Walt Wolfram & Erik R. Thomas , The development of
African American English . Oxford: Blackwell, 2002. Pp. ix, 237. Pb
$40.95.
Wolfram and Thomas (W&T) have produced a meticulous study of
African American English and its development, based on extensive fieldwork
and ensuing linguistic analyses in Hyde County, North Carolina. W&T
worked in collaboration with Elaine W. Green, Becky Childes, Dan Beckett,
and Benjamin Torbert. Any student of African American English, or of
sociolinguistics in general, will find a wealth of knowledge in this
volume that reflects advanced studies of African American English that
connect synchronic studies with their diachronic relevance.