The Language of African American Culture
By: Deborah Harris
This is Part 3 in a 3-part series on how language continues to shape our culture. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
As I write the third and final piece on the language of the African American culture, it is poignantly clear to me that I have only touched the surface of this topic. There is so much more to be explored, yet I am hopeful that I have at a minimum triggered a deeper and more introspective conversation on our language.
To set the foundation for this segment, I will be referring to the work of author, professor emerita of English, and former director of African American and Literacy Program at Michigan State University, Geneva Smitherman. In her book, Talkin’ and Testifyin’: The Language of Black America, Smitherman states that Black Language is Euro-American speech with an Afro-American meaning, nuance, tone and gesture. She further adds that The Black Idiom is used by 80 to 90 percent of American Blacks, as least some of the time. She goes on to say our language has allowed Blacks to create a culture of survival in an alien environment, and as a by-product has served to enrich the language of all Americans.
The author later poses the following question: How has time and circumstance affected the African element in Black American English? This question has been asked and answered by many linguistic professionals over the last few years. Smitherman submits that the answer lies in the impact of mainstream American language and culture on Black America, and in the sheer fact of the smaller ratios of Blacks to white in this country. She adds, with such close linguistic-cultural contact, the influence of the majority culture and language on its minorities is powerful, and there is great pressure on the minorities (Blacks) to assimilate and adopt the culture and language of the majority.
Considering Smitherman’s work, originally published in 1977, I will further explore the topic of African American language from a literal definition. Building out the discussion, I am honored to share thoughts from two women of color whose varied educational background and current careers shed light on how Smitherman’s thoughts on language have changed and some in some ways have not changed in today’s culture.
Participating in this short interview are: Princess Dominique Ifon, an alumna of Cornell University and the Senior Manager of Accenture Federal Services; and Janine Slade J.D., alumna of Howard University, the Government Relations Manager Cummins INC, and an adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law.
Deborah: Ladies thank you both for agreeing to provide your perspectives on African American language. My first question centers on Smitherman’s position that close linguistic-cultural contact, places great pressure on the minorities (Blacks) to assimilate and adopt the culture and language of the majority. Does this concept ring true for any aspect of your personal or professional experiences today? If so, How? If the complete opposite is true for you, please share those experiences as well.
Janine: Yes, this has proven true for me in every professional and educational setting I’ve experienced. As early as high school I received clear messages from authority figures, communicated verbally and non-verbally, that failure to assimilate to majority speech and mannerisms would make success in those spaces more difficult to achieve. Moreover, the use of vernacular, mannerisms and speech patterns associated with the minorities (primarily Blacks and Spanish speaking groups) would be interpreted by these same authority figures as a lack of intelligence and indicator of inferior social status.
Princess Dominique Ifon, Alumna Cornell University, Senior Manager, Accenture Federal Services
Princess: There are aspects of Smitherman’s position that ring true for me, but I would say it really depends on the context. Growing up as the daughter of an active military service member, we were always moving into different communities. No matter how similar (measured by race, socioeconomic status, or state of origin) to the majority I was, there was always room for me to close a language gap. Distinct accents, vernacular, idioms, social references and just differences in shared experiences always made language the immediate barrier to connecting with others. As I shared more experiences with members of the new community, those communication obstacles shifted from mountains to minor speed bumps.
Surprisingly, it was never when I was the minority amidst the majority where I felt the biggest language hurdle. In fact, it was when I changed high schools and for the first time in 15 years I looked very much like the community I was joining where the expectations and challenge of connecting was the highest. The majority expected me to speak as they did and when I didn’t, acceptance of my differences became more difficult to achieve and the perception of my difference became more exaggerated. I also believe openness to differences and bridging to others becomes more challenging as we progress from child to adult, and hence I entered the peak of my social connection obstacle course.
These personal experiences contrast a bit from my professional experiences. With the passage of time and a grounded sense of who and what I represent, I find I am less concerned with how much I fit in and more concerned with ensuring my language use does not misrepresent the knowledge, skill and perspective I intend to share to make an impact in the workplace. It is not a wholesale adoption of the majority culture and language but more of a selective alignment of my language spectrum to theirs.
Deborah: What impact (if any) has your educational background had on how you communicate/ relate to individuals in your professional and/or personal relationships?
