Hip-Hop, White Immigrant Youth, and African American Vernacular English: Accommodation as an Identity Choice

Abstract

How can scholars interpret the individual stylistic choices that speakers make? To what degree do individuals make identity choices to accommodate to one group or another? Much of the research on accommodation focuses on the standard—nonstandard or on the local—nonlocal dimension. There is notably little research into accommodation from forms that are indexical of a particular ethnic identity to forms that are indexical of another ethnic identity. This article takes up the question of accommodation toward African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and New York Latino English (NYLE) among white ethnic immigrants in New York City who affiliate with hip-hop culture. It provides evidence to support a view of accommodation that stems from a strong attitudinal orientation toward the group with which a speaker wants to associate.

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