Book

Talking Black

Newbury House Publishers, Inc.Rowley, Mass.Published In 1976 • Pages: xiv, 102

By: Abrahams, Roger D..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This work is a detailed sociolinguistic study of Black English as it functions as a system of communication within and between various social segments of Afro-American communities in the United States. Much of the material presented here was gathered by the author, a linguist and folklorist, from observations of Black speaking behavior in the ghettos of Philadelphia, in Texas, and throughout the British West Indies. The source concentrates on Black English, not so much from its linguistic analysis, as from its use by American Blacks as a highly adaptable 'speaking system' of behaviors involving variations in style according to the appropriateness of the occasion, the relationship of the speaker to his/her listeners, what the speaker expects in return, etc. These behaviors are discussed throughout the major portion of the text under such terms as 'signifying, rapping, hipping, talking shit, putting-down, putting-on, hoorawing, and digging.'
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Speech
Sociolinguistics
Conversation
Social relationships and groups
Gender status
Talent mobility
Aggression training
Independence training
Transmission of cultural norms
Household
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
African Americans
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2019
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Linguist
Folklorist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1986
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
NotesAdditional notes
Roger D. Abrahams
Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-98) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
76000077
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
African Americans--Folklore
English language--Social aspects--United States
Black English