This paper describes the colorful, multi-voiced language of the characters of Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon (first published in 1977). "Language" here refers to Morrison's use of African American Vernacular English, which is a variety of English language with its own phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and lexical patterns or rules (Green 1). This variety or dialect has been known by various different labels in the past and even today, such as Black dialect, Black English, and Afro American English (Green 6). The name African American Vernacular English (hereafter referred to as AAVE) used in this paper is one of the most common and settled labels.

Song of Solomon is a novel composed almost only of black American characters, out of which many speak in AAVE, which stands out when compared to the Standard American English used mostly by the outside narrator. The focus in this paper is not solely on the identification of African American Vernacular English features in the language of the speakers. Rather, it is interesting to acknowledge the possible differences and variations of language occurring among the speakers, and the peculiarities of AAVE being manifested in the novel. Important aspects having an effect on the variation of the language are tied to the social position in the community and geographic position (in the U.S.) of the characters.

The story of Song of Solomon is set in Michigan, portraying the life of Macon Dead (the Third), better known as Milkman, from his birth in 1931 until his death roughly 30 years later at the hand of his best friend, Guitar. The narrator follows Milkman's life story and search for identity, setting him in the role of the protagonist. At the same time, though, the narrator uses the viewpoints and consciousness of many other characters to give a wider and truly multi-voiced understanding of Milkman's family and circle of friends. While the story is set to a specific time in 20th century American history (in Virginia as well as in Michigan), an important aspect in the themes of the novel is the protagonist's investigations of his family's past, ancestors, and the memories from the time of slavery.

Recurring Features of African American Vernacular in the Novel

1. "You old enough to be married.¹" Hagar said it with the strong implication that he should not allow his mother to have any say about what he did. "I'm waiting for you," he said, trying to regain (or acquire) some masculine flippancy. "Be a long wait." (Song 108)

2. "Well, King Walker say he be down this morning and put the belt on." (Song 323)

3. "Look like I just got rid of you." (Song 14)

The dialogue in Song of Solomon represents many features included in the grammar of African American Vernacular English. On the basis of syntax, firstly, various verbal markers emphasise the use of the Vernacular. The frequent absence of copula (which is the word used as a link between the subject and a predicate in a sentence) is one common verbal marker (Yule 192). The italized part of the first citation given above is an example of this from the novel. In Standard English, the sentence would be "you are old enough to be married". This marker is extremely frequent in the language of many characters in the novel. More examples of this include: "They still there, and they yours now" (Song 227), or "You pretty good with a bottle. How you with a shotgun?" (Song 291).

Another verbal marker is displayed in the underscored words in the citations above. It is the invariant "be" for future instead of "will be". Interestingly, here we can see the result of the phonological rule in AAVE deleting the contracted ´ll of will (Rickford 6).

Absence of third person singular present tense "-s" is yet another verbal marker common in AAVE (Rickford 7) and present in the dialogue of the novel. This is portrayed in the third citation example, of which the Standard English version would be "(It) looks like I just got rid of you."

The first citation above demonstrates not only some typical AAVE verbal markers, but also an expression which refers more to Standard English. "I'm waiting for you" is a phrase stated by Milkman to his somewhat older lover, Hagar. This is a good example of how the dialogue in the novel is not exclusively comprised of expressions of AAVE; Standard American English is commonly used by certain characters, as well.

The protagonist Milkman is not the most distinguished speaker of African American Vernacular in the novel. Instead, his speech is more Standard American English, including some colloquial expressions. The reason for this is probably the fact that his voice and his reflections in the story seem to be closest to the narrator's, who as mentioned speaks Standard American English. There is, however, an exceptional occasion where Milkman's speech turns more into the Vernacular. This occurs in a scene almost at the end of the novel, where Milkman discovers the amazing story behind his legendary African ancestor Solomon. According to the legend, Solomon escaped from slavery by literally flying back to Africa.

The son of a bitch could fly! You hear me, Sweet? That motherfucker could fly! Could fly! He didn't need no airplane. Didn't need no fuckin tee double you ay². He could fly his own self!" (Song 353)

The vulgar expressions enunciate his enthusiasm concerning this magical discovery. In addition to that, he lets his speech slip (or lapse) to the Vernacular. There is strong evidence of this in his use of multiple negators ("didn't need no…"), firstly. Double or even more negators is a syntactic property of AAVE, and it is usually marked on auxiliaries (for example don't) and indefinite nouns such as anybody->nobody (Green 277). Multiple negators occur in the dialogue in various occasions. Other examples of negation spoken by other characters include:

"Ain't nothing goin to kill him but his own ignorance, and won't no woman ever kill him." (Song 155)

The citation above is an example of negative inversion, where the auxiliary and indefinite pronoun subject change places with each other (Rickford 8).

"I saw him wigglin on the ground, but not only did I not see him die, I seen him since he was shot." (Song 155) [in this extract, "not only did I not see" actually means that the character, named Pilate, saw her father die in front of her eyes.]

