My BougieNieces and Nephews (BNs) fascinate and frustrate me equally. I love those gorgeous kids but it doesn't stop me from wanting to smack them into next week from time to time. The BNs are half Black, half Hispanic. They are genetically gifted but culturally... complicated. As of now, they have very little sense of appreciation for their mixed culture or heritage. They care not two shakes of a damn for the music, arts, struggles, or stories of their ancestors. When the one child asked me who Luther Vandross
was and the other asked if Betty Shabazz was Tupac's mama, I winced and wept and placed the blame squarely on their parental units.
was and the other asked if Betty Shabazz was Tupac's mama, I winced and wept and placed the blame squarely on their parental units.
I'm just going to assume that knowledge will come with time. I grew up in a household where we were required to pull out Ye Olde Encyclopedia (pre-Google people!) and write essays on black leaders. My father played Harry Belafonte
, Curtis Mayfield
, Verdi
and Tony Bennett
in the same night. I went to a private school during the week where my sister and I were two of the six black girls attending in grades K - 12. On the weekends, we went to an all black church.
, Curtis Mayfield, Verdi and Tony Bennett in the same night. I went to a private school during the week where my sister and I were two of the six black girls attending in grades K - 12. On the weekends, we went to an all black church.
I learned to "code switch" - I talked a certain way with my black friends on the weekend and a different way with my white friends during the week. At school, I bopped along to the Police (yes, Synchronicity
is the best album EVER!) while at church camp, I was obsessed with Roger's Doo Wa Ditty
(that song went so hard).
is the best album EVER!) while at church camp, I was obsessed with Roger's Doo Wa Ditty (that song went so hard).
But you know what I've noticed? The BNs don't do that. They have grown up in a big melting pot of 31+ flavors and they all pretty much sound the same. "OMG, Aunt Chele, you really think Jay-Z is a better rapper than Gucci?" [Real quote, I had to put them out of the house for a minute] They haven't spent a lot of time with "all white" or "all black" groups so they've never given it any thought. Though it's not just blacka nd white. A friend of mine from college grew up in the little town of Kerrville, Texas. She has a Kerrville language and what she calls "city talk" for when she's at work.
Anyway, this got me to wondering... do people not have to learn this skill anymore? I still use a completely different tone and vibe when talking to my professional colleagues than I do even talking to ya'll. Michele Grant sends out different emails than OneChele. Is this passé?
But then I think of Obama's speeches. He gives a completely different flavor to a speech in front of the NAACP than he gives to the UN. That's part of the reason I have so much fun doing #ObamaTranslations on Twitter. It gives me a kick to break down "We've come to an equitable agreement" knowing that he's probably longing to say "It's bout damn time they saw things my way."
So I'm asking you - when did you learn to "switch it up"? Do you still? Will the kids do away with this altogether? Thoughts? Comments? Insights?
129 comments:
Having attended PWIs for my entire education, I learned to code switch at an early age. My code switching is even more intense because professionally, and in educational settings, I use my given first name, while my close friends use my middle name. So I've come to have two different personas.
Though it is clear that (insert color blind Gubment name here) and Chanee are the same person, with the same interests, ideas, and personality, I clearly express myself differenly depending on my audience. If the younger generation doesn't know this skill, I feel they're in for a rude awakening when they reach Corporate America.
Nah. As my southern relatives say, I "sound white" all day, every day. I use 25cent words and pronounce them properly, no matter where I am and who I am with.
A couple of summers ago, I actually did a code-switching study about African-American/ Black (traditionally) college-aged students who were on track for post-grad work in any field. The interesting part is that one has to identify the very features that define the dialect and separate it from the standard. In a later study, I defined and give historical, educated, and evidence-support supports for the phonological and syntactical features thereof. Basically: I did not say Ebonics was a language, so do not come at me sideways.
Anyway, in my study, the 1-on-1 interview portion and the group hang-out portion didn't show HUGE differences, but it did give me leads that if more data was established, the standard "city talk" would have been seen as the language of authority, just as we use it.
My point is that it still gets used, but there's definitely groups more likely code-switch based on need and exposure, so perhaps BYB and his ex are to blame.
It's not even about race, it's all about getting your point across. And it IS a necessary skill. You need to know both just like it's good to learn a second language. What's the point in standing on the corner or being at a ballgame and using 50 cent words? My 65+ y.o. Dad is one of the few that can pull off slang and it doesn't sound like he's doing too much. He always says to "make it plain" when you can.
*holds up a lighter for World Book and Encyclopædia Brittanica*
I've been code switching my entire life.
I also had a dad who made us write reports on Black leaders, and he made us give presentations on them before we could go outside & play *sigh* I thought I was the only one who grew up like that.
