because most speech sounds are made with air exiting the lungs (2006: 14). That
is why when we begin to speak; we pull down the diaphragm, the big muscle that
separates our chest cavity from the stomach. This enlarges the lungs, which draws
air in. then the diaphragm relaxes and the muscles around the ribs contract, slowly
squeezing the lungs and forcing the air out and up the windpipe or trachea.
The next part of the vocal tract is larynx (the “Adam’s apple”) in the little
box of cartilage at the top of the trachea. Inside the larynx, two folds of soft tissue,
called the vocal folds (or sometimes called vocal cords), lie across the top of the
trachea. Just above the larynx, at the base of the tongue, is the epiglottis. It is a
muscular structure that folds down over the larynx when we swallow to prevent
food from going down into the lungs before it enters the passage to the stomach.
11
12
The payoff for the risk of a larynx located low in the throat is an open area at the
back of the mouth, i.e. the pharynx. The pharynx allows the tongue freedom for
front and back movement (2006: 15).
Inside the mouth itself, there are many different structures –active
articulators and passive articulators- that we use to shape speech sounds as the air
passes through the vocal tract. Active articulator is the organ that moves, and the
passive articulator is the target of the articulation, i.e. the point towards which the
active articulator is directed (Collins, Beverley and Inger M. Mees, 2003: 42).
The active articulators move toward the passive articulators in order to
constrict and shape the air that is moving out from the lungs. Active articulators
include the lips, which can be opened or closed, pursed or spread, and the tongue.
The tongue front (including the tip and the blade, which extends a few centimeters
back from the tip), the tongue body (the main mass of the tongue, also known as
the dorsum), and the tongue root (the lowest part of the tongue, back in the
pharynx), are considered separate active articulators.
The passive articulators lie along the top of the vocal tract. The first is the
alveolar ridge, the bony rise just behind the teeth. The second is the hard palate,
the roof of the mouth. The post alveolar region arches from the alveolar ridge
toward the hard palate. The third is soft palate or velum, which is the softer tissue
that we can find when we curl the tongue very far back in the mouth, just behind
the hard palate. The velum is a muscular structure that regulates the velar port, the
opening in the back of the mouth that connects the mouth and the nose. At the
very end of the velum is the uvula, the little pink pendulum hanging down in the
12
13
back of the mouth when it is opened wide (2006: 16-17).
B.2.b. Articulation
McMahon in his book An Introduction to English Phonology stated that
speech is audible because the movements of articulators cause the air to vibrate,
forming sound waves which travel to the hearer’s ears, and set up vibrations in the
inner ear, which are then translated into sounds again by the brain. Since sound
waves need air, it follows that articulatory vibrations will only make sound waves
if there is a moving body of air available. Airstreams can be set in motion in three
ways; pulmonic egressive airstream, glottalic airstream, and velaric airstreams
mechanism. However, only one is used in English, that is, pulmonic egressive
airstream, and indeed is found in every language of the world (2002: 24).
According to Elizabeth Zsiga in the compilation edited by Ralph Fasold and
Jeff Connor-Linton, An Introduction to Language and Linguistics, stated that
pulmonic egressive airstream is the way the air moving out from the lungs (2006:
18). All the sounds of English, both consonants and vowels, are produced on this
pulmonic egressive airstream, where the initiator is the lungs and the rest of the
respiratory system and the direction of airflow is out-wards.
Besides the airstream mechanism, there is another way that a sound is
articulated. It deals with the vocal folds. Sounds produced with vocal fold
vibration are voiced; sounds produced without vocal fold are voiceless. This vocal
folds vibration has to do with the larynx. When a speaker produces a voiced sound
[z], he or she can feel the vibration if he or she places the finger on the larynx. If
the speaker switches to the voiceless [s], the vibration ceases. Besides deciding
13
14
what to do with the larynx, the speaker must decide whether the velum will be
open or not. If the velum is open, so that air flows into the nose, the sound is nasal
(like [m]). If the velum is close, the sound is oral (2006: 18). Figure 1 shows parts
of the vocal tract and figure 2 shows the areas of the tongues. Both figures are
taken from Practical Phonetics and Phonology by Baverley Collins and Inger
M.Mees.
Figure 1. Parts of the Vocal Tract (2003: 42)
Figure 2. Areas of the Tongue (2003: 54)
14
15
B.2.c. Manner of Articulation
According to Elizabeth Zsiga in the compilation edited by Ralph Fasold and
Jeff Connor-Linton, An Introduction to Language and Linguistics, manner of
articulation is the type of constriction that is made for a speech sound (2006:507).
To produce any consonant, an active articulator, usually located somewhere along
the base of the vocal tract, moves towards a passive articulator, somewhere along
the top. How close the active and passive articulators get, determines the manner
of articulation. Victoria Fromkin et.al in An Introduction to Language stated that
there are six main manners of articulation (2003: 244-250). The explanations are
given below.
B.2.c.i. Voiced and Voiceless Sounds
Voiceless sounds are sounds produced in a way that the vocal cords are apart
during the airflow, so that the air flows freely through the glottis and supraglottal
cavities (the parts of the vocal tract above the glottis). The voiceless sounds in
English are /p/, /t/, /k/, and /s/. If the vocal cords are together, the airstream forces
its way through and causes them to vibrate. The sounds produced in this way are
voiced sounds: /b/, /d/, /g/, and /z/. Voiceless sounds may also be aspirated or
unaspirated. In the production of aspirated sounds, the vocal cords remain apart
for a brief time after the stop closure is released, resulting in a puff of air at the
time of the release. The /p/ in pit is aspirated, while the /p/ in spit is unaspirated.
B.2.c.ii. Nasal and Oral Sounds
Sounds produced with the velum up, blocking the air from escaping through the
nose, are oral sounds, since the air can escape only through the oral cavity. When
15
16
the velum is not in its raised position, air escapes through both the nose and the
mouth. Sounds produced this way are nasal sounds. Voiceless oral sounds include
/p/, /t/, and /k/, and voiced oral sounds are /b/, /d/, and /g/. Nasal sounds in English
are usually voiced. They are /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/.
B.2.c.iii. Stops
A stop occurs when the active and passive articulators actually touch, stopping
airflow through the oral cavity completely for a brief period. Nasal sounds /m/,
/n/, and /ŋ/ are classified as stops because nasals have a structure of complete
closure in the oral cavity although the soft palate is lowered allowing the airstream
to escape through the nose. Nonnasal, or oral stops are also called plosive because
the air that is blocked in the mouth ‘explodes’ when the closure is released. Stops
are classified into bilabial stops /p/, /b/, /m/, alveolar stops /t/, /d/, /n/, velar stops
/k/, /g/, /ŋ/, glottal stop /ʔ/ as in butter, and palatal affricates with complete stop
closures /t∫/ and /d /.
B.2.c.iv. Fricatives
If the articulators are brought close together but not closed completely, so that the
stream of air that is forced between them becomes turbulent and noisy, the manner
of articulation is fricative. The sounds /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ð/, /θ/, /∫/, and / / are
fricatives. The sounds /f/ and /v/ are labiodental fricatives, /s/ and /z/ are alveolar
fricatives, /ð/ and /θ/ are interdental fricatives, /∫/ and / / are palatal fricatives.
B.2.c.v. Affricates
Affricates combine a sequence of stop plus fricatives in a single sound. It is
produced by a stop closure followed immediately by a gradual release of the
16
17
closure that produces an effect characteristic of a fricative. The two relevant
sounds for English are /t∫/, at the beginning and end of church, and its voiced
equivalent /d / found at the beginning and end of judge.
B.2.c.vi. Liquids
Liquids are sounds produced with some obstruction of the airstream in the mouth,
but not enough to cause any real constriction or friction. For lateral liquid /l/, the
tip of the tongue rises to the alveolar ridge leaving the rest of the tongue down,
permitting the air to escape laterally over its sides. Retoflex liquid /r/ is produced
by curling the tip of the tongue back behind the alveolar ridge. In some languages,
the /r/ may be an alveolar trill, produced by the tip of the tongue vibrating against
the roof of the mouth. It may be produced by a single tap or flap of the tongue
against the alveolar ridge and it sometimes called ‘a flap’. The IPA symbol for the
alveolar tap or flap is /ɽ/.
B.2.c.vii. Glides
Glides produced with little or no obstruction of the airstream in the mouth. The
sounds /j/ and /w/ are glides. They are transitional sounds that are sometimes
called semivowels. The glide /j/ is a palatal sound; while /w/ is produced by both
raising the back of the tongue toward the velum and simultaneously rounding the
lips. Therefore, the glide /w/ is a labio-velar glide, or a rounded velar glide.
B.2.d. Place of Articulation
Place of articulation tells us where the sounds are produced. According to
McMahon in An Introduction to English Phonology, the English consonants are
produced at eight places of articulation as follows (2002: 31-33).
17
18
B.2.d.i. Bilabial
The active articulator for a bilabial sound is the bottom lip, and the passive
articulator is the top lip. Bilabial sound occurs if the lower and upper lip comes
together. Bilabial sound includes /p/, /b/, and /m/. /p/ is voiceless and /b/ and /m/
are voiced.
B.2.d.ii. Labio-dental
For labio-dental sound, the active articulator is the lower lip and the passive
articulator is the upper teeth. /f/ and /v/ are labio-dental. /f/ is voiceless and /v/ is
voiced.
B.2.d.iii. Dental
The dental sound is produced when the active articulator, tongue tip or blade,
moves forward to the upper teeth that becomes the passive articulator. The dental
sound includes /θ/ (voiceless) and /ð/ (voiced).
B.2.d.iv. Alveolar
Alveolar sounds are produced by the tip or blade of the tongue (active articulator)
moving up towards the alveolar ridge (passive articulator). The alveolar sounds
include /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /r/, and /l/.
B.2.d.v. Postalveolar
Postalveoloar sounds are produced with the blade of the tongue as the active
articulator, and the adjoining parts of the alveolar ridge and the hard palate as the
passive one. The postalveolar sounds are/∫/, / /, /t∫/, and /d /.
B.2.d.vi. Palatal
Palatal is produced by the tongue body, which moves up towards the hard palate.
18
19
/j/ in you is the example of palatal sound.
B.2.d.vii. Velar
For velar sounds, the active articulator is the back of the tongue, and passive
articulator is the velum, or soft palate. The velar sounds include /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ and
voiceless velar fricative /x/ in Scottish word loch.
B.2.d.viii. Glottal
Glottal sounds do not involve the tongue. The articulators are the vocal folds,
which constitute a place of articulation as well as having a crucial role in voicing.
The glottal sounds in English are /g/ and one allophonic representation of /t/ in
many accents, namely the glottal stop [ʔ] as in butter.
B.3. Theories of Phonology
Phonology is concerned with the ways in which the speech sounds form
systems and patterns in human language.
B.3.a. Phonemes and Allophones
The importance of phonology is shown by the fact that one can change one
word into another simply by changing one sound. It can be seen from the forms
and meanings of the following English words:
sip – zip fine – vine chunk – junk
Each word differs from the other words in both form and meaning. The difference
between sip and zip is ‘signaled’ by the fact that the initial sound of the first word
is s /s/ and the initial sound of the second word is z /z/. The forms of the two
words are identical except for the initial consonants. /s/ and /z/ can therefore
distinguish or contrast words. They are distinctive sounds in English. Such
19
20
distinctive sounds are called phonemes. A phoneme can be described as a label for
a group of sounds that are perceived by the speaker to be the ‘same’ sound, and
the allophones are the different ways of pronouncing that sound depending upon
the context in which it is produced. Phonemes are indicated by slashes, while
allophones are indicated by brackets (Zsiga, 2006: 39).
It can be said that each phoneme is therefore really composed of a number of
different sounds which are interpreted as one meaningful unit by a native speaker
of the language. This range is termed allophonic variation, and the variants
themselves are called allophones. Only the allophones of a phoneme can exist in
reality as concrete entities. Allophones are real, since they can be recorded, stored
and reproduced, and analyzed in acoustic or articulatory terms. Phonemes are
abstract units and exist only in the mind of the speaker/listener. As the phoneme
is an abstraction, one can only in fact, produce an allophone of the phoneme
(Collins, Beverley and Inger M. Mees, 2003: 11).
B.3.b. The Rules of Phonology
According to Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams in An
Introduction to Language, the phonological rules relate the phonemic
representations to the phonetic representations and are part of a speaker’s
knowledge of the language. Phonological rules in a grammar apply to phonemic
strings and alter them in various ways to derive their pronunciation as described
below (2003: 301-312):
20
21
B.3.b.i. Assimilation rules
Assimilation is the adaptation of a phoneme to another under the phonetic
conditioning. Beverley Collins and Inger M. Mees in Practical Phonetics and
Phonology described phonetic conditioning as a term used to cover the in which
speech segments are influenced by adjacent or near-adjacent segments, causing
phonemes to vary in their realization according to the phonetic context.
Assimilation may replace a phoneme by another phoneme. If green bag is said as
[’gri:m bæg], then /n/ is said to assimilate to /m/ under the influence of the
following /b/ (2003: 102). The same is true in the word impolite, which is
constructed from the root polite and prefix in. The surface representation of the
word is [‘Impəlt] because the /n/ is said to assimilate to /m/ under the influence
of the following voiceless stop /p/.
Therefore, it can be said that assimilation rules change feature values of segments,
thus spreading phonetic properties. The rule that nasalizes vowels in English
before nasal consonants is such a rule (Fromkin et.al., 2003: 328).
B.3.b.ii. Dissimilation rules
Languages also have dissimilation rules, rules in which a segment becomes less
similar to another segment. An example of easing pronunciation through
dissimilation is found in some varieties of English, where there is a fricative
dissimilation rule. This rule applies to sequences /fθ/ and /sθ/, changing them to
[ft] and [st]. Here, the fricative /θ/ becomes dissimilar to the preceding fricative by
becoming a stop. For example, the words fifth and sixth come to be pronounced as
if they were spelled fift and sikst.
21
22
B.3.b.iii. Feature-changing rules
The English vowel nasalization and vowel weakening rules change feature
specifications. That is, in English the [-nasal] value of phonemic vowel is changed
to [+nasal] phonetically through an assimilation process when the vowels occur
before nasals. The Japanese vowel weakening rule also changes the feature
specification. Vowels in Japanese are phonemically voiced, and the rule changes
vowels that occur in the specified environment into phonetically voiceless
segments. Assimilation rules as described above often have the function of
changing the value of phonemic features. They are feature-changing or feature-
spreading rules.
B.3.b.iv. Feature addition rules
Phonological rules in grammar may add nondistinctive features, which are
predictable from the context. The example is the rule that aspirates voiceless stops
at the beginning of words and syllables in English. Generally, aspiration occurs
only if the following vowel is stresses. For example, the /p/ in pit and repeat is
aspirated, but the /p/ in inspect and compass is not. Therefore, the rule can be
stated as ‘voiceless stops ([-continuant, -voiced] segments) becomes aspirated
when they occur syllable initially before stressed vowels.
B.3.b.v. Segment insertion rules
Phonological rules may also insert consonants or vowels, which are called
epenthesis. Insertion is usually related to syllable structure, when vowels are
inserted to break up strings of consonants. The schwa insertion part of the rule of
English plural formation is and example of epenthesis, e.g. kisses [kIsəz].
22
23
B.3.b.vi. Segment deletion rules
It is the opposite of insertion. Phonological rules may delete phonemic segments
in certain context. Instead of breaking up a sequence of consonants with a vowel,
a language may choose to delete one of the consonants, as in the loss of the initial
/p/ in pneumonia. Grand ends with /nd/, mother starts with [m], but when the two
words are put together, the medial /d/ is usually deleted and it becomes
[grænmʌðər]. The /n/ may then assimilate to the /m/, resulting in [græmmʌðər].
Deletion rules also show up as optional rules in fast speech or casual speech in
English. Contraction rules in English are deletion rules. They result, for example,
in the common contractions changing he is [hi Iz] to he’s [hIz] and I will [aI wIl] to
I’ll [aIl].
B.3.c. Variation between Accents
McMahon in An Introduction to English Phonology (2002) stated that accent
is clearly extremely important, as one of the major tools we use in drawing
inferences about humans, and in projecting particular images of ourselves. An
accent, in phonological terms, is an idealized system which speakers of that
variety share. Although slight differences in its use may be apparent, both across
and within individuals, its speakers will still share more in common with one
another, and with that idealized accent system, than with speakers of any other
idealized accent system (2002: 93).
Further, she explained that there are three-way classification of accent
differences, and illustrate these using examples involving both consonants and
vowels. First, the systems of two accents may contain different numbers of
23
24
phonemes, so different phonemic oppositions can be established from them: these
are systemic differences. Second, the same phonemes may have different
allophones: these are realisational differences. The last one, there are
distributional differences, whereby the same lexical item may have different
phonemes in two different varieties; or alternatively, the same phoneme may have
a phonological restriction on its distribution in one variety but not another (2002:
94).
B.4. Theories of Song Lyrics
Music is the universal language as a vehicle to engage, inspire, and reinforce
the magic of literature and the power of reading. Song-lyric, therefore, is also a
means of communication because it is also a kind of a language use. As well as
the lyric in poetry, song-lyric also has metaphor.
Simpson in his book Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students said mixing
the literary, with the manifestly ‘non-literature’, the set, which features both
metaphor and metonymy, draws in material from journalism, song lyrics, spoken
discourse and, off course, literary text (2004: 142).
There is no set way to write the lyrics to a song, but according to the article
entitled How to Write Rap Lyrics posted in http://www.ehow.com/
how_2140038_write-rap-lyrics.html by eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor
accessed on 2 December 2008, there are a few basic ways in organizing the
personal thoughts and turning them into song lyrics like what is written below. As
rap music is a combination of musical beats and poetry, the songwriter should
24
25
approach writing rap lyrics like he or she would approach the process of writing
poetry.
To write good rap lyrics, the songwriter needs to combine interesting subject
matter with a clever lyrical delivery. The first step is writing about a subject the
songwriter knows intimately. The best rap songs are born out of personal
experience. The second step is varying the meter and phrasing. The simple,
repetitive rap beats will provide a solid foundation upon which a rapper can create
incredibly complex polyrhythmic flourishes with his lyrics. The songwriter should
try to avoid writing rhythmically stagnant verses with rigid meters.
The next step is to write all the time. Successful rappers are constantly
coming up with phrases, rhymes or lyrical ideas. The songwriter should keep a
notebook handy throughout the day so he or she can scribble down ideas
whenever inspiration strikes. The fourth step is to become an observer. The
songwriter should be sensitive to people and conflicts that surround him or her at
all times. Next, is to create a simple chorus that encapsulates the themes and ideas
of the song. The best choruses are short and catchy. After that, the songwriter
should come up with a unique turn of phrase or wordplay. He or she should think
of clichés or familiar phrases and find clever ways to put fresh spins on them.
The seventh step is employing literary devices like similes, metaphors, and
onomatopoeias. While the themes and content of the rap lyrics are important, the
songwriter should spend an equal amount of time on the style and delivery.
Consider how much wordplay goes in the single Jay Z line, “You know the type:
loud as a motorbike, but they wouldn’t bust grape in a fruit fight.”
25
26
The next step is building the rhymes within individual lines. Unlike rock or
country lyrics, rap lyrics do not limit rhymes to the end of each line. By
incorporating a series of rapid-fire rhymes within a single line of a verse, rappers
give themselves plenty of opportunities to create fast-paced rhythmic
syncopations and patterns.
Step number nine is manipulating alliteration. In addition to rhymes, many
rappers get a lot of creative mileage out of alliteration. The songwriter should try
and repeat the initial consonant sounds with as many words as possible within a
single lyrical passage. The last step is reading the lyrics from great rappers
carefully. The songwriter should take notes on the techniques and styles used by
successful rappers.
Since raps are talk songs, they are not sung but spoken. They have a very
heavy beat and a lot of rhyme. There might be original music, “scratching”
sounds, and parts of other people’ songs behind the speaker of a rap.
B.5. Review of 50 Cent
Born in the South Jamaica section of Queens, "50 Cent", whose real name is
Curtis James Jackson III has lived in New York City all his life. His grandparents
raised him after his father ran out and his mother was shot when he was only
eight. Growing up, the Queens rapper originally wanted to be a heavyweight
boxer, but eventually fell back on rapping. In 1999 his album Power of the Dollar,
was heavily bootlegged and Trackmasters/Columbia never released it.
50 Cent's debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' debuted at No. 1 on The
Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. With infectious singles like
26
27
"In Da Club," which, at press time, holds the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100,
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Rap Tracks charts, the previously
released bonus track "Wanksta," and the recently released "21 Questions"
featuring Nate Dogg, it is not surprising that 50 Cent moved roughly 872, 000
units the first week. Internationally, 50 Cent remains on the Top Ten album charts
in Canada and Australia, while "In Da Club" proves to be a smash in the UK,
Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Ireland (http://www.ascap.com/playback/
2003/july/radar-50cent.html).
In September 11, 2007, 50 Cent released his newest album ‘Curtis’. The
album's title was changed twice. The first time, it was changed from "Curtis" to
"Curtis S.S.K.". The second time, it was changed back to "Curtis". The "S.S.K.",
which stood for "SoundScan Killer", was intended to show the pressure 50 Cent
felt to succeed. The "S.S.K." also stands for "SouthSide King" and "Shoot, Stab,
Kill". 50 Cent stated that the album was inspired by his life before his commercial
debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. He also stated that he chose the album's title
because he was known as "Curtis" before he became famous.
50 Cent wrote parts of the album in his grandmother's old house in South
Jamaica, Queens and he also flew to Florida to work on Ayo Technology with
Justin Timberlake, and finished the song in Houston. 50 Cent wrote a significant
amount of the guests' lyrics.
The album Curtis sold approximately 691,000 copies in the United States in
its first week of release, which was the fourth highest sales week for an album in
2007 (originally topping Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight which sold 625,000,
27
28
but later being outsold by the Eagle's Long Road Out of Eden, which moved
711,000 units and later Alicia Keys' As I Am bringing in 742,000 copies).
However, Curtis brought in the lowest first week sales of 50 Cent's career, with
Get Rich or Die Tryin' selling 872,000 and The Massacre moving 1.1 million
copies. Curtis sells 5 million after a year and a half (http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Curtis_50_Cent_album).
C. Theoretical Framework
There are two main points to be analyzed in this thesis. The points concern
on the phonological processes occurred in the Black English words pronunciation
of the song-lyrics, and the characteristics of Black English phonology that later
differ it from Standard English. The writer needs some theories that will help the
writer in analyzing the points.
The first point needs the theories of Black English. These theories help the
writer in understanding the definition of Black English itself so that the writer
does not have any difficulty in determining the particular words in the song lyrics
that are typically Black English since the object of study is song-lyrics written in
Black English dialect. The second theory is on phonetics and phonology. These
theories help the writer in defining what phonological processes are found in the
pronunciation of the words. The idea of song-lyric is also needed in order to
support the analysis of the first point mentioned above.
The second problem stated in the problem formulation is analyzed using the
theories of phonology and its variation between accents. The writer uses these
28
29
theories because those theories help the writer in determining the phonological
characteristics of the Black English. Last, the writer also needs to review 50 Cent,
the singer of the songs, to give a brief explanation about the singer to the readers.
29
30
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Data of the Study
In this paper, the writer is going to analyze the phonological processes in 50
Cent song lyrics in the album ‘Curtis’. This is the latest album of 50 Cent and was
released in September 11, 2007. There are eighteen songs in the album. The songs
are Intro, My Gun Go off, Man Down, I’ll Still Kill, I Get Money, Come & Go,
Ayo Technology, Follow My Lead, Movin’ On Up, Straight to the Bank,
Amusement Park, Fully Loaded Clip, Peep Show, Fire, All of Me, Curtis 187,
Touch the Sky, and bonus track Hustler’s Ambition.
The writer analyzes only the pronunciation of words, which are typically
Black English, or in other words, the words that are found only in Black English
Vernacular. The writer listed those words and wrote the phonetic transcriptions
based on the writer’s listening. As the comparison to the Standard one, the writer
also gave the spellings and the phonetic transcriptions of the words based on
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English.
B. Approach of the Study
In studying the phonological processes, the writer deals with a phonological
study. The writer considers using phonological approach is appropriate because
the writer did the analysis on the sound patterning in language, that is the analysis
of the ways and methods of in which speech sounds form systems and patterns.
30
31
C. Method of the Study
C.1. Population and Sample
In doing a research, a researcher must need objects to be investigated. It is
impossible for the writer to find all the populations in doing research. Sprinthall
defines the term “population” as the entire group of person, things, or events that
share at least one common trait (1992: 27), while “sample” are only parts of the
population that are used to be the representative of the population’s
characteristics. The writer considers this research as the sampling one because the
writer will do the phonological study on Black English only through the
pronunciations of the word in 50 Cent’s eighteen song lyrics in the album Curtis.
C.2. Instrument and Data Collection
In collecting data for this research, the writer used the technique of gathering
data by listening to 50 Cent’s songs and supported by reading his lyrics. The
writer also looked another data related to the topic of the paper in books, articles,
and another thesis. The data required to do the research is divided into three parts.
The first part contains the Black English words spelling that are classified
according to the title of the songs. Since there are eighteen songs in the album, the
words are also classified into eighteen parts. The second part is the phonetic
transcription of the Black English words and the Standard English as the
comparison. The third part is the possible phonological processes that can be
derived from the comparison of the phonetic transcriptions of those Black English
words to the Standard one. Here, the writer will use charts and table to make the
research well organized and easy to do.
31
32
C.3. Data Analysis
There are two problems to answer in this research, which are the
phonological processes of Black English words pronunciations and how the
characteristics of Black English phonology seen through the processes. To answer
the problems, the writer did the analysis in some steps.
The first problem deals with the phonological processes. The writer firstly
listed the Black English words found in the eighteen song lyrics. The table was
divided into eighteen parts, each of them is for Black English words found in each
song lyric, since the album ‘Curtis’ consists of eighteen songs. The writer
included the phonetic transcriptions of both the Standard English (based on
Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 2007) and Black
English (based on the writer’s listening to the pronunciations of the songs).
Secondly, from the comparison of the phonetic transcription of Standard and
Black English, the writer analyzed each word into its phonological process by
applying all possible phonological rules. From the analysis, the writer then
categorized those possible processes in each table according to the phonological
processes orderly, for instance alveolarization process, vowel deletion, and nasal
assimilation. By doing these steps, the writer could answer the problem number
one that was finding the phonological processes of Black English words.
The second problem is answered by deriving notations from each classified
process to state the general rule of its phonological process. For example, the
notation for phonological process applying velar alveolarization (/ŋ/ Æ /n/) is
alveolarized a /ŋ/ to /n/ when it occurs in the last syllable of a word. By doing this
32
33
step, the writer could derive the characteristics of Black English phonology that
differ them from the Standard one. For instance, one of the characteristics of
Black English phonology is that the /ŋ/ is pronounced to /n/ if it occurs in the last
syllable of a word.
33
34
CHAPTER IV
RESULT OF ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the writer tries to answer the problems formulated in the
first chapter. The problems are about the phonological processes that are used in
the word-formations of 50 Cent’s song lyrics in the album ‘Curtis’, and the
phonological characteristics of Black English as seen through the pronunciation of
the lyrics. The lyrics, which are the main data for this study, are taken from
http://www.lyrics007.com/50%20Cent%20lyrics/Intro%20(Curtis)%20lyrics.html,
accessed on September 12, 2008. This album ‘Curtis’, contains eighteen songs,
which are entitled Intro, My Gun Go Off, Man Down, I’ll Still Kill, I Get Money,
Come & Go, Ayo Technology, Follow My Lead, Movin’ On Up, Straight to the
Bank, Amusement Park, Fully Loaded Clip, Peep Show, Fire, All of Me, 187,
Touch the Sky, and bonus track Hustler Ambition. The writer gives the some
examples of the data below.
Table 1. The Examples of the Analyzed Data
Black English Phonetic Standard Phonetic

