| Title | : | Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0395969190 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 0395969190 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover, Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 pages |
| Publication | : | HarperOne; Updated,Subsequent edition (January 19, 2000) |
The speech of African Americans has been defined by many terms black English, Ebonics, African American vernacular, and African American language. Smitherman (Talkin' That Talk: Language, Culture, and Education in African America) traces the history of black language, describes its unique features, and demonstrates its impact on "standard English" in her excellent introduction to this volume. She also provides a provocative discussion on the recent Ebonics' debate whether black youth should be instructed in their "native language" as well as "standard English." The bulk of Black Talk, however, is a dictionary of black language. Unlike most dictionaries, this one "concentrates on the historical and contemporary significance of words and phrases in the context of African American culture and the Black experience" rather than providing the origin or etymological history of a word or phrase. This revised edition (the first was published in 1994) gives hundreds of definitions for words in current usage, including recent additions like "jiggy," "flava," "benjamins," and "D.W.B." (Driving While Black). An essential volume for all libraries; smaller libraries that own the earlier edition need not purchase the update. Louis J. Parascandola, Long Island Univ., Brooklyn, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner Reviews
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I'm Caucasion, and lately, have been concerned with all the rioting and fire damage of neighborhoods (often to black businesses and property) in St Louis and other big cities. I like to think of myself as color blind as regards to race, habitually liberal in politics and
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This book is indeed what it's all about: BLACK TALK! I found the book to be an excellent resource on how certain words and phrases are expressed among African Americans. On television and among blacks, I have heard certain words and phrases, such as raise up,
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This book makes a good companion to Talkin' and Testifyin', however, it suffers from its date of publication. Perhaps this book is better suited to a snapshot of what AAVE slang sounded like in the 1970s, but nearly 50 years later we might need a bit of an update.
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Wonderful book, well organized. It's a joy to learn AAVE, a poetical, soulful dialect. It presents not just the mere meanings, but goes into the rich history of the words and phrases. It's a great tool that allows people of different cultures to understand each other.
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Encyclopedic, clear as to origins of words and phrases, and a sentence for each showing how they're typically said. She makes distinctions about classes and urban vs. rural origins. Very easy to understand. Worth reading like any other page to page book, because you'll
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So, I hate to say this, but my husband's father is a terrible racist. So for Christmas, I decided to buy him this book in hopes that he would learn some respect for people. Needless to say he hasn't said anything around me ever since.
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In studying the language of African Americans, there is rich, historical tradition of oral communication that pre dates our arrival to the shores of America. Each time an author braves the winds and waves of time to re capture how we say things, and why we say the things
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There is a usefulness for this book, but remember this book dates from the years 1994 and 2000. Here is one example of where things are outdated. The definition of 'beast' is said to be a derogatory term for a white person. Now as of this writing, circa 2011 12 'beast' is a
