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Summary Of If Black English Isn T A Language

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If you think about it, language is an extremely vital part of our daily routines. Without it we'd have no means by which to communicate with one another, and confusion would most likely reign or world as we know it. James Baldwin's “If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” exposes just how crucial language is when it comes to expressing ourselves and finding a place amidst the Earth's bountiful cultures. But even more importantly, how life's affairs have assembled and molded language as a whole. When reading the author's brief story, or sort of impatience and indignation is alive, almost overwhelming his words. Baldwin expresses that culture alters how language is applied, and how it grants us permission to differentiate ourselves …show more content…

I completely agree that language characterizes the entity that voices it, and that it leaves a powerful impression on him or her. Baldwin's inquiry on language is thought provoking, I'll give him that, but does he really expect for “Black English” to be accepted as legitimate or appropriate? Yes he makes a valid point when he mentions that “Black English” evolved the way it did because of slavery, but just because of that should today's African American community forget about speaking decent English? For example, the author writes “Blacks came to the United States chained to one another, but from different tribes.” If we inspect the past, it is civil to say that “Black English” was cultivated in the severely untaught hands of the slave whom the oppressor had no interest in educating. Thus, African Americans had almost no opportunity to supplement their language. Nowadays, it is more than safe to assume that African Americans have risen out of that state of oppression, and can now fiercely tackle their language and improve it due to equal opportunity. So what's the excuse this time? If they are “free” than why can't they clutch the never ending opportunities of education. Today in the United States, it is simply one's own choice to be ignorant, and Baldwin shouldn't put “Black English” on a pedestal even if it is a part of American heritage. If Baldwin really affirmed that sticking to “Black English” was in his best interest, than why has he gone on to practice a sharpened almost exceptional

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