Maggie Long

Silver

The many tongues of language

 

“Ayo, Maggie! What’s happenin?”

“Nuthin much man, how bout you?”

“Eh, it’s alright, you know, just chillin. See ya tomorrow iight!?”

“Yea dude, for sure”

            This language would be my “second language”. My first would have to be how I talk to some of my friends and people who are more educated than me. I was brought up to talk with respect and to speak with words that you would mainly only hear in a thesaurus. Since I moved to Philly, I have gotten more used to the slang and speech that people down here use. Now, I can adjust myself for different people. This helps me fit in and get along with different people. This helps me identify myself as a person because I know that since I can change my language with anyone, in the blink of a second, I feel more bilingual because of that. I feel that having more experience with different people’s language can help you in the long run because you will know more about the culture and speech hands on.

 

“Hey Maggie! I read that book you gave me! It was superb! May I suggest a book to for you to take a look at?”

“Yea, sure! What is it called?”

“A Clockwork Orange”

“Ohh! I read that already! It’s very…well…haha, unordinary. However, it is well written.”

“I concur”

“Alrighty, well I have class, but I will see you later!”

“See ya!”

 

Along with the many other languages I possess, I can also know when to turn off the other languages to talk to someone and have an educational talk with them. I adjust my language in order to fit in more with that group of people who are talking that way. This makes it easier to relate to them and to make them and myself more comfortable in the environment, since we all will speak the same way.

In the story by Maxine Hong Kingston, it describes how different languages are used and how people in the world try to hide behind them. In the last pages of the story, she talks about how you can speak in certain areas and why you should. In the words of Maxine Hong Kingston, “You can’t entrust your voice to the Chinese either. They want to capture your voice for their own use.” Saying this she explains how she feels about the Chinese without even describing her feelings toward them. To me, this is offensive and too general of an explanation. I feel like her generalization is affecting more than just the Chinese. She is saying that if you talk to a Chinese person, they will try to copy your voice and your language so that they can use it also. I feel like it doesn’t have to just be the Chinese that you talk to where this can occur. If you talk to someone of your own race, then they could “capture” your language also. This is kind of like how I change my language for different groups. I learn by listening to the people talk and then “capturing” that language and vocabulary and then repeating it back. I feel this makes it easier to fit in and talk to that group of people.

During Maxine Hong Kingston’s story, the mother is talking to the child about how she “cut his tongue”. She obviously did not mean this literally, but more as an expression. She continues to talk about how it affected him and how she cut it. “I cut it so that you would not be tongue-tied. Your tongue would be able to move in any language. You’ll be able to speak languages that are completely different from one another.” I take this as her saying she made him able to speak multiple languages by speaking multiple languages to him and making his environment different also. By putting him in an environment where people speak different ways, he will learn all of those ways just by being part of that community. I can relate to this saying because when I moved to Philly I take that as the “cut” of my tongue. I went from being in a place where people talked all the same way, to Philadelphia, where it is more diverse and integrated. I feel multi-lingual because of that. The “cut” of my tongue was a good thing for me in my opinion.

Out of all of the languages in the world I am very happy with the ones I know, and are still learning. Different ways of talking are all over the city. Engaging yourself in conversation with different languages is definitely worthwhile. I have learned from my own experiences how and when to talk to somebody and what language I should use. This has made me a better person and more multi-lingual. In conclusion, I think learning more about people’s language and experiencing it yourself can help you out in the long run. 

What happens in the Sandbox, Stays in the Sandbox?

Winston W. Wright

Science Leadership Academy

January 4^th, 2011

 

As a child, adults constantly told me

" A hard head makes a soft ass."

“ Stay in a child’s place.”

“ Don’t you have some sandbox to get dirty in? “

“ The only thing bigger than your forehead … is your mouth. “

 I never understood these common phrases until; in the 4th grade I received a 75% on a project about my original origins. We were studying the cultural differences in the different regions of America. I, being from the Pacific Northwest did a paper on Seattle, Washington. According to my teacher, there was no such thing as the Pacific Northwest, and I was very confused because everyone I knew recognized it as that. I told her it was common sense to any intelligent person, and under any circumstances I should have received an A on the project. The next day she singled me out in class, saying I imagined a place in America and lowered the class average. I was baffled, and when I told my parents they were furious.

 “ How dare this woman, tell our son that where he is from is not real? “

“ Ben, it is sad that adults feel inferior to a 4^th grader.”

