The Sociology of African American Language : A Language Planning Perspective

The current state of knowledge of African American language is examined from a broad, multidisciplinary perspective that includes its structure, history, social role and educational implications, as well as the linguistic scholarship from which it derives, as a case study of language planning. Diverse including hip-hop culture, the African American church, and the Ebonics controversy are unified by a pervasive theme of latent conflict between academic knowledge of African American language and "real world" knowledge of the same. The Events And Issues Following The Infamous Oakland School Board Resolution On Ebonics Are Shown To Be The Tip Of A Metaphorical Iceberg Referred To As The Ebonics Phenomenon. It Includes The Body Of Linguistic Knowledge On Black English, The Critical Reaction To It By Afrocentric Scholars Under The Banner Of Ebonics, The Visceral Reactions Of Members Of The General Public To The Incongruous Idea Of Ebonics 'being Taught In The Schools', And The Pundits And Politicians Who Shape Relevant Laws And Policies. From The Perspective Of African Americans, The Ebonics Phenomenon Is A Manifestation Of The Double Consciousness Of Being Pulled In Two Directions At Once - Toward The Benefits Of Standard English Speech And The Intrinsic Worth And Beauty Of Talking Black. Such Are The Themes That Pervade The Book - Woven Into Chapters That Focus On One Specific Aspect Or Another Of The Structure Of African American Language, Its Origin And History, Its Role In The Black Community And Performing Arts, And Implications Of All The Above For The Literacy Achievement Of African American Learners. Linguists As Visionaries -- If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It: Toward A Policy Of Full Recognition Of African American Language -- Language Planning As A Field Of Inquiry -- What's In A Name? -- Where Did African American Language Come From? -- Language In The African Diaspora: The Case Of Samaǹ English -- The Language Situation In The African American Speech Community: The Status Of Variety X -- Cross-over: From African American To National And World Culture -- Ebonics And Black School Achievement: The Language Difference Hypothesis -- The Grammar: We Be Following Rules -- The Standardization Of African American Language. Charles Debose. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 224-230) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-26 Linguists as Visionaries....Pages 27-39 If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It: Toward a Policy of Full Recognition of African American Language....Pages 40-54 A Language Planning Approach to African American Language....Pages 55-67 What’s in a Name?....Pages 68-84 Where did African American Language Come from?....Pages 85-104 Language in the African Diaspora: The Case of Samaná English....Pages 105-124 The Language Situation in the African American Speech Community: The Status of Variety X....Pages 125-141 Cross-Over: From African American to National and World Culture....Pages 142-154 Ebonics and Black School Achievement: The Language Difference Hypothesis....Pages 155-176 The Grammar: We Be Following Rules....Pages 177-206 The Standardization of African American Language: Just do it!....Pages 207-223 Back Matter....Pages 224-237 The current state of knowledge of African American language is examined from a broad, multidisciplinary perspective that includes its structure, history, social role and educational implications, as well as the linguistic scholarship from which it derives, as a case study of language planning. A diverse array of topics including Hip-Hop culture, the Black Church and the Ebonics controversy are unified by a pervasive theme of latent conflict between academic knowledge and 'real world' knowledge of Black language.