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

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B E A S H I N I N G LI G H T
IN EVERY LIFE
THAT YOU TOUCH

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 Bapak,
Ibuk,
I finally made it …

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 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

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 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

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 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

A. Phonological Processes Occurred in the Black English Words
Pronunciation of 50 Cent’s Song Lyrics in the Album ‘Curtis’..... 51
B. Phonological Characteristic of Black English................................ 52

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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

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 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

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 LIST OF FIGURES

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

Figure 2 Areas of the Tongue ............................................................................14

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 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.

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 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.

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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

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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:

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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

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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

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predominantly white; also referred to by the abbreviation BEV, for ‘Black English

Vernacular’ (1997: 38).

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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).

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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

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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

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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

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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).

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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.

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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).

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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.

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/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

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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):

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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.

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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].

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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

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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

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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.”

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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

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"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,

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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]

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A. Phonological Processes Occurred in the Black English Words

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

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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.

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Table 3. Phonological Process Applying Voiced Continuant Alveolarization

Rule (/ð/ Æ /d/)

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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/)

Standard English Black English

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

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Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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

Standard English Black English

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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
mark merk
Underlying Form /‘mα:rk/ /‘mα:rk/
Vowel weakening NA /’mərk/
Surface representation [’mα:rk] [‘mərk]

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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

Standard English Black English

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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
kick them kick ‘em
Underlying Form [‘kIk,ðəm] [‘kIk,ðəm]
ð –deletion NA /‘kIk,əm/
Surface representation [‘kIk,ðəm] [‘kIk,əm]

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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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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].

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Table 8. Phonological Process Applying r-deletion Rule

Standard English Black English

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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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]

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Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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

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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

Standard English Black English

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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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/.

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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

Standard English Black English

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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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.

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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

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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.

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Table 14. Phonological Process Applying Affricatisation Rule

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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]

Standard English Black English

Phonological process
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:

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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

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/ð/ Ǿ / [t] ________ [ə] , or

+ cons + cons - high

+ voiced + velar - low
+ cont - cont + back
+ alveolar + reduced

/ð/ Ǿ / [l] _______ [ə] , or

+ cons + cons - high

+ voiced + velar - low
+ cont + cont + back
+ alveolar + reduced

/ð/ Ǿ / [v] _______ [ə]

+ cons + cons - high

+ 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

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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]

+ cons + cons - high

- 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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

A. Phonological Processes Occurred in the Black English Words

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
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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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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).

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1. List of the Analyzed Data

Black English Phonetic Standard Phonetic

Song Title
words Transcription English words Transcription
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]
nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]
sayin [‘sæjIn] saying [‘sæjIŋ]

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Black English Phonetic Standard Phonetic

Song Title
words Transcription English words Transcription
waitin [‘weItn] waiting [‘weItIŋ]
crawlin [‘krlIn] crawling [‘krlIŋ]
cappin [‘kæpIn] capping [‘kæpIŋ]
something [’sʌmθIn] something [’sʌmθIŋ]
snitchin [‘snIt∫In] snitching [‘snIt∫Iŋ]
gonna [‘gɒnə] going to [‘gŋtə]
I’ll Still Kill nuttin [‘nʌtIn] nothing [‘nʌθIŋ]
nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]
fuckin [’fʌkIn] fucking [’fʌkIŋ]
creepin [‘krIpIn] creeping [‘krIpIŋ]
wearin [‘wIərIn] wearing [‘wIərIŋ]
ya [’jə] you [‘ju:]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
'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]
gangsta [‘gæŋstə] gangster [‘gæŋstər]
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:]
nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
Ill [‘al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
waitin' [weItn] waiting [‘weItIŋ]
gangstas [‘gæŋstəs] gangsters [‘gæŋstərz]

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Black English Phonetic Standard Phonetic

Song Title
words Transcription English words Transcription
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
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
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]
Ill [’al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
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:]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
telling [‘telIn] telling [‘telIŋ]
watchin [‘wt∫In] watching [‘wt∫Iŋ]
Ill [’al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
ya [’jə] you [’ju:]
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]
nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]

