Black Street Speech

In the minds of many black street speechthe urban dialect of black Americansbespeaks illiteracy poverty and ignorance. John Baugh challenges those prejudices in this brilliant new inquiry into the history linguistic structure and survival within white society of black street speech. In doing so he successfully integrates a scholarly respect for black English with a humanistic approach to language differences that weds rigor of research with a keen sense of social responsibility.Baugh''s is the first book on black English that is based on a long-term study of adult speakers. Beginning in 1972 black men and women in Los Angeles Philadelphia Chicago Austin and Houston were repeatedly interviewed in varied social settings in order to determine the nature of their linguistic styles and the social circumstances where subtle changes in their speech appear. Baugh''s work uncovered a far wider breadth of speaking styles among black Americans than among standard English speakers. Having detailed his findings he explores their serious implications for the employability and education of black Americans.Black Street Speech is a work of enduring importance for educators linguists sociologists scholars of black and urban studies and all concerned with black English and its social consequences.