pt. 1. Structure: The sentence in African-American vernacular English / Stefan Martin and Walt Wolfram. Aspect and predicate phrases in African-American vernacular English / Lisa Green. The structure of the noun phrase in African-American vernacular English / Salikoko S. Mufwene -- pt. 2. History: Some aspects of African-American vernacular English phonology / Guy Bailey and Erik Thomas. Co-existent systems in African-American vernacular English / William Labov. The creole origins of African-American vernacular English: evidence from copula absence / John R. Rickford -- pt. 3. Use: Word from the hood: the lexicon of African-American vernacular English / Geneva Smitherman. African-American language use: ideology and so-called obscenity / Arthur K. Spears. More than a mood or an attitude: discourse and verbal genres in African-American culture / Marcyliena Morgan. Linguistics, education, and the law: educational reform for African-American language minority students / John Baugh.