Out of the Mouths of Slaves

by Baugh, John

• ISBN13: 9780292708730
• ISBN10: 0292708734
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr

Summary

When the Oakland, California, school board called African American English "Ebonics" and claimed that it "is not a black dialect or any dialect of English," they reignited a debate over language, race, and culture that reaches back to the era of slavery in the United States. In this book, John Baugh, an authority on African American English, sets new parameters for the debate by dissecting and challenging many of the prevailing myths about African American language and its place in American society. Baugh's inquiry ranges from the origins of African American English among slaves and their descendants to its recent adoption by standard English speakers of various races. Some of the topics he considers include practices and malpractices for educating language minority students, linguistic discrimination in the administration of justice, cross-cultural communication between Blacks and whites, and specific linguistic aspects of African American English. This detailed overview of the main points of debate about African American language will be important reading for both scholars and the concerned public.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Orientation

Some Common Misconceptions about African American Vernacular English

Language and Race: Some Implications of Bias for Linguistic Science

The Relevance of African American Vernacular English to Education and Social Policies

Why What Works Has Not Worked for Nontraditional Students

Reading, Writing, and Rap: Lyric Shuffle and Other Motivational Strategies to Introduce and Reinforce Literacy

Educational Malpractice and the Ebonics Controversy

Linguistic Discrimination and American justice

Cross-cultural Communication in Social Context

The Politics of Black Power Handshakes

Changing Terms of Self-reference among American Slave Descendants

Linguistic Dimensions of African American Vernacular English

Steady: Progressive Aspect in African American Vernacular English

Come Again: Discourse Functions in African American Vernacular English

Hypocorrection: Mistakes in the Production of African American Vernacular English as a Second Dialect

Linguistic Perceptions in Black and White: Racial Identification Based on Speech

Conclusion

Research Trends for African American Vernacular English: Anthropology, Education, and Linguistics

Notes

Glossary

References

Index

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