Johnson, A. You Are How You Talk

Alex Johnson

You Are How You Talk

"You talk like your white cause you are." Said my so-called best friend. This same old conversation again. Now that I look back on that shred of a moment, I realize that our society defines us by our language and terminology.

I have always talked "properly". A lot of people said I didn't seem black because of how I talked. There were many times when I would have a great intellectual conversation with adults about science and technology and yet I had to talk "black" to be accepted at school.

"Why don't you talk black?" Asked my friend. Talk black? What on Earth does it mean to talk 'black'? 

"What do you mean, talk black. What's talking 'black'?" I slowly responded. 

"You talk like a white person" he responded. What does race have anything with how we talk? How can we be defined as a race because of the way we talk?

I always talked properly. I think it's the greatest tool I have. Who would not want to talk properly and be able to sound well educated when they speak? I got laughed at for talking properly but I never understood fully until I grew older. My old classmates called me white because the language I used was often thought of as how white people talk. To me, they talked like they weren't even educated. They saw me as someone who tried to sound well educated. In my opinion, we shouldn't only let our language define who we are. Even my family thinks that I have a language all my own.

"You're too addicted to the computer. You even talk like you're on the computer." Said my Aunt.

"No, I don't" I quickly responded. "And I'm not addicted to my computer"

"Whatever, you're just a gamer. A gamer" My aunt said back.

I usually am identified by the way I talk, often being called a gamer. I can never go anywhere without people commenting on the way I talk. People even commented on how fast I speak. Something as simple as the words and phrases I use make people define me. I do sometimes use 'gamer terminology'. For example, instead of saying let's go, I'll just say let's move. I have more conversations about video games, computers and the military than most people. I'm not ashamed of it but because society defines us by our language, I seem unrealistic to strangers. Once they get past this, they see me for who I am and not who society says I am.

 "I ain't done all of my homework yet" I said in reply to my mom.

"Ain't isn't a word."

"Yeah it is. Want me to look it up for you?", I quickly shot back.

"Stop saying ain't. It's not a word."

"It is sooo a word. What are you on?"

"Bye."

Language has also changed over generations, which further allows people to be identified. Such as when I talk to my mom, I rarely use the word 'ain't', She always tells me I shouldn't say that because it's not a word. The younger generation often uses the word 'ain't'. In the dictionary, it is defined as the proper contraction of "am not". Although many dictionaries do list this as a word, there is still a feud between generations over it's legitimacy. My mom believes that ain't isn't a word, but from her perspective, it most certainly was not considered a word. In this day and age, it could be considered as a word and is widely acceptable. Even something as simple as the use of one word can define what era you grew up in, thus identifying who you are.

According to James Baldwin, "People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances." He believed that people use their language to not only define themselves but also allow society to define and identify them easier. Although we get defined by society, we invoke a sense of control when we decide how we speak. We can use our language to help people easily define us, it allows us to be partly in control of how we are viewed. If a man walks into a bank and speaks gibberish to the teller, he or she may think he is mentally challenged and has not had a great education. If that same man spoke with a clear, wise voice, the teller would most likely think he is looked up to for wisdom and has a great education.