Black English
“Pink is No Longer the New Black” Jonathan Swift said, “Proper words in proper places make the true definition of style” What is the true definition of style? When one is asked, one may say it is what you wear. In other circumstances, style may be referred to music, or film and television. Style is also literature and linguistics. Throughout the generations, style has been altered; Cut trimmed and filed down until the original style is far away in the crevices of your mind. Fashion has erupted from something that was once soft and elegant, to now being loud, flashy, and revealing.
Language has become something different entirely. In today’s language, “Black English” is present in our everyday lives. There are various reasons why we speak a certain way. In today’s world, we are always searching for easier ways to do things, we are constantly trying to fit in and do what everyone else is doing, and no matter what, we always do what we are surrounded with. The world is forever changing. We are always searching for ways to make everyday tasks easier. People used to walk everywhere, so the bike was invented.
Riding a bike everywhere was difficult, so the car was invented. Technology is also forever changing to make things easier. From typewriters, to laptops and ipads, phones so you don’t even need a computer anymore. It is forever changing, but as the language changes with it, it does not mean that it is a good thing. “Black English” seems lazy in a way. The way people used to talk was thick and luscious. Now, “black English” has made words short and choppy. Instead of saying, “I am not going to do anything” many people say “I ain’t gonna do nothin. It is easier to say, but it does not necessarily mean that it sounds intelligent. Society makes us feel like in order to fit in, we have to look and act like everyone else. If an actor starts to dress a certain way, then everyone else wants to look like that actor too. The same goes with language. If a music artist starts to talk and say words a certain way in a song, it starts to catch on. Then a chain starts to form. If one person begins to talk and hang around a group of people who are speaking “Black English” then that person will begin to speak like them as well.
In a world where society is in charge, fitting in is the only way. Psychologists say that we do what our parents do. Technically we “become” our parents as we grow up. If our parents are racist, then we too will be racist. If you grow up in the South and your parents have a western accent, then you will have that accent as well. As a child, if your parents use “Black English” then you will too because it is all you have ever known. “Black English” is in our everyday lives, and if you surround yourself with the language then you will start speaking that way too.
Although “Black English” is present everywhere we go, it does not necessarily mean it is a good thing. In most cases it can make you sound uneducated and there are specific times when you should, and should not use it. In your home, or with friends is one thing, but in writing an essay for example, you should avoid it at all costs. The world is forever changing, language especially. The language style changes all the time. People are constantly making up new words and adding new meanings to the words that are not as commonly used. In the literary world, “Black English” has become the “new black. ”
