African American Female Speech Communities: Varieties of Talk

(Hardback)

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In this sociolinguistic study, not only are language and gender researched, but the relationship between language and ethnic group, region, and social class is also discussed. Hudson describes the ways in which some female African American writers use the language of African American female characters to reflect their membership in various speech communities. Materials used for this text include slave narratives, novels, short stories, diaries, plays, and autobiographies. The study bridges the gap between the existing research on that focuses on the Vernacular English spoken mainly by young African American males and the research which mainly focuses on the language used by white middle class females. Research in the area of African American English has investigated both its form and its use in conversational interactions. Hudson explores how African American English encompasses a range of dialects from Standard to Vernacular English, noting that there is a diversity of language types present in the African American female speech community. This book offers language researchers, social scientists, educators, and others valuable insights into language use by minority females.

Reviews

.,."an important resource for those who teach the literary works of African-American women writers and it will be of special interest to social linguists."-MultiCultural Review
...an important resource for those who teach the literary works of African-American women writers and it will be of special interest to social linguists.-MultiCultural Review
Recommended for sociolinguists at the upper-division undergraduate level and above.-Choice
"Recommended for sociolinguists at the upper-division undergraduate level and above."-Choice
..."an important resource for those who teach the literary works of African-American women writers and it will be of special interest to social linguists."-MultiCultural Review

Author Bio

Barbara Hill Hudson is Professor of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.