Language in the inner city: studies in the Black English Vernacular. By William Labov. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972. Pp. xxiv, 412. $6.95.

Figures Tables Introduction PART I- THE STRUCTURE OF THE BLACK ENGLISH VERNACULAR 1- Some Sources of Reading Problems for Speakers of the Black English Vernacular 2- Is the Black English Vernacular a Separate System? 3- Contraction, Deletion, and Inherent Variability of the English Copula 4- Negative Attraction and Negative Concord PART II- THE VERNACULAR IN ITS SOCIAL SETTING 5- The Logic of Nonstandard English 6- The Relation of Reading Failure to Peer-group Status 7- The Linguistic Consequences of Being a Lame PART III THE USES OF THE BLACK ENGLISH VERNACULAR 8- Rules for Ritual Insults 9- The Transformation of Experience in Narrative Syntax Bibliography Index