Language in African American Communities

Sonja Lanehart

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781138189690
• eBook ISBN: 9781000726367
• Topic: Filología
• Subtopic: Sociolingüística

Language in African American Communities is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the language, culture, and sociohistorical contexts of African American communities. It will also benefit those with a general interest in language and culture, language and language users, and language and identity. This book includes discussions of traditional and non-traditional topics regarding linguistic explorations of African American communities that include difficult conversations around race and racism. Language in African American Communities provides:

• an introduction to the sociolinguistic and paralinguistic aspects of language use in African American communities; sociocultural and historical contexts and development; notions about grammar and discourse; the significance of naming and the pall of race and racism in discussions and research of language variation and change;

• activities and discussion questions which invite readers to consider their own perspectives on language use in African American communities and how it manifests in their own lives and communities; and

• links to relevant videos, stories, music, and digital media that represent language use in African American communities.

Written in an approachable, conversational style that uses the author's native African American (Women's) Language, this book is aimed at college students and others with little or no prior knowledge of linguistics.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for English in the Continental U.S.
• 1 Talkin and Testifyin
• 2 A Seat at the Table: What Are You Bringing to the Table Before We Even Get Started?
• 3 “Put Some Respeck on My Name!”: Language and Uses of Identity in African American Communities
• 4 “Where Your People From?”: Problematizing Origins and Development
• 5 What’s Good?: A Concise Descriptivist Meta-Grammar of Language Use in African American Communities
• 6 Where Your People At?: Regional and Geographic Variation
• 7 Where My Shawtys At?: Social and Gendered Variation
• 8 This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Pop Culture, Social Media, and Digital Media
• 9 It’s Not the Shoes, Bruh! You Black!: African American Language Use in AmeriKKKa’s Educational ApparatU.S.
• 10 “If You Don’t Know Me by Now …”
• AAL and Black culture words and phrases
• Index