Song Title
words Transcription English words Transcription
packin' [‘pækIn] packing [‘pækIŋ]
Intro
bout [‘bt] about [ə‘bt]
nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]
My Gun Go Off turnin' [‘tnIn] turning [‘tnIŋ]
beatin' [‘bi:tn] beating [‘bi:tIŋ]
I’ll Still Kill creepin [‘krIpIn] creeping [‘krIpIŋ]
wearin [‘wIərIn] wearing [‘wIərIŋ]
I Get Money tryna [’trnə] trying to [’trjIŋtə]
gangsta [‘gæŋstə] gangster [‘gæŋstər]
bring’em [‘brIŋ,əm] bring them [‘brIŋ,ðəm]
Come & Go
kick’em [kIk,əm] kick them [kIk,ðəm]
34
35
Pronunciation of 50 Cent’s Song Lyrics in the Album ‘Curtis’.
To answer the first problem, that is the phonological processes of the Black
English word pronunciations, the writer first classified the Black English words of
each lyric. The words then were transcribed into the phonetic transcription. The
first problem deals with the phonological processes. Therefore, the writer
analyzed the data by applying all possible phonological rules and classified them
according to the phonological processes by comparing the transcriptions of Black
English words to those of Standard English. The phonetic transcriptions of the
Standard English words are taken from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of
Current English (2007), while the phonetic transcription of the Black English
words are based on the writer’s listening to the songs.
The writer found that there are four phonological processes occur in the
pronunciations of Black English words found in 50 Cent’s song lyrics in the
album ‘Curtis’. The phonological processes are alveolarization, vowel weakening,
deletion, and palatalisation. The processes are described as follows:
A.1. Alveolarization
After doing the analysis, the writer found that there are three kinds of
alveolarization processes. They are velar alveolarization, voiced continuant
alveolarization, and voiceless continuant alveolarization.
A.1.a. Velar alveolarization
Phonological process applying this rule has the consonant velar /ŋ/ as the
input. It occurs when final velar stop /ŋ/ which is [– alveolar] becomes /n/ which
35
36
is [+ alveolar]. It means that the final velar stop is alveolarized. The process is
described on the table below.
Table 2. Phonological Process Applying Velar Alveolarization rule (/ŋ/ Æ /n/)
Standard English Black English