Interesting study. A colleague of mine is working a study to determine if there is a link between AAE and writing skills.
Determing if learning how to "code-switch", can improve writing skills.
*Pours a little coffee out for World Book*
Oh, wow-- is that one dicey for your colleague?
The proving AAE fluency is pretty cut and dried, do you know how s/he provides for even distribution when it just comes to writing ability at all? Is there any testing for competency in "standard" AmEng?
I grew up in a midsize town in Georgia and from as early as I can remember, my parents said - You can talk all that mess around the house but when you leave these four walls, you will sound like you're having tea with the Queen. I didn't get it then, I get it now. They sent us two hours away to private school. We had spelling contests at the dinner table. We had more book reports due into my mother than school.
To get your point across, you need to speak everyone's language. Sometimes it requires a code-switch.
I think in general, code switching happens in almost every interaction. There will always be different audiences one will be addressing and you can't talk or communicate the same way to each one of them. Clearly, I won't talk to my dad the same way I will talk to my boss. Then again, maybe I'm just defining discretion here.
My code switching has come by virtue of having grown up/lived, gone to school and worked in different countries so I now seem to have a potpourri of accents which switch depending on who I'm talking to. I get questions about it all the time. Lol. I also go by different names with different people (one name with friends, family & college friends and another with colleagues & others). That also throws yet more complication into the mix...Lol.
Riley wish he could talk how he like all da time.
But Riley got bills ta pay.
They will have to learn if they are ever in settings with people who weren't raised exactly as they were raised. But I don't think this is an issue for just mixed kids or kids being raised in a melting pot. I grew up in Detroit around mostly Black people. We still had to switch it up when we went from chopping it up with friends and speaking in school/home.
It's not just racial or across classes. I grow up in the Northeast and went South for college. Just switching from you guys to ya'll was a major shift.
Successful communicators learn to adjust their language to the audience they are addressing at the time. Too bad many of us missed this message under the guise of "keeping it real."
I grew up in the suburbs of NYC- vastly different than the urban areas of NYC. When visiting relatives that did live in the urban areas of NYC, my siblings and I stuck out because of our speech; we also stuck out when we visited relatives in the south. We all learned how to blend in early in lives.
Ah, the Encyclopedia Britannica. I actually enjoyed reading it. :)
IMO, The melting point is an illusion. It seems to extend to most things but with one big exception : Culture
moving on.. I code switch mostly with my white friends. Where I grew up, words were important, personally I find myself having to erm.. 'dumb down' a lot to carry some conversations in a majority white space.
No rap career with the Lethal interjection crew? :p
I don't know ANYONE who doesn't code switch. Even the most unschooled know enough to change inflection and perhaps physical stance depending on who they're talking to ( like the Po-lice)
That same person who was just "Nah cuz, *bleep* that *bleepity-bleep*" turns all "No Sir, Officer I was just enjoying a picturesque drive through the Southside when you motioned for me to pull over," if they need to.
I'm a First generation West Indian but you would never know it unless I am back home. We spoke the Queens English at school and made adjustments when neccesary. I had to balance both West Indian & Black American culture when interacting with others. These kids today have lost too much of the cultural nuances in the guise of the great melting pot. They have little apprecation of anything that doesn't fit into their current pop lexicon. If you've only been out for 3 years miss me with "The Greatest anything" until you've EARNED the title. If I tell you to look something up don't come backto me with "wikipedia says..."
Asking who Luther Vandross is would prompt me to call the Drop Squad on your Bro - its really for the kids best interests. *dusts off Big Daddy Kane cassettes*
I remember how proud my dad was to have the entire World Book set. He would update the editions every few years. Apparently, that was the status thing back in the day. If you had the whole set as opposed to a friend of his who never bought past the H and would send his kids over to research anything in the I - Z. Funny how random memories come back to you.
I code switch all the time. There are friends, acquaintances, folkz and them other folkz.
I've been having this same conversation with my friends (and on Twitter). Kids these days DO NOT code switch. Either they do Bougie all the time or Not Bougie all the time and they see no reason to change that up ever. I haven't yet determined if that's concerning for real, but I am concerned. I feel like we've let the younger generation be lulled into a false sense of security. These white folks still ain't playing with us even though they smile at us like they are. I hear people talk about how awesome it is that their kids don't really get race or why we worry with it and I know we've been waiting for this glorious moment, but this is not what it seems. Not when we have congressmen calling the President a tar baby.
