Black Linguistics: Language, Society and Politics in Africa and the Americas

Enslavement, forced migration, war and colonization have led to the global dispersal of Black communities and to the fragmentation of common experiences.

The majority of Black language researchers explore the social and linguistic phenomena of individual Black communities, without looking at Black experiences outside a given community. This groundbreaking collection re-orders the elitist and colonial elements of language studies by drawing together the multiple perspectives of Black language researchers. In doing so, the book recognizes and formalizes the existence of a Black Linguistic Perspective highlights the contributions of Black language researchers in the field.

Written exclusively by Black scholars on behalf of, and in collaboration with local communities, the book looks at the commonalities and differences among Black speech communities in Africa and the Diaspora. Topics include:

• The OJ Simpson trial
• Language issues in Southern Africa and Francophone West Africa
• The language of Hip Hop
• The language of the Rastafaria in Jamaica

With a foreword by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, this is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the linguistic implications of colonization.