"The Sound of White"

Gold Stream

“The Sound of White” 

“Why ya talk like that?”

“Like what?” I replied.

 “Like that.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say.” I exclaimed.

“Ya talk … like a white person.”

“Oh… ok,” I stammered.

How should I reply to someone calling me a “white person”? Am I supposed to recognize different types of speech at ten years old? I’ve constantly been told that I speak differently, but I didn’t really notice it. I felt that I spoke the same way everyone else did. Well, that was in fourth grade, but throughout elementary school, I wasn’t able to tell the difference. I mean, there were a few kids in the class that occasionally used “slang”, but I didn’t think it was different than how the rest of the kids spoke.

I went to a K-8 school, so the same people that called me “white” in elementary school were the same people that called me “white” in middle school. In middle school, I was jokingly called “white girl”, but I didn’t really mind it anymore. It had been going on for so long that I just ignored it, and would answer them anyway. It didn’t really offend me. I had no idea as to what their intention were for calling me that, but it was never said in a harmful way so I had no reason to get angry about the name.

            It wasn’t until the summer before seventh grade that I actually questioned how exactly a “white person” spoke. Of all the year’s I was called “white”, I never really questioned the reason for them calling me that.

“Why ya talk like a white person?”

“How does a white person talk?” I questioned.

“They talk all proper and stuff.”

Honestly, I was still a little confused. I didn’t feel that speaking proper was exclusively for one group of people. I’m an African – American, but people don’t think that. Everyone speaks a common language, but people aren’t all the same, so there are different ways that they sound.

            A few weeks ago, I was on ichat with a friend.  We weren’t really talking about much, but my responses to her made her question me.

“Whatcha doing?”

“Nothing much. What are you doing?” I replied

“Why you typing all proper?”

I didn’t really know how to answer that. It’s no different than someone asking me why I spoke like a “white girl”. I don’t have an explanation for why I speak the way I do, except that I was raised this way. Yes, sometimes I might catch on to what other people are saying, but the way I speak will stay the same.  This is who I am, and there is no one, and nothing that will ever be able to change that about me.

According to James Baldwin, “language incontestably reveals the speaker”. He feels that a person’s speech reveals their identity, and defines them as such. This is why many people are judged. Some people believe that your race determines the way you speak. There are many connections that people draw to conclude the race of someone. For example, African – American’s are stereotypically loud, obnoxious, and speak using slang. But, not all African – American’s fit into that stereotype. I’m one of those people. I am a little shy, and am soft-spoken.

From these experiences, I’ve learned something. You can’t judge someone because of the way they speak. There are many qualities of people that are different than others. People sound, act, and look different than each other. You just have to accept that. Your speech may somewhat reveal who you are, but you have to move past that and view them as a human being.