 “ Indeed, honey, indeed.”

 

            At the time I was not conscious of what was going on, and that is when the first observation of society entered my mind. Language was something that I never paid much attention to, and never changed the way I talked in front of anyone. Now my mother used to tell me to watch the way I talk to people, because I talk so smart. Myself being a little kid, I used to think,

“ If I talk smart, what is the problem here people ? “

 It had seemed my 4^th grade world history teacher, was offended and rightfully so. Only she had accused me of being a rude child, and exaggerated on how I contradict the history lessons we learn, and claiming I made it hard for other children to progress, due to my immature language and nature. This put me in an awkward position because I felt, conscious of what I was doing. You can put your own connotation on a word, without even describing it. It is easy to let the way you speak, leave impressions on other people. Whether it is adults, people from different ethnic groups, or even the Social Economic chain. They rhythm, tone, pitch, articulation, and resonance, can change the outcomes of many situations in ones life.  Now seeing this, I realized that language would be the bridge that I can walk on to the road of success. It is not the extended vocabulary that one has, or the dictation, but it is the power of words, and how they are used to make a life lasting impression. Thus, one word can express over 1 million different emotions, and can affect people in any type of way.  Here are some interesting quotes from Winston Churchill, which can easily be related to language.

Eating words has never given me indigestion. 
Winston Churchill 

Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put. 
Winston Churchill 

 

​Alexander DeLia

Silver English

January 12, 2011

 

Language can be a very conflicting component of everyday life.  Language, both verbal and nonverbal can easily be misinterpreted.  It is often the case that the receiver of the message perceives the language completely different than the sender of the message intends.  Thus, a conflict ensues, as the receiver and sender battle as to who is interpretation is correct.

As I sit here today as a 10^th grader my language is pretty good I would say.  But it wasn’t always like that.  H-h-h-h-h-h I m-m-m-m-m-m- m y n-n-n-n-name i-i-i-i-s  A-a-a-a-a-Alexander. All I hear is laughter from all the other kids in my fifth grade class on the first day of school.  I paused, sat their confused wondering what they were laughing about.  The teacher told the class to stop and for and for me to continue.  I-I-I-I-I-I live i-i-i-i-In C-c-c-c-c-center city and I-I-I-I-I love s-s-s-s-s-s-sports.  I didn’t know what was happening. These kids who most of them looked like strangers were laughing at me.  I didn’t know who they were. I thought I talked fine.  The teacher said settle down kids, and the next person went and talked fluently. Then the next couple people talked fluently also. I still didn’t know what was so funny. Even the kids I have known all my life were laughing.   

This was one of the hardest times of my life, never before was I afraid to speak until now.  I wouldn’t raise my hand in class, wouldn’t read out loud.   My parents were concerned.  They asked me what was wrong.  I didn’t want to answer them.  Then I started to talk to my mom and she heard it. I always had a lisp but the stuttering was new. She didn’t know how it happened or why it happened.  All I knew was that I hated speaking!

“A telephone call makes my throat bleed and takes up that day’s courage.  It spoils my day with self-disgust when I hear my broken voice come spitting out into the open” (The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston).  She has the same problem that I do.  I hate talking on the phone, reading out loud, or even asking people questions.  I am always afraid that I am going to stutter.   It usually happens when I know the people because they expect it to happen. If its people that I don’t know I don’t to stutter. 

 

Now Im still scared to talk on the phone but not so much the other things. Im getting over that. When people talk to me they wouldn’t know that  I stutter cause I work so hard to resolve that Issue.

My Dream is to be a Broadcaster for ESPN. Its possibly to do and it will be hard but Im willing to do it to so how hard I work if I put my mind to it.

 

 

             I closed the tear stained book, keeping my finger between the pages to keep my place. I had to collect myself, I had to clear the tears from my eyes and blow my runny nose. Instead I sat sobbing on my bed, no end to the tears, though I had taken their source away. The words I had read drifted through my mind as I rocked with feelings greater than simply sympathy for the main character. I had read through the tears until I could not see, until the blur they had created overwhelmed my vision, until the pages was so heavily spotted with the salty drops that they risked tearing. Now, finally, a bit calmed I opened the book and continued, "My grief was cold. It was nothing to share. It was nothing to speak about, nothing to feel. Certainly not something that I wanted to feel. I shut the tears away and soon they stopped trying to force themselves out. Crying isn't like riding a bike. Give it up, and you quickly forget how it's done." (Green Angel).  Alice Hoffman's poetic words had moved me to tears, had captivated me, and had put me in another world. How is it, that words, ink on paper can stir such emotions.  I think of that day and of the written words and how, if they had been spoken, how they would have effected me differently. I believe that their effect would have been greater, for spoken words often seems to touch me more than written words.

