As a black woman, I must speak differently. I must be able to communicate with my peers and with those who I interact with on a regular basis. I must also be able to speak in the business world. I must know the right time to voice my opinion and the most effective way to do it. I must be powerful and dynamic in my speech and presence. Does that make me any less of a person? Does that mean that I am allowing myself to be homogenized by White America? Does that make me a sell-out? To some people that would make me a sell-out. They would say that I am leaving behind my language for something else. For something that is not mine. I think not. It makes me an intelligent woman who will not let the constraints of language hold me back. Yeah, that's right, I have a dialect. I have a social dialect that if used in the wrong place at the wrong time will immediately classify me as being an uneducated, black, "hip-hop talking bad girl." But there is more to me than that. I speak to reveal the ideas and notions in my head. I speak to you so that you can understand me, so that the conversation flows. I speak to my peers differently, so that they can understand me and feel comfortable around me. .
I use what some would call slang which should not be confused with ebonics. Ebonics or "Black English" is significantly different from slang. Seymour presents Black English as the inability of those descending from Western Africa to conjugate the verb "to be" and to pronounce certain sounds. Seymour also points out that this is a language in itself and should not be confused with lazy speech. Black language should be understood and nurtured before the speaker is taught to speak Standard English (Seymour 152). Slang, on the other hand, is lazy speech. It is the picking up of interesting phrases and adapting them to your own use. Those that speak it, speak this way all of the time. They do not realize that it is improper English.
Who is to say what is Standard or Non-Standard English? Is there some law that says your English is right or wrong? ... There are several other dialects of English that are use here in America. The language of slang is a common language used in most of the urban areas in America. ... We need to mold our language usage to be suitable to our intended audience. ...
Drug usage, which is frequent in the book, was also a developing problem in the 60's by "hippies." ... This is in relation to the people of the time, who, as already stated, did not like the youth of their time and knew that the youth of their time were heading in the wrong direction. ... Another example of fundamentalist change would also be the use of slang in the novel. ... What biggy, what only? ... The strong American-Soviet alliance had collapsed, as the Soviets attempted to spread their empire throughout Europe. ...
Despite what they tell you, people like having their buttons pushed" (Macrone 6). ... Of course, most don't know what it originally meant. Gadzooks was originally slang for "God's hooks," and was equally offensive to 'zounds and 'sblood as it also referred to the crucifixion. An interesting note is that there is an American store called Gadzooks, which is a pop-culture vendor to America's youth. ... There are many variations on the usage and placement of these words, but they still pack a punch. ...
Over the years, American presidents have resorted to a more direct approach when it comes to connecting with the American public. ... The shift from using formal language, to using more of the everyday speech possibly suggests that the American people have progressively become less smart and therefore presidential rhetoric has been dumbed down in order for the average American to understand what is being said. ... He discovers that after the year 1914, there was an increase from 0.4 to 3 percent in the usage of public address indicators like we and our (Teten 11). ... This study documents Roos...
