Sociocultural and Historical Contexts of African American English (2001) On September 29–30, 1998, Lanehart facilitated a two-day conference called "AAEV State of the Art Conference" at the University of Georgia, where she was affiliated at the time as an assistant professor of English Language Studies and Linguistics. Various linguists, The book is divided into five parts with fourteen chapters total, each chapter being authored by a different scholar who participated in the panel. Lanehart was responsible for writing the acknowledgements section and a chapter in the introduction titled "State of the art in African American English research: Multi-disciplinary perspectives and directions," in which she promotes the importance of the book as well as summarizes each chapter. In the introduction, Lanehart explains the central goals of the conference: to increase scholarly understanding on how African American English is used within a
speech community; to place African American English in a global context to allow comparison among other languages; and to more broadly highlight the significance of language use in other linguistic groups. She also posed a set of questions to the panelists regarding the relationship of African American English to other languages and its role in education, family, and community. At the core of these ten points of inquiry was, "What is African American English?" The editor asked these not with the expectation that they be answered, but to lay a foundation for future conferences on African American English as a guide to measure progress in the field. Lanehart's text prioritizes the language as a sociocultural and historical phenomenon, stating that the two "are fundamental aspects of the nature and continued existence of African American English as well as, for example, identity,
self-efficacy, resilience, motivation, goals, and possible selves." She also stresses the need for increased research in the field of sociolinguistics, specifically, for studies that include multiple generations and ones that focus on identity. Further, Lanehart expresses her belief that research on African American English must be more accessible to the public so that those outside of the academic sphere can utilize it in responding to educational and social concerns. This could mean, for instance, tailoring second-dialect instruction in the classroom to speakers of different varieties of African American English.
Sista, Speak! Black Women Kinfolk Talk About Language and Literacy (2002) In her book
Sista, Speak!, Lanehart tells the narratives of five African American women in her family across three generations: Maya, her grandmother; Grace, her mother; Reia, her aunt; Deidra, her sister; and Sonja, herself. Through her research, she aims to answer the question, "What are the language and literacy attitudes, practices, and ideologies of my participants?" Lanehart discusses the influence of race, education, community, and language prestige on these specific women's speech practices and on African American language overall. Lanehart argues that the notion of a "standard," and therefore "correct," English does not exist, so labeling African American English as inferior is baseless. For example, one of the
syntactic features of African American English that Lanehart identifies in the narratives is
negative concord, or double negative, exhibited in the sentence, "I ''don't want nobody'' doing that." Negative concord is a widely used and legitimate feature of African American English, while speakers of
Standard English would consider the sentence to be incorrect. She states that African American English itself is not flawed, but that the culture that criticizes it is. One of Lanehart's goals for the book is to instigate self-reflection. She expresses that her incentive to write came from a desire to answer childhood questions about African American women, language, and literacy. Readers must "study" themselves and their contexts of interactions to understand the role of sociocultural and sociohistorical factors in building identity.
Sista, Speak! is divided into two parts, each containing six chapters. Part One begins with Lanehart describing her motivations for writing the book, and then presents all of the five narratives. To gather her data, she conducted individual oral interviews in which she asked each participant to respond to quotations about African American English versus "standard" English. She also compiled written data by collecting their essays, letters, and creative writing pieces. The narratives communicate the background, education, language, literacy, and individual goals of each woman. Part Two provides a scholarly analysis of each of these elements (background, education, language, literacy, and individual goals), updates the reader on the women's lives five years after the data was collected, and explains the consequences of the research. By using self-narratives as her form of data, Lanehart exemplifies the interconnectedness of language, identity, and culture, further solidifying the book's
sociolinguistic orientation. Lanehart concludes with a discussion on the status of non-standard, minority dialects, accents, and languages in the United States. She cites linguistic prejudice as an enduring issue that has contributed to social and educational discrepancies, specifically between Black and white Americans. In order to overcome these inequalities, Lanehart states that society must purge the idea of a "proper" language, and instead, recognize a non-hierarchical range of linguistic diversity. In 2004, Debra Goodman, Professor of Specialized Programs in Education at
Hofstra University, and Yetta M. Goodman, Regents Professor of Education at the University of Arizona, published a review of
Sista, Speak! in
Language in Society (33:3, 2004). Goodman and Goodman commend Lanehart for providing a platform on which African American women's voices and stories can be heard. They focus on her message that there is not one "correct" form of English, but rather, that language is bound to culture and so manifests in many varieties. They state that educators, therefore, must be cognizant of the linguistic biases that create a problematic academic environment for students who do not speak Standard English. According to the reviewers, "The beliefs and language policies of teachers, materials, programs, and schools cannot be separated from language learning," and these influences then extend into communities to have significant consequences. Goodman and Goodman endorse Lanehart's idea of the interconnectedness of language and identity while adding the perspective of its implications in education.