Watching politicians on the TV I am wondrous, how is it that they are able to inspire such enormous trust that they are picked to rule us. Their words are confidant, and they spoke with confidence. These spoken words affect me more than they would if I just read them, because when there is a person behind the words to add inflections and emotion to the words themselves, it is no longer simply up to my mind to give them power. It is their belief in their words that gives strength.  Winston Churchill, gave many inspiring speeches and though he had a stutter and a slur, his words are still ones that echo through our minds.

“We shall go on to the end,

We shall fight in France, 


We shall fight on the seas and oceans, 


We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air,

We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,


We shall fight on the beaches, 


We shall fight on the landing grounds, 


We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, 


We shall fight in the hills; 


We shall never surrender”

 

His inspirational speech We Shall Fight Them On The Beaches stirred up the courage of his nation during World War II. They were rallied by the strength in his words to feel the strength he felt and to share it.  His stutter and his slur did not take away from his message because it was the emotion behind the message that affected us.

            According to the Philology of Spoken Word by Delbert Moyer Staley, speech is comprised of six main groups: inflection, pitch, pausation, pulsation, colorization, and rhythm. Inflection is how much change in the tone is used, whether the voice is monotone or not; pitch is the ‘scale’ of the words, major or minor; pausation is used to show control. A fast speaker might feel less in control than a slow speaker, and if  a speaker pauses in the wrong places, the listener might think they don’t know what they are talking about, or that they have forgotten what they were to say. Pulsation is used to bring out a central word or thought. Anyone who has ever heard President Obama’s speeches has heard a good example of pulsation. He pauses in a very particular way that allows the listener to catch up with his thoughts. Pulsation allows the speaker to highlight certain words by leaving a bigger or smaller pause after them. Colorization is the most important of the six. It conveys meaning that the words do not, the ‘true’ meaning. A person that is crying says, “I am fine”. Her words are strong but the colorization behind them tells her listener that she is indeed not fine. Colorization allows for play with language. Without it, sarcasm and teasing would not exist because they would be taken as lying and insulting.  Finally rhythm, which goes hand in hand with pausation. Rhythm however refers more to the build of pauses. The repeating of “We shall fight…” in the speech above gives courage and the “We shall never surrender” at the end, breaking the rhythm gives that part extra attention because it breaks the flows.

            Politicians are aware of these six important keys to speeches. Often coached in such matters, they are equipped with the best weapon, words, when they come to persuade us to vote for them. When they make their speeches, they are appealing to our subconscious. If we were all to simply read their speeches we would not be as affected for though the rhythm of the text and the pausation of the text might still be able to touch us, the other four categories would not. Because of this it would probably be best if we read the speeches so that we could pay more attention to content. On the flipside maybe listening to novels would be a more immersing experience. The next time I read Alice Hoffman’s Green Angel I will also listen to it on audiotape and see how my reaction to the words changes.

Jordan McLaughlin

Silver Stream           

 

I’m fifteen now, I recall when I was twelve when my friend and I were playing basketball. I’m from chestnut hill a place that is looked at by others as a place for the rich. My friend grew up in Elkins Park, a suburban but tough neighborhood, now he lives in Mount Airy with his dad. He is Mexican-American adopted in Texas, and I am White. We were both raised with the same goal in mind. Respecting people and to not insult others, and be mannerly. His dad is very good at basketball coaching and teaches others how to play the game for real, not street ball, proper basketball. When my friend was in 8^th grade and I was in 7^th we used to play basketball together. I never play basketball except with my friend.

 

“You got nutin,” My friend told me.

“Bring it, I will beat if it kills me,” I replied.

“You suck yo.”

“Can you not call me yo.”

“I only say yo to my brotha’s.”

“So I’m one of your brothaaa’s”

“Why do you speak like your black? I know that you’re not a thug,” I questioned my friend.

 

At the time I was smaller and I found myself saying things that weren’t necessarily true, I would often listen to stereotypes, and I wasn’t around a lot of black people in junior high because I went to a mostly white private school. He always used to use slang on the court, he wanted a to be black because he thought he was cool.  That’s when I realized that the way a person talks identifies them with a culture my friend obviously wanted to be identified as black although he was not. I decided to let my friend think what he wanted, since he had these phases that he went through.