61
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Black English Phonetic Standard Phonetic

Song Title
words Transcription English words Transcription
Movin' On Up Im [‘am] I am [‘aI,əm]
fo' [‘f] for [‘fr]
gonna [‘gɒnə] going to [‘gŋtə]
niggas [’nIgəs] niggers [’nIgərz]
nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]
'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]
Ill [’al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
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]
gangsta [‘gæŋstə] gangster [‘gæŋstər]
yo' [’jə] your [‘jr]
mo' [‘m] more [‘mr]
em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
gonna [‘gɒnə] going to [‘gŋtə]
nothin [‘nʌθIn] nothing [‘nʌθIŋ]
movin [mu:vІn] moving [mu:vІŋ]
Amusement Park gonna [‘gɒnə] going to [‘gŋtə]
ya [’jə] you [’ju:]
em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
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
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Black English Phonetic Standard Phonetic

Song Title
words Transcription English words Transcription
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]
tryna [’trnə] trying to [’trjIŋtə]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
makin' [‘meІkIn] making [‘meІkIŋ]
gonna' [‘gɒnə] got to [‘gŋtə]
comin' [‘kɒmIn] coming [‘kɒmІŋ]
Fire
Ill [’al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
bumpin [‘bʌmpIn] bumping [‘bʌmpIŋ]
drippin [‘drІpІn] dripping [‘drІpІŋ]
danceflo' [‘dαns,fl] dancefloor [‘dαns,flr]
backin [‘bækIn] backing [‘bækIŋ]
em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
ya [’jə] you [’ju:]
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]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]

63
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Black English Phonetic Standard Phonetic

Song Title
words Transcription English words Transcription
flashin' [‘flæ∫Іn] flashing [‘flæ∫Іŋ]
gangsta [‘gæŋstə] gangster [‘gæŋstər]
em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
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]
nigga [’nIgə] nigger [’nIgər]
sayin [‘sæjIn] saying [‘sæjIŋ]
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]
ya [’jə] you [’ju:]
eses [i:zəs] this is [ði:zəs]
hit ya [‘hIt∫ə] hit you [‘hIt,ju:]
Touch the Sky nigga [’nІgə] nigger [’nІgər]
wanna [‘wɒnə] want to [‘wɒnt,tə]
da [‘da] the [‘ðə]
Ill [’al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
Im [‘am] I am [‘aI,əm]
yo [’jə] your [‘jr]
Hustler's Ambition need ya [‘ni:d ə] need you [‘ni:d,ju:]
gangsta [‘gæŋstə] gangster [‘gæŋstər]
mine [‘man] mine [‘maIn]
Ill [’al] I will [‘aI,wIl]
dreamin' [‘dri:mІn] dreaming [‘dri:mІŋ]
schemin' [‘ski:mІn] scheming [‘ski:mІŋ]
fiendin' [‘fi:ndІn] fiending [‘fi:ndІŋ]
find [‘fand] find [‘fnd]
tryna [’trnə] trying to [’trjIŋtə]
em [‘əm] them [‘ðəm]
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]

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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]

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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]

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Appendix 4. List of Words Experiencing ð-deletion Rule

No. Song Title Words Surface Representation

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

No. Song Title Words Surface Representation

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

No. Song Title Words Surface Representation

1. My Gun Go Off Gonna [‘gɒnə]
2. Man Down Wanna [‘wɒnə]

Appendix 7. List of Words Experiencing Vowel Deletion Rule

No. Song Title Words Surface Representation

hurtin’ [‘htn]
1. My Gun Go Off
hittin’ [‘hItn]
gettin’ [‘getn]
2. Man Down
waitin’ [‘weItn]
3. Come & Go bulshittin’ [,bul’∫Itn]

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Appendix 8. List of Words Experiencing Monophtongization Rule

No. Song Title Words Surface Representation

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

No. Song Title Words Surface Representation

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]

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