Illinois 18

Listen to Illinois 18, a 19-year-old man from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 19

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 22/04/1998

PLACE OF BIRTH: Chicago, Illinois

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: African American

OCCUPATION: student

EDUCATION: sophomore in college

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The speaker had been living in East Lansing, Michigan, for approximately seven months at the time of this recording.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: N/A

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Jason Dernay (under supervision of Deric McNish)

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 23/02/2018

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

Um, I grew up in Chicago, Illinois: um, the west side. It was like a, um — it’s called the Lawndale community, and when I was first born, I would say that it was way more nicer than it is now. Um, a lot of kids were able to just go outside and just have some fun and go to the park on their own whenever they want. No, the parents didn’t really have to focus on — pay attention to where their kids were going because they were always safe. Everyone in my neighborhood was basically a family, and then, as time progressed, um, certain family members, like, the grandparents and the dads moms — and the moms, they began to pass away, and when that happened, the younger people started to take charge; and when that happened, a lot of rules changed and a lot of, uh, rivalry began to happen. Um, a lot of people began to, like, fight each other, sometimes kill each other, and that led to a lot of people being, um — I don’t know — aware of their surroundings, in a very nervous way. So, right now I would say that it’s a pretty bad neighborhood, but, it’s — I don’t know — it’s just that if you don’t join any gangs, I guess you could say, then you’re, you’re OK. But for me, I always stay in the house because, hey, that’s me. [Subject laughs.] That’s about it for the neighborhood though, I would say. …

My family, um: So I have, I have four sisters and one brother. While growing up, they, um, they were pretty cool. I would say that they didn’t like me when I was like, when I was like a little kid because I always stood out from, like, you know, the rest of the people. Um, I always talked in, like, a very, um, more proper form than other kids there. A lot of kids had a lot of slang, and they would, like, use that against me, use that to make fun of me for that. But, um, my brother, I didn’t really talk to him while growing up, until, like, I want to say a year and a half ago. That’s when we got real tight, and then my sister, my oldest sister: She was, um, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t say that she wasn’t like a, I don’t know, much of a ___bag I guess you could say, but, um, she didn’t really focus on her family that much; she was more focused on her friends. And then, um, my other sister, who’s younger than me, she — um, I always had to take care of her. Nah, I didn’t mind that, it was — it was my little sister and would — I would basically grew up with her: having fun with her ’cause she was my little sister.

Um, my mom: She works, uh, she works at this hotel. It’s called the Sheraton, I believe, and my dad does as well. Um, so, yeah [laughter], my dad works at Shera- Sheraton hotel as well, and, they’re, they’re still married; they’re still, like, yelling at each other, as married parents should. Um, I would say that they are very proud of me from what I’m doing right now. Um, my dad: He always wanted me to be some sort of, like, you know, football player, something like that. And my mom: She just wanted me to get the best out of what I can. You know, but they are really nice people, every single one of them, no matter what.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Jason Dernay (under supervision of Deric McNish)

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 23/02/2018

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

The archive provides:

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