Phonological process
saying sayin’
Underlying Form /’seIjIŋ/ /’seIjIŋ/
Alveolarization NA /’seIjIn/
Surface representation [’seIjIŋ] [’seIjIn]
In the word sayin’ above, the /ŋ/ is alveolarized and it becomes /n/. Therefore,
there is a different surface representation between the word sayin’ in Black
English and saying in Standard English. This same rule of velar alveolarization is
also applied in other words of the lyrics. Most of the verbs in continuous form
applied this rule. For example the word crawlin’ is pronounced [‘krlIn] instead
of [‘krlIŋ] and blowin’ is pronounced [‘blwIn] instead of [‘blwIŋ]. The
writer gives the complete data of the words experiencing this rule in the appendix.
Therefore, from the data analyzed above, it can be said that in Black English
Vernacular, the consonant velar /ŋ/ is alveolarized to /n/ if it occurs in the final
position of a word.
A.1.b. Voiced continuant alveolarization
The second alveolarization process is the process which alveolarized voiced
interdental fricative /ð/ to alveolar stop /d/. The /ð/ as the input has the feature [+
continuant] and [-alveolar]. The output is alveolar stop /d/ which is [-continuant]
and [+ alveolar]. The example is on the Black English word dem. The process is
described in the table below.
36
37
Table 3. Phonological Process Applying Voiced Continuant Alveolarization
Rule (/ð/ Æ /d/)

