Negative Patterns and Forms in the African American Vernacular English With reference to Alice Walker's The Color Purple

Abstract

The prior goal of the study is to provide a rather comprehensive analysis of the variable negative forms and patterns manipulated in Alice Walker's The Color Purple as a reliable source of information about the distinctive features of the African American Vernacular English(AAVE henceforth). The study assumes that AAVE shows quite distinctive syntactic features that make it considerably different from other varieties of English. The most prominent among these features is the forms and patterns of negation that are employed heavily in Walker's The Color Purple .The study focuses mainly on forms like: negative concord, negative inversion, negative postposing, besides some others. The use of AAVE in the novel is intentional as it consolidates the identity of the Afro-American oppressed character. Walker insists that Celie , her main character in the novel, , uses AAVE even though her character has changed dramatically from a naive black woman into an independent one.