Another feature of AAVE in Milkman's speech is the infix "own" in "his own self". The infix functions by intensifying the expression: it emphasizes the independence of someone or reinforces the individuality of a person in taking action and responsibility. The intensifier is inserted between two parts of a reflexive pronoun (Green 23). Definitely, in the context of Solomon's fleeing, this expression succeeds in emphasising the strong independence of his action.

Giving Names and Singing Songs

An important aspect of the African American culture present in the novel is the way characters or places are named. All of the character names have a specific meaning and history. One good and yet hapless example is the story behind the name Macon Dead, Milkman's grandfather. Of his real name only his first name, Jake, is mentioned in the book (Song 327). He was still a young man less than 20 years old, when he was freed from slavery in 1869. At that time he had to go to register himself at the "Freedmen's Bureau". Unfortunately the man behind the desk at the bureau was drunk, and therefore he wrote down the name and other data wrong, resulting in the name Macon Dead written in official papers (Song 62-63). This name remained as Milkman's grandfather's official name, although this was because Macon never learned to read or write.

The novel's name Song of Solomon refers to an even earlier time in history: to Macon Dead's (The First) father Solomon, that is, Milkman's great-grandfather. During his quest for his roots from his father's side, Milkman comes across a song which either his relatives in Michigan or especially kids in the streets of Shalimar, Virginia are singing. The song is repeated in the novel so often that it is impossible for Milkman (or the reader) to miss it. The repetition of the song throughout the novel by different characters functions as an illustration of the African American oral storytelling traditions.

O Solomon don't leave me here / Cotton balls to choke me / O Solomon don't leave me here / Buckra's arms to yoke me…/ Solomon done fly / Solomon done gone / Solomon cut across the sky / Solomon gone home. (Song 328)

This extract displays only the ending of the song presented in the book (on page 328). The song tells the story of the legendary Solomon, the slave who not only flew back to Africa, but who also left his wife and 21 kids behind. This melodic and sad Song of Solomon refers to the Bible's Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs). Besides being called Solomon, there is another version of the song in the novel sung by Milkman's aunt Pilate, who replaces the name with "Sugarman" (Song 58).

When approaching this from the perspective of the features of African American Vernacular English, especially the four last lines are of interest. The use of done in AAVE refers to the completed nature of an action being emphasized (Rickford 6). Lisa J. Green traces the AAVE use of done (or as she puts it, dæn) back to the era of Black slavery in America and how it has allegedly contributed to the grammatical form done in the Southern White (poor) US English (62-63). The Song of Solomon has of course the purpose of referring to the language used by the Black people of America at the time of slavery, and the means for rereading and listening to the song are to be found from the practice or African based oral tradition.

Milkman's aunt Pilate is a character who sings many songs in the novel. She sings one of these blues songs her when her granddaughter Hagar dies:

"Who's been botherin my sweet sugar lumpkin? / Who's been botherin my baby? / Who's been botherin my sweet sugar lumpkin / Who's been botherin my baby girl?" (Song 343) [This is not the complete song, but an extract of it.]

In the song, and in many other examples of Pilate's speech, one phonological pattern of AAVE can be seen. This is the sound ng in the -ing suffix which is realized as n, when the word has more than one syllable (Green 121-122). We see repetition in this song, which again points to the practices of African (American) oral tradition.

Besides getting their names in the context of slavery or the end of slavery, the Bible is another important source for the names in the novel. It has been a tradition in the family of Macons to honor the Bible by giving names to children randomly from the book. Examples of these are Pilate, First Corinthians, Magdalene (her full name was Magdalene, but she was called Lena), and Hagar. Names are not simply names: they represent the African American history and culture as well as the community. Milkman is a name taken to use by the community when rumors spread around of his mother having breast-fed him abnormally long.

Besides characters, the naming of places bears crucial meaning within the community. Only the black community in the city where Milkman lives refers to Mains Avenue as "Not Doctor Street":

Like the street he lived on, recorded as Mains Avenue, but called Not Doctor Street by the Negroes in memory of his grandfather, who was the first colored man of consequence in that city. (Song 354)

Song of Solomon gives a representation of a "closed black community" which uses its own dialect and own way of naming things. This happens even in surroundings which in a broader context do not consist only of black people, but include many white people as well. The emphasis on black community and history is largely carried out by the use of AAVE.

The way of naming things (and people) broadens the understanding of this emphasis even further. Milkman reflects on the meanings behind the primarily Black names after he has finished his journey to the South and come back home. Among the many names he lists are: Sing Byrd, Railroad Tommy, Hospital Tommy, Empire State (who "just stood around and swayed"), Blue Boy, Scandinavia, Cock-a-Doodle-Doo, Muddy Waters, Funny Papa, Leadbelly and Dat Nigger (Song 355).

Some Differences among the Speakers

As briefly mentioned above, not all characters in the novel use African American Vernacular grammar in their speech. There is variation to be found especially when contrasting the protagonist Milkman with other speakers. The citations used above have demonstrated that Milkman's aunt and her granddaughter (his lover) Hagar tend to speak AAVE more distinctly than Milkman. This is true for most part, with the exception also portrayed above where Milkman slips into the Vernacular.

