Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice

by John Baugh

Winner, A Choice Outstanding Academic Book When the Oakland, California, school board called African American English "Ebonics" and claimed that it "is not a black dialect or any dialect of English," they reignited a debate over language, race, and culture that reaches back to the era of slavery in the United States. In this book, John Baugh, an authority on African American English, sets new parameters for the debate by dissecting and challenging many of the prevailing myths about African American language and its place in American society. Baugh's inquiry ranges from the origins of African American English among slaves and their descendants to its recent adoption by standard English speakers of various races. Some of the topics he considers include practices and malpractices for educating language minority students, linguistic discrimination in the administration of justice, cross-cultural communication between Blacks and whites, and specific linguistic aspects of African American English. This detailed overview of the main points of debate about African American language will be important reading for both scholars and the concerned public.

Genres: Linguistics, Education

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Eli]

Better for the very serious linguist than for someone with an interest in Ebonics. There's not much substance in the book; I learned more from websites dedicated to jive, Ebonics, and all the other variations of what has been called black or African-American speech. Rather than using points to prove the author's agenda, the politics take over the linguistics.