I code switch so smooth I can do it from one line to the next. It's disturbing and yet kinda awesome. I remember one time sitting on what me and my black friends called the "stoop" which sat at the most high point on our high school's campus and was THE black hangout. I was talking and cutting up with them when a couple of white friends started up the steps calling my name. I turned, spoke to them for a few moments and then turned back to my black friends and kept going. When they got to the top one of my white friends said, "Ashley. Did you hear yourself just now? Are you speaking another language?" That's when I really understood code switching. I was doing it before I got it.
"To get your point across, you need to speak everyone's language. Sometimes it requires a code-switch." This.right.here is the bottom line!
And this too!
I remember when Microsoft Encarta came out. That was it for Britannica.
I definitely code switch. I grew up on dem streetz and I now live in a suburb that is 3% black. If I tried to "keep it real" with these kindly people, the HOA would have me out on my azz by Sunday. Believe me there are days when I wonder how the hell a regular little street hustler like me ended up here, with a beautiful wife, a lovely home and even knowing what the hell an HOA is. I know where I came from and I appreciate where I'm at. Yeah, I said where I'm at. Where I be. Whither I find myself. See? Code switch.
"That same person who was just "Nah cuz, *bleep* that *bleepity-bleep*"
turns all "No Sir, Officer I was just enjoying a picturesque drive
through the Southside when you motioned for me to pull over," if they
need to."...LMAO!!!
Growing up as you did a minority in most of my classes, I learned the code-switching early because we lived in WA state which was and still is only about 4% black. We moved to Atlanta when my younger brother was about 7 and he clearly unlearned everything about code switching here living amongst mainly Black people. I see the results sadly as he won't even apply for certain office jobs because he doesn't think he can fit in language or culture wise. I think the art of code switching makes you aware that there are others in the world who don't think or speak like you and to make it you need to be able to reach them just as well as the those in your more direct circle.
My brother is ten years younger and he doesn't code switch. He is all ignant all the time. I told him he's going to have to tighten that linguistics game up unless he aspires to work at Best Buy installing stereos for the rest of his life. #NTTAWWT
Like someone said in a comment thread earlier this one - young folks gotta learn the hard way.
I too feel that they are doing themselves a disservice by not learning this skill. When you come into my office, I don't care if we look like relatives, I don't want you talking slang or anything of that sort. There is such thing as a professional language which these kids don't seem to understand.
I was born and (partly) raised in Jamaica. I'm either speaking Patois or I'm speaking English. That's the extent of my code switching capabilities. *shrugs*
I'll alter my vocabulary so that I can be understood by the public at large, but that's about it. There's a reason I get told on the daily "You speak so well" (o.O Mr. Clear man), or "You speak so White" (o.O you Hoodstar)... I can't switch the game up to save my life.
I too have noticed that the melting pot is getting well, meltier. It is not unusual here in SoCal to see groups of young people where there are whites, blacks, asians, and hispanics all socializing together. I have to say the only time most folks in my age bracket do that is at work. Now the young folks all listen to the same music (Justin Bieber & Kanye, really) shop in the same stores and go to the same clubs. This is why I know that Obama will not be our last Black Prez and a woman or hispanic is not far away. The young folks who are going to take over this world are just not pressed about race. I'm just not sure I like it all.
*Pours something on the ground for the Dewey Decimal System*
Great post Chele!
My family is from the South, I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, went to school in "the valley" (you know "Valley Girl", like oh my God!) from 7th grade to my first few years in college. I speak country, ghetto "city talk" and corporate. My comfort zone is ghetto (don't judge me); when I need to put a mofo in check, I'm country as all get out; when I'm around people I don't know, I use city talk to be on the safe side; but when I need to be respected in the work place or a business establishment, I get real corporate. As my ex used to say, "act white and you'll get what you want".
Nope, every since I had to read "Africa Before The White Man" at age seven, I knew there was something different going on in my house...
BTW a Special Shout-out on the #ObamaTranslations. If you don't know, now you know...
"My brother is ten years younger and he doesn't code switch. He is all ignant all the time."...This made me laugh, initially, but it's really sad. And this is the code for the new generation. SMH
The problem is that even though a lot of the younger generation is all "post-racial melting pot" there are still plenty of kids being taught the same old hate and shiggity from yesteryear. The true battle will be when this generation grows up - who is in charge. If it's the same old same old, these kids are going to have to speak their language.
My mama used to say "Anybody can talk on the corners, not everybody can speak to Congress"
(Though looking at some of these reps, I have to wonder. I know what she meant though.
Oh man, Encarta! What ever happened to that? Did Wiki kill it?
"If I tried to "keep it real" with these kindly people, the HOA would have me out on my azz by Sunday."...And take you to court for misrepresentation!
