* 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
* Links to relevant videos, stories, music, and digital media that represent language use in African American communities
Sonja Lanehart is Professor of Linguistics; Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies; and Africana Studies at the University of Arizona, USA. Her scholarship focuses on language and education in African American and Black communities; language and identity; sociolinguistics; raciolinguistics; and critical sociolinguistics from Black feminisms, critical race theory, critical discourse analysis, and intersectionality perspectives. She is particularly interested in African American Women's Language and pushing the boundaries of research in sociolinguistics, language variation, and education to be anti-racist, inclusive, diverse, and equitable in the fight for social and linguistic justice. Her publications include Sista, Speak! Black Women Kinfolk Talk about Language and Literacy (2002); African American Women's Language: Discourse, Education, and Identity (ed., 2009); and The Oxford Handbook of African American Language (ed., 2015).
Title: Language in African American Communities (Routledge Guides to Linguistics)
Author: Lanehart, Sonja
ISBN: 9781138189706
Binding:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publication Date: 2022-12-30
Number of Pages: 246
Weight: 0.2691 kg
This is a splendid book, fully recognizing that language is a social, cultural, psychological, grammatical, homeland-based, and historical package. Language in African American Communities is brimming with the worldview, turns-of-phrase, and even the musical backdrop of our Blacktalk, which is permeated with the feelings, perspectives, and positionalities of its lifelong speakers. You can speak AAL grammatically, but that doesn't mean you can Blacktalk. Sonja L. Lanehart in this book generously presents an introduction to Ebonics as a form of language, action, and social being.
Arthur K. Spears, Presidential Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology Emeritus, The City University of New York
No one is better qualified to write this book than Sonja Lanehart, the Queen of innovative research and publication on language in African American communities over the past two decades! I wish I were still teaching to take advantage of Sonja's lively personal style, her professional insights and her thought-provoking questions following each chapter!
John R. Rickford, J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Humanities, Dept of Linguistics, emeritus, Stanford University
