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Ethnography of Speaking

This book offers new and valuable insights into the richness and diversity of Afro-American society. Bell provides an in-depth account of the comings and goings at Brown's Lounge, a public bar that changed hands and clientele. The data consist of observations and recordings that Bell made between the spring of 1972 and the fall of 1973. Bell describes the racial transition that took place when the bar was sold to black owners, who had specific plans to run a "respectable" establishment. The new regular patrons were the primary informants, and they were aware of Bell's intention to write a book about the bar. Few of the white patrons who used to frequent the bar returned. Most of them claimed that they were no longer comfortable. Bell was an exception; moreover, because he was sensitive to the black patrons, he was able to gain the trust of some key informants. The book consists of nine chapters, including a preface and introduction. Language is fundamental in this work, and several chapters are devoted to the function of talk in social exchanges at the bar. This work has one important distinction from most other books of this kind: Bell observed the spontaneous language that the customers used. Many folklorists have engaged their informants directly, requesting them to perform certain speech acts, or asking them about different ways of speaking. Bell chose to observe the interaction with minimal intrusion, and this has been a successful strategy. He observed the manner in which the staff monitored the customers, and how the regular patrons cooperated to preserve their territory and its atmosphere. Because this work is concentrated on the bar, it has the virtues and limitations of this solitary domain. As a white scholar, Bell appreciated the need to be well known to the regular staff and patrons, and their eventual trust is reflected by the frank and occasionally contradictory values that were espoused by various informants. Most of the clientele lived "up the hill" in better housing, and most could afford to visit Brown's on a regular basis. Some will argue that Bell is not looking at the true middle-class, but the upper working-class, and perhaps the lower middle-class. This is a minor point when compared to the valuable ethnographic evidence that Bell has collected, but there are some indications that many of the informants are more closely tied to the vernacular street culture. In this respect, readers must appreciate that Bell has observed the pain of cultural