Absolutely still needed. My teen definitely code switches between how he presents himself at his predominately white school vs. at home relaxing with the family. How he speaks with his peers is different than how he speaks to teachers.
I wish I would go back home to my predominately Black neighborhood and act like I didn't know the code.It's called knowing your audience, one of the critical steps in communication. As Michael Davis said, "It's not about race."
I remember being excited when the encyclopedia set with the two huge dictionaries arrived at our house. The vocabulary section at the beginning of A-K dictionary was my favorite thing to do!
My Mom didn't believe in in code switching. She would have what she called a familial tone and even that was bougie. My code switching came about as a result of wanting to "fit in" because after moving from Illinois to Louisiana after sixth grade; having classmates say, "Come here listen to her talk" made me feel uncomfortable.
My daughter code switched more before hitting high school. Now, she says it's too much work to go back and forth and prefers to speak the same way to her friends that she speaks to her teachers.
My dad had "The Encyclopedia of Black America" & I swear I've read that book from cover to cover at least 3 times.
Ooohhh... and you bring up a good point. Even if the white folks don't care, older black people do. I'm like you, don't show up in my place of working talking crazy. I'm sure gonna act like I do not know what you're saying.
I still code switch. In reference to the encyclopedias my uncle made his daughters read encyclopedias the other week b/c he says they watch too much tv. One was excited and the other not so much. The excited one asked her mom to buy her a set of encyclopedias. The other one had nothing to report about her reading. Guess who had an angry black man moment?
THIS.
We see it happen over here a lot. Kids are all 'colour blind and down for the struggle', then mid to late 20's come around and they drop it all and turn serious conservative, join the system or with daddies backing, get a job at a bank and learn to mix with 'their own kind'.
It happened in my fathers generation, and its happening now. It is rare for things like this to change because no-one likes to willingly give up privilege
I totally code switch, when I'm with my Kenyan peeps my English is accented with Swahili twang to it. But the stuggle for me is those British school system taught us to pronounce our vowels differently from Americans. When we say "first"Americans hear "fast"
Hail to Encycopedias, I lost my first one and my mom almost killed me.
POTUS definitely does that code switch, I rememeber his first dinner for journalist, he told David Gregory "what's up" with that bruh to bruh feel to it. The next day it made news.
BTW, I love your Obamatranslations.
Speaking of code switch, TIME Magazine reported that DEA was looking for people that speaks slang to help them translate intercepted calls. So hey Pookie might have job.
That reminds me of a time I was on the train, in full corporate gear (suit, stockings, etc.) and was on the receiving end of some unwanted attention from Raquan. I am never rude to anyone, but after he was not hearing my corporate refusal, I had to code switch so he could understand my message. He got it.
The librarian thanks you. :)
I remember one time when I had been on shift for a million hours straight and this black woman was arguing with me about going to pick up her meds. I had fought to get her 90 days of free meds at a pharmacy two blocks from her house and she was bitching about having to go pick them up. After trying to reason with her for 20 minutes, I snapped "Look here sister, if you fall the hell out cuz you can't carry your ass two blocks to get the hook up, go head on." Everybody looked at me like I had turned into a different person, except for the patient. She nodded and said "Okay bruh, I got you. My bad."
Sometimes people take you there. She clearly wasn't feeling "Miss Jackson, I'm concerned for your continued wellness."
I remember trading in stamps or something at the grocery store to get the next in the set of encyclopedias. We would be so excited for when we had enough for the next in line.
Anyway, I definitely code switch. But I didn't learn that skill until college. I grew up in a rural area but my mom wasn't from there and was a military brat and my dad was from there but of course went to a segregated school where proper grammar was taught - so both of them instilled in us uber-proper English. That didn't go over so well with the few black folks in school, so all my friends were White and spoke like I did.
In college I somehow ended up attending an HBCU (despite my best efforts not to) and I had to learn how to pretty much REVERSE code switch - sounding "black" when that wasn't my natural tendency. Four years of that and I ended up with a hybrid of the two. Now I live in a very black county where most of my college friends also ended up so that hybrid voice is my actual voice, but I code switch back to my original voice when I'm at work or on the phone.
Who remembers those damn card files? Finally figuring out where the book was only to find out it had been checked out? Arrgh!
I have a teenage son growing up in a predominately white upper class town (Bethesda) in maryland outside DC. When he was young I made sure he spoke as my my English College major Mother would say correct English. It ws easier for him because of his environment, I grew up in DC. As he got older and hipper and cooler I noticed a slight change. I have always reinterated to him that he needs to be versatile and consider his audience and be able to talk and interact with all kinds of folk. At 15 years of age he gets it and I love seeming him action!
Aw - A&P Green Stamps... what ya'll know about that?
