Heresy, Orthodoxy and English Vernacular Religion 1480-1525

Enacting a virtual 'ekklesia': online Christian fundamentalism as vernacular religion

Based on the interactive features of websites, researchers have distinguished between ‘religion online’ and ‘online religion’. Approaching online religious expression as ‘vernacular religion’ can transcend the distinction by focussing on the lived experience of believers. In this study, qualitative interviews and close textual analysis are deployed to locate four traits that define the ‘vernacu...

Phonological and Phonetic Characteristics of African American Vernacular English

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and, more generally, African American English (AAE) are the most heavily studied group of dialects in North American English. Much of the enquiry has focused on morphosyntactic variation, but a significant amount has dealt with phonological and phonetic variables. Linguistic variables that can set AAE off from local European American varieties (EAE) in...

Neighborhood effects on use of African-American Vernacular English.

African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is systematic, rooted in history, and important as an identity marker and expressive resource for its speakers. In these respects, it resembles other vernacular or nonstandard varieties, like Cockney or Appalachian English. But like them, AAVE can trigger discrimination in the workplace, housing market, and schools. Understanding what shapes the relati...

The grammar of urban African American Vernacular English*

Postcolonial English languagE Politics today: REading Ramanathan’s The english-Vernacular DiViDe

In this essay, I will discuss the ideological structure of current postcolonial English language politics in the world, arguing that despite the “advances” in post-Independence nationalist rhetoric in most “postcolonial” countries, the debates on language continue to rehash tired voices of pragmatism and linguistic nationalism. I further argue that what is usually “notable” in current postcolon...