Most of the languages have standard and non-standard varieties. English belongs to those languages in which these varieties are not only numerous, but powerful enough to have an influence on each other. However, with non-standard forms being preferably used by the youth, these language varieties gradually modify and supplant Standard English. This can especially be seen from the mysic which the modern world listens to. The majority of popular and rap music song lyrics today are written in a non-standard form of English that changes and expands daily while Standard English can mostly be found in old melodies and is rarely used entirely in a song. As a result more and more “slang” words and phrases make their way in our daily speech showing the great influence song lyrics can have on the evolution or annihilation of the Standard English language and especially the way young people speak. Through a comparative analysis it will be shown that the non-standard varieties of English used in music lyrics become a part of the common spoken language much faster and easier and maintain their status through time whereas the Standard English we are taught when learning the language properly becomes more and more obsolete.
To begin with, standard varieties of languages have a number of peculiarities as for vocabulary and Grammar. The most important thing to mention is that Standard English, despite the fact that it is spoken by intelligent people, government agencies, broadcasting services, newspapers, etc (Slim 2), does not follow any official rules because there is no separate linguistic governance body for English language. However, Standard English does have definite grammatical rules that demand using certain structures, tenses, noun and verb phrases, as well as moods, conjunctions, and prepositions in a definite way. Apart from Grammar, Standard English has certain vocabulary peculiarities. Though the definitions of certain words and idioms may be different in different countries (such as the word ‘pants’ which has different meanings in British and American English), the vocabulary words are mostly the same in all the varieties of the language. Finally, there are pronunciation peculiarities; Standard English may be “accentless” or spoken with Received Pronunciation (or “British” accent).
As far as non-standard varieties of English are concerned, they have certain similarities with those of the standard ones. Among these non-standard varieties, there are Black English, Cockney, Chicano English, etc (Bache and Davidsen-Nielsen 5). All these varieties do not have an official form, either written or oral. This makes them to some extent similar with Standard English for which there are also no official rules. Nevertheless, even the least widespread varieties have their own peculiarities. Even though they are characterized by complete ignorance of grammar rules as compared with Standard English (double negation, for instance), there are grammatical features characteristic only for them; besides, these features can be traced in the speech of every bearer of the dialect. The same goes for vocabulary (each dialect has words typical for it only) and pronunciation (especially intonation in Black English, for instance). This means that there is one more definite similarity between standard and non-standard language varieties, namely, specific Grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
Finally, these similarities between standard and non-standard varieties of English can be reflected in old melodies and modern rap songs, which shows the effect of “slang” words and phrases on Standard English and proves that the latter becomes more and more obsolete these days. Let us consider two songs of completely different language varieties, an old melody, Dawn – Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree and a rap song by Snoop Dogg – Gangsta Luv. In the former song, we can find grammatically correct language, for instance, in “If you received my letter telling you I’d soon be free” (Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the ole oak Tree para. 2). Such Grammar is maintained throughout the song. Similarly, the peculiarities of Black English (ignorance of Standard English Grammar rules) can be observed in the second song under consideration, for instance, in the line “That’s what I aim fo’, that’s how the game go” (Gangsta Luv para. 10) with the same “grammatical mistakes” observed in other lines, such as in “she like it,” “she make it do,” etc. Moreover, comparison of these songs allows observing the gradual effect of slang on the Standard English. For instance, in both the songs the contraction ‘cause may be observed. This contraction is not typical for Standard English, which reflects the effect of non-standard varieties of language on the standard ones.
Taking into consideration everything mentioned above, it can be concluded that the topic statement was proved and the aim was fulfilled. The comparison of standard and non-standard varieties of English has shown that there are many similarities among them. Thus, both of them lack official forms and have certain peculiarities in Grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The analysis of two songs that represent the opposing varieties has reflected these peculiarities and shown how much modern “slang” words and phrases have affected Standard English.
Works Cited
Bache, Carl and Davidsen-Nielsen, Niels. Mastering English: an advanced grammar for non-native and native speakers. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1997.
Lyrics A-Z. Gangsta Luv. Lyrics A-Z. 2010. Web.
Mp3Lyrics. Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree. Mp3Lyrics. 2010. Web.
Slim, Mark. Explore Good English Grammar: Master the Structure of the Language. London: A.D.R. London Limited, 2004.