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
It is interesting for Lisa Kanae to use three different voices in her book, Sista Tongue. The structure of Sista Tongue is different from standard books as if to make her words flow and become active. Her message still holds truth in today’s society. In many homes, younger generations face the inadequacy of being unable to understand their mother tongues while their parents struggle with learning English. Code-switching is natural for bilingual people and those that speak to other sub-cultures. Lisa Kanae’s different voices are similar to
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. .
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!
Another difficulty cultures deal with is language and the way people speak. In some cases, people struggle to belong by making changes in the way they speak the English language just to be assimilated. They attempt to use words and letters, as well as body language that fit in the norm; all in an attempt to denounce their original intonation and style of pronunciation. One ...
In the essay, “How To Tame A Wild Tongue”, by Gloria Anzaldua and the essay, Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan, the ignorance shown by many people is highlighted. Amy Tan’s essay focuses on how some people look down on others who do not speak English without an accent. Anzaldua’s essay focuses on how people do not have a broad view of language and often look down upon others who do not speak the language that they speak. Both of the essays address language, but the broader topic that they acknowledge is more important. The essays both acknowledge how humans feel uncomfortable around people that are different from them, and often demean others. People demean others due to people wanting to look more powerful by giving their views correctness while discrediting
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.
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.
...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.
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
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
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...
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.
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
There are billions of people that speak different languages (or different Englishes), but they learn Standard English so they can communicate with more people. There are also many other languages that come close to the popularity of Standard English, so they should be just as valuable. Amy Tans mother learned Standard English so that she could communicate with the people around her: since most people she knew spoke Standard English. When my family came to the U.S we weren’t obligated to learn English but it was practical to learn it (but we still could talk to many people in the U.S without knowing English). The reason we learned it is the same reason Amy Tan and her mother learned it: in order to communicate with a wider audience. Most people learn Standard English to broaden the groups of people they can talk