Ain't Dere No More

New Orleans Language and Local Nostalgia in Vic & Nat'ly Comics

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2286161
AutoresKatie Carmichael (0000-0003-4978-7898, Department of English Virginia Tech), Nathalie Dajko (0000-0002-5176-3409, Department of Anthropology Tulane University)
Año2016
Volumen26
Número3
Páginas234-258
Fecha de publicación2016-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Linguistic Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1055-1360 • E-ISSN: 1548-1395
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jola.12128
OpenAlexW2560938008
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas31

As "local," "authentic," "working class," "white," "urban," and "salt of the earth" characters, Vic and Nat'ly, the protagonists of Bunny Matthews's classic comic strip, embody all of the stereotypes of a New Orleans-based "Yat" identity. In this paper, we examine written representations of Yat English in Vic & Nat'ly strips, analyzing these results in comparison with current linguistic data from actual New Orleans English speakers and contextualizing our interpretation in terms of social and historical changes within post-Katrina New Orleans. We find that many of the linguistic features exaggerated in the comic (e.g., oil as "erl") have been stigmatized almost to the point of nonexistence in the speech of working-class whites today, such that the characters Vic and Nat'ly do not accurately represent any current group of native New Orleanians, despite being held up as quintessential New Orleanians imbued with local authenticity. While Vic & Nat'ly comics celebrate a New Orleans identity that is increasingly dear to Yat and non-Yat residents alike, we argue that the representation is based more in nostalgia than faithful rendering of the current sociolinguistic landscape, and that commodification based on this nostalgia in some ways erases the realities of modern New Orleans, in particular the role that black New Orleanians play in representations of authenticity

Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy