User:SimonNas1997/sandbox

= Hip Hop English =

What is Hip Hop English
Hip hop English is a product of expressions created by urban youth via the so-called hip-hop generation (evt hyperlink her?) into the mainstream English language (Sam - lav rigtig reference).

Hip-Hop was once limited to urban music and dance in terms of rap music and break dancing. Today, Hip-Hop is a widespread form of communication and has become a culture that is woven into different aspects of young people’s lives. The phenomenon has become a system of ideas, values and concepts and not only a genre of music. Primarily, Hip-Hop was related to rhyme and rhythm known as rapping, but many of these words and phrases have through the years become integrated and used by outside communities.

The cultural adoption of the Hip-Hop genre happened in many of the ethnic communities in America. The American mainstream culture was highly informed about  this language from African-American music. Not only American English has been influenced by the Hip-Hop culture, but numerous languages around the world as well. Words and expressions as hood, crib, peace out and what’s up have become common in the everyday conversation of population around the world. A reason for the quick expansion of the Hip Hop language and slang words could be the internet, which has made it possible for slang to cross the Atlantic much more rapidly than in the 1960s (Randall & Anderson, 2005).

Why is there such a variety?
The language of society changes as society changes (Kline, 2016). For that reason, rap artists have contributed more to modern English than Shakespeare ever did. Hip-Hop artists, such as Kanye West, Eminem and Jay-Z, have all invented numerous words and phrases that have been accepted into conversational speech. This explains why even the older generation uses phrases as “off the chain” when speaking of a muffin recipe, for example.

Hip-Hop culture is changing the sound and nature of the English language. On April 30, 2003 (vi skriver vel amerikansk engelsk, ikke?), The Oxford English dictionary officially added the term” bling bling” - categorised as a noun and defined as “expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewellery”. Since then, additionally hip-hop phrases have been added to the common English vernacular, such as dope and twerk.

How can this variety of English be characterized?
Hip Hop consists of four main elements, considered to be its pillars: deejaying (or turntabling), rapping (or rhyming), graffiti painting and break dancing (Tate & Light, 2019)

The rapping and rhyming characterises the variety of English called Hip Hop English (Bess, 2015). Rap and Hip Hop music contain a ton of profanity, which is among other words expressed in the use of Nigga/nigger (eller skal jeg skrive the N-word? Som I kilden). This kind of language is characterised as racism, but ironically, this word is most often used by African-American. Furthermore, characteristics of rap and Hip Hop music is the objectification of women and the large amount of sexism. Today, it has become a necessity to operate with generally defined “bad” words in Rap, and it would be odd if a song did not contain explicit language.

Additionally, Hip Hop language utilises slang to replace words. These words typically do not mean anything and can be ambiguous; for example, yayo as cover for cocaine. Slang is nicknames or words that are made up, and people hear and see slang all the time. As an example, the slang word bae has become well-known and widely used because of its prominence in media and music.

Actually, part of the point of youth slang is to exclude parents, teachers and police, and as soon as it gets picked up by them it gets ditched by the youth, who make up another slang word (Randall & Anderson, 2005). (Kunne rykkes til Why)

Mumble-rap
While rap's history appears brief its relation to the African oral tradition, which provides rap with much of its current social significance, also roots rap in a long-standing history of oral historians, lyrical fetishism, and political advocacy. At the heart of the African oral tradition is the West African idea of nommo. In Malian Dogon cosmology, Nommo is the first human, a creation of the supreme deity, Amma, whose creative power lies in the generative property of the spoken word. As a philosophical concept, nommo is the animative ability of words and the delivery of words to act upon objects, giving life. The significance of nommo in the African oral tradition has given power to rappers and rap music within many African-American communities.

In conclusion, despite the blame placed on rap for the prominence of violence in American society, hip-hop music is a symptom of cultural violence, not the cause. In order to understand hip-hop, it is necessary to look at it as the product of a set of historical, political, and economic circumstances and to study the role it has served as voice for those subjugated by systematic political and economic oppression. If the issue of violence in rap music is to be effectively addressed, the root of the problem--disparity in resources and opportunities for urban minorities--must be aggressively dealt with. Rap music is a form of resistance to the systems of subjugation that have created class discrepancies in the United States. In order to put an end to violence, we must focus on alleviating the burden of the inner-city working class. In order to put an end to the cycle of nihilism present in the contemporary culture of inner-city minority youth, we must provide them with the resources and opportunities to view the future with hope.