''African American Women's Language: Discourse, Education, and Identity'' (2009) ''African American Women's Language: Discourse, Education, and Identity
(2009), or AAWL'', was published after the 2008 conference "African American Women's Language" hosted by Lanehart in San Antonio, Texas. The presentations by various scholars,
The Oxford Handbook of African American Language (2015) Lanehart edited
The Oxford Handbook of African American Language (2015)
, or
OHAAL, a research text on language use in African American communities containing seven parts with forty-eight chapters total. The parts appear in the order as follows: "Origins and Historical Perspectives," "Lects and Variations," "Structure and Description," "Child Language Acquisition and Development," "Education," "Language in Society," and "Language and Identity." The chapters are authored by various scholars "African American Language and Identity: Contradictions and Conundrums" is subdivided into five sections with 15 pages total. Lanehart states that her goal for the chapter is to "define and discuss difficult terms related to language and identity in African American communities" through examination of linguistic attitudes and beliefs. She forefronts the interconnectedness of language with identity and culture, as well as the topic of a "standard" or "correct" form of English which she rejects. She discusses her own experiences with prejudice against her use of African American English and how the stigma has resulted in shame and denial among many members of this language community. Contrastively, Lanehart also describes pride and acceptance of African American English. Some speakers, such as
Toni Morrison, who is cited, refuse to be linguistically disparaged for the perceived inferiority of their language. They instead take pride in how African American English (and other non-standard varieties for similarly derided linguistic groups) overtly demonstrates their black community, history, and identification. Lanehart explains how African American English derives from the unique experiences of its speakers, and that the way it manifests depends on the individual's perception of how they fit into the world around them. Lanehart ends the chapter with two major conclusions. Firstly, that there is a conflict between African American language and the language of society and education, that is, Standard English. Secondly, that African Americans will not succumb to the hostile forces that try to belittle and eradicate their language. According to Lanehart, African American English is the language of a community that has endured immense oppression, making its use entitled only to those within the group. Its speakers, therefore, will continue to persevere in the face of linguistic discrimination. The
OHAAL received a largely positive response. Jessica Grieser, an assistant professor in rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics at the
University of Tennessee, praised the book for its comprehensiveness in the academic journal
Language in Society (45:5, 2016). She highlighted its effectiveness in including both long-standing issues in the field as well as contemporary research to push the boundaries of African American linguistic study. Grieser commented that some of the authors did not demonstrate a full understanding of every detail in their subfield, but that this was remedied by the breadth of topics discussed and by the book's appeal to many different audiences. She states that the
OHAAL makes an "indelible contribution" to the study of African American speech communities, and "[recognizes] the multiplicity and the richness of the African American Language."
Anne H. Charity Hudley, Professor of Linguistics at the
University of California Santa Barbara, offered her review of the
OHAAL in the
Journal of Sociolinguistics (21:2, 2017). Charity Hudley also praised the book for being comprehensive and for allowing the voices of both established and new scholars in the field to be heard. She commented that the variety of methodologies represented through the diverse authorship allows readers to understand the developments in the study of African American language within linguistics and in African American studies more generally. Charity Hudley stated one of the biggest shortcomings of the
OHAAL to be "the lack of big picture perspectives in the individual chapters," along with it leaving unanswered questions relating to the implications for African American culture as a whole. According to the reviewer, the chapters would have been more effective by prioritizing a broader contextual analysis over specific studies. Charity Hudley finishes by commending the authors, and names Lanehart, specifically, for their thorough and inclusive work.
"Talking Black in America" (2017) and "Signing Black in America: The Story of Black ASL" (2020) The documentary "Talking Black in America," created by
Walt Wolfram, examines African American English by focusing on the experiences of everyday people. With insight from educators, linguists, and historians, the film intends to demonstrate the significance of African American English in the United States. It was filmed in various locations across the country to showcase the different regional dialects within the one language. The film focuses on the development of African American English into various dialects, its influence on Standard American English, the African American civil rights struggle, and the impact of other historical and contemporary dialects on modern African American English. "Signing Black in America: The Story of Black ASL" is part of a miniseries that followed the release of "Talking Black in America." It is the first documentary to focus on the dialect of
American Sign Language known as
Black ASL. Because of historical segregation, the speakers of Black ASL exhibit features that make their language distinct from the standard. These include hand movement and positioning, location of a gesture, and facial expressions. One interpreter explains that Black ASL preserves older, more traditional forms of the language. For example, two-handed signs, such as "want," "don't know," and "tired," often become one-handed in White ASL conversation, while Black ASL users maintain the use of both hands to form these signs. Through its sociocultural linguistic orientation, the film demonstrates the role that Black ASL plays in forming identity and creating solidarity among members of the Black Deaf community. Lanehart worked as an associate producer for both documentaries; she was one of twelve in "Talking Black in America" and one of fourteen in "Signing Black in America: The Story of Black ASL." She and her colleagues formed a team of linguists, and Lanehart was among familiar scholars such as Arthur K. Spears and Lisa Green. == Committees and organizations ==