Talking Back, Talking Black
Truths About America's Lingua Franca
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Narrated by:
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John McWhorter
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By:
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John McWhorter
About this listen
Linguists have been studying Black English as a speech variety for years, arguing to the public that it is different from Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and sound "Black." In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect.
Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America's borders to become a dynamic force for today's youth culture around the world.
©2017 John McWhorter (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Superb.” (Steven Pinker)
“An explanation, a defense, and, most heartening, a celebration.... McWhorter demonstrates the ‘legitimacy’ of Black English by uncovering its complexity and sophistication, as well as the still unfolding journey that has led to its creation.... [His] intelligent breeziness is the source of the book’s considerable charm.” (New Yorker)
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With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
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More satire than history
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-18-15
By: Bill Bryson
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The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
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Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
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Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness
- What It Means to Be Black Now
- By: Touré, Michael Eric Dyson
- Narrated by: Touré
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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A provocative look at what it means to be Black today. This audiobook includes excerpts from over 100 interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, Skip Gates, Melissa Harris-Perry, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, Glenn Ligon, Malcolm Gladwell, Paul Mooney, NY Gov. David Paterson, Harold Ford, Jr., Soledad O'Brien, Kamala Harris, Chuck D, Questlove, and others.
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Food for Thought
- By Sara on 12-22-11
By: Touré, and others
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The Art of Language Invention
- From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building
- By: David J. Peterson
- Narrated by: David J. Peterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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From master language creator David J. Peterson comes a creative guide to language construction for sci-fi and fantasy fans, writers, game creators, and language lovers. Peterson offers a captivating overview of language creation, covering its history from Tolkien's creations and Klingon to today's thriving global community of conlangers.
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Great resource, but not conducive to audiobook
- By Ashley T. on 04-18-16
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How We Get Free
- Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective
- By: Keeanga -Yamahtta Taylor
- Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Combahee River Collective, a path-breaking group of radical black feminists, was one of the most important organizations to develop out of the antiracist and women's liberation movements of the 1960s and 70s. In this collection of essays and interviews edited by activist-scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, founding members of the organization and contemporary activists reflect on the legacy of its contributions to black feminism and its impact on today's struggles.
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Crucial history
- By Laura T on 10-04-18
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The Story of English in 100 Words
- By: David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences, and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ("roe", in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ("loaf") to cutting edge ("twittersphere") and spanning the indispensable words that shape our tongue ("and", "what") to the more fanciful ("fopdoodle"), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language.
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Random but entertaining
- By Sean on 04-01-13
By: David Crystal
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The Power of Strangers
- The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World
- By: Joe Keohane
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane sets out on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don’t know. He learns that while we’re wired to sometimes fear, distrust, and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely.
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Not worth a credit
- By Eringatang on 07-24-21
By: Joe Keohane
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Raising White Kids
- Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America
- By: Jennifer Harvey
- Narrated by: Eliza Foss
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Talking about race means naming the reality of white privilege and hierarchy. How do we talk about race honestly, then, without making our children feel bad about being white? Most importantly, how do we do any of this in age-appropriate ways? While a great deal of public discussion exists in regard to the impact of race and racism on children of color, meaningful dialogue about and resources for understanding the impact of race on white children are woefully absent. Raising White Kids steps into that void.
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Distracting performance
- By Amazon Customer on 07-24-20
By: Jennifer Harvey
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Babel No More
- The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners
- By: Michael Erard
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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We all learn at least one language as children. But what does it take to learn six languages...or seventy? In Babel No More, Michael Erard, "a monolingual with benefits," sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages; Emil Krebs, a pugnacious German diplomat, who spoke sixty-eight languages; and Lomb Kat, a Hungarian who taught herself Russian by reading Russian romance novels.
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Heavy on anecdote, light on science
- By S. Yates on 07-15-16
By: Michael Erard
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The Bonjour Effect
- The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed
- By: Julie Barlow, Jean-Benoit Nadeau
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow spent a decade traveling back and forth to Paris as well as living there. Yet one important lesson never seemed to sink in: how to communicate comfortably with the French, even when you speak their language. In The Bonjour Effect, Jean-Benoît and Julie chronicle the lessons they learned after they returned to France to live, for a year, with their twin daughters. They offer up all the lessons they learned and explain the most important aspect of all: the French don't communicate, they converse.
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Terrible French pronunciation
- By CA on 01-24-19
By: Julie Barlow, and others
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Poetry in Person
- Twenty-five Years of Conversation with America's Poets
- By: Lucille Clifton, Alexander Neubauer - editor, Eamon Grennan, and others
- Narrated by: Alexander Neubauer
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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This first audio edition of Poetry in Person: 25 Years of Conversation with America’s Poets (Knopf, 2010), invites listeners into an intimate classroom with eight acclaimed poets. Full of compelling, in-depth conversation about manuscripts and drafts by the poets themselves, plus readings of the finished poems, these historic recordings offer one of the most detailed portraits ever produced of how poems are actually made.
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Fascinating
- By d on 08-28-16
By: Lucille Clifton, and others
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Words on the Move
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Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
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Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.
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Embark on a journey to the very beginning of writing as a tool of language and see how the many threads of history and linguistics came together to create the alphabet that forms the foundation of English writing. Your guide is Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University and in the 16 lectures of Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet, he will help you navigate the complex linguistic and cultural history behind one of our most crucial tools of communication.
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What listeners say about Talking Back, Talking Black
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tyler Wilson
- 12-07-20
The Black Tongue
I thoroughly enjoyed listen to this book. Over the years I've thought about what to call the English we speak as a Black American and this nailed it. There's been many of times in my life trying to explain to outsiders the meaning behind how we use/ speak with words. This book is that book!!
Thank You for taking the time out to give us The Black Break Down.
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- Kindle Customer
- 12-03-20
Excellence
Highly recommend this book for all black people to read! I have been teased for speaking a certain way, pronouncing words differently most of my life. As black people we are always taught to shun the way we speak amongst our family and friends. "Speak proper!". This book helps give you some pride in Black English. This book will help arm you with the tools to explain WHY the way we talk is not improper or bad English. It's an alternate form of English.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Nickolas S Rudolph
- 06-18-20
Important read to understand America
As always Mcwhorter delivers excellent information and research in an entertaining and unapologetic way.
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- Steve Yastrow
- 07-22-20
If you love English, listen to this book
John McWhorter, who is definitely “my favorite linguist,” helps us see the beauty in one of our richest English dialects, Black English, while also helping us understand the way it is seen by the American public. Highly recommended. Also hear McWhorter’s Lexicon Valley podcast.
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- Edward
- 08-14-20
Great Explanation to Long Asked Questions!
This book has been an amazing look into the language most of us speak yet understand so little, especially in how its spoken by most of us black people specifically. As always John McWhorter makes listening a pleasant learning experience while inserting just enough of his own personality and quirkiness to keep you thoroughly engaged.
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- John Cardwell
- 04-25-22
Outstanding book for Americans
The academic work and vocal work alone make this one of the most valuable books I’ve ever had the pleasure to consume. John is truly a saint in my book.
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- Brandon Hamil
- 07-20-20
Any lover of language should learn from this book
Any lover of language can learn from this book. The fact that black English as a legitimate dialect is the main theme doesn't do the reach of this work justice. The English language as a whole is illuminated as a way to contrast and compare the dialect if black English. No adjacent topic is avoided and this book is as concise as it is informative. I have, and will continue to, enthusiastically share this with friends. I am confident this work is not too far over anyone's head or certainly not beneath anyone's level of comprehension for them to leave much better informed about the English language, the Black dialect, and the relationship between the two.
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- Experimentrix
- 11-21-20
As much fun as all of McWhorter's works but also
enlightening. I am a fan of john McWhorter's books even as I have to blush at my mental red-penciling of other people's "bad grammar". He makes it clear that language is what the speakers make it, and that grammars are out of date on the day they are published. He teaches with humor and clarity, and yet challenges our thinking. In this book he brings all those skills to play, but also a fond relationship to the language of people he loves. I remember the days of Ebonics, but could never quite believe that black speech of that sort was a legitimate language. I am glad to be corrected, gently but firmly.
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- Christine
- 12-16-21
In a word: brilliant
There would be a greater net benefit to society and race relations as a whole if this book replaced “White Fragility” as required reading in America’s colleges and universities.
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- Thomas Ray
- 03-08-22
Our Language
I found this book a strong yet simple approach to the wonders of African American language. It’s not a mistake, error, or gross ignorance. African American language is not a purposeful rebellion. It is a language, a distinct fusion of speech and experience. It’s ours
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