Janine: My educational experience has a significant effect on how I communicate in my professional and personal relationships. Attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) meant that most of my professors and advisors were people of color. These instructors were always very candid about what stereotypes students may encounter in their chosen professions and took care to provide us with tools for overcoming those stereotypes. For example, as a member of the mock trial team in undergrad I competed in several competitions every year against schools from across the nation. These competitions are judged by practicing legal professionals. Ours was frequently the only all Black team, and we were frequently in competitions where there were no other Black students at all. In four years of competing in undergrad I never once was in a round where the scoring judges were Black. Our coaches, all Black professors, emphasized that we would be judged differently than other schools and their warnings were nearly always proven true once we received comments from the judges. Our success in winning national titles was due in large part to the team being prepared to face and overcome stereotypes. Although it isn’t impossible for a non-Black coach or professor to advise their students with the same candor as Black instructors at HBCUs, I imagine the racial and cultural differences could make it more difficult to get to the heart of the matter.
Princess: My educational background has had a profound impact on how I relate to others. It’s one of the most influential social institutions we have within our communities and I think the diverse set of experiences that I’ve traversed-public and private schools, domestic and international contexts, majority-black urban high school, predominately white ivy-league undergraduate institution-has equipped me with the flexibility to bring genuine components of my history into opportunities where either connecting personally or professionally is required.
I firmly believe It is the diversity of your educational experiences that set the foundation for how much effort is brought into communicating and connecting with others professionally and personally. I’ve always had to be creative in how I use language to navigate in social settings with others, and I don’t see that skill being put to rest any time soon, especially as I find myself navigating career transitions across public and private sectors and various technical industries. They all speak different languages and I need to pull out from my language toolkit the best approach to establishing credible relationships with others.
Janie Slade J.D., Alumna Howard University, Government Relations Manager Cummins INC.
Deborah: The term “code switching” is pretty common in the African American community. By definition, it is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language within the context of a single conversation. Can you both share an experience where you used this practice? Did the participants in any of your conversations recognize that you were utilizing this methodology? If so, what were some of the reactions?
Janine: For the most part, when I’m in a professional setting I communicate in one “code” for the entire time I’m in that environment. I like to call this being “on” for work purposes. Although I can’t speculate about whether they fully appreciate that I’ve code switched for work conversations, I imagine colleagues whom I also socialize with outside of work would realize my change of vernacular by virtue of having observed my speech patterns and mannerisms in both settings. A good example of this was when a colleague, whom I’ve worked with in formal, work-related settings, met with me later at a happy hour for an affinity group we both belong to.
Princess: In my current professional role, I’m responsible for connecting technology solutions to a range of U.S. government stakeholders and organizations and what has made me successful to date is really my ability to understand my audience, to translate their problems into community-wide needs and to bridge solutions into their organizational culture. There is inherently a lot of “code-switching” required to be effective, and I believe that skill has allowed me to tackle all the communication challenges that this project presents for my role.
Personally, I’ve found that I “code switch” based on the nature of the relationship I have with the person(s) joining my conversation. So I may use expressions or language that is very informal or nested in a particular black community experience with some people and then switch to language and cultural references that have the highest resonance for whomever I am speaking with based on the social experiences I discover they happen to share with me. I think laden in references to code-switching is the possible burden of connecting with the majority in a communication style that doesn't represent our community's predominant language use or common expressions. However, the older I get, the less of a burden I feel when practicing this and I feel that it has become an invaluable asset to me no matter what the context is. While we shouldn't spend our lives using language that misrepresents who we are as a community and culture, I strongly believe the absence of a practice in code switching leaves us void of so many opportunities to connect with others, to learn and most importantly to share our culture, as ironic as that sounds. While language is undoubtedly part of our identity, it is also a tool to make human connections and we should all strive to be able to do that effectively and with sincerity.
Deborah: Thank you, Princess and Janine. Your professional, educational and personal experiences definitely provided me with a new optic on the topic of language. I wasn’t sure where this conversation would take us, but I can say that your candid and honest feedback has taken us on a journey of deeper connection and discovery on the topic.
As I close out this cultural series, I will go back to my original point. Language in the African American culture in both the literal and more expanded definition is complex, diverse, nuanced, and most importantly relevant. From how we choose to style ourselves, portray ourselves in photography and in the words we use within and outside of our communities, our language reveals our true selves. I am inspired to know that today’s women of color, fearlessly articulate and talented, have unashamedly taken our language deeper into the mainstream of society and proudly represent our African American culture. Our language continues to stand separately, as a positive sign and choice to maintain our culture/history/identity, from the Euro American English language spoken by the majority, and I believe it will always serve as the critical connective tissue of the African American experience.
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A new author in the area of children’s literature, Deborah Delois Harris published Amaris Great Adventures: The Magical Playground in October of 2018. Focusing on increasing the number of books featuring African Americans as the main characters, Deborah plans to write books that are fun for children and their parents, and culturally representative of African Americans and their diverse backgrounds.