 

Today he has gone to greater extents, not being a phase but a part of himself, when we talk he talks black English because he wants to sound tough, he wants to impress the girls at his school.

 

“I was talkin this girl at my school yo, and she was like I can’t go out wit you if you have a girl friend, and I was like naw its high school im not a pimp that’s just what we do these days you know what im saying,” my friend told me.

“Why would you say that to a girl?” I questioned his stupidity.

“Cause I like her dawg.”

“You can’t go out with another girl if you have a girlfriend.”

“Sikee naw, yeah you can.”

“Not where we are from.”

“Dey just backup’s dawg. You be drawlin”

“I’m not drawlin dude I just don’t want you to turn out bad is all. You’re my best friend I don’t want you to not get into college. The way you talk its like you are bringing yourself down. You know if you speak proper English you will get a job and get into a good college. When you interview at college are you gonna talk the way you are now?”

“Your crazy dawg, when I go to interview at college I won’t talk like dis you know.”

“So what are you trying to impress me?”

“No this is just we talk dees days.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me and my homies.”

“My homies and I.”

“What eve yo, get off my back.”

“Your right, you should be able to do what ever you want.”

 

The way a person speaks can alter the way a person is viewed by others. Many times people that use urban slang are often looked down upon. Although people speak different variations of the English language, English is English. People that speak Black English are defining their culture by using their voice as powerful tool that ultimately defines their person. According to James Baldwin, “What joins all languages, and all men, is the necessity to confront life, in order, not inconceivably, to outwit death: The price for this is the acceptance, and achievement of one’s temporal identity.”  The usage of language is a necessity and without it man can’t function. People that speak variations of English use it because it is a cultural standard, but also because it is the way to communicate with other people within their same community. People like my friend have used Black English, and urban slang in modern times, for ease of communicating with their peers. My friend has embraced the African-American culture and since he’s always around black people he has chosen to use Black English.

 

“Mugga.” said Tecarria.

“What?” I replied.

“Ya know, mugga.” she answered.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You is too white.”

            I never really thought about that, being “too white” that is. I had been going to Levering middle School for two years now. The school was located in Roxorough, which is why I went there, because it was my neighborhood school. However the majority of the kids were not my neighborhood kids. They always talked about places I had never even seen, like Diamond Block. I felt so left out. The kids that lived on “Diamond Block” were the poorer kids; the kids in my neighborhood were the richer.  In my middle school you could pick out whose parents made more than 50 thousand a year and whose didn’t just by their voice. There was a distinct language barrier between their neighborhood and mine, and it was that barrier that made my 7^th grade experience hard.

            I have always been a social person. I always had a lot of friends because I always made friends with people inside of my comfort zone, meaning the people from my area. When I began talking to the kids in my class I knew what kind of people they were. I knew what their parents did and what they would grow up like. It was more necessity then curiosity that I learn their “language,” or “Black English” as James Baldwin calls it. Being stuck in a room with twenty other kids five days a week means we need to talk, a least a little. According to James Baldwin after you speak “You have confessed your parents, your youth, your school, your salary, your self-esteem, and, alas, your future.” I couldn’t agree more. Before Levering, before those kids, I knew very little slang. I came from a family that spoke with very little slang. I grew up with kids that used very little slang. So, it was only natural that I used Standard English. When I talked I confessed my parents and my youth. So did they.

            I picked up a lot of slang during middle school. I learned a new language in a way. That was me confessing my school.

“It’s because she’s a trick.”

“What are you talking about? What is a trick?” said my neighborhood friend.

“Oh it means like a hoe.” I replied.

“Where did you learn that?” my friend asked.

“People at school, I guess.” I answered.

“You shouldn’t talk like that, it’s not you, it’s too ghetto.” said my friend.

            By the end of middle school I had changed my language. My neighborhood friends, speaking Standard English, heard my language and saw me as one of “those ghetto kids.” I never really knew how I felt about this. I mean on one hand I fit in at school, I had friends to talk to, and I could understand what they were saying, on the other hand my home friends didn’t understand me and even my parents had begun to notice, they would tell me not to talk like “those ghetto kids,” that their language was bad. I don’t feel like it was ever ‘bad’ just not the most professional. For instance when I had to go to my high school interviews, I spoke in Standard English because that is what showed the better side of my background. I feel like that was what James Baldwin was talking about your language, it shows who you are but different parts, standard being the better parts and informal being the not so good parts, or the ghetto. The only problem is Standard English is “too white” and slang is “too ghetto.” Now, in high school I feel like I have found a happy medium. Nobody tells me that I talk “too white” or “too ghetto” anymore. I feel like it’s partly because I have separated myself from all of my middle school friends and my high school friends do not use as much slang.