them dem
Underlying Form /ðəm/ /ðəm/
Alveolarization NA /dəm/
Surface representation [ðəm] [dəm]
In the phonological process above, the initial phoneme /ð/ in word dem, which
in Standard English pronounced as [ðəm] is alveolarized so that it becomes /d/.
The final surface representation therefore, is [dəm]. Another word experiencing
this rule is Black English word da, which pronounced [‘da]. In Standard English,
it is written the, and pronounced [‘ðə]. This rule is also applied in the word that
and these. Therefore, it can be said that voice continuant /ð/ is alveolarized to
alveolar stop /d/ if it occur in the initial position of the word.
A.1.c. Voiceless continuant alveolarization
Another alveolarization rule is applied on the Black English word throwing
and nuttin. There is an alveolarization from the phoneme /θ/ to phoneme /t/. The
process is described in the table below.
Table 4. Phonological Process Applying Voiceless Continuant Alveolarization
Rule (/θ/ Æ /t/)

throwing throwin’
Underlying Form /θrwIŋ/ /θrwIŋ/
Alveolarization NA /trwIn/
Surface representation [θrwIŋ] [trwIn]
37
38

nothing nuttin’
Underlying Form /‘nʌθIŋ/ /‘nʌθIŋ/
Velar alveolarization NA /‘nʌθIn/
Voiceless continuant alv. NA /‘nʌtIn/
Surface representation [‘nʌθIŋ] [‘nʌtIn]
At the beginning of a word, the phoneme /θ/ is typically realized as a
corresponding stop, such as [dəm] for dem. The voiceless interdental fricative /θ/
for throwing is alveolarized so it becomes an alveolar stop /t/. The same is true in
the word nuttin’ (pronounced ‘nʌtIn), which in Standard English is pronounced as
[‘nʌθIŋ].
A.2. Vowel weakening
Vowel weakening occurs when the vowel changes its form, from the strong
form into its weak form. The example is the word ya in Black English which is
derived from the word you pronounced as [jə], while in Standard English it is
pronounced [ju:]. The high long vowel /u:/ becomes weaken and changes its form
into schwa /ə/. The process is described in the table below.
Table 5. Phonological Process Applying Vowel Weakening Rule

you ya
Underlying Form /’ju:/ /’ju:/
Vowel weakening NA /’jə/
Surface representation [’ju:] [’jə]

mark merk
Underlying Form /‘mα:rk/ /‘mα:rk/
Vowel weakening NA /’mərk/
Surface representation [’mα:rk] [‘mərk]
38
39
In the phonological process applying this rule above, there is a vowel
weakening from the high back vowel /u:/ in Standard English you becomes /ə/ in
Black English ya. The same is true in the word merk, which is pronounced
[‘mərk].
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that the vowel is weakened if it
occurs before retroflex /r/ or if it occurs in the last syllable of a word.
A.3. Deletion
The writer has done the analysis on the data collected and the writer found that
there are four kinds of deletion rules applied in the phonological processes of
Black English words pronunciation. The rules are consonant deletion, vowel
deletion, monophtongization, and segment deletion.
A.3.a. Consonant deletion
Consonant deletion occurs when a consonant is deleted as the result of the use
of Black English. The writer found four kinds of consonant deletion, which are ð-
deletion, θ-deletion, r-deletion, t-deletion, and v-deletion. The processes are
described in the tables below.
Table 6. Phonological Process Applying ð-deletion Rule

at them at em
Underlying Form / ‘æt,ðəm/ /‘æt,ðəm/
ð –deletion NA /’æt,əm/
Surface representation [‘æt,ðəm] [‘æt,əm]

kick them kick ‘em
Underlying Form [‘kIk,ðəm] [‘kIk,ðəm]
ð –deletion NA /‘kIk,əm/
Surface representation [‘kIk,ðəm] [‘kIk,əm]
39
40
Unlike the word dem which applied alveolarization rule, the word em applied
the ð-deletion because the /ð/ in /ðəm/ (them) is deleted and it becomes only /əm/
in the word em. The word em in the lyric is preceded by words in which its final
syllable have final alveolar stop like /t/ in the phrase at em, /k/ in the phrase kick
em, and /ŋ/ in the phrase bring em. The words experiencing this rule are listed in
the appendix (same words are not repeated).
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that the voiced interdental fricative
/ð/ is deleted if it is preceded by velar stop /k/ or /ŋ/, voiceless alveolar stop /t/,
lateral /l/, or voiced labiodental fricative /v/ and followed by a mid central vowel.
Table 7. Phonological Process Applying θ-deletion Rule

something summin’
Underlying Form /’sʌmθIŋ/ /’sʌmθIŋ/
Velar alveolarization NA /’sʌmθIn/
θ –deletion NA /’sʌmIn/
Vowel deletion NA /’sʌmn/
Surface representation [’sʌmθIŋ] [’sʌmn]
There are three rules applied in the phonological process of the word summin’
which is pronounced [’sʌmn]. The velar alveolarization is one of the rules which
is firstly applied because the sound /ŋ/ occurs in the final position of the word. The
second rule applied is θ-deletion and the phonetic transcription becomes /’sʌmIn/.
The last process is vowel deletion, which is the deletion of the high front vowel
/I/ so the phonetic transcription becomes /’sʌmn/. The vowel is deleted because
alveolar nasal /n/ is syllabic which can constitute nucleus of the syllable. The final
surface representation of the Black English word summin’ is therefore [’sʌmn].
40
41
Table 8. Phonological Process Applying r-deletion Rule

nigger nigga
Underlying Form /’nIgər/ /’nIgər/
r-deletion NA /’nIgə/
Surface representation [’nIgər] [’nIgə]

your ya
Underlying Form /’jr/ /’jr/
r-deletion NA /’j/
Vowel reduction NA /’jə/
Surface representation [‘jr] [’jə]
Another process of deletion which is also found in the lyrics is r-deletion. R-
deletion occurs in Black English words nigga and ya above. The sound r is
deleted and therefore, it is not pronounced. As the result, the word nigga is
pronounced [’nIgə] and ya is pronounced [’jə], after applying vowel reduction rule
(vowel // becomes /ə/). Other words experiencing r-deletion rule are as listed in
the appendix.
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that /r/ is deleted if it occurs after
central mid vowel /ə/ or low back vowel //.
Table 9. Phonological Process Applying t-deletion Rule

trying to tryna
Underlying Form /’trjIŋtə/ /’trjIŋtə/
Velar alveolarization NA /’trjIntə/
t-deletion NA /’trjInə/
Segment deletion NA /’trnə/
Surface representation [’trjIŋtə] [’trnə]
41
42

want to wanna
Underlying Form /’wɒnt,tə/ /’wɒnt,tə/
t-deletion NA /’wɒnə/
Surface representation [’wɒnt,tə] [’wɒnə]
The writer learnt from the context of the songs that the word tryna is the Black
English form of the words trying to which is pronounced [’trjIŋtə]. The
phonological process of the word tryna applied three rules, which are
alveolarization, t-deletion, and segment deletion. The first process is velar
alveolarization, when the final velar stop /ŋ/ becomes /n/. The result is that the
transcription becomes /’trjIntə/. The second process is t-deletion where the
consonant /t/ is deleted and therefore, the transcription becomes /’trjIntə/. The
last process is segment deletion. It is a process which deletes more than one
phoneme. It results on the final surface representation [’trnə]. The rule t-deletion
is also applied in the word wanna. After the /t/ is deleted, the surface
representation becomes [’wɒnə]. The words experiencing t-deletion rule are listed
in the appendix.
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that the alveolar stop /t/ is deleted
if it is preceded by a nasal alveolar /n/ and followed by a central mid vowel /ə/.
Table 10. Phonological Process Applying v-deletion Rule

