Short book about Black English, its complex rules, its history, how it varies from standard English, and why it's just as "good" as standard English. Nearly all speakers of Black English know it isn't best for formal situations and are perfectly capable of switching to Standard English when required. Also an interesting section about why the vocal timbre of white Americans tends to be different than African Americans, such that most of us can easily identify "race" over the phone even if there is no difference in the words used. Good comparisons to other dialects of languages, such as Sicilian (Italian). A bit repetitive given that it's such a short book anyway. ( )

Lots of cool stuff in here about the linguistics of Black English. I don't know if the author really completed his goal though - I don't know that the people reading this book are the same people who want their minds changed about what Black English is. I think I would have liked it better if it stuck to the linguistics without the interjections about how other linguists have been talking about it wrong. But I just love the linguistics part of it so that's just me. It's a good book! ( )

(For Early Reviewers)
Having read Dr. Geneva Smitherman's book on Black English many years ago, I was extremely interested in reading this book. McWhorter's book defends and supports that Black English is indeed a language. Well-written and researched, McWhorter continues the conversation on Black English and its use in American society. ( )

As a Black linguist, John McWhorter is ideally suited to write a book about "Black English", as he refers to what is more technically known as "African-American Vernacular English". In this slim volume, McWhorter manages to cover common misconceptions about this dialect (such as the common and entirely wrong belief that it is not a dialect at all, but instead a collection of slang and mistakes) as well as the history of the dialect and the general concept of code-switching, where speakers of multiple versions of a language seamlessly switch among them depending on context - Black English among family or friends, perhaps, and Standard English at work. He also discusses tangentially related concepts such as what it means for someone to "sound Black" in a context without grammatical or vocabulary indications.

As a white American with an interest in linguistics, the most interesting part for me were the details of the distinctive grammatical features of Black English, detailing specific usages like the "habitual be" and dropping of the possessive marker ('s). I didn't need the patient explanation that Black English is in fact a valid dialect - I doubt anyone who reads a book like this would, so I suspect people who view it as a collection of mistakes will not be reached to be convinced otherwise - but I'm glad it was there. ( )

John McWhorter argues that "Black English" is a subsidiary language with its own grammar and history, like Haitian Creole or Sicilian. Rather then a chaotic mass of mistakes made by the uneducated, it's highly structured with consistent usage and rules. As a college writing teacher, this was a good reminder that some of my students, even if they were born in this country, could be speaking and writing an unfamiliar dialect in my class. As a general reader, however, this was a bit frustrating. McWhorter constantly refers to studies that support his claims but never describes them in detail or cites them in notes. In fact there are no notes. If we want to know more we're on our own. So McWhorter never gets into his topic in any real depth, he just skims on the surface, repeats himself, mentions studies he doesn't cite multiple times. This is a 5 star idea with 3 star execution. ( )