What?! We would save up all year. Between those and the Sears Big Book?
Maybe we can hook him up with my equally ignant and clueless younger sister who thinks it's cute to walk around sound like she's reciting Drake lyrics all day (zero)
Yes. Same way Google killed AOL.
When you had a report due in two days and the book wasn't due back for three?!
At my old job some of the WI parents would "take it there" at times and attempt to "bully" the American employees with patois. The day I walked up to one particularly annoying parent and spoke under my breath in perfect English to advise that I understood exactly what she said and what would happen if she did it again was the LAST time we saw her. Don't let the suit and glasses fool ya!
I still code switch. I grew up in the suburbs and lived a very sheltered life but when I got around my cousins and friends that didn't have that same privilege I learned very quickly that I needed to adapt and very quickly in order to survive. As my daddy says, it's knowing your audience and adjusting accordingly.
FYI, I love the #ObamaTranslations. I'm telling you, you need to go on CNN and have your translations streamed across the bottom of the screen. Heck they do closed captioning for Spanish folks they should do closed captioning for translating bougie talk to street talk.
I'm a teacher in DC and my students do not code-switch...At. ALL. They speak AND WRITE as if they're chilling on a corner with their friends. They don't know how to code-switch because they are hardly ever around people of a different race (other than Hip-Hop culture-assimilated Hispanics). I learned to code-switch at an EARLY age because speaking slang was not cool around my mother or when speaking to my White teachers or classmates, but I had to "be Black" with my friends at church and the Boy's and Girl's Club (I grew up hearing the ever-annoying "you talk like a white girl" all the time). Kids today seem oblivious to the need for it.
"I think the art of code switching makes you aware that there are others in the world who don't think or speak like you and to make it you need to be able to reach them just as well as the those in your more direct circle"
Exactly! I have always seen this as a professional advantage.
You can be all "Please sir" if you want to but some people only understand "Look M-F"...
ALL OF THIS!
My mother would tell me that I was smart-ER if I could code switch. She said she didn't mind if I spoke one way with my friends, as long as this wasn't the ONLY way I knew to speak. I so appreciate her for it now.
I will trade you some Green Stamps for some of those Raliegh coupons. (Parents used to smoke)
Code switching does exist for my son. My son (step-son I no longer say step) he is living in a town with a population of 17K and he is black/white. For a while he was trying to blacken it up when he came to our house and we had to break him down: Um, bro, we do not speak with broken language at this address with all of these degrees between us. His mom is FINALLY catching on. I tell him though when you are with me please act like you have home training even when you are with your friends.
Or when the book you need is on micro fiche so you now have to go into the dustier sub basement, strain your eyes while hoping Freddy doesn't awake from his nap?
This! Sometimes I'm on the metro and I can't believe these kids.
Maybe Chele should take Jay Carney's position. Press briefing will be forever changed.
Damn yall takin me back!!! Those were the days, right?!!
This. I've been thinking about this since I read Chele's post a couple of hours ago. My siblings and I had to learn to code-switch before we even knew what it was we were doing. We just did it and somehow understood that we needed to do so.
On the other hand, my children DO NOT. They speak bougie all the time even as they recognize & understand code switching in action. They actually think it's funny and I would go as far as to say that they think it is passe. You either speak like them or not and they understand the limitations that go along with the slang.
I think with today's youth, the lines between them aren't drawn racially so they don't find that need to code switch as relevant as it used to be.
My friends and I have talked about this, and we agree that you do what
you have to do to thrive in the business world.
I speak proper English most of the time because that's the way you're supposed to say it. I cringe when I hear someone incessantly butchering the English language, especially when they're in the public eye. I was listening to the radio this morning and former football player Nate Newton was killing me. I'm a nerd. English/language arts was my best subject in school, so proper grammar was easy to pick up and I ran with it.
With that said, I can and do code switch when I'm with the family or close, black friends. After all, it is my native tongue. A few weeks ago my mom called me at work. I work in a big open room, so everyone could hear the conversation. After I got off the phone, a coworker said she could really hear my accent. I'm assuming she meant my black Texan accent.
"You can be all "Please sir" if you want to but some people only understand "Look M-F"...E.X.A.C.T.L.Y!!!
My brother does the code switch-- or did before he opened his own business. He calls it putting on his white voice. He used to call me at work and I would have NO IDEA that I was talking to him. Then he would laugh and hang up. After 5 though? "What's going on?" becomes "What's crack-a-lackin??!?!"
I just roll my eyes. I am bilingual. I know what you're saying, but I sound stupid trying to be urban so I'm not even going there.
This right here.
