Language Reappropriation: African American Language and Diasporic Identity
Classification is often necessary in forming the basis of discussion. Concepts develop in relation to other pre-existing concepts, and classification maps out these dynamics for the sake of organization. However, classification is hardly ever a neutral process; it is almost always shaped by power. Consequently, the line between beneficial classification and toxic hierarchization is dangerously thin, especially in the comparative analysis of diverse human behavior and culture. Linguistic classification of communication modes is far from impervious to the influence of hierarchized superstructures.
Language Reparation: African American English (AAE) and the US Education System
I still cringe whenever I recall my grammar policing days. I was well-intentioned, but admittedly obnoxious. Unbeknownst to me, I was actually acting out of a place of misinformed ignorance. The education system in my area conditioned me to haphazardly conflate the bad or incorrect uses of Standard English (SE) with the linguistically legitimate grammar structures of African American English (AAE) that some of my peers and loved ones used.
Language 4R and the Placement of Roots: Introduction
One’s mother tongue is one’s language of intimacy. Perhaps it carries tender childhood lullabies. Perhaps it paints one’s dreams. Perhaps it swells with anger. Perhaps it wrings out one’s grief. A mother tongue shapes one’s perceptions of the world and of oneself. For better or for worse, it provides a means of communication and a sense of place.But what if each word of your mother tongue reminded you of the violence your ancestral mothers endured? How much of that violence would seep into the way you see the world and yourself? Can a language that holds such a legacy of violation ever be your language of intimacy?