Talking Back, Talking Black : Truths About America's Lingua Franca

"In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history, while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect."--Page [4] of cover. "It has now been almost fifty years since linguistic experts began studying Black English as a legitimate speech variety, arguing to the public that it is different from Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and sound "black." In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history, while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect. Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America's borders to become a dynamic force for today's youth culture around the world." -- Publisher's description "Superb." — Steven Pinker "An explanation, a defense, and, most heartening, a celebration. . . . McWhorter demonstrates the 'legitimacy' of Black English by uncovering its complexity and sophistication, as well as the still unfolding journey that has led to its creation. . . . [His] intelligent breeziness is the source of the book's considerable charm." — New Yorker " Talking Back, Talking Black is [McWhorter's] case for the acceptance of black English as a legitimate American dialect. . . . He ably and enthusiastically breaks down the mechanics." — New York Times Book Review Linguists have been studying Black English as a speech variety for years, arguing to the public that it is different from Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and sound "black." In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect. Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America's borders to become a dynamic force for today's youth culture around the world. John McWhorter teaches linguistics, Western civilization, music history, and American studies at Columbia University. A New York Times best-selling author and TED speaker, he is a columnist for CNN.com, a regular contributor to the Atlantic , a frequent guest on CNN and MSNBC, and the host of Slate 's language podcast, Lexicon Valley . His books on language include The Power of Babel ; Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ; Words on the Move ; Talking Back, Talking Black ; and The Creole Debate . "Superb." #8212; Steven Pinker "An explanation, a defense, and, most heartening, a celebration. . . . McWhorter demonstrates the 'legitimacy' of Black English by uncovering its complexity and sophistication, as well as the still unfolding journey that has led to its creation. . . . [His] intelligent breeziness is the source of the book's considerable charm." #8212; New Yorker " Talking Back, Talking Black is [McWhorter's] case for the acceptance of black English as a legitimate American dialect. . . . He ably and enthusiastically breaks down the mechanics." #8212; New York Times Book Review Linguists have been studying Black English as a speech variety for years, arguing to the public that it is different from Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and sound "black." In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect. Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America's borders to become a dynamic force for today's youth culture around the world. John McWhorter teaches linguistics, Western civilization, music history, and American studies at Columbia University. A New York Times best-selling author and TED speaker, he is a columnist for CNN.com, a regular contributor to the Atlantic , a frequent guest on CNN and MSNBC, and the host of Slate 's language podcast, Lexicon Valley . His books on language include The Power of Babel ; Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ; Words on the Move ; Talking Back, Talking Black ; and The Creole Debate “One of our sharpest explainers of linguistics." — Steven Pinker “In Talking Back, Talking Black , John McWhorter, the maestro at communicating linguistics to the public, succeeds in helping the reader to 'actually hear Black English in a new way,' while hipping linguists to some features of this vibrant variety they might not have considered before." — John R. Rickford , former president of the Linguistic Society of America and coauthor of Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English “McWhorter debunks some of our most persistent myths about language." — NPR “McWhorter makes all the right arguments, and he makes them clearly." — New Yorker “Do you think Black English is a 'dialect' full of 'mistakes'? You're likely to change your mind about its 'languageness' after reading Mr. McWhorter." — Wall Street Journal It has now been almost fifty years since... La 4e de couverture indique : "It has now been almost fifty years since linguistic experts began studying Black English as a legitimate speech variety, arguing to the public that it is different from Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and sound "black." In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history, while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect. Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America's borders to become a dynamic force for today's youth culture around the world." Introduction It's Complicated: A Toy Piano Isn't a Steinway, Right?: The Real Story About Black English Grammar What Do You Mean "Sounds Black"?: Don't Black People Just Have Southern Accents? But They Can't Talk That Way at a Job Interview!: Why Americans Think You Can Talk Only One Way Speaking Black or Speaking Minstrel?: And How Much of It Did White People Make Up? Through a Lens Darkly?: Perceiving Black English as It Is: Life Lessons Endnotes Index An authoritative, impassioned celebration of Black English, how it works, and why it matters