Grammatical features of African American Vernacular English in the movie Sextuplets : A sociolinguistics study of the speech of the two African American characters Alan and Dawn

Abstract: African American Vernacular English (AAVE) has been extensively explored in previous research in sociolinguistics. However, the portrayal of the sociolect in movies is still not widely researched. In order to address this gap, the purpose of this thesis is to study how AAVE is used in the movie Sextuplets (2019), directed by Michael Tiddes and co-produced by Marlon Wayans. The material used was the script excerpted from Subslikescript (2019) [www], and the study was delimited to the speech of the two characters Alan and Dawn. The method used was close reading of these two characters’ lines in order to identify four grammatical features identified in previous research as associated with AAVE: negation ain´t+ multiple negation with ain´t, multiple negation, copula BE absence and Invariant BE. In addition, the data analysis procedure also involved identification of AAVE avoidance, i.e., instances where the characters had the opportunity to use the AAVE features but opted for their General American counterparts instead. The results show that all four AAVE features occurred in the speech of both characters, and the structures in which these features occur conforms to findings from previous studies of AAVE usage in authentic contexts. The findings also display extensive differences in frequency between the two characters’ use of AAVE. These differences can be related to their social background. Alan is portrayed as a wealthy African American male, whereas Dawn is presented as a troublemaker who has been in and out of jail. The speech of these two characters is realistic in the sense that it reproduces grammatical features of AAVE noted in previous research on language use in authentic contexts. In addition, the differences between the two characters can be said to reproduce stereotypes of how African Americans from different social classes use AAVE.