Dialect is what makes cultures unique. Coming to Spelman I have begun to communicate with people from all over the world. Although we all speak English, we have various ways of saying the same thing. It was interesting to hear the different terms used by different groups of people. But was one group right as opposed to the other? Why couldn't we all be right? Why is there only one way to say something?" The truth is…there's not. Christina McVay makes this clear to us. Although slang terms may not be accepted in the formal world of academia, it is a mode of communication. It is our society that feels the constant need to label something as good or bad instead of it simply being different. People automatically associate difference with negativity. Maybe it's because people do not know how to interact with the unfamiliar.
McVay, I feel, makes an effort to meet the students where they are instead of putting down everything they stand for. By constantly having negative regards for Black language, some students are dissuaded from the English language as a whole because they feel inferior. By allowing students to incorporate “Black language” into a formal English class, McVay taps into their inner being and pulls from that to mold them into writers and speakers that society recognizes. By crafting their language, she not only improves their skills, but allows them to feel adequate at the same time.
-Sequoia Boone
-Sequoia Boone
I think that your blog holds alot of truth.Throughout the years, African American vernacular has been regarded as "bad language" or ebonics. However, who is to say that our language is nohing but a form of creole, derived from our ancestore native land Africa and mixed with the standard english language. We as African Americans have been accustomed to mixing words and finding our own way of saying things because of the fact that for years we have been isolated from experiencing standard english. Especially, during slavery and Jim Crow era when we could not have access to schools and recieve the same formal education as our white counterparts.
ReplyDeleteKendra Robinson
I agree completely with your post Sequoia. Our speech , or "Black English" is what sets our culture apart from other cultures. We speak and understand eachother. Just because it is not proper english, that should not matter because "Black English" is okay as long it is used in the appropriate settings and context. It should not be labeled as good or bad, it should be appreciated among our people AND others.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Sims
I also agree. From the time I was born until the present, I have been constantly hearing, "Why do you guys say that?, Is that even a word?, Are you speaking in your own language?" I feel that everyone has their own way of expressing themselves. The idea that one language is superior to another is a definate LIE. We should ALL be able to express ourselves through our own language, just as artist do throught there own paintings.
ReplyDelete~Chermonica Johnson