give me gimme
Underlying Form /’gIvmI/ /’gIvmI/
V-deletion NA /’gImI/
Vowel weakening NA /’gImə/
Surface representation [’gIvmI] [’gImə]
The word gimme applied v-deletion rule because the voiced labiodental
fricative /v/ is deleted. The second rule applied is vowel weakening which reduces
42
43
the high front vowel /I/ into schwa /ə/. Therefore, the final surface representation
for the Black English word gimme is [’gImə].
A.3.b. Vowel deletion
Vowel deletion occurs when a vowel is deleted as the result of the use of
Black English. The phonological process applying vowel deletion rule is
described in the table below.
Table 11. Phonological Process Applying Vowel Deletion Rule

sitting sittin’
Underlying Form /’sItIŋ/ /’sItIŋ/
Velar alveolarization NA /’sItIn/
Vowel deletion NA /’sItn/
Surface representation [’sItIŋ] [’sItn]

getting gettin’
Underlying Form /’getIŋ/ /’getIŋ/
Velar alveolarization NA /’getIn/
Vowel deletion NA /’getn/
Surface representation [’getIŋ] [’getn]
Vowel deletion is applied on the above phonological process along with velar
alveolarization rule. The word sittin’ applied alveolarization rule first for the /ŋ/ is
alveolarized and becomes /n/. The vowel /I/ then deleted and the final surface
representation for sittin’ is [’sItn]. It can be said that the rule occurs to the high
front vowel /I/ when it is preceded by a voiceless alveolar stop /t/ and followed by
a voiced alveolar nasal /n/. The word gettin’ also applies this rule because it has
/n/ as the final sound of the syllable. For alveolar nasal /n/ is syllabic, which may
constitute nucleus of the syllable, it is possible to delete the high front vowel /I/.
43
44
Other words in the song lyrics applying the same rules are listed in the appendix.
The same words are not repeated.
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that in Black English Vernacular,
the high front vowel /I/ is deleted it occurs between voiceless alveolar stop and a
nasal alveolar /n/ in the last syllable of a word.
A.3.c. Monophtongization
Monophtongization rule in English is deletion rule because it simplifies diphthong
by deleting particular phoneme in certain context.
Table 12. Phonological Process Applying Monophtongization Rule

I will Ill
Underlying Form /,aI’wIl/ /,aI’wIl/
Segment deletion NA / ‘aIl /
Monophtongization NA /’al/
Surface representation [,aI’wIl] [’al]

high high
Underlying Form /’haI/ /’haI/
Monophtongization NA /’ha/
Surface representation [’haI] [’ha]
In the word Ill, there are two rules applied. The first one is segment deletion
which deletes phonemic segment /w/ and /I/ so that the representation of the word
Ill becomes /‘aIl /. Then, the diphthong /aI/ is simplified into a monophtong /a/.
Therefore, the surface representation of the word Ill is [’al]. The same is true in
Black English word high, which after the monophtongization rule applied, its
pronunciation becomes [‘ha]. The writer gives the other words experiencing the
rule in the appendix.
44
45
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that the diphthong /aI/ becomes
simply /a/ without the glide if it occurs in the last syllable of a word or if it occurs
before a nasal alveolar /n/ or a lateral /l/.
A.3.d. Segment deletion
Segment deletion is a process which deletes more than one phoneme. The
word tryna [’trnə] is often used in the lyrics. In this word, as well as in gonna,
the segment deleted the phonemes /j/ and /I/. Another word experiencing this rule
is the word bustin’. The processes are described in the table below.
Table 13. Phonological Process Applying Segment Deletion Rule

busting bustin’
Underlying Form /’bʌstIŋ/ /’bʌstIŋ/
Velar alveolarization NA /’bʌstIn/
Segment deletion NA /’bʌsn/
Surface representation [’bʌstIŋ] [’bʌsn]
The word bustin’ first applied velar alveolarization rule which alveolarized the
final nasal stop /ŋ/ so it becomes /n/ and the transcription becomes /’bʌstIn/. The
phoneme /t/ and /I/ then deleted because those phonemes /t/ and /I/ are preceded
by voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ and followed by a nasal alveolar stop /n/.
Therefore, the final surface representation for Black English word bustin’ is
[’bʌsn].
A.4. Affricatisation
Affricatisation is a phonological process which changes the alveolar stops into
palatal affricates. The process is described in the table below.
45
46
Table 14. Phonological Process Applying Affricatisation Rule

get you get’cha
Underlying Form /’get,ju:/ /’get,ju:/
Affricatisation NA /’get∫u:/
Vowel weakening NA /’get∫ə/
Surface representation [’get,ju:] [’get∫ə]

hold you hold ya
Underlying Form /‘hld,ju:/ /‘hld,ju:/
Affricatisation NA /’ hld u:/
Vowel weakening NA /’ hld ə/
Surface representation [‘hld,ju:] [‘hld ə]
In the Black English word get’cha, there are two phonological rules applied.
The first one is affricatisation rule, which change the voiceless alveolar stop /t/
into palatal /t∫/. The second process is vowel weakening which changes the high
long vowel /u:/ into schwa /ə/. The surface representation for the word get’cha
then becomes [’get∫ə]. The Black English word hold ya applied the same rule.
Therefore, its final representation is [‘hld ə]. Other words experiencing
palatalisation rule are listed in the appendix.
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that voiced and voiceless alveolar
stops /t/ and /d/ becomes palatal affricates /t∫/ and /d / if they occur before palatal
glide /j/.
B. Phonological Characteristics of Black English
After doing the analysis on the first problem, that is, the phonological
processes of the Black English words from the lyrics, the writer could find the
phonological characteristics of Black English. The characteristics are written in
notations and statements as follows:
46
47
1. Black English words alveolarized velar nasal if it occurs in the final position
of a word. The notation can be written:
/ŋ/ [n] / _______ #
+ alveolar - alveolar
+ nasal + nasal
- velar + velar
The characteristic above can be seen in the words lookin’ pronounced
[‘lu:kIn], somethin’ pronounced [’sʌmθIn], pronounced [‘pækIn], and so on.
2. The vowels in Black English words are weakened if they occur before the
retroflex /r/ or if it occurs in the last syllable of a word. The notations are:
- high
V - low / _____ $ , or
+ reduced
+ back
- high
- low
V + reduced / [r] ______
+ back
The examples of the words experiencing vowel weakening are merk (from the
Standard English word mark) pronounced [‘mək] and ya pronounced [’jə].
3. Black English words delete voiced interdental fricative /ð/ when it is preceded
by velar stop /k/ or /ŋ/, voiceless alveolar stop /t/, lateral /l/, or voiced
labiodental fricative /v/, and followed by a mid central vowel, as written:
/ð/ Ǿ / [k], [ŋ] ______ [ə] , or
+ cons + cons - high

+ voiced + velar - low
+ cont - cont + back
- alveolar + reduced
47
48
/ð/ Ǿ / [t] ________ [ə] , or

+ cont - cont + back
+ alveolar + reduced
/ð/ Ǿ / [l] _______ [ə] , or

+ cont + cont + back
+ alveolar + reduced
/ð/ Ǿ / [v] _______ [ə]

+ voiced - velar - low
+ cont + cont + back
- alveolar + reduced
The examples of the words experiencing this rule such as out em [‘a t,əm],
bring em , [‘brIŋ,əm], kick em [‘kIk,əm], serve em [‘se:rv,əm], and pull em
[‘pul,əm].
4. Black English words also have r-deletion which occurs if the /r/ is after central
mid vowel /ə/ or low back vowel //. The notation is as follows:
/r/ Ǿ / [ə] ______ , or
+ cons - high
+ anterior - low
+ coronal + back
+ reduced
/r/ Ǿ / [] _______
+ cons + low
+ anterior + back
+ coronal + long
48
49
The examples of the words having this characteristic are gangsta [‘gæŋstə],
mo’ [‘m], flo’ [‘fl], and niggaz [’nIgəz].
5. The alveolar stop /t/ in Black English words is deleted if it is preceded by a
nasal alveolar /n/ and followed by a central mid vowel /ə/. The notation is
written below:
/t/ Ǿ / [n] _______ [ə]

- voiced + velar - low
- cont - cont + back
+ alveolar + nasal + reduced
The examples can be found in the words like tryna [’trnə], which derived
from the Standard English word trying to, gonna [‘gɒnə] and wanna [‘wɒnə].
6. Black English also have vowel deletion, particularly the deletion of high front
vowel /I/. It is deleted if it occurs between voiceless alveolar stop and a nasal
alveolar /n/ in the last syllable of a word, or if it occurs between bilabial nasal
/m/ and alveolar nasal /n/. The notation is written below.
/I/ Ǿ / [t] ________ [n], or
+ syllabic + cons + cons

+ front - voiced + velar
+ high - cont + syllabic
+ alveolar + nasal
/I/ Ǿ / [m] ________ [n], or
+ syllabic + cons + cons

+ front + labial + velar
+ high + syllabic + syllabic
+ nasal + nasal
49
50
The words having this characteristic are hurtin’ [‘htn], hittin’ [‘hItn], waitin’
[‘weItn], getting’ [‘getn], summin’ [‘sʌmn], and so on.
7. Another phonological characteristic in Black English words is
monophtongization. From the analysis, the writer found that the diphthong /aI/
becomes simply /a/ without the glide if it occurs in the last syllable of a word
or if it occurs before a nasal alveolar /n/ or a lateral /l/. The notation is written
below.
/aI/ [a] / _______ $ , or
+ syllabic + low
+ tense + back
+ diphtong - lax
+ monophtong
/aI/ [a] / _______ [n], or
+ syllabic + low + cons

+ tense + back + nasal
+ diphtong - lax - cont
+ monophtong + velar
/aI/ [a] / _______ [l]
+ syllabic + syllabic + cont