            I feel like my language today gives a decent representation of who I am currently, who I use to be, and who I will be, just as James Baldwin said it did.  I feel like this is true for most people. For instance, when I hear a person for the south speak, I instantly know that they are from the south or when I hear someone from parts of Philly or New York their accents are very distinct to what part they are from and the language they choose is very distinct to the type of person they are. Your language, in turn, is you more than your person is. Your voice is more of an impacting tool, than your body will ever be because you can see a person but until you hear them you will not know them.

My cousins and I are sitting by the lake on the hot July day. We’ve been talking for a while when Johnny gets up and asks:

“Anything to drink?”

“Wooders fine,” I said.

“WATER?”

“Whatever!”

This is one of the many times my cousins from Jersey have teased me about my Philly accent. This happens to me wherever I go. Friends are always teasing my family and me about the way we talk. Its not annoying and I don’t get mad, its just one of those things that your reminded of a lot. Whenever you are outside your hometown, you tend to pick up on outside towns sayings. I think this leads to you creating your own language. Customizing your own English can either make you or break you.

 

There are stereotypes about the way that you “should” talk if you are from one place. But when it comes down to it you talk however you want. According James Baldwin “It (language) is the most vivid and crucial key to identity: it reveals the private identity.” This just goes along with the fact that you can make your language your own. There is so much slang in the world that you can make your language however you would like. Slang is one of something that people use. But when you use it a lot you can potential change your whole sound.

 

The way you customize your language can also be the way that you gain power. The less slang you use the more educated you tend to sound. It’s the way people think. When you use slang and other shortened words you can sound like you have less knowledge. “It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power.” This is another quote by James Baldwin. I think that he means that when you say things people could get the wrong impression from you. This is important at things like interview, internships or even jobs. If you talk to your boss with a lot of slang they could think that you’re either being disrespectful or even looking down upon. There are many ways that you can give the wrong impression with the way that you talk. Even though no one deemed these words bad or rude for some reason everyone thinks that they are. It’s the same reason that we have negative and positive connotations. No one said that these words were bad. So why does everyone agree that they are?

 

             Another situation that I clearly remember is when my eighth grade class got a new math teacher. Mr. Minturn was from Ohio.

“A couple things you should know about me is” he would say, “My mum and pa live in Ohio.”

Our entire class would laugh when he would slip up with a word we were unfamiliar with.

“Why are you laughing?” he would say

“Your accent!” we would reply.

He always told us that we were the ones with the accents but we always thought he was crazy. By the time I graduated we had him saying “wooder” and “begal” like a pro. He told us that we could talk however we wanted in his class and that he would say “mum” and “ceulors” but we would laugh at each other just for the mere fact that we weren’t introduced to the words he said. It makes me think. If there was a child that never lived permanently anywhere for a long period of time, how would they talk? Whatever pleased them, I presume.

 

Because of the way different people talk, it gives you the freedom to make your own language. You can said “wooder” if you live in Brooklyn and you can say “tawkin” if you live in Ohio. Because we live in a Nation with so many different “English-es” we can modify the way that you would like to talk.

 

I just entered my Algebra 2 class as my teacher played whatever random song he had in his iTunes. My classmates and I were doing our daily routine of checking to see if any assignments were given back to us and taking our materials out of our bags.  As I was pulling my binder and pencil out of my bag my friend came to bother me.

“Go away!” I tell him pushing him away.

He laughed and started to tickle me while trying to discreetly steal my binder. I laughed and snatched my binder and screech, “Oh my god! Stop it leave me alone!”
“Oh my god leave me alone,” he mocks still reaching for my binder.
“Stop you're so mean to me.”
Still in that mocking tone he imitates me, “Stoppp.”
“Dude really?”
“Why do you talk like that?” he asks.

Ever since I came back from over seas I’ve been asked this same question over and over again, “Why do you talk like that?” I never have a real response for this question except that it’s just the way I talk. As my friend stares at me while he waits for an answer I just ask him, “Talk like what?” I already know his answer before the words even pass his mouth.

“Like a white girl.”

