A scholarly and perceptive analysis of be(s)
in Lumbee Vernacular English (LVE), comparing it to be(s) among
African-American and Anglo-American speakers in Robeson County.
The authors begin with a summary of hypotheses on the
ancestry of Lumbee language, particularly where and when the Lumbee
learned English. They are most convinced by the hypothesis that
"the Lumbee are descendants of a multitribal and/or multiethnic contact
situation rather that descendants of one exclusive Native tribe" (p.
140) and that “Iroquoian (particularly Tuscarora), Siouan (particularly
Cheraw), and Algonquian languages may have had a formative influence
on the Lumbee of today” (p. 140) (Also see KNIC009
and KNIC006). The Lumbee were observed
speaking English as early as the 1730s. They may have learned
English from Highland Scots who came up the Cape Fear and into Robeson
County in the early 1700s; from Ulster Scots who moved from Ireland
into Pennsylvania, Virginia, and then the Carolinas; from English who
came from the Albemarle and Pamlico Sound into Robeson County; or from
African-American slaves who were in the area by the 1700s. The
authors note, “the exact mix of European groups and African groups
and the influence of various Anglo varieties on the developing English
varieties of Robeson County are difficult to determine precisely”
(p. 140).
The authors then present detailed analyses, with tables
and examples, of the grammatical status of finite be in LVE;
the semantic-pragmatic status; the dynamic status of be/bes;
and the ethnolinguistic status of finite be. They conclude
that finite be in LVE is restructuring so that it functions
more like be in African American Vernacular English (AAVE), especially
among young Lumbee speakers, who probably experience frequent social
interaction with the county's other two ethnic groups. The bes
form, however, is associated by local residents with LVE and make LVE
use of be distinct in Robeson County. Thus, “a kind
of mixed alignment sets apart finite be as an ethnic marker even
while accommodating the strains of influence from surrounding Anglo-American
and African-American ethnic communities at various point in Lumbee history”
(p. 156).
The authors also note that, as of this writing, they have
a sociolinguistic interview base for Robeson County of 58 Lumbee, 18 African
American, and 37 Anglo-American speakers and routinely add to it.
