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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2021

Tracey L. Weldon
Tracey L. Weldon
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
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Summary

This chapter provides an historical perspective on the emergence of the African American middle class and the role of language in its development, as well as theories about the origins and development of African American English. Operational definitions are provided for several key concepts, including terms relating to socioeconomic status and language.

Keywords

African American EnglishAfrican American Vernacular EnglishStandard EnglishStandard African American EnglishMainstream American Englishsocioeconomic statusmiddle classworking classtalking/sounding Blacktalking/sound White or Proper
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Chapter
Information
Middle-Class African American English , pp. 1 - 24
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Introduction
  • Tracey L. Weldon, University of South Carolina
  • Book: Middle-Class African American English
  • Online publication: 26 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139021531.001
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Introduction
  • Tracey L. Weldon, University of South Carolina
  • Book: Middle-Class African American English
  • Online publication: 26 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139021531.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Tracey L. Weldon, University of South Carolina
  • Book: Middle-Class African American English
  • Online publication: 26 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139021531.001
Available formats
×