HOAs are no joke
We used to say there are people and there are "my peoples"
Hell, I can't believe the way the kids speak on the metro, in the classrooms, on the streets, in the stores/restaurants...or pretty much anywhere in DC. The grammar is fugged up and so is the diction.....#Sad
I'm DEAD, laid out on the floor behind that one!!! D.N.R., call the mortuary, sign over the insurance policy, have all the greats sing the old time favorites at my funeral! (Can you tell I just went through this?)
Doc you took it all the way there! LMAO!!!
Is that the same as the Blue Chip stamps?
As a federal law enforcement professional born and raised in Broolyn, NYC, and in DC for the past 5 years, I am often teased about not having my "NY accent" as I make moves in the workplace. But outside of the workplace there is no doubt from where my roots were pulled. I have come to believe that people tend to forget that assimilation is often necessary in order to grow professionally sometimes you have to "code-switch" as necessary to climbe the professional ladder - even as a civil servant.
As I travel amongst and throughout the DMV, I almost need Rosetta Stone to have a conversation with people for whom english is the first language - both in and out of the workplace.
So in a nutshell, yes, I am definitely guilty of the "code switch", and I dare anybody to try and question my "street credibility" at anytime. Best believe I can go hard in the "Kings English", while I smile in your face. Trust !
people.
Wow, with today's topic and what is transpiring between my office manager and myself, I am STUCK between country and corporate! Therefore I must remain silent, because even if I start out corporate, I KNOW country will come out!...Why is the bitch f**kin wit me?!! *reviews handbook regarding stress leave*
I was in the office late one night on speaker phone with my boy "Naw, son - it ain't even like dat. It ain't even like dat!"
Two minutes later, my boss walked in and I said "Joe, I didn't know you were still here. What can I help you with?"
He looked around "Did you just hear someone else talking?"
I gave him the blank look "No sir"
I teach hard-headed children in Florida and if this is our future we are so screwed. These kids can't hardly spell future let alone give you 5 synonyms. Did anyone else's mother play the synonym game with them? Not only did you have to learn a word and write it in a sentence, you had to come up with 5 synonyms for it too.
#OldSchool
You are right they are no joke, I am ready for mine to be disbanded. Ugh.
And if so, could someone tweet me the study, white paper, or article including references on such a test? I'm @Kneebiez on Twitter, thx!
In only code switch when there is something at stake..say, a job. Usually when I'm comfortable, I speak proper English with some slang. When needed, I speak proper English.
I feel like the art of code-switching is being lost. Recently, I worked at a summer program for gifted and talented sixteen and seventeen year old high school students. The program in total had 400 students and around 30 black students (I know, right?). One day in the student lounge, a group of the black students were playing pool and they kept throwing around the "n-word", while another group of white students were within earshot. I pulled one of the guys to the side and asked why they were using such language in this environment; and he was like "We don't care about them and as long as they don't say it to use, there will be no problems". I couldn't say anything else, I was stunned; to me code switching is like human nature, a means to an end to make it a WASP society.
Brooklyn's in da house!!
I find what people think is a Brooklyn accent is really the Italian American/Bensonhurst accent. Its a part of Brooklyn but certainly not representative of all.
I just laughed a good 5 minutes over this!
Or as my teenage son does so well You care and want to communicate with others! That is the key!
Ugh, if I hear "you talk like a white girl" one more time, well let's just say the next person saying that to me will get choked.
I code switch like a mofo. Even when typing casual emails to friends who are not black.
Me too!
I was never allowed to use slang language at home growing up, and for the most part, I don't understand AAVE, so I try to glean things from context. Since I'm never really sure I have it right, I tend not to use AAVE, either. I can't even text in slang, and the closest I generally come is using y'all.
What's really funny, though, is when my f2f students finally meet me in person, having assumed I'm white, they slip into slang language, and I have to break it to them that as Caucasians, they are operating on stereotypes of AAs who live in urban areas, and I haven't a clue as to what they're referencing. Lots of red faces and stammered apologies follow, but that's generally their first introduction to understanding we're not a monolithic people.
I don't think code-switching will ever go away completely, but those who are raised in a culture where language is fluid and well-known to people who are culturally dissimilar will have to code-switch less frequently, as it won't have immediate repercussions for advancement...well, at least if we can get past those who want to see a return to the 1950s (Tea Party, anyone?).
Lol I can imagine the puzzled look on your bosses face..and my bf's name is Joe lol
Well, I was a lil coco girl who grew up in a predominantly latino(a) neighborhood, then moved to a predominantly caucasian neighborhood, then finally spent my teenage years and up in a mostly black neighborhood, so I always have been told that I sound like a white/latina...and I was always put on the phone for my granny/mom when it was time to handle "business" lol
I have one name for people from home, but I speak with different accents, inflections and even languages depending on the situation. I also have an entirely different name, accent and inflection for when I'm in the US. Of course, there are friends I've made in the US who eventually know me well enough to know my "real" name and get the benefit of my "real" accent- at which point they can consider themselves true bonafide friends.
