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We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know
In their recently published book, Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools, Anne Charity Hudley and Christine Mallinson add to what we know. This book is for educators, scholars and...
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The Black Bible Chronicles Revisited: Word from the Author
As we approach the holiday season and church seats get filled with worshippers, we thought that we would revisit one of out most sort after posts from April 22, 2010, The Black Bible Chronicles. Our...
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Decode This: Happy Holidays from Word!
We at Word. want to wish all of you a happy holiday. Thanks for reading our blog and showing us love in 2010. As we enter 2011, we want to offer our holiday reading list (very last minute stocking...
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Talk to the Hand, Or Should We Say, Hands?…Black Sign Language
We know some, but not all, African Americans use African American English (AAE), an expressive and nuanced dialect of American English. The same applies to the deaf community. As is the case for the...
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Music Monday: African American English Goes Global
Singer Joy Denalane. Written by guest blogger Casey Wong From Jamaica, France, Puerto Rico, Japan, to Palestine, to almost every continent on Earth, hip-hop has gone global. Joy Maureen Denalane,...
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Tellin’ it Like it is: The African American Proverb Tradition
Written by guest blogger Simanique Moody In many cultures, proverbs are used to counsel, impart wisdom, and motivate others. The beauty of proverbs is that while their use and interpretation reflect...
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Jose Hustle’s Been Had Polo
YouTube sensation, Jose Hustle. Written by guest bloggers LaShaya Howie and Akintoye Moses. We BEEN considering how to break down the linguistic features of African American English. BEEN...
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Holla Back: Responding to Your Comments
Holla Back is a new segment where we’ll be responding to reader questions and comments. We appreciate all the great feedback we receive from readers and encourage you to keep it coming! On “Why Would...
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Music Monday: The N-Word and How We Talk About Hip Hop
Rapper Jay-Z and Gwyneth Paltrow Awkward experiences with the N-word occur frequently, especially in the realm of hip-hop. Imagine this: you’re singing “Forget You” by Cee-Lo Green at karaoke with your...
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Dew as you dew: Baltimore Accent and The Wire
Even though HBO’s television show The Wire ran from 2002-2008, today it still remains hugely popular with television audiences around the country. This show continues to captivate viewers with its...
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When it comes to Rachel Jeantel, who’s really on trial here?
When Rachel Jeantel stepped up to to testify at the trial for the shooting death of her childhood friend, Trayvon Martin, lawyers and later the American public had more to say about her language,...
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Linguistic prejudice is a real prejudice (and has real consequences)
There’s been a lot of talk in the media and public discourse about racial discrimination and justice lately. Despite killing Trayvon Martin—an unarmed black teenager—George Zimmerman (who is white and...
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Anything you say can and will be used against you: The case of “wilding”
Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam and Kharey Wise in 2012 at the New York premiere of the documentary “The Central Park Five.” The Central Park Five have been back in the...
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African Americans and Their Not So “Strange” African Names
Guest Post by: Mercedes Drew (NYU, BA/MA student, Africana Studies), Naapane Faustina Marius (University of Ghana, MA student, Linguistics), and Nicole Holliday (NYU, PHD student, Linguistics) Duke...
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