Chapters in this book

1. Prelim pages i
2. Table of contents v
3. Acknowledgements vii
4. Foreword ix
5. About the Contributors xii
6. Part 1: Introduction
7. 1. State of the art in African American English research 1
8. 2. What is African American English? 21
9. Part 2: African American English and its relationship to other varieties of English
10. 3. The relationship between African American Vernacular English and White Vernaculars in the American South 53
11. 4. Co-existing grammars 93
12. 5. The voice of the ancestors 129
13. Part 3: Language Use in the African American Community
14. 6. Something to Shout about 169
15. 7. “Nuthin’ But a G Thang” 187
16. 8. African American women 211
17. 9. Directness in the use of African American English 239
18. Part 4: African American English and Education
19. 10. The role of family, community, and school in children’s acquisition and maintenance of African American English 261
20. 11. Pay Leon, Pay Leon, Pay Leon, Paleontologist 281
21. 12. Applying our knowledge of African American English to the problem of raising reading levels in inner-city schools 299
22. 13. Applying linguistic knowledge of African American English to help students learn and teachers teach 319
23. Part 5: Conclusion
24. 14. Reconsidering the sociolinguistic agenda for African American English 331
25. Index 363