I'm in Brooklyn and its pretty much the same with the kids & young adults here - they don't code switch, because they generally don't have to. The live, go to school with, work with and hang out with the same types of people - people just like them! And for the most part they aren't "trained" at home how to operate differently in different circumstances. Even in situations where they KNOW BETTER (like talking to the police or any authority figure) they try to manage the switch, but struggle because its not what they're used to.
I am a first generation American from a West Indian/Latin American family - first of all they're old school AND from a foreign country - code switching (or behaving appropriately as the situation calls for) is all they did and all we knew growing up.
Mykeia ~While at the bank earlier today, the teller who was serving me was a 30-something Black man, who out of nowhere said to me "you talk like a white girl". I took a moment or two, it may have even been three to compose myself, before politely breaking it down to said ignorant individual. First I corrected him by saying that I'm not a girl, I'm a lady and would appreciate him addressing me as such. Secondly, that my manner of speaking is how I naturally speak. Thirdly, what does my manner of speaking have to do with my banking business, and lastly I asked him, "Do you routinely insult customers on how they speak?" Watching the color drain from his face, as he apologized and got on with processing my request, was pleasure enough for me. But there was a brief second, as I was composing myself when I felt like reaching down taking off one of my shoes and smacking that ninja repeatedly upside his damn head. :-)
I teach Pre-K (4 and 5 year olds) and sometimes the language skills that come into my classroom are horrid. They either don't know how to carry on a conversation or they can only come up with the slang at home. I do my best to deprogram on a daily basis... can't even deal with teaching them how to code switch and they don't even have the basics down.
Scoot over cause I'm joining you. *DEAD* at "go head on"
I definitely code switch -- all day every day -- it was the way I learned and the way I taught my daughter (she's 27) and can code switch with the best of 'em. I even code switch with my tweets -- had one follower (bless her heart) who DM'd me one night and hoped I wasn't offended but asked me if I was Black. She probly saw me actin ratched with @Reads4Pleasure or @ASmith86 LOL. It's a lost art for real tho -- my biracial nieces and nephews don't have a clue -- NONE. I worry bout dem.
Oh I forgot --your #ObamaTranslation and #BaracksFlagPin are on point when he's speaking ... LOVE BOTH FEEDS. And can some of the technically inclined develop an app like that photo? Gamma's always trying to find a hustle. Just askin.
Classy moves on your part.
I learned to code-switch listening to my mother. You could always tell when she was on the phone with her girls or if she was talking with someone from work, or White.
She raised us to speak proper English, and she discouraged slang. I was always teased for "talking like a White girl", but I am now the one laughing. My ability to code-switch has allowed me to be able to move seamlessly from corporate to BBQ, and I do not regret it one bit.
There are those who had it twisted because they hear Corporate Roz and think "Meh - she can't go toe to toe." But they soon realized the error of their ways when I had to release a little honey badger on that A.
Ha! I heard the code-switch in that last part.
I bet she bragged about that for days!
Tru dat ! Like Bed-Stuy don't have their own inflection...
With a neck snap and an eye roll!
ain't nuthing wrong with a little "country cussin' out. Bless your heart !
Unbelievable ignorance on his part...I would've had to double and triple check my transaction for accuracy after experiencing his level of ignorance ! And to think, people often tell me "you don't care what comes out your mouth" ! I need to send those folks over to your bank..
This so reminds me of the Jive Talk scene from "Airplane." .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa1rjCZxtxo
Also, Will, I'm curious, you mentioned in a previous Chele post that you were half black/half white; how did you learn how to code switch?
Have no fear! I was recently in a New York Public Library and good ole World Book has a 2010 edition. So kids who want to will still get the joy out of it.
My mom was too poor to get me a set but I wore the World Book out at school and at my more economically upstanding friends' homes.
You remind me of my Mom. She taught pre-k for over 20 years. She would complain all the time about how the parents don't teach their kids the basics - it was like she was starting from scratch with the children. She often complained that she was having difficulty communicating with the parents, because they have their own language. Some things never change. #StayStrong
We had A&P in Brooklyn. We had also had Bohacks..not sure if that was a chain store..but it was a major one in my "hood"..
"Fall the hell out"....///////_________ "Slow singing and flower bringing"
Exactly. I've watched realization slowly creep over the faces of some of the people I've arrested when I've had to "code-switch" and bring the real to the situation. It's nothing short of amazing....