+ tense + low + alveolar
+ diphtong + back + coronal
- lax
+ monophtong
The examples of the words having this characteristic are high pronounced
[‘ha], mine pronounced [‘man], smile pronounced [‘smal], and so on.
50
51
8. Black English words also have affricatisation of voiced and voiceless alveolar
stop. The alveolar stops /t/ and /d/ becomes palatal affricates /t∫/ and /d / if
occurs before palatal glide /j/. The notation is written below.
alveolar stops palatal affricates / ______ palatal glide
/t/ [t∫]
/ _________ [j]
/d/ [d ]
+ anterior - anterior - anterior

+ coronal + coronal + coronal
- sibilant + sibilant - sibilant
+ alveolar - alveolar - alveolar
- palatal + palatal + palatal
The examples of the words having this characteristic are such as get’cha
pronounced [’get∫ə], hit ya pronounced [‘hIt∫ə], told ya pronounced [‘tld ə],
and need ya [‘ni:d ə].
All the points above are the characteristics of Black English phonology which
differ it from the standard one. However, there is another characteristic of Black
English that appears as the consequences of the phonological processes.
Phonological processes occurring in Black English words result in the spelling of
those words. Therefore, Black English is different from Standard English not only
in phonology, but also in its orthography. The writer found that there are mainly
two kind of spelling differences between Black English and Standard English that
were analyzed from the lyric, i.e. g-dropping and unstressed intial syllable loss.
51
52
1. G-dropping
One process very general in most vernacular varieties is so-called ‘g-
dropping’, in which the back basal represented as ng in spelling in which the ng in
spelling becomes n’. It results the consonant change in the pronunciation in which
the ng (phonetically [ŋ]) is pronounced as [n]. This process takes place when the
ng occurs in an unstressed syllable, as in lookin’ for looking and foamin’ for
foaming. Most of the verbs in continuous form use this construction as well as
nouns with the ng ending as in somethin’ for something.
2. Unstressed initial syllable loss
The general process of deleting unstressed initial syllables in informal speech
style of Standard English is extended in Black English Vernacular. Therefore,
some words are affected by this rule. For example, because becomes ‘cause,
about becomes ‘bout, ahead becomes ‘head, and around becomes ‘round.
52
53
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
The problem formulations stated in chapter I have been thoroughly
discussed in chapter IV. Therefore, the discussion of two points: the phonological
processes that occurred in the Black English words pronunciation of 50 Cent’s
song lyrics in the album ‘Curtis’, and the phonological characteristics of Black
English as seen through the processes, is to be made in form of summary.
Pronunciation of 50 Cent’s Song Lyrics in the Album ‘Curtis’.
The phonological processes occurred in the pronunciations of Black English
words of 50 Cent song lyrics in the album ‘Curtis’ are alveolarization, vowel
weakening, deletion, and affricatisation. There are three different inputs in
alveolarization processes which occurred in Black English pronunciation. The
first input is velar nasal /ŋ/ which is alveolarized into alveolar nasal /n/ if it occurs
in the last syllable of a word, the second input is voiced interdental fricative /ð/
which is alveolarized into voiced alveolar stop [d], and the last input is voiceless
interdental fricative /θ/ which is alveolarized into voiceless alveolar stop [t] if it
occurs as the onset of the syllable of a word. The vowel weakening in Black
English occurred if a vowel is after a retroflex /r/ or if it is on the last syllable of a
word.
Based on the analysis, the deletion process in Black English phonology has
four kinds of deletion rules. The first is consonant deletion; consist of the deletion
53
54
of phoneme /ð/, /θ/, /r/, and /v/, the second is vowel deletion, the third is
monophtongization of diphthong // to monophtong [a], and the last one is
segment deletion.
In the affricatisation process of alveolar stops, the writer found that there are
two different inputs of the process. According to the data, the first input is
voiceless alveolar stop /t/ which becomes voiceless palatal affricate [t∫] under the
condition of the palatal glide /j/, and another input is voiced alveolar stop /d/
which becomes voiced palatal affricate [d ] if it occurs before palatal glide /j/.
B. Phonological Characteristics of Black English
Phonological characteristics of Black English can be seen from the
phonological processes occurred in the pronunciation of the Black English words
of the lyrics. After doing the analysis, the writer found that there are eight
characteristics of Black English phonology.
The first characteristic is Black English words alveolarized velar nasal if it
occurs in the final position a word. The second is that the vowels in Black English
words are weakened if they occur before the retroflex /r/ or if it occurs in the last
syllable of a word. The next characteristic is that Black English words delete
voiced interdental fricative /ð/ if it is preceded by velar stop /k/ or /ŋ/, voiceless
alveolar stop /t/, lateral /l/, or voiced labiodental fricative /v/, and followed by a
mid central vowel. Black English words also have r-deletion which occurs if the
/r/ is after central mid vowel /ə/ or low back vowel //. Another characteristic of
Black English phonology is that the alveolar stop /t/ in Black English words is
54
55
deleted if it is preceded by a nasal alveolar /n/ and followed by a central mid
vowel /ə/. Black English also have vowel deletion, particularly the deletion of
high front vowel /I/. It is deleted if it occurs between voiceless alveolar stop and a
nasal alveolar /n/ in the last syllable of a word, or if it occurs between bilabial
nasal /m/ and alveolar nasal /n/. The seventh characteristic in Black English
phonology is monophtongization. From the analysis, the writer found that the
diphthong /aI/ becomes simply /a/ without the glide if it occurs in the last syllable
of a word or if it occurs before a nasal alveolar /n/ or a lateral /l/. The last one,
Black English also has affricatisation of voiced and voiceless alveolar stop. The
alveolar stops /t/ and /d/ becomes palatal affricates /t∫/ and /d / if occurs before
palatal glide /j/.
In spelling, Black English words are different from Standard English because
of the phonological consequences. Therefore, the writer classified the spelling
differences as another characteristic of Black English. After doing the analysis,
the writer found that there are mainly two kinds of spelling differences between
Black English and Standard English that were analyzed from the lyric, i.e. g-
dropping and unstressed intial syllable loss. When ng in spelling becomes n, it is
called ‘g-dropping’. It is the result of the velar alveolarization process in which
velar nasal /ŋ/ is alveolarized to [n]. For instance, the word watching is written
watchin’ in Black English, as well as lookin’ for looking, and comin’ for coming.
Unstressed initial syllable is deleted in Black English spelling. It can be found in
the word because which becomes ‘cause, about becomes ‘bout, and around
becomes ‘round.
55
56
From this study, we can learn that by listening to the music, in this case rap
music, we can understand the characteristics of a particular dialect, that is, Black
English Vernacular. We can also learn that Standard English and Black English
have certain characteristics that distinguish one and another. Thus, it can enrich
our knowledge in pronouncing a word in different dialect.
56
57
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Collins, Beverley and Inger M. Mees. Practical Phonetics and Phonology. New
York: Routledge, 2003.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Fasold, Ralph and Jeff Connor-Linton. An Introduction to Language and

Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Fromkin, Victoria, and Robert Rodman. An Introduction to Language. Orlando,

Florida: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Inc, 1988.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to

Language, Seventh Edition. Boston: Thomson, 2003.
Ginting, Wahyu Adi Putra. Back Vowel Lengthening Process in American-

English Pronunciation, An Undergraduate Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata
Dharma University, 2007.
Hornby, AS. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1984.
Malmkjær, Kirsten. The Linguistics Encyclopedia. Wiltshire: Routledge, 1996
Matthews H., P. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics. New York: Oxford

University Press, 1997.
McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNail. The Story of English.
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1986.
McMahon, April. An Introduction to English Phonology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh

University Press Ltd, 2002.
O’Grady, William, Michael Dobrovolksy, Mark Aronoff. Contemporary

Linguistics, An Introduction. New York: St. Martin Press, 1989.
57
58
Reece, Rod. “50 Cent’s Biography. http://www.imdb.com/SearchBios?Rod%20

Reece. (August 20, 2008)
Simpson, Paul. Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students. London: Routledge,

2004.
Tomas, Wivina. The Character’s Dialect and Their Social Background In Mark
Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, An Undergraduate Thesis.
Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University, 2007.
Wardhaugh, Ronald. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, Second Edition. Oxford:

Blackwell Publishers, 1992.
Wolfram, Walt and Donna Christian. Dialects and Education, Issues and
Answers. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1989.
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2007/july/radar-50cent.html, (Sept 12, 2008).
http://www.ehow.com/ how_2140038_write-rap-lyrics.html, (December 2, 2008).
http://www.lyrics007.com/50%20Cent%20lyrics/Intro%20(Curtis)%20lyrics.htm,
(September 12, 2008).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_50_Cent_album/, (March 19, 2009).
58
59
APPENDICES
Appendix 1. List of the Analyzed Data

Song Title
Intro ya [’jə] you [‘ju:]
lookin' [‘lu:kIn] looking [‘lu:kIŋ]
somethin' [’sʌmθIn] something [’sʌmθIŋ]
packin' [‘pækIn] packing [‘pækIŋ]
bout [‘bt] about [ə‘bt]
fuckin' [’fʌkIn] fucking [’fʌkIŋ]
My Gun Go Off nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]
turnin' [‘tnIn] turning [‘tnIŋ]
burnin' [‘bnIn] burning [‘bnIŋ]
learnin' [‘lnIn] learning [‘lnIŋ]
merk [‘mərk] mark [‘mα:rk]
bustin' [’bʌsn] busting [’bʌstIŋ]
trippin' [‘trIpIn] tripping [‘trIpIŋ]
flippin' [‘flIpIn] flipping [‘flIpIŋ]
leavin [‘li:vIn] leaving [‘li:vIŋ]
niggas [’nIgəs] niggers [’nIgərz]
hurtin [‘htIn] hurting [‘htIŋ]
summin' [’sʌmn] something [’sʌmθIŋ]
gonna [‘gɒnə] going to [‘gŋtə]
hittin [‘hItn] hitting [‘hItIŋ]
sittin [‘sItn] sitting [‘sItIŋ]
em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
beatin' [‘bi:tn] beating [‘bi:tIŋ]
Man Down tryin [‘traIjIn] trying [‘traIjIŋ]
sayin [‘sæjIn] saying [‘sæjIŋ]
e'rybody [,erI’bɒdI] everybody [,evrI’bɒdI]
niggaz [’nIgəs] niggers [’nIgərz]
fo' [’f] for [’fr]
stickin [‘stIkIn] sticking [‘stIkIŋ]
getting [‘getn] getting [getIŋ]
cocksuckin [,kɒk’sʌkIn] cocksucking [,kɒk’sʌkIŋ]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
screamin [‘skri:mIn] screaming [‘skri:mIŋ]
dem [‘dəm] them [‘ðəm]
59
60