Mixture of languages
Hip Hop has roots deep jazz, soul, disco and traditional african music, and have always be a product of influences across cultures and genres. It’s languages is based primarily on shorting words in both written and oral context. Before hip hop became truly globalized by the internet, it was according to Vibe (2019) mainly influenced by the multicultural communities of Los Angeles and New York City. As the internet allowed instantaneous sharing of music, was the language of hip hop not an American phenomenon, but a global language, where everyone with a microphone and a skillset to do so, would be able to influence the colorful language of HIP HOP. (Wheeler, Hip-Hop Evolution, 2016)

In a quiz by raise of hands, Akala, Ted Talk, (2011) (The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company) test his audience at a TED-talk in Aldeburgh, to see if they can distinguish rap from shakespeare. The quotes used in the quiz are as following;"“To destroy the beauty from which one came” Jay-Z - Can I live""“Maybe it's hatred I spew, maybe it’s food for the spirit” Eminem feat. Jay-Z - Renegades""“Men would rather use their broken weapons than their bare hands” Shakespeare - Othello""“I was not born under a rhyming planet” Shakespeare - Much Ado about Nothing""“Socrates, philosophies and hypotheses can’t define” Inspectah Deck - Triumph"The audience has trouble quesing what is Shakespeare and what is Hip Hop. As Akala (Ted Talk, 2011) points out “it wasn’t as clear-cut as many of us may have thought(...) as of yet, no-one has got them right not even some of the most senior professors at some of the most respected Shakespearean institutions in the country”.

On its pure lyrical level, can the language of hip hop either be easily recognized or confused with the highest grade of classic poetr

Arabic
Although Arabics conservative nature, different arabic and islamic references appear in hip hop, especially in greetings and praises. The arabic greeting As-Salaam Alaikum can be found in east coast rap, where according to Greenwood (2017) one-in-five of the black population are muslim. The following examples are both from christian rappers and groups with muslim members from New York City."“//Protect one another, that’s word to my brother Malcolm//""//As-Salaam Alaikum//""//Wa-Alaikum As-Salaam//”  ""Wu-Tang Clan. (2014). A Better Tomorrow"It is a common greeting amongst Muslims, that translate to “peace be unto you”. The religious aspect is set aside, and has evolved into a common greeting amongst friends such as “What’s up?” or “How you doin?”. Furthermore, are praises to God used in Hip Hop, where Nasir Jones, also called Nas use the prophet Muhammed and the Arabic word for God “Allah” in his song Undying Love. Nas mixes the storytelling of violence in the housing project in New York City with the vulnerable moment of praying to Allah. "“//Put it on her ring finger//""//Cocked the glock,//""//and started prayin’//""//To Muhammad and Allah, the most beneficial//""//Through you, all things are possible, I know you're listenin'//""Nas. (1999). Undying Love"As A$AP Ferg points out in the video from Genius (2018) the use of arabic words in Hip Hop does not rely on a muslim belief

''“My grandfather was Muslim, but i’m not Muslim. It was just another way to say all praise go to God(...)At the end of the day there is one God right?...There is one energy”''

Hip Hop is a genre with a central focus on rhythm and words, and to keep up with evolving culture, it continues to reflect different cultural background, beliefs and languages

Southern American English
According to Dr. Darin Howe, a linguistics professor from the University of Calgary, does hip hop owe its linguistic significance from Southern American English, dating back to the age of slavery in America where millions of slaves were sent to Southeastern states like Virginia. As Darin argues in an interview with Carr, & Flynn, (2006) African-Americans tend “to avoid “is” (e.g., "she cookin, they happy")”. Furthermore is “be” used to express a habit “(e.g., "babies be cryin' all day")” (Carr, & Flynn, 2006)

A common feature in these examples is the “ing” participle, which removes the “g”, it is especially seen in written text such as lyrics where the rapper replaces the ending “g” with a “-- '--” instead seen here with Talib Kweli "We discussin' Ebonics" (Carr, & Flynn, 2006)

Although written Hip Hop english distinguish itself from standard, the real difference is seen in the pronunciation, where Darin focuses on Jay-Z, the Brooklyn based rapper who “pronounces "wearing the 4-5" as "weh-in duh foh-fah" (with silent "h"s)” (Carr, & Flynn, 2006). The inheritance from Southern American English, as Darin agues, is also seen with the “r”-less pronunciation in Jay-Z’s famous song “Encore” where the line “From Marcy to Madison Square'" is pronounced "F'om Ma'cy to Madison Squa'" (Carr, & Flynn, 2006)