I was always taught that African American English, while it may not be proof that the speakers is unintelligent or uneducated, it is not a language on its own. I was taught that it has no rules and it is merely a dialect of Standard English. Growing up in a white, middle-class, conservative family, I had no exposure to anything otherwise. I was blind to African American English, for the most part, all the way from elementary school up to high school. I only knew the language that African Americans spoke as “lazy”, “rebellious” and “dumbed-down” until my Language Awareness class in college.
I had heard it spoken in elementary school and middle school somewhat, but it was something I pretty much just ignored. It was in high school when I began to really comprehend what was meant when things were said like “They’re just lazy and trying to be rebellious, they’re idiots and need to learn to speak proper English”. From hearing these misconceptions my entire life, my friend base was predominantly white and I paid no never mind to those of any other ethnicity because it had been burned into my head that they were less worthy or senseless.
Spanish, on the other hand, is a language that I have always been interested in and interested in learning since I was in elementary school. The discrimination against Spanish-speakers, though, to my knowledge, did not start in my family until Triumph opened in south end Saint Joe. Therefore, I was at an age where I was able to make my own, unbiased decisions and conclusions. I had only heard Spanish in my foreign language classes and through the few words and numbers my mother had taught me at an early age.
When it comes to African American English, I still have a hard time hearing and not automatically thinking “uneducated” or “lazy” because it is so embedded in my up-brining. It has gotten easier with my college courses considering the topic, however, in the back of my mind, occasionally, it is still there. I can ignore it, but I cannot ignore the fact that it exists. The language used in my childhood has been hard to erase and adjust. Its assertiveness and magnitude has been with me, even before I was old enough to really understand it. I do realize and acknowledge the negative effects it can and has had on my life. It has inscribed pessimism in my mind that has taken years to change.
The language that is used around a child, frequently, while they are growing up can strongly affect their entire life negatively and positively, whether intentional or not. Even a simple descriptive word like “lazy”, or calling things “stupid”, if used often enough, can lead to automatic assumptions by a child in later life, causing generalization, racism, segregation and discrimination. Frequently saying “d*mn Mexicans need to learn English or go the f*ck home” around a six-year-old, can, inevitably, lead that child to hating Spanish-speaking people and not being able to properly comprehend, or be willing to learn about the language and ethnicity as a whole. Whether it is being said jokingly by the adult, or very rarely, the more it is said, the less effort is takes for it to stick in young minds. The affect can take a lifetime to reverse. The negative generalizations I have been exposed to certainly have taken a while to repeal.
African American English, I know now due to my college classes, has its own rules and guidelines. An openness to accepting African American English as a language rather than a dialect and allowing its speakers to be accepted as opposed to categorized and classified by how they talk would, in my person opinion, but an effective way to eliminate some of the racism and discrimination in American society. With African American English known as “rule-governed” rather than “lazy” and “incorrect” would be an efficient way to eradicate the low self-esteem and instructional sacrifices of African Americans in the world of education all the way from elementary school to the college and university level as well. Doing away with these characterizations begin at the home front and changing the language taught to children.
I had heard it spoken in elementary school and middle school somewhat, but it was something I pretty much just ignored. It was in high school when I began to really comprehend what was meant when things were said like “They’re just lazy and trying to be rebellious, they’re idiots and need to learn to speak proper English”. From hearing these misconceptions my entire life, my friend base was predominantly white and I paid no never mind to those of any other ethnicity because it had been burned into my head that they were less worthy or senseless.
Spanish, on the other hand, is a language that I have always been interested in and interested in learning since I was in elementary school. The discrimination against Spanish-speakers, though, to my knowledge, did not start in my family until Triumph opened in south end Saint Joe. Therefore, I was at an age where I was able to make my own, unbiased decisions and conclusions. I had only heard Spanish in my foreign language classes and through the few words and numbers my mother had taught me at an early age.
When it comes to African American English, I still have a hard time hearing and not automatically thinking “uneducated” or “lazy” because it is so embedded in my up-brining. It has gotten easier with my college courses considering the topic, however, in the back of my mind, occasionally, it is still there. I can ignore it, but I cannot ignore the fact that it exists. The language used in my childhood has been hard to erase and adjust. Its assertiveness and magnitude has been with me, even before I was old enough to really understand it. I do realize and acknowledge the negative effects it can and has had on my life. It has inscribed pessimism in my mind that has taken years to change.
The language that is used around a child, frequently, while they are growing up can strongly affect their entire life negatively and positively, whether intentional or not. Even a simple descriptive word like “lazy”, or calling things “stupid”, if used often enough, can lead to automatic assumptions by a child in later life, causing generalization, racism, segregation and discrimination. Frequently saying “d*mn Mexicans need to learn English or go the f*ck home” around a six-year-old, can, inevitably, lead that child to hating Spanish-speaking people and not being able to properly comprehend, or be willing to learn about the language and ethnicity as a whole. Whether it is being said jokingly by the adult, or very rarely, the more it is said, the less effort is takes for it to stick in young minds. The affect can take a lifetime to reverse. The negative generalizations I have been exposed to certainly have taken a while to repeal.
African American English, I know now due to my college classes, has its own rules and guidelines. An openness to accepting African American English as a language rather than a dialect and allowing its speakers to be accepted as opposed to categorized and classified by how they talk would, in my person opinion, but an effective way to eliminate some of the racism and discrimination in American society. With African American English known as “rule-governed” rather than “lazy” and “incorrect” would be an efficient way to eradicate the low self-esteem and instructional sacrifices of African Americans in the world of education all the way from elementary school to the college and university level as well. Doing away with these characterizations begin at the home front and changing the language taught to children.
English 301 - advanced composition
AAE analysis
Critical Response Journal #3
13 October 2010
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