African American vernacular English

"In response to the flood of interest in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) following the recent controversy over "Ebonics," this book brings together 16 essays on the subject by John Rickford, a leading expert in the field, who has been researching and writing on it for a quarter of a century."--BOOK JACKET. "Rickford's essays cover the three central areas in which questions continue to come in from teachers, students, linguists, the news media, and interested members of the public: What are the features of AAVE/Ebonics and how is it used? What is its evolution and where is it headed? What are its educational and social implications?"--BOOK JACKET.