Slang: My Social Dialect

1894 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Feminism literary theory

Slang: My Social Dialect

From the student: In Writing Studio 205, we focused on the rhetoric of discourse communities. For this particular assignment, we were asked to discuss a discourse community that we are a part of, and its effect on people outside of that community. I decided to use my experiences growing up in New York City as my focal point. In all my writings, I tend to reflect on my experiences to enrich and personalize texts.

From the teacher: In her essay, Kimberlea begins by analyzing her social dialect but broadens her essay to address the larger implications of Black English in American culture. Her essay weaves narrative, analytical and argumentative elements; her conclusion ends with a flourish of manifesto. Overall, this essay is an exploration of the social context of language use, with close attention to the ways in which language use conveys messages about class, status, race and power.

As a black woman, I must speak differently. I must be able to communicate with my peers and with those who I interact with on a regular basis. I must also be able to speak in the business world. I must know the right time to voice my opinion and the most effective way to do it. I must be powerful and dynamic in my speech and presence. Does that make me any less of a person? Does that mean that I am allowing myself to be homogenized by White America? Does that make me a sell-out? To some people that would make me a sell-out. They would say that I am leaving behind my language for something else. For something that is not mine. I think not. It makes me an intelligent woman who will not let the constraints of language hold me back. Yeah, that's right, I have a dialect. I have a social dialect that if used in the wrong place at the wrong time will immediately classify me as being an uneducated, black, "hip-hop talking bad girl." But there is more to me than that. I speak to reveal the ideas and notions in my head. I speak to you so that you can understand me, so that the conversation flows. I speak to my peers differently, so that they can understand me and feel comfortable around me.

My social dialect is that of a young black woman. Not someone from the deep South or someone from Oakland, just someone from Brooklyn.

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Ta-Nehisi Coates A Letter My Son

    217 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article, “A Letter My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates utilizes both ethical and pathetic appeal to address his audience in a personable manner. The purpose of this article is to enlighten the audience, and in particular his son, on what it looks like, feels like, and means to be encompassed in his black body through a series of personal anecdotes and self-reflection on what it means to be black. In comparison, Coates goes a step further and analyzes how a black body moves and is perceived in a world that is centered on whiteness. This is established in the first half of the text when the author states that,“white America’s progress, or rather the progress of those Americans who believe that they are white, was built on looting and violence,”

    Read More

  • Summary Of On Being Told I Don T Speak Like A Black Person

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history society has created many stereotypes and assumptions based on race and nationality to confine us into categories. The reality is, not every individual fits a specific category because we are unique even within the same ethnic group. In “On Being Told I Don’t Speak Like a Black person” Allison Joseph illustrates some speech stereotypes that come hand in hand with her racial background and how even people from the same racial background and house hold don’t all sound alike. The author portrays that race and linguistic has such a huge impact on our daily life and how society sees her differently to others when they see she does not fit in the stereotype of sounding “like a black person” and feels frustration to being compared

    Read More

  • The Failure of Xerxes’ Invasion of Greece

    2119 Words  | 5 Pages

    While the army reached Thermopylae intact, the fleet suffered at the hand of two storms, with Herodotus attributing them to God attempting to equalize the opposing forces . The disparity between the size of the Persian and the size of the Greek forces was huge – thus, the Greeks’ strategy relied on geography . Holding the narrows at Thermopylae and the concurrent straits of Artemisium meant that Xerxes’ numerical superiority was reduced. It was here, on land and sea, that Greece showcased the superiority of it...

    Read More

  • Sister's Jealousy in "Why I Live at the P.O."

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    Welty, Eudora. “Why I Live at the P.O.” Discovering a Voice: A Rhetoric for Writers. The University of West Alabama. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead, 2009. 359-67. Print.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Battle of Thermopylae

    1519 Words  | 4 Pages

    The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.

    Read More

  • A review on Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 480 BC the Persian Empire was once again trying to invade ancient Greece. Under the reign of King Xerxes, an invincible army of a recorded 2 million was marching downwards to enslave all Greeks. An elite force of three hundred Spartans tackled the suicide mission of stalling the Persian wave of doom.

    Read More

  • Why the Greeks Won the Greco-Persian War

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nagle, D. Brendan. “The Second Persian Invasion” The Ancient World; A social and Cultural History. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002.

    Read More

  • Title of my paper

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...orld about the interpretation of “Black English”, but flaws in the execution of her publication could prevent her audience from grasping her claim. Her biggest problem is the pathos that oozes from the paper. Whether it is the use of outside comments or hybrid dialogue, the pathos could block the minds of literary scholars. The ethos that Smitherman tries to achieve through quotations and research does not work when the quotes are pathos-charged and are from irrelevant time period. The support to her claim that “Black English” should remain strictly to Black culture doesn’t make a lot of sense. It is illogical to think that the only solution is to stop correcting for the grammar of “Black English” and still keep it only amongst African Americans. Smitherman’s claim for better treatment of “Black English would be perceived far better without the strong use of pathos.

    Read More

  • Political Differences Between Sparta And Athens

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Persian War, Sparta and Athens worked together to defeat the Persians. The discipline and strength of Spartan Army helped saved Greece from invasion. Afterwards Sparta and Athens alliances were formed. Athenians had superior naval force and enforced the democratic rule in states allied to Athens. Neighboring allied states depended on the trade provided by Athens navy. In the same time Athens had established themselves as the head of the empire. (Lecture 7 notes). Sparta had superior land army and they destroyed Athens crops in order to have a hold on Athens and force them to surrender. The war lasted 10 years with neither side winning the war. At the end they agreed to a truce. A few years later, Athens tried to conquer Sicily, but the Sicilians defeated Athens. Athens lost much of its army and navy. The Spartans took advantage of this weakness and attacked Athens and cut of their trade routes and food supplies. Spartans won and Sparta became the most powerful city in

    Read More

  • Normalcy: The New Slang

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    The "Roaring Twenties" were a turbulent time in American history. The United States had just returned from the carnage of World War I and was ready to revolutionize their ideas, morals, and most importantly, their presidents. The presidential election of 1920 was a particularly integral election due to the introduction of the right of women to vote and America's social & political unrest. Warren G. Harding, a Republican, defeated Democrat James M. Cox, on a platform that urged Americans to "return to normalcy". Normalcy was a play on words of normality by Harding, which meant to conform to the norm. But the question that stood on many historians was: Why did Americans actually vote to "return to normalcy"? The simple answer was that the nation was ready to recover from their wartime anxiety and wanted a country without financial or political stress and Harding was the president that promised that to them.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Disrespect Of African American Culture

    1333 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Baldwin 's article If Black English Isn 't A Language Then Tell Me What Is? starting off by telling the readers about French speaking people. He is explaining how different dialects doesn 't mean people aren 't speaking the same language. Going deeper about language saying that it ties into the culture. Give an example of Black Culture and how their expression of English is different. Talking about the phrases like jazz me, baby, sock it to me, and funky; being used that way they weren 't meant to. Finally introducing how the African American culture has been disrespected or ignored. Telling

    Read More

  • Sparta vs. Athens

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    The cultures of two of the most prominent Greek poleis, Athens and Sparta, were demonstrated first in the Athenian battle at Marathon against the Persian Empire in 490 BC, in which the Athenians commanded the battle through a democratic command, separated from the enemy by the freedom of the people, and then by the Spartans in 480 BC at the battle at Thermopylae (in the second Persian invasion), in which the Spartans showed their will to never retreat from the enemy in their fight to their deaths. In Sparta, while all citizens were socially equal, no man having more than another, the amount of political power ranged greatly from man to man. In Athens, while all men had equal political power and opportunities, the wealth ranged greatly from the rich plantation owners to the poor farmers. This contrast of political power in comparison to social equality had a presence in both battles, greatly dictating how each polis fought in the battle.

    Read More

  • The Roles of Greek Heroism and the Gods in the Persian Wars

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Persian Wars (499-479 BC) put the Greeks in the difficult position of having to defend their country against a vast empire with an army that greatly outnumbered

    Read More

  • The Battles Of The Battle Of Alexander The Great

    2705 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Persians tactics in this battle, along with their advantages, all point towards them being the victors. First, the Persians chose the Granicus River as the spot for the battle to work in their favor for they know that Alexander’s army would have a difficult time trying to cross the river on horseback and on foot because of the power and size of the river. On top of that, the Macedonians would have a loss of energy after crossing the river and would not have the ability to fight as best as they could of if they were not forced to cross a deep river with a strong current. Not only was the place of the battle advantageous for the Persians, but their formation was laid out in such a way that it would make it harder for the Macedonians to defeat them. King Darius ...

    Read More

  • African American Slang

    3507 Words  | 8 Pages

    The African influence of American English can be found as far back as the Seventeenth century. Although its influence may have began that far back, the influence of African American slang has arguably reached its peak (so far) in the last half on the 20th century. Evidence of this can be seen in magazines, music, television, and films. Perhaps more importantly, evidence can be seen in the way that people of ethnic groups, other than African American, have changed their speech due to this influence. The Equal Rights Movement lead to a paradigm shift in African American linguistic consciousness due to Black intellectuals, scholars, activists, artists, and writers deliberately engaging in a search for a way to express Black identity and the particular circumstances of African American life. Although there had been strides in Black pride in the past, this was the first one to call for linguistic Black p...

    Read More

More about Slang: My Social Dialect

Open Document