Sociocultural and Historical Contexts of African American English

Editor

Sonja L. Lanehart | University of Georgia

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027248855 (Eur) | EUR 130.00

ISBN 9781588110459 (USA) | USD 195.00

Paperback – Available

ISBN 9789027248862 (Eur) | EUR 55.00

ISBN 9781588110466 (USA) | USD 83.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027297983 | EUR 130.00/55.00*
| USD 195.00/83.00*

This volume, based on presentations at a 1998 state of the art conference at the University of Georgia, critically examines African American English (AAE) socially, culturally, historically, and educationally. It explores the relationship between AAE and other varieties of English (namely Southern White Vernaculars, Gullah, and Caribbean English creoles), language use in the African American community (e.g., Hip Hop, women’s language, and directness), and application of our knowledge about AAE to issues in education (e.g., improving overall academic success). To its credit (since most books avoid the issue), the volume also seeks to define the term ‘AAE’ and challenge researchers to address the complexity of defining a language and its speakers. The volume collectively tries to help readers better understand language use in the African American community and how that understanding benefits all who value language variation and the knowledge such study brings to our society.

[Varieties of English Around the World, G27] 2001. xviii, 373 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g27

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements | p. vii

Foreword | p. ix

About the Contributors | p. xii

Part 1: Introduction

1. State of the art in African American English research: Multi-disciplinary perspectives and directions

Sonja L. Lanehart | p. 1

2. What is African American English?

Salikoko S. Mufwene | p. 21

Part 2: African American English and its relationship to other varieties of English

3. The relationship between African American Vernacular English and White Vernaculars in the American South: A sociocultural history and some phonological evidence

Guy Bailey | p. 53

4. Co-existing grammars: The relationship between the evolution of African American and Southern White Vernacular English in the South

Patricia Cukor-Avila | p. 93

5. The voice of the ancestors: New evidence on 19th-century precursors to 20th-century African American English

David Sutcliffe | p. 129

Part 3: Language Use in the African American Community

6. Something to Shout about: African American Vernacular English as a linguistic and cultural treasure

Mary B Zeigler | p. 169

7. “Nuthin’ But a G Thang”: Grammar and language ideology in Hip Hop identity

Marcyliena H. Morgan | p. 187

8. African American women: Talking that talk

Denise Troutman | p. 211

9. Directness in the use of African American English

Arthur K. Spears | p. 239

Part 4: African American English and Education

10. The role of family, community, and school in children’s acquisition and maintenance of African American English

Toya A. Wyatt | p. 261

11. Pay Leon, Pay Leon, Pay Leon, Paleontologist: Using call-and-response to facilitate language mastery and literacy acquisition among African AmericanStudents

Michèle Foster | p. 281

12. Applying our knowledge of African American English to the problem of raising reading levels in inner-city schools

William Labov | p. 299

13. Applying linguistic knowledge of African American English to help students learn and teachers teach

John Baugh | p. 319

Part 5: Conclusion

14. Reconsidering the sociolinguistic agenda for African American English: The next generation of research and application

Walt Wolfram | p. 331

Index | p. 363

Cited by

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