Multimodal Discourse Analysis Of The Characteristics Of Rap Music In AAVE

There is a new culture named Hip-Hop culture in recent years and Rap is a form of popular music and one kind of Hip-Hop culture developed especially in African American suburban communities and characterized by spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics with a syncopated, repetitive and rhythmic accompaniment. African American Vernacular English (AAVE), well utilized in the American Rap, is a special sub-variety of American English spoken primarily by African Americans. The lyrics of Rap exemplify the close links between African-American language and the rhythm of African music.In this thesis the author investigates the characteristics of African American Vernacular English in American Rap music by employing the theories of multimodal discourse of the lyrics, music, and streetdance. The author reveals that it is those special features of AAVE that contribute most to the globalization of Rap music in the whole world. Through discussion and detailed analyses, the author suggests that the general features of AAVE in Rap music are rhythmic, concise, novel, popular, flexible, vivid and most importantly non-standard. These features suit the Rap music style and its function. Besides, with the reference of the Rap songs, the author generalizes the relationship between the characteristics of AAVE and Hip-Hop culture, especially Rap music. At the mean time, the author points out that AAVE, as a medium of communication, should be seen not just as a linguistic system but also as an expressive system of African American culture.