I'd just like to reply to Carley's blog (my own reactions to the link will come later) but i agree with your statement regarding language as an integral part of retaining and expressing one's identity and creativity. One of the questions you raised was, what is the language of African Americans? If it is true that they lost their mother-tongues a long time ago, what is theirs??
To me, it is blues, it is gospel, it is jazz, it is hip hop. All of these were bred out of a reactionary resistence to oppression by the white man. Although they have since then been exploited and many a times turned against the black man through globalisation, they will always remain the quintessential black music, the African American language. As exemplified in the popularization of hip hop and jazz, and even the blues, this language has been acquired by those interested all over the world, upon from which have sprung various dialects. Nonetheless, its roots are authentically African American.
Blues, which has its origin in slave songs were a way in which slaves told stories, expressed their humanity and retained strength.
Gospel, inherently a quality of black churches, came from a need for African Americans and recently-freed slaves to create their own religious community, separate from white christian churches.
Jazz, too, was a vamp on classical western standards. Louis Armstrong, when hired as entertainer in white bourgeois halls, mocked his oppressers through his horn..and they clapped---this is the ultimate irony!
Hip Hop, beyond just the slang used in rhyme (a code specific to certain geographic locations and experiences), is a versatile language expressed visually, orally, physically and aurally. Springing from a resistence to discriminatory urban policies, catching momentum from a resistence to the Reagon era, advancing through the resistence of Apartheid in South Africa, rising up from a resistence to corrupt police and drug wars, and recently waking from a resistence to the commercial rap music industry, hip hop is a language that empowers.
--Sonal
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This is a beautiful response. Thank you Sonal! I agree with what you said to the fullest as far as the many histories and how Black music came about. I would like to accept that as a "language," because in many senses it is very legitimate, but it is such a different type of language that just doesn't exist, or fit with, the languages used world-wide in most daily activities. I would love to live in a world where the music was the language, where we are constantly in rhythm, in ceremony, living creativity. But for now, where we choose our words very carefully as to be as logical, to-the-point, and restrictive as possible, how do we translate the beauty of the language of Black music into something that can be spoken.....I'm not sure how to put this, I guess I should study language more....It's like using sign language with person that's used to orally speaking. Different mediums of language, I guess. So do we try to fit Black music language into the same medium as Standard American English? Or would that ruin it? I'll stop here because I'm losing my train of thought.....
-Carley
hmm.. thanks for responding Carley! I'm not sure we have to fit black music into anything. it is what it is. I understand your question about Standard English, though, and i knew that i wouldn't really be answering your question regarding this when i wrote this post last night. Nevertheless, i do believe that language can serve different means and all of us youth in the current generation must become bilingual, if not multilingual--we must learn the art of code-switching and being able to move in and out of various languages to serve our needs. In fact, we actually code-switch naturally--as performers, we change up our speech/writing/expression to fit our appropriate audiences...
In terms of dealing with a restrictive, concise, logical standard english, we can consider this a type of form which can adopt for certain purposes, but always bringing our own stylistic content to the form, thus blurring the limits, making the restrictions a hazier. Does that make sense at all?
I agree that different discourses may suit different purposes. But it's also important to consider and challenge the power/credibility that certain discourses are given, no? And to insist that standard forms of language/discourse/writing are not necessarily more credible than other forms?
--Aneil
Right. It sounds nice to just use Standard American English and add your own style, and I think we should do this, and already do especially now. However, the issue is that one language, which comes with strict guidelines,is held as the more credible language in society. So, we have explored the cultural importance of code-switching and music, creativity, etc. But in social institutions, most importantly schools and the legal system, these variations of Standard American English are not accepted. So, yes, we do need to figure out how to fit Black English, (which I think June Jordan would argue is not music; it's actually a language like Standard American English with grammar rules, syntax, etc.) into the social institutions of today in order to get better representation of those who speak it, and to establish respect for it and giving it validity and power everywhere in American society.
I dont believe that it is credible but i'm still stuck thinking there is a need to have functional language within a culture, society or state. Otherwise, if we dont have a universal means by which to communicate within the larger group it's not possible to accurately interpret and communicate. Perhaps, it most important to learn the various manners of communication or language so that one can explicitly convey their thoughts despite the context. ... I'm wondering why do we switch up the 'type' of languge we use. Is it because we believe the person we are communicating with will not understand other forms or, are we playing to a predjudace or ... is it for credibility?
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