ENGL 110-64

Audience: The Class

The English language and the idea of Standard English is very complex and difficult to grasp consistently. The United States is considered a “Melting Pot” for being the home to so many different cultures, races, and religions. Because of this, there are so many variations and ways in which people choose to speak and communicate that do not all conform with the standard type of English. This is often seen as an issue by some people because they believe that the standard way to speak English is the true and only form of the language. This idea often leads many people who do not speak in standard English to code-switch and code-mesh in their day to day lives. Code-switching is “the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation”(Esen 2019). People often code-switch in situations where they feel as though speaking a different way will likely help them fit in or create a benefit for them. Based on the NPR article there are typically 5 reasons that someone would code-switch: accidental switching, wanting to fit in, wanting to get something, speaking in secret, and to properly convey and think. Similar to code-switching, code-meshing is the “combining of multiple dialects within any single context of communication, written, or oral”(UCWBLING 2019). While it is less popular, code-meshing still occurs in many situations. With the concept of standardization in writing and speaking being so hard to grasp since what is deemed standard is not what works for all people and is not what everyone typically understands. This is where the idea of code-meshing becomes more prevalent since it is the idea of mixing multiple variations of language and considering them all equal as opposed to one “standard”. Being able to learn to write and speak in multiple variations would help diversify the English language as well as create many opportunities for all people despite how they speak.

Jamila Lyiscott touched on the idea of various forms of English and communication in her TED Talk “3 Ways to Speak English”. She starts off the TED Talk talking about how she was told she is “articulate” by a random woman. Being articulate in simple terms means being able to speak well and be understood easily. She then goes on to talk about how she is articulate in various situations. With her professor she is articulate in discussing work, while she is also articulate in talking with her father and friends. However in each of these scenarios she talks to each person or group of people in a variation of the English language. With her professor she speaks standard English that is taught in schools, with her father she speaks in a relaxed native language, and with her friends she speaks in slang. In this idea she is implying that code-switching is a major part of her daily life. She must code-switch in each situation in order to be viewed as “articulate” and easy to understand in each context. If she didn’t code switch then there may be confusion from the various parties because of the different types of English. In these situations the idea of code-switching is often used more than code-meshing because it is hard to mesh languages that other people do not understand. For example, if her professor does not understand her slang that she speaks with her friends it would be hard for her to mesh the two variations of language in a way that he would also understand. She discusses how even different variations of English have their own forms of rules and “laws” that must be followed and understood. Another way to understand this concept is seen in the article What Should Colleges Teach by Stanley Fish. At one point in the article Fish talks about how you can’t just dive into a language without previous knowledge. He uses the example of teaching someone about independent clauses in a standard English class. If you simply told someone with no previous English experience the grammar rules about commas within an independent clause, they wouldn’t be able to understand at all. However if you take the time to explain what an independent clause is as well as a comma and its use, then it would be easier for them to apply what they have learned. This idea also applies within language as Lyiscott was implying. We have to be open to learning and teaching each other the various “laws and rules” or else there will not be a mutual understanding thus leading to more code-switching.

Lyiscott then goes on to talk about the history of the country and peoples mindset has had an impact on the idea of what type of English