"Black is king": language and identity in Beyoncé's use of AAVE

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-8412.2023.e91220

Keywords:

Identity, AAVE, Beyoncé

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the correlation between language and discourse identity for Black women through an analysis of Beyoncé’s lyrics across time. Its specific goal is to investigate the occurrence of code-switching between Standard English (SE) and African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the singer's lyrics within different music domains. So, we analyzed the frequency of five AAVE syntactic structures in different music genres - hip hop and rap - in distinct phases of her career. The results show an overall decrease of SE forms and an increase in the use of AAVE forms, though the singer continues to practice code-switching in her songwriting. This represents a transition in Beyoncé's language use, indicating a correlation between language choice and Black Women discourse identity.

Author Biographies

Adriana Lessa, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Professora Adjunta de Língua Inglesa da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), com foco em morfossintaxe e bilinguismo.

Lucas Costa, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro

Licenciado em Língua Inglesa e Literaturas pela Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). 

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Published

2024-03-06

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 4 (2023)

Section

Dossier

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