I'm from Brooklyn, and you've hit the nail on the head.
Lord...writing a research paper in hs and going to the card catalog to search for sources. That was like month of prep work right there... God bless the interwebs.
I've been there. I was hanging out in my (white) friends' dorm room once, and my mom called. We had out conversation and I hung up to, "WOW-- I COULD HEAR YOUR COUNTRY ACCENT."
I laughed it off and thanked my lucky stars that my mom refused to let me speak anything less standard that Southern in here house. I'd told my friend that it existed and that I code switched, but those who don't have to do it often don't believe it til they witness it. Oddly enough, I can't code-switch cue. I have to honestly be in a situation where a different dialect is necessary.
I had a 3 page Christmas list from the Sears Big Book alone!! *tear*
When did you learn to "switch it up"? I remember my parents saying, "The way you speak to your friends and relatives is not the way you speak to your teachers and acquaintances." I didn't realize I "code-switch" until I entered college and corporate America.
Do you still? Yes, I "code-switch" all the time; I work in education, so slang is temporarily placed on hold until I arrive home. Slang is personal not professional. I don't know my co-workers personally, so I damn sure not going to address them in that manner.
Will the kids do away with this altogether? I don't think so. Is racism ever going to go away? I think not. I don't care how much of a melting pot we have. People still don't like each other because of all the -isms.
I am not exactly sure. I believe she will be looking for characteristics of AAE in there writing. Then determing if learning how to "code-switch", can improve writing skills. I am a completely different track, so I don't know all of the details. I just enjoy hearing about it, like learning the difference between "style-switching" and "code-switching", was an eye opener for me.
Ahhh...code-switching. I see it as one of the best mental and social disciplines. For me, it's a great example of what's said in Ecclesiastes: to everything there is a season and purpose. There is a time to say, "Gurl. please" and a time to say, "This does not make sense, LaTonda. Please clarify."
I think where folks get it twisted is, as Penny said, using AAVE as a litmus test for "authentic" Blackness, which folks--from family to, as Brenda Kay said, a bloody bank teller--try to enforce. When that comes my way, I just look and say, "I'm sorry, I judge Blackness by far different standards"--and use my iciest, most educated, sounding-like-Miss-Anne voice to convey that I'm not playing that parlor game. Raquan, Shaqueeshia, and a couple of Belindas and Carlas fell back when I've said that.
I also think the idea of being so casual in all social settings in this society exacerbates this. (Folks wearing all kinds of colors and casual wear to funerals, anyone?) What compounds this is the Special Snowflake Syndrome endemic in US culture. So, if that's what's being taught, either by talking or, more than likely, by example, and that's getting enforced by social interactions--such as with peer pressure--then I'm not too surprised that code-switching seems like it's a dying exercise. Saddened, but not surprised.
You took me way back with some of the comments...S&H Green StampsWorld Book EncyclopediaThe Sears Big BookAlthough I prefer the Queen's English, I code switch because I always want to be able to relate to my audience. But I think what is more serious, is that there are so many kids out there that don't even have a grasp of basic English, much less mastery of it.This whole thread reminds me of dating a lady a while back that was an HR Director for a small to medium company. She invited me to a Dinner Party hosted by a C-Level Exec from her company. At some point after the meal, when we were still around the table talking, she said "hisself." I thought my head was going to explode. You can state something any way you want, but please know what is correct.And I am always amazed at how many people don't know the difference between your and you're or their, there, and they're.
*deep breath and sigh at The Special Snowflake phenomenon* Please do not get me started on that mess.
Yup, I code-switch too. I was unconscious of it, until one fine day when my mother pointed out that I sound different with one set of friends than I do with another. I guess it's something that most of us who move up, down, and all around different social circles learn growing up.
Pity the Bougie Youngkins never picked that up. If I had been the product of two cultures and languages, I'd be double code-switching all over the place. XD
...or "it's" and "its." Ten somebody got the big head and now "its'" is on the scene. SMDH.
LMAO!!!
I remember one time when I had been on shift for a million hours straight and this black woman was arguing with me about going to pick up her meds. I had fought to get her 90 days of free meds at a pharmacy two blocks from her house and she was bitching about having to go pick them up. After trying to reason with her for 20 minutes, I snapped "Look here sister, if you fall the hell out cuz you can't carry your ass two blocks to get the hook up, go head on." Everybody looked at me like I had turned into a different person, except for the patient. She nodded and said "Okay bruh, I got you. My bad."
Sometimes people take you there. She clearly wasn't feeling "Miss Jackson, I'm concerned for your continued wellness."
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