4 ms·
It causes segregation based on race; Black people speak this language, white people speak this one. We're trying to bring these groups together, diving their la
by jbob2000 9y ago
It causes segregation based on race; Black people speak this language, white people speak this one. We're trying to bring these groups together, diving their language won't help at all.
- tempYeez 9y agoThat seems like a very inflammatory statement. I doubt what most african americans want out of desegregation is their culture wiped out and replace with american white culture. The more apt solution would be to stop being prejudice towards other american subcultures.
- monochromatic 9y agoIt’s not just a racial things. Rural whites have their own way of speaking that’s stigmatized in professional settings too.
- tempYeez 9y agoAgreed it's a cultural one. African Americans aren't a race they are an ethnic group with their own culture including dialect. This dialect isn't shared among african americans and lets say Nigerians.
- psyc 9y agoIt would take a lot of confidence and charisma even for me to pull off my local white, urban dialect in the workplace. I really don't think it's asking too much to adopt a standard depending on context and audience.
- rhizome 9y agoIt causes segregation based on race Post hoc ergo propter hoc. Why isn't it a result of segregation?
- mirimir 9y agoYes, this is more likely. I suspect that there was also a desire for private communication using code words, especially before slavery was abolished.
- monochromatic 9y agoThe causation probably goes both directions here.
- Karunamon 9y agoIndeed. It's a bit ridiculous to assume that how someone speaks doesn't influence the perceptions of others.
- LyndsySimon 9y agoI'm from rural Arkansas, and from my perspective, the dialect that is spoken there shares more in common with AAVE than standard English. The difference that I see is that I was expected to learn and speak standard English in a professional environment while the perception among my peers seems to be that those who natively speak AAVE expect their dialect to be accepted in all settings. Note that I was careful to say that this is my perception of the expectations of others. My experience shows that native AAVE speakers adapt their language in professional circumstances in exactly the same way I adapt my own.
- Pharylon 9y agoYeah, this. It's called "code switching" and we all do it. The way you talk to your boss is not the way you talk to your friends is not the way you talk to your Grandpa is not the way you talk on Facebook etc.
- rhizome 9y agoI don't understand the "expect" part, but are you trying to describe code-switching? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching
- guelo 9y agoI don't know about the perception among your peers, but most AAVE speakers I know make an effort not to use it in professional settings.
- mikeash 9y agoIt's also caused by segregation based on race. Fully integrated communities don't develop racially-linked dialects. In any case, talking about whether or not it helps seems to be pointless. The dialect exists whether it's helpful or not. If it's an obstacle to bringing people together, then we need to figure out ways to overcome that obstacle, not wish it away.
- jbob2000 9y agoAs it relates to the article, the school board basically sanctioned speaking this dialect. My thought was that, this action is increasing the obstacles to overcome: textbooks are written in "white" english and the teachers speak that way, but they're promoting that it's ok to not read, write, or understand the dialect, furthering the divide between the communities.
- ak_yo 9y agoI'd be interested in reading evidence that supports a causal link between AAVE usage and segregation. To the best of my knowledge, no research has shown this to be the case, but I might be missing something. Did you have a particular study in mind?
- rhizome 9y agojbob2000 rarely participates in the inflammatory threads he sparks, so the smart money here is probably in avoiding anything with a question mark.
- gugagore 9y agoRecognizing a difference where there is one does not cause segregation based on race. If we have to choose a causal direction, I'm pretty sure it goes the other way. Otherwise we'd say things like "The government are trying to take my job away." (what British English speakers would say) to suggest someone is stupid, but no one does. That sentence, from my American-English perspective, sounds just as "different" as "The government be trying to take my job away.", which is grammatical in Black English.