I don’t take his response as an insult knowing that he didn’t mean it as an insult but just his only way to describe my speech. I thought back to 7^th grade when I first came back from over seas and felt like an outsider among my friends because of how they talked. They talked in higher voices and talked with using words such as “like”, “oh my god”, or “dude” constantly. Speaking like them meant that you were cool and I was in need to make new friends so I decided to speak like them.  Their language was pretty cool and I got a kick out of speaking the “new” generation’s language. My change in language was a permanent change and became a part of who I am.

            Apparently to people I was viewed as white although my skin is brown and my race is African- American. Although what people say, I always thought of myself as African-American. For a while I was confused with why people called me white, but then as I grew I realized what they meant. I didn’t act like how a stereotypical African- American acts: being annoyingly loud, speaks improperly, etc.  I went against my race’s stereotype. Intentionally. It wasn’t because I wanted to become someone I wasn’t but because I wanted to prove those stereotypes wrong. To show that I’m a young educated African- American girl and not a loud, rude, uneducated African-American girl. That I deserved to be respected. I realized that many African- Americans are disrespected because of their language.  My language was created to prove that I’m not what people assumed me to be and to be cool.

As high school came along I was called the “whitest black girl” or when people listened to me talk they or looked through my iTunes they would say I only have white music. My friends not only would say this about me but also my parents.

            In the words of James Baldwin, ”Language incontestably, reveals the speaker,” your language greatly defines who you are. This is how most people think and how many racial stereotypes were created. Even so, what happens to those who do not fit under those stereotypes? Where their likes and dislikes aren’t like everybody else in their race, or where they don’t act like others in their race? I’m one of those people who don’t fit under a racial stereotype so many people try to place me under another stereotype.  The most common one I get placed under is “white.”

            I realize that not many people are not used to not being able to determine your identity by just observing how you talk. Even I am guilty of judging someone and getting confused because they talked differently than their race’s stereotype. Even though many people talk about how I talk and call me something that I’m not, I will continue to talk the way I talk because people need to understand that language isn’t always the key to someone’s identity.

“Why you talk black youngboul?” Nasir said.  

Nasir was the biggest bully in the 5^th grade. I didn’t know what he meant so I responded with “Whatchu mean?”

 “I heard you talk like me mane. You talk hood.”

“Uhm Ok?” (But I didn’t understand what he was talking about).  “I do because I’m from the hood.”

          “Well you need to turn dat around cuz I’m da only white boul dat talk black up in here.”

“Yea whatever u say. I talk the way I talk and if you don’t like it we can walk to walk.”

“I was just saying cuz everybody in this jawn think and call you a ‘wanna be.’”

         “Really?”

“Yep just thought you would like to know.”

From then I reacted thoughtfully and feelingly. I felt as though I wasn’t welcomed or wanted. I was pretty much the only kid that didn’t talk to anyone except for when I was doing my work and the teacher called upon me. I didn’t bother talking to anyone because the kids were all rude and whatnot. I already knew how I was and if I got into trouble with anyone it would not be pretty. So I sat aside from everybody. Then I come to find out no one really liked me in the first place. Consequently I reacted like I cared a little bit but not in front of Nasir’s face. While I was talking to him I acted like I didn’t really care but deep down inside I did. I should have just accepted it originally because I shouldn’t care what people would think. The voice is the power of me, and the power of me makes my internal identity wise. This is important because I’m different from the inside to the outer edge of me. I may act tough externally. But I have a sensibility side inside of me. Therefore, my internal identity is the voice and accent I hold. Even though people didn’t buy/accept my speech, it was just my identity. 

 

In the words of James Baldwin, “The price for this is the acceptance, and achievement, of one’s temporal identity.” He believes that identity is rated from acceptance and achievement. By rated I mean its settled between acceptance and achievement. Voice is the stability of acceptance. Back to my case I accepted my own act but no one else did. My vocals grew into me by the surroundings and areas I live in. I speak “black English” because of some of my brothers, the people I grew up with put together my voice.

 I really don’t care about how I talk anymore, unlike when I was in the 5^th grade. This changed overtime by maturity levels. From starting off caring at a non-mature level to concerning-free at a matured level. I used to feel embarrassed until people started talking to me. Without this characteristic, I wouldn’t be the person I am now. So the way I speak defines who I am and who I am defines the way I speak. Now the way I look at it, as it’s the trait that makes me internally; it makes me feel good to know whom I am!