In 1979‚ an African-American writer by the name of James Baldwin wrote that “language is also a political instrument‚ means‚ and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identity.” Baldwin claims that language is a crucial component in the attainment of power. It is also what identifies a person in regards to character and placement in society. This view on how language affects humanity is just. Language greatly impacts society by determining the power one has as well as revealing
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article‚ author James Baldwin discusses the significant role that language plays and how it can affect our everyday lives. He explains that language is seen to be the most important tool for all things. Although we all have different lifestyles to communicate‚ language is the key factor when attempting to explain and thus control our circumstances. Black English stemmed from a lifestyle that could only survive by creating their own form of the English language. “Language‚ incontestably‚ reveals
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Language is a very controversial topic. The way many people hear language and judge others based upon it differs from place to place. Personally‚ I completely agree with James Baldwin. In his defense‚ language is what the general population uses to stereotype‚ it leaves us identifying each another‚ and language also can cause social exclusion. First off‚ language is widely used to stereotype others. One can judge others based on their accent‚ choice of words‚ or grammar. For instance‚ during James
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establishes this theme in his essay with the juxtaposition of a poor white man and a black man. In this essay‚ Baldwin speaks of how “People are continually pointing out to me the wretchedness of white people in order to console me for the wretchedness of blacks.” He says that people say that being black is not that bad because there are white people in the same situation and that there is still hope for the black because of people like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis but it is still not something “to
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The following essay If Black English Isn’t a Language‚ Then Tell Me‚ What Is? Written by American Novelist (1979) James Baldwin addresses the debate about Black English. Baldwin’s piece first appeared in the New York Times during an era when Americans fueled over the validity of Black English. In his piece‚ Baldwin argues that white Americans opposition towards Black English‚ a birthed language‚ is due to their lack of understanding the language and failure to realize its reality. White Americans
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In the essay “If Black English Isn’t a Language‚ Then Tell Me‚ What Is?”‚ James Baldwin argues that languages evolve based on the environments in which they are spoken. Baldwin claims that‚ “people evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances [...] [People from different regions] are not saying‚ and cannot be saying‚ the same things: They each have very different realities to articulate” (1). Essentially‚ people’s environments play a large role in the way they speak
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If Black English isn’t a Language‚ Then Tell Me‚ What Is? In his article "If Black English isn’t a Language‚ Then Tell Me‚ What Is?"‚ published in the New York Times on July 29‚ 1979‚ James Baldwin challenges the contemporary assumption among speakers of standard American English that the way black people speak is uneducated and therefore black children should be forced to speak "proper English". He argues that rather than labelling Black English as a low register variety of "proper English"‚ people
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"Black English" Another Way to Classify Humans "To open your mouth You have confessed your parents‚ your youth‚ your school‚ your salary‚ your self-esteem‚ and alas‚ your future ". After reading the two essays‚ "From Outside‚ In" by Barbara Mellix and "If Black English Isn’t a Language Then Tell Me‚ What Is?" by James Balwin‚ I came to realize a few things one of them being that the way we speak‚ is a means of identifying somebody’s culture and background. Much in how a license can tell a person
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Jerardo Gomez Professor Enright 04483 3/24/15 Compare and Contrast English Essay Being black and gay in the 1950s wasn’t the best thing you could be‚ being a black male 6 feet tall wasn’t either. James Baldwin and Brent Staples both suffered from discrimination in the 1950s. James Baldwin was an African-American writer who was discriminated in the public for being black‚ while Brent Staples was discriminated in the public because of how he looked and dressed. Brent Staples moved to Manhattan where
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In both Baldwin’s “If Black English Isn’t A Language‚ Then Tell Me‚ What Is?” and Trask’s “From A Native Daughter” the idea of the American images impact on other cultures is shown. This impact could have had an impact on how fast America came to be what we know. Baldwin in his essay talks about slavery and how it could have ended sooner but it would have taken the white man to be able to realize their own ignorance in order for this to be able to happen. This realization would of been hard for
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