Thread by @KatoriHall

A THREAD: #PVALLEY “ACCENTS” - The “slanguage” of the show continues to irk many of the #PynkPosse esp from Da Sip calling it “too country” or “slave talk.” I think we should kiki as I know fa’ sho’ we don’t speak like slaves👇🏿, but the descendants of them

ACCENT is the pronunciation of words. For example, Southerners often sound like they are sayin PIN when they are saying PEN. Memphis —> Mimphis. It can include cadence as well.

DIALECT is not only pronunciation, but also grammar construction, vocab and lingo. In #PValley “I’m about to go to the store.” Can come out as “I’m finna go to the sto’.” “He’s sick.” becomes “He down bad.”

Sub categories of dialect are REGIOLECT - I always said that if Memphis, Tunica and Jackson had a baby it would be Chucalissa. Our fictional river-town is ‘tween the M & Ju-City and has a MemphisSippi sound where M-town slang (slaw, mane) merges w/ Sippi lingo (bussin’, green).

SOCIOLECT - dialect amongst a social class. In 107 Mayor Ruffin explains to Andre the bigger motivation re: his quest to bring the casino to Chucalissa. Having left & gotten a Morehouse education, Andre had risen above those stuck in a lower, mostly uneducated class.

In #PValley despite the majority of Chucalissans being minimally educated and living at the poverty line, there are characters like Shelle who are middle and upper class who represent the economical ladder within the show and speak in ways that distance themselves from most.

The use of supposedly “improper English” is not an indication of a lack of intelligence. On the contrary, Uncle Clifford is one of the most quoted characters in #PValley due to her incisive wit and flair with words though it’s often perceived as “broken.”

& there is IDIOLECT - an individual’s choice of speech. In #PValley Murda says skrawberry & skreet vs. Keyshawn who doesn’t. Uncle Clifford says scrilla & “not neva mo.” Most folks don’t speak the same in the same family let alone the same state. Variances can be due to idiolect.

On #PVALLEY you are often hearing accent, dialect - with variances of regiolect, sociolect - and idiolect all at once. Folx seem to be confusing ACCENT with DIALECT, which is written into the scripts by me @katorihall and @pvalleywriters.

On #PValley we call it “SLANGUAGE” - a highly poetic mix of accent, dialect and slang, old AND new, with the roux of this gumbo being #AAVE

#AAVE (African American Vernacular English) has verb conjugations that omits is/are (He smart), includes the use of the habitual “be” (He be goin), lacks person-verb agreement (She work there.) and uses double negatives.

In MemphisSsippi (where Chucalissa resides), there are further markers. It’s non-rhotic, meaning R’s are dropped at the end of words like do’ (door). Sometimes R’s are put in places like mursic (music) or mirk (milk). I also say iron as URN like TeeRaw 👇🏿

In addition to all of the above, there is also POETRY & WORDPLAY at work. In 203 Keyshawn’s “Shake-a-spur” is her making a joke, not being country & slow. In #PValley creative expression comes first and foremost but there is definite overlap in the real world.

In #PValley we actually DO “talk with that vernacular”. A variation of “Not nan wunna” pops up in our scripts quite often. Like in 105, when Yoli addresses the dancers after they all try to bail Mercedes out of jail after fighting her mother.

#PValley is not saying ALL people from Da Sip sound like this. What we ARE saying is that our fictional characters of Chucalissa do. But the truth of the matter is I think we all know folx who’d fit right in in good ole Chucalissa.

Ever since we were brought to this country in chains, we’ve been made to feel ashamed of our Africanness. Yet our mother tongue has proven to be resilient in #AAVE. As someone who navigates white spaces I’ve often felt ashamed of my finna’s and my done done’s.

In fact, when I was at Columbia sometimes I wouldn’t speak in class for fear of sounding illiterate. I don’t know ‘bout y’all, but I got tired of donning a MASK to fit into a whiter world. So I let my inner Uncle Clifford out and I stopped code-switching in life and in my art.

My art often sheds light on black folx that even some black folx are ashamed of. Whether it’s sex workers or folx who speak in “improper English,” my art will continue to uplift those considered the “least among us.” #ItArt #PValley

Some think that because Memphis, TN is on my birth certificate I should not write about MS. Luckily, my family’s born and buried in Sippi soil and I’ve had an address in MS for the past 15 years. The dialect and idiolects in #PValley are based on my family who still live there.

So as we talk bout #PValley “ACCENTS” make sure 2 use the word DIALECT. For those asking for the way the characters to speak change, the speech pattern was an intentional artistic choice established in the pilot, just like the choreo, costumes, characters, etc. #ItArt

Lastly I don’t quite agree that only folx from Da Sip can play characters from there. By that logic Mississippians couldn’t play South Africans or Martians for that matter. But my ears are open.

If you’re from MS tweet @katorihall your favorite slang, rewrite your favorite #PValley scene in YOUR Sippi dialect or upload a video of you talkin’ yo’ talk. Who knows, you might find yourself down at DA PANK!!!