Song Title
waitin [‘weItn] waiting [‘weItIŋ]
crawlin [‘krlIn] crawling [‘krlIŋ]
cappin [‘kæpIn] capping [‘kæpIŋ]
something [’sʌmθIn] something [’sʌmθIŋ]
snitchin [‘snIt∫In] snitching [‘snIt∫Iŋ]
I’ll Still Kill nuttin [‘nʌtIn] nothing [‘nʌθIŋ]
fuckin [’fʌkIn] fucking [’fʌkIŋ]
creepin [‘krIpIn] creeping [‘krIpIŋ]
wearin [‘wIərIn] wearing [‘wIərIŋ]
ya [’jə] you [‘ju:]
'em [‘əm] them [ðəm]
aimin [‘eImIn] aiming [‘eImIŋ]
flashin [‘flæ∫In] flashing [‘flæ∫Iŋ]
reminiscin [,remI’nIsIn] reminiscing [,remI’nIsIŋ]
drippin [‘drIpIn] dripping [‘drIpIŋ]
ridin [‘raIdIn] riding [‘raIdIŋ]
I Get Money tryna [’trnə] trying to [’trjIŋtə]
Ill [’al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
ya [’jə] you [’ju:]
yo [’jə] your [’jr]
blowin' [‘blwIn] blowing [‘blwIŋ]
crackin' [‘krækIn] cracking [‘krækIŋ]
that [‘dæt] that [ðæt]
callin' [‘klIn] calling [‘klIŋ]
bringin' [‘brIŋIn] bringing [‘brIŋIŋ]
Come & Go bring’em [‘brIŋ,əm] bring them [‘brIŋ,ðəm]
kick’em [kIk,əm] kick them [kIk,ðəm]
speakin' [‘spi:kIn] speaking [‘spi:kIŋ]
freakin' [fri:kIn] freaking [fri:kIŋ]
Im [‘am] I am [‘aI,əm]
sippin' [‘sIpIn] sipping [‘sIpIŋ]
ya [’jə] you [‘ju:]
Ill [‘al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
waitin' [weItn] waiting [‘weItIŋ]
gangstas [‘gæŋstəs] gangsters [‘gæŋstərz]
60
61

Song Title
bulshittin' [,bul’∫Itn] bullshitting [,bul’∫ItIŋ]
touchin' [‘tʌt∫In] touching [‘tʌt∫Iŋ]
cielin' [‘t∫IlIn] chilling [‘t∫IlIŋ]
buyin' [‘bajIn] buying [‘bajIŋ]
buildin' [‘bIldIn] building [‘bIldIŋ]
pissin' [‘pIsIn] pissing [‘pIsIŋ]
de [‘də] the [‘ðə]
somethin' [’sʌmθIn] something [’sʌmθIŋ]
Ayo Technology
ballin' [‘blIn] balling [‘blIn]
throwin' [‘trwIn] throwing [‘θrwIŋ]
workin' [‘wkIn] working [‘wkIŋ]
don’t ya [‘dnt∫ə] don’t you [‘dnt,ju:]
flo [‘fl] floor [‘flr]
lustin [‘lʌstIn] lusting [‘lʌstIn]
need ye [‘ni:d ə] need you [‘ni:d,ju:]
jumpin' [‘jʌmpIn] jumping [‘jʌmpIŋ]
usin' [‘ju:sIn] using [‘ju:sIŋ]
backstrokin' [,bæk’strkIn] backstroking [,bæk’strkIŋ]
sweat soakin' [,swet’skIn] sweat soaking [,swet’skIŋ]
watchin' [‘wt∫In] watching [‘wt∫Iŋ]
thinkin' [‘θIŋkIn] thinking [‘θIŋkIŋ]
poppin [‘pɒpIn] popping [‘pɒpIŋ]
sayin' [‘sæjIn] saying [‘sæjIŋ]
comin' [‘kɒmIn] coming [‘kɒmIŋ]
Follow My Lead told ya [‘tld ə] told you [‘tld, ju:]
fo' sho' [,fə’∫] for sure [,fə’∫uər]
nuttin [‘nʌtIn] nothing [‘nʌθIŋ]
hurt ya [‘hε:t∫ə] hurt you [‘hε:t,ju:]
telling [‘telIn] telling [‘telIŋ]
watchin [‘wt∫In] watching [‘wt∫Iŋ]
wonderin [‘wʌnderIn] wondering [‘wʌnderIŋ]
hurtin [‘htIn] hurting [‘htIŋ]
smile [‘smal] smile [‘smal]
burnin [‘bnIn] burning [‘bnIŋ]
lookin [‘lu:kIn] looking [‘lu:kIŋ]
61
62

Song Title
Movin' On Up Im [‘am] I am [‘aI,əm]
fo' [‘f] for [‘fr]
niggas [’nIgəs] niggers [’nIgərz]
'head [’hed] ahead [,ə’hed]
movin [mu:vІn] moving [mu:vІŋ]
gettin' [‘getn] getting [‘getIŋ]
fa' sho' [,fə’∫] for sure [,fə’∫uər]
'bout [ə‘bt] about [ə‘bt]
got’em [‘gɒt,əm] got them [‘gɒt,ðəm]
get'cha [’get∫ə] get your [’get,ju:]
yo' [’jə] your [‘jr]
smokin' [‘smkIn] smoking [‘smkIŋ]
'em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
thinkin' [‘θІnkІn] thinking [‘θІnkІŋ]
tryna [’trnə] trying to [’trjIŋtə]
runnin' [‘rʌnIn] running [‘rʌnIŋ]
tellin’ [‘telIn] telling [‘telIŋ]
sippin' [‘sІpІn] sipping [‘sІpІŋ]
talkin' [tkІn] talking [tkІŋ]
loadin' [‘ldIn] loading [‘ldIŋ]
Straight to the Bank Im [‘am] I am [‘aI,əm]
yo' [’jə] your [‘jr]
mo' [‘m] more [‘mr]
nothin [‘nʌθIn] nothing [‘nʌθIŋ]
movin [mu:vІn] moving [mu:vІŋ]
Amusement Park gonna [‘gɒnə] going to [‘gŋtə]
startin' [‘stʌrtІn] starting [‘stʌrtІŋ]
Fully Loaded Clip kissin' [‘kІsІn] kissing [‘kІsІŋ]
cookin' [‘ku:kІn] cooking [‘ku:kІŋ]
tellin' [‘telІn] telling [‘telІŋ]
shinin' [‘∫aІnІn] shining [‘∫aІnІŋ]
get ya [’get∫ə] get you [’get,ju:]
da [‘da] the [‘ðə]
62
63

Song Title
high [‘ha] high [‘haІ]
smokin' [‘smkІn] smoking [‘smkІŋ]
nine [‘nan] nine [‘naІn]
screamin [‘skri:mІn] screaming [‘skri:mІŋ]
rollin [‘rlІn] rolling [‘rlIŋ]
lokin [‘lu:kІn] looking [‘lu:kІŋ]
fo’sho’ [,fə’∫] for sure [,fə’∫uər]
baggin [‘bægІn] bagging [‘bægІŋ]
runnin' [‘rʌnІn] running [‘rʌnІŋ]
sayin' [‘sæjІn] saying [‘sæjІŋ]
playin' [‘pleIjIn] playing [‘pleIjIŋ]
wit [‘wІt] with [‘wІθ]
Peep Show ya [’jə] you [’ju:]
breakin' [‘breІkІn] breaking [‘breІkІŋ]
gettin' [‘getn] getting [‘getІŋ]
gimme [’gІmə] give me [’gІvmІ]
movin' [mu:vІn] moving [mu:vІŋ]
flo' [‘f] floor [‘flr]
nigga [’nІgə] nigger [’nІgər]
racin' [‘reІsІn] racing [‘reІsІŋ]
yo' [‘jə] your [‘jr]
hustlin' [‘hʌslІn] hustling [‘hʌslІŋ]
makin' [‘meІkIn] making [‘meІkIŋ]
gonna' [‘gɒnə] got to [‘gŋtə]
comin' [‘kɒmIn] coming [‘kɒmІŋ]
Fire
bumpin [‘bʌmpIn] bumping [‘bʌmpIŋ]
drippin [‘drІpІn] dripping [‘drІpІŋ]
danceflo' [‘dαns,fl] dancefloor [‘dαns,flr]
backin [‘bækIn] backing [‘bækIŋ]
niggaz [’nІgəs] niggers [’nІgərz]
ignite ya [‘ignaIt∫ə] ignite you [‘ignaIt,ju:]
Stuntin [‘stʌntІn] stunting [‘stʌntІŋ]
All of Me callin' [‘klIn] calling [‘klIŋ]
feelin' [‘fi:lIn] feeling [‘fi:lIŋ]
Gonna [‘gɒnə] going to [‘gŋtə]
63
64

Song Title
flashin' [‘flæ∫Іn] flashing [‘flæ∫Іŋ]
earnin' [‘nIn] earning [‘nIŋ]
nigga [’nІgə] nigger [’nІgər]
hatin' [‘heІtIn] hating [‘heІtIŋ]
what ya [‘hwɒt∫ə] what you [‘hwɒt,ju:]
Curtis 187 em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
bumpin' [‘bʌmpIn] bumping [‘bʌmpIŋ]
thinkin' [‘θІnkІn] thinking [‘θІnkІŋ]
wishin' [‘wI∫In] wishing [‘wI∫Iŋ]
ridin' [‘raІdІn] riding [‘raІdІŋ]
foamin' [‘fmIn] foaming [‘fmIŋ]
y'all [‘jl] you all [’ju:,al]
yo [’jə] your [‘jr]
eses [i:zəs] this is [ði:zəs]
hit ya [‘hIt∫ə] hit you [‘hIt,ju:]
Touch the Sky nigga [’nІgə] nigger [’nІgər]
da [‘da] the [‘ðə]
Im [‘am] I am [‘aI,əm]
yo [’jə] your [‘jr]
Hustler's Ambition need ya [‘ni:d ə] need you [‘ni:d,ju:]
mine [‘man] mine [‘maIn]
dreamin' [‘dri:mІn] dreaming [‘dri:mІŋ]
schemin' [‘ski:mІn] scheming [‘ski:mІŋ]
fiendin' [‘fi:ndІn] fiending [‘fi:ndІŋ]
find [‘fand] find [‘fnd]
dem [‘dəm] them [‘ðəm]
sellin' [‘selIn] selling [‘selIŋ]
pumpin' [‘pʌmpІn] pumping [‘pʌmpІŋ]
dumpin' [‘dʌmpІn] dumping [‘dʌmpІŋ]
nothin' [‘nʌθІn] nothing [‘nʌθІŋ]
watchin' [‘wt∫In] watching [‘wt∫Iŋ]
64
65
Appendix 2. List of Words Experiencing Velar Alveolarization Rule

(/ŋ/ Æ /n/)
Surface
No. Song Title Words
Representation
lookin’ [‘lu:kIn]
somethin’ [’sʌmθIn]
1. Intro
packin’ [‘pækIn]
fuckin’ [’fʌkIn]
bustin’ [’bʌsn]
turnin' [‘tnIn]
burnin’ [‘bnIn]
learnin' [‘lnIn]
2. My Gun Go Off flippin' [‘flIpIn]
livin’ [‘li:vIn]
hurtin’ [‘htIn]
sittin [‘sItn]
beatin' [‘bi:tn]
sayin’ [‘sæjIn]
stickin’ [‘stIkIn]
cocksuckin’ [,kɒk’sʌkIn]
3. Man Down
screamin’ [‘skri:mIn]
crawlin’ [‘krlIn]
snitchin’ [‘snIt∫In]
reminiscin’ [,remI’nIsIn]
creepin’ [‘krIpIn]
wearin’ [‘wIərIn]
4. I’ll Still Kill aimin’ [‘eImIn]
flashin’ [‘flæ∫In]
drippin’ [‘drIpIn]
ridin’ [‘raIdIn]
blowin’ [‘blwIn]
crackin’ [‘krækIn]
5. I Get Money
callin’ [‘klIn]
bringin’ [‘brIŋIn]
speakin’ [‘spi:kIn]
freakin’ [fri:kIn]
sippin’ [‘sIpIn]
touchin’ [‘tʌt∫In]
6. Come & Go cielin’ [‘t∫IlIn]
buyin’ [‘bajIn]
buildin’ [‘bIldIn]
pissin’ [‘pIsIn]
winnin’ [‘wInIn]
65
66
Surface
No. Song Title Words
Representation
workin’ [‘wkIn]
doin’ [‘du: In]
jumpin’ [‘jʌmpIn]
7. Ayo Technology usin’ [‘ju:sIn]
backstrokin’ [,bæk’strkIn]
sweat soakin’ [,swet’skIn]
poppin’ [‘pɒpIn]
comin’ [‘kɒmIn]
tellin’ [‘telIn]
8. Follow My Lead
wonderin’ [‘wʌnderIn]
lookin’ [‘lu:kIn]
movin’ [‘mu:vIn]
smokin’ [‘smkIn]
9. Movin’ On Up
runnin’ [‘rʌnIn]
loadin’ [‘ldIn]
10. Amusement Park startin’ [‘stʌrtIn]
kissin’ [‘kIsIn]
cookin’ [‘ku:kIn]
11. Fully Loaded Clip shinin’ [‘∫aInIn]
rollin’ [‘rlIn]
playin’ [‘pleIjIn]
breakin’ [‘breIkIn]
racin’ [‘reIsIn]
12. Peep Show
hustlin’ [‘hʌslIn]
makin’ [‘meIkIn]
13. Fire backin’ [‘bækIn]
feelin’ [‘fi:lIn]
14. All of Me
earnin’ [‘nIn]
bumpin’ [‘bʌmpIn]
15. Curtis 187 wishin’ [‘wI∫In]
foamin’ [‘fmIn]
Appendix 3. List of Words Experiencing Vowel Weakening Rule
No. Song Title Words Surface Representation

1. My Gun Go Off Merk [‘mərk]
2. I Get Money ya (SE: your) [‘jə]
66
67
Appendix 4. List of Words Experiencing ð-deletion Rule

1. My Gun Go Off out em [‘aut,əm]
bring em [‘brIŋ,əm]
2. Come & Go
kick em [‘kIk,əm]
3. Movin’ On Up got em [‘gɒt,əm]
4. Amusement Park pull em [‘pul,əm]
break em [‘breIk,əm]
5. Fire
serve em [‘se:rv,əm]
tell em [‘tel,əm]
6. Curtis 187
sell em [‘sel,əm]
Appendix 5. List of Words Experiencing r-deletion Rule

1. Man Down Niggaz [’nIgəs]
2. Straight to the Bank Gangsta [‘gæŋstə]
3. Movin’ On Up fa’ sho’ [fə’∫]
4. Straight to the Bank mo’ [‘m]
5. Peep Show Flo [‘fl]
Appendix 6. List of Words Experiencing t-deletion Rule

1. My Gun Go Off Gonna [‘gɒnə]
2. Man Down Wanna [‘wɒnə]
Appendix 7. List of Words Experiencing Vowel Deletion Rule

hurtin’ [‘htn]
1. My Gun Go Off
hittin’ [‘hItn]
gettin’ [‘getn]
2. Man Down
waitin’ [‘weItn]
3. Come & Go bulshittin’ [,bul’∫Itn]
67
68
Appendix 8. List of Words Experiencing Monophtongization Rule

High [‘ha]
1. Fully Loaded Clip
Nine [‘nan]
2. Follow My Lead Smile [‘smal]
Mine [‘man]
3. Hustler Ambition
Find [‘fand]
Appendix 9. List of Words Experiencing Affricatisation Rule

don’t ya [‘dnt∫ə]
1. Ayo Technology
need ya [‘ni:d ə]
hurt ya [‘hε:t∫ə]
2. Follow My Lead
told ya [‘tld ə]
ignite ya [‘ignaIt∫ə]
3. Fire
hold ya [‘hld ə]
4. All of Me what ya [‘hwɒt∫ə]
5. 187 hit ya [‘hIt∫ə]
68

A Phonological Analysis of Black English in 50 Cent'S Song Lyrics in The Album Curtis'

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Phonological Analysis of Black English in 50 Cent'S Song Lyrics in The Album Curtis'

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF BLACK ENGLISH

IN 50 CENT’S SONG LYRICS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

ESTU KUNCORO ISMARTONO

Student Number: 054214033

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

ESTU KUNCORO ISMARTONO

Student Number: 054214033

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME

Alhamdullillah, I praise to Allah S.W.T., the Almighty Creator and the

for the strength You give me to lift me up when I fall.

I would like to express deep appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Fr. B. Alip,

suggestion and willingness to do correction on my thesis. I thank my thesis

their precious time and energy during my study.

I have stopped and a guide when I am searching. I also thank my husband, A.

Thank you for making my life so meaningful.

Estu Kuncoro Ismartono

TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................... i

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................... 6

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ........................................................... 30

CHAPTER IV: RESULT OF ANALYSIS ................................................. 34

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ................................................................... 51

Table 1 The Examples of the Analyzed Data.................................................. 34

Figure 1 Parts of the Vocal Tracts .....................................................................14

Estu Kuncoro Ismartono. A Phonological Analysis of Black English in 50

Nowadays, rap music which is mostly performed by Black artist is loved by

Estu Kuncoro Ismartono. A Phonological Analysis of Black English in 50

A. Background of the Study

Music has an important role in human life for it becomes a means of

entertainment and self-expression. Nowadays, rap music, which is mostly

appropriate to be the representation of Black English usage in daily conversation.

its first week of release (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_50_Cent_album

accessed on March 19, 2009).

new facts on Black English phonology.

Standard-English-word pronunciations. As the effect, the spellings of Black

Black English or often mentioned as Black English Vernacular, was considered as

an ungrammatical language, or even suggests an inferior intelligent. Now, it is

questions that will be answered. The questions are as follows:

1. What phonological processes occurred in the Black English words

pronunciation of the 50 Cent’s song lyrics in the album ‘Curtis’?

C. Objective of the Study

provides us with the data of Black English words.

between Black English and Standard English phonology.

D. Benefit of the Study

Studying the phonology of Black English through 50 Cent’s lyrics makes a

better understanding on Black English phonology. We can understand the

comparison of Black English and Standard English both in phonology and in

orthography. The benefit of the study is that it helps in understanding the

characteristics of a particular dialect, in this case, Black English Vernacular so

that it can enrich our knowledge in pronouncing a word in different dialect.

one language are different one from the other.

Doing the research also improves the writer’s phonological knowledge, so

utterances, to recognize a foreign ‘accent’, to know what is or is not a sound in her

the writer gives the definitions below:

sound patterning in a language (2003: 246).

Matthews in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms stated Black

English as any distinct variety of English native to black, especially urban,

Vernacular’ (1997: 38).

related theories, to solve the problems.

A. Review of Related Studies

In order to support the study, especially to conduct the analysis, it is