The use of many verbal markers of the Vernacular is visible especially in Pilate's speech. One distinct mark in her speech which has not been mentioned yet is the AAVE use of modal perfect (Green 38), e.g. "should'a been eating": "I wish I'd a knowed more people. I would of loved 'em all. If I'd a knowed more, I would a loved more" (Song 361).

The tradition of singing songs links Pilate, in particular, to the position of a person whose purpose is to preserve and disseminate the old stories, which are not only stories but parts of history. Pilate and his granddaughter's use of AAVE refers to their life style, which is quite different and outside the norms of the rest of the community. Perhaps it refers to their assumed supernatural powers, as well, which set them to a mythical position.

Another contrast between Milkman and someone else occurs during his quest to the South. The dialect in Virginia is very different from the language in Midwestern Michigan. In the South, Milkman's relatives comment about his northern accent, which of course is different from the one spoken in the South. The verbal markers typical of AAVE seem to occur more often and more strongly when Milkman ends up in Shalimar, Virginia and spends time with a group of men there.

"You mean to tell me pussy different up North?" "Naw," said the second. "Pussy the same everywhere. Smell like the ocean; taste like the sea." [--] "Maybe the pricks is different." The first man spoke again. [--] "So I hear tell," said the first man. "How different?" asked the second man. "Wee little," said the first man. "Wee, wee little." [--] "So they tell me. That's why they pants so tight. That true?" The first man looked at Milkman for an answer. (Song 289-290).

In addition to many properties of AAVE grammar occurring in the language of the men talking to Milkman, the phenomenon of "signifying" or "playing the dozens" is clearly present here. Signifying is a verbal art in which a speaker or speakers uses humorous ways to put down the listener, that is, signifies on him. The definition of "playing the dozens" is close to that of "signifying", except that the latter is understood as something more humane, whereas "playing the dozens" aims at destroying somebody with words (Green 135).

This kind of verbal snapping or "dropping lugs" can be seen happening in the novel usually in the conversations where more than two men are present in the situation (usually not women). This particular event between Milkman and the Southern men, however, seems to function as a highpoint of signifying in the novel, because the narrator sees considerably much effort in setting up the tension of the scene. The vulgar expressions intended to provoke Milkman to react are represented more strongly in the South than back up in Michigan.

On the basis of language and dialect, Hospital Tommy (one of Milkman's friends in Michigan) is a distinguishable exception among the characters. Whereas most characters speak either distinctive Vernacular or Standard American English with contemporary colloquial expressions, Hospital Tommy stands out with his "refined" use of Standard English. Here is a presentation of Hospital Tommy by the narrator: "Hospital Tommy talked like an encyclopedia and Guitar had to guess at most of his words" (Song 76). No reference to Hospital Tommy's cultured or educated background is made other than the reference coming from his own speech:

"Have all the halls of academe crumbled, Guitar?" [--] "Then what, pray are you doing out here in the streets at this time of day?" [--] "And your companion? Is he on sabbatical too?" (Song 67)

It would be tempting to state that Hospital Tommy's character functions as a bearer of social variation between the characters on the basis of his encyclopedic speech. This, however, would be too far-fetched an interpretation: rather than real social separation, his language creates more humor especially in contrast to other characters' speech around him.

AAVE Conveys the Concept of 'Meaningfulness' in African American Culture

Many features of African American Vernacular English have been covered in this paper, yet only a few of all those which exist. The reason for this naturally is the fact that the novel does not cover them all. The focus has mostly been on the grammatical aspects such as verbal markers and negations, but also on the differences between the speakers and the speech event practices such as signifying. The names of characters and the histories behind them could be researched in more detail, for Song of Solomon includes references to many sources of African American culture, for example folktales.

Overall, it could be said that Toni Morrison has used the features and characteristics of AAVE which are most meaningful thematically in the dialogue of her characters. This "meaningfulness" refers to one of the most important themes of the novel: retaining the traditions of the African American culture even in times of historical change, as American society and Black and White Americans alike are continually becoming more 'modernized'.

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Notes

1. All of the italics in the citations have been added by the author.
2. "Tee double you ay" refers to TWA, or "Trans World Airlines", a major American airline which operated until 2001 when it merged with American Airlines. TWA was not only a large domestic airline in the U.S, but was one of only two U.S. airlines (the other being Pan American World Airways) that also flew to Europe until the early 1970s (History).

Works Cited

• Green, Lisa J. African American English. A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• History, Facts, Information and Pictures of TWA Airlines. AviationExplorer.com: The Website for Aviation Enthusiasts. Viewed on 28 November 2010.
• Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Random House Inc., 1995.
• Rickford, John R. African American Vernacular English. Features, Evolution, Educational Implications. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 1999.
• Yule, George. The Study of Language. An Introduction. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1989.