In the articles, “Obama’s English” written by H. Samy Alim and Geneva Smitherman and “Speaking in Tongues” written by Zadie Smith, the writers inform us of, the consequences of voice adaption and how it can result in scrutiny and a loss of identity. On the other hand, the articles asserts, the advantage of having a “double voice” and the way it allows one to connect and empathize with people from different geographic areas. Based on the premise of the writer’s argument, modifying language to conform to the expectation of society can have both positive and negative effects. Standard English is the structure of language acknowledged for being intelligent and accepted as the national norm in English speaking countries. Alterations in pronunciation …show more content…
If one leaves the community to become productive and educated according to the nation standards, then return home with a new style of voice can negatively, be perceived as an act of betrayal. Author Smith writes, this “new way talking to the old way” can come off ad condescending and comprehended by the community as not talking to them, but talking at them, therefore, this imperious language and behavior is rejected. In the essay” Obama English” Rev. Jesse L. Jackson condemned Obama for pointing out the deficiency of black fathers within the black community out the issues of black fathers absence within the black community. “Rev J Jackson grumbles that Obama was “talking down to people”. This is because black communities is already sent as insufficient, and failing and any criticism of weaknesses and shortcoming should be confined and not discussed with …show more content…
People tend to mirror the dialect of those that lead. As a result the dominant language trumps the inferior dialect every time. In the essay “Speaking in tongues” Smith, postulates that, when she traded her childhood voice for the English voice she thought it was the right thing to do. She writes, “If I didn’t have the voice of lettered people I would never truly be lettered. This is why people mimic the dominant language, the normal voices aren’t accepted so it is surrendered to appease others. The way you speak reflects who are you are as a person and can often determine where you come from. Language asserts your identity. So, if Standard English isn’t your original vernacular trading it for familiar voice can be a loss of
In the article “Do You Speak American?,” Robert MacNeil is trying to reach the american public, especially those who do not have a complete understanding of the ongoing changes that are happening to the English that is spoken throughout the United States. He uses a multitude of examples to prove this very fact. For one he wants to inform the people that one reason for this change is that average people now have more influence in the way language is spoken.Which to him is a good thing. He enjoys the new evolution that American English has undertaken. He believes that it is a step in the right direction. Another, example he uses are the changes different regions and/or group of people have made on the English language. He uses the different accents and dialect to show the growth and improvement that occurred. Even though, some linguist view these changes as wrong, MacNeil views them as necessary and as something that is unique to the United States. In essence, a necessary growth that only makes the United States grow into a better country. Thus, making it more diverse.
Barack Obama deliver the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Obama establishes credibility by starting off to tell a story about how he got to where he is today. He talks about how his father had a great opportunity to study here in America. His father’s dream of starting a family in the land of opportunity for himself and for his children. Obama developed an emotional connection with his audience by talking about his family dream for him and for his future. When he refers back to his family, he then goes to talk about his experience and how it would not have been possible for his dream to be achieve anywhere else and that has impacted him to make a difference.
Throughout time the flexibility of different languages within the world today are always being tossed up in the air, if there’s disadvantages or advantages to being capable of more than one language. Although all individuals have there own opinions on being able to speak fluently with different languages, there isn’t any other way to see it besides it being a huge advantage; fully appreciating the beneficial chance to be bilingual or trilingual and sometimes even more. Communicating with more than a single voice will represent who one is and where they came from. Within two articles “Speaking in Tongues” written by Zadie Smith and “How to tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzalduas’s both demonstrate the different languages they encounter. Smith looses her chance in speaking from her voice being forced upon to change without resistance while Anzalduas’s aggressively puts up a battle to be able to keep her voice. The acceptance of varies languages isn’t in everyone category, however in time we should be more accepting and realize from articles like such that’s beneficial to learn and accept the difference languages of different cultures within the world today. Although there may be struggles upon learning the knowledge to something new, its nothing but an advantage to have with one throughout a lifetime!
In the work of Amy Tan’s “Mother’s Tongue” she provides a look into how she adapted her language to assimilate into American culture. She made changes to her language because her mother heavily relied on her for translation. She was the voice of her mother, relaying information in standard English to those who were unable to understand her mother’s broken english. She tells about her mother’s broken english and its impact on her communication to those outside their culture. Her mothers broken english limited others’ perception of her intelligence, and even her own perception of her mother was scewed: Tan said, “I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mothers ‘limited’ English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.” (419) The use of standard english was a critical component to Tan’s assimilation into American culture. Standard English was an element she acquired to help her mother but more importantly is was an element that helped in her gain success as a writer. Tan changed her ‘Englishes’ (family talk) to include standard English that she had learnt in school and through books, the forms of English that she did not use at home with her mother. (417-418) Tan realized the ch...
The one characteristic that makes humans who we are is our ability to adapt. Whether this is in terms of weather, geography, or even through our speech, people adapt to our environment. In “Speaking in Tongues”, the author Zadie Smith, expresses her own literacy journey/metamorphosis and how her voice had changed as a result of her environment and inadvertently also changed her identity. While explaining this, she also connects her own experiences in a larger social context with well known examples such as William Shakespeare and our current president Barack Obama. We speak differently depending on where we are and to whom we surround ourselves; this is evident in the way that Zadie Smith, Barack Obama, William Shakespeare, and I speak and
As I see it, Standard English secretes Black Vernacular English and other languages. According to Hooks, “It is a mask which hides the loss of so many tongues, all those sounds of diverse, native communities we will never hear…” (pg.168, par. 2) Hooks makes a good point because people are expected to speak Standard English but in reality people speak different languages. Vernacular English speakers are trying so hard to speak Standard English because that is what they are told to do that they forget about their own
...influenced. This correspondence leads to individual growth because it pushes our understanding. As we begin to see the individual as a person and not as an “other,” we can, as a country, grow stronger. Regardless of our growing humanitarian stance towards immigration reform, many Americans still insist on having English as our national language. Though speaking the language would greatly close the distance witnessed in towns like Shelbyville, we must provide methods for language acquisition by working through difference. With the transition towards inclusiveness, an increasingly global perspective should also follow suit.
Wright, Katy M. “The Role of Dialect Representation in Speaking from the Margins: “The Lesson” of Toni Cade Bambara.” Style. 42.1 (2008): 73-87. Proquest. SEMO Kent Lib., Cape Girardeau, MO. 12 April 2009. .
In Gloria Anzaldúa’s piece, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” she explores the complex relationship between identity and language. She provides personal vignettes that describe how others have reacted to her use of native language throughout life. Her article illustrates what it is like to be a person who speaks a minority language in a majority population. She introduces the essay by recounting the experience of a dentist capping a tooth and trying in vain to control her tongue. He becomes frustrated as her tongue keeps pushing out the swabs of cotton and instruments. She shares this analogy because to her it represents the role that society plays in systematically pressuring minority language
The entire country is controlled by one language: English. English ties everyone together. It expresses our wants, needs, emotions, and everything in between. This language is the platform for most communication, not only in the U.S but also in several other countries. Amy Tan is the daughter of two immigrants, and she, as well as her parents, had to learn English when she came to the U.S. In “Mother Tongue”, she described how people assume that if you don’t know Standard English well, you are not well educated. She also states that we speak different English’s, based on the audience and context. So, does society place too much value on Standard American English? Society places too much value on the Standard American English.
When looking at dialects, it is also important to be aware of the differences between Nonstandard English and Standard English dialects. According to Ross Burdette in his article, Developing Language in the Classroom, “the language spoken in schools, media outlets and the government, tends to be what is referred to as ‘Standard English’”. This referral attempts to rid both spoken and written language of regionalism and...
While this speech helps put voice to the African American community, I will define and indicate how Barack Obama used emotional appeals, logical fallacy, and a deductive argument in this speech. Barack Obama used many strategies for the speech A More Perfect Union; this paper is criticizing and identifying these five emotional appeals, Plain folk, stereotyping, testimonial, earnestness and sincerity. I will lay out the foundation of the speech and justify how the emotional appeals and rhetorical strategies worked best for him.
America is a melting pot which accounts for people of all different cultures and backgrounds. Although America has yet to declare an official language, our official language recognized all around the world is Standard English. As with many languages around the world, American Standard English branches off into several dialects be it Southern, Midwestern, or New England, which are separated by region. American Linguist William Labov published his work The Study of Nonstandard English in 1969. Labov argues that it is imperative that educators contextualize non-standard English using standard English, and that Standard English and Nonstandard English are more closely related than many instructors have come to believe. Bidialectism allows Nonstandard
The distinction between Black Vernacular English and Standard English, occurs at three levels of linguistics, however “AAVE is just like any other dialect of English; has its own innovations but remains strongly influenced by the standard” (Butters 60), this means that Black Vernacular has its own rules in the English language.
In a sociolinguist perspective “the idea of a spoken standardized language is a hypothetical construct” (Lippi-Green, 2012, pp. 57). They are the form of Britain English and American English that are used in textbooks and on broadcasting. Giles and Coupland observe that “A standard variety is the one that is most often associated with high socioeconomic status, power and media usage in a particular community” (1991, p. 38). Both native speakers and learners of English, where English is taught as a second or foreign language (hereafter ESL/EFL), speak dialect of English in everyday conversation (Kachru, 2006, pp. 10-11; Owens 2012, p.