This book contains essays which focus on the systems of communication that operate within and between various social segments of Afro-American communities in the United States. The essays are presented under the following headings: (1) "Getting Into It: Black Talk, Black Life and the Academic," (2) "'Talking My Talk': Black Talk Varieties and Social Segmentation," with the essays "Black English and the Ethnography of Communication,""Black English as a System of Speaking Behavior,""Life-Styles and Career Alternatives,""Language and Peer-Grouping,""Man-Talk and Woman-Talk," and "Black English and Social Values,"; (3) "Talking Black on the Streets," with the essays "The Play Dimension,""The Speech Continuum on the Streets,""A Taxonomy of Speech Events," and "Discussing Some of the Terms,"; (4) "Negotiating Respect: Patterns of Presentation among Black Women," with the essays "'Testimonies' and 'Accounts',""The Affirming Negations in the Opposition of the House and the Street,""Negotiating at Home with Children,""Negotiating with Men,""Talking Sweet and Smart to Each Other," and "Respectability and Black Culture"; and (5) "Digging, Being Cool, Doing Your Thing (Not Necessarily in That Order)," with the essays "Doing Your Thing: Afro-Amerikanische Aufheben,""The Importance of Coming on Bad," and "Can You Dig It?" (CLK)