Delpit and Dowdy and Obama Blog Post 1
The three articles that we read remind me of how each person’s dialect is part of their personality and heritage. Like it said in the introduction to Ovuh Dyuh when a person loses their language they pay the price for it in one way or another. In a previous reading class we talked a little about dialect and how society perceives dialects. I learned that society determines what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Everyone speaks a dialect and a person’s dialect is unique to his/her heritage. Each dialect has a set of rules governing the language. I believe that there is a code switching in which we speak the way that we think others want us to speak. We have learned to speak so called “proper English” when we are trying to make an impression. The way we speak around our friends and family may be different than the way we would speak if we were giving a presentation to an important group of people. Our way of speaking depends on who we are with and what circumstances we speak under. I like the quote from the book that says that the war will be won when we speak in our own language and people accept the communication as valid and representative. This is so true, but so hard to overcome. There is a constant battle between what society determines is acceptable and unacceptable.
As a child raised in a Caucasian home I never really considered how dialects impacted the way we perceive each other. I did notice the differences, but I did not consider any one particular dialect better than anyone else. As I became an adult I have found myself judging a person’s intelligence by the way they speak. For example when athletes speak on TV I have caught myself thinking that they may not be very intelligent because of the way they speak. So I do think that we judge others based on their dialect and we stereotype their intelligence by it. Do I think this is wrong? Yes, I do, but the bias is there whether we want to believe it or not. This is evident in the Michelle Obama article as well. She felt the need to “speak white” so she could be a successful. The No Kinda Sense chapter talked about how students who speak a so called substandard dialect do not see their language being modeled in society and during school. The language they are presented with is standard english. So I think that they believe that they need to change the way they speak in order to be successful.
Michelle Moffitt
Comments (5)
Your post got me thinking about impressions. You had mentioned how people change the way they talk to impress others. Our society is so caught up in how we're perceived that we will change anything even if it involves surgery. I guess even the way we talk is changed for the sake of what others think about us. I mself am ever so guilty of code switching too.
Posted by Maria Blevins | June 5, 2010 2:52 PM
Posted on June 5, 2010 14:52
I can completely agree with you. I find myself doing the same things. When I was interview, I found myself being very proper and speaking with good grammar. When I am with my friends I find myself saying whatever I feel like saying. When I am with my students I tend to speak so they can understand using simpler language and words that they can understand. I guess, now that I think of it, I code switch too. Wow I did not think of it this way.
Posted by Natalie Enns | June 5, 2010 4:35 PM
Posted on June 5, 2010 16:35
I do think we judge others on how they speak and determine their intelligence. But, I also think we determine how friendly they are also. It’s hard not to judge, but it just happens subconsciously and it’s hard to break. As a Caucasian, I did notice dialect when I was a child. I am from Southern Ohio. Growing up, I always felt I talked plain. My mom is from Kentucky, but she doesn’t have a southern accent. All of her relatives do. When we would visit, I would love to hear how they talk. I think the southern accent is so friendly and welcoming. As a second grade teacher, I think I can be perceived as not as loving of a teacher because I do not have a southern accent.
Trish Edwards
Posted by Trish Edwards | June 6, 2010 2:00 PM
Posted on June 6, 2010 14:00
After reading the articles, I realized that I have used "code switching". I never thought of myself as having a "southern accent", until I went away to college. My friends and classmates would say that I was a "true southern lady". I have also discovered that I talk a certain way around my friends. When interviewing for a job, or talking to a professional, I always try to speak properly. I have found this to be sometimes nerve-wrecking.
When I moved away from my home-town, even though still in the south, I found myself picking up and saying statements that others said around me, "Bless it". It was interesting that this weekend when I went home and saw some friends, I was caught off guard when my friend asked me, "Bless what?"
I am also guilty of judging those in the public eye, according to their dialect or the way that they speak. I often have to remind myself, that they too are people of different culture and dialect and should be respected and accepted.
Posted by Katie Johnson | June 6, 2010 9:42 PM
Posted on June 6, 2010 21:42
I agree that people should be accepted for who they are and MAYBE not be judged by how they speak. But I think we can all agree that there has to be a standard that everyone understands and can follow or communication between people breaks down. It makes me think of the Tower of Babel from the Bible. When everyone spoke a different language, the people became divided.
Posted by Christy Findley | June 8, 2010 9:59 AM
Posted on June 8, 2010 09:59