num_pages: 178
description: A unique blend of memoir and scholarship, Keith Gilyard's Voices of the Self is a penetrating analysis of the linguistic and cultural "collision" experienced by African-American students in the public education system. Gilyard examines black students "negotiate" their way through school and discusses the tension between the use of Black English and Standard English, underlining how that tension is representative of the deeper conflict that exists between black culture and white expectations. Vivid descriptions―often humorous, sometimes disturbing, always moving―of Gilyard's own childhood experiences in school and society are interlaced with chapters of solid sociolinguistic scholarship.Encompassing the perspectives of both the "street" and the "academy," Voices of the Self presents an eloquent argument for cultural and linguistic pluralism in American public schools.
language: English
title: Voices of the Self: A Study of Language Competence
titlecomplete: Voices of the Self: A Study of Language Competence (African American Life)
genres: Nonfiction, Education
ratings_count: 78
series: African American Life
awards: awardedAt: 694252800000
name: American Book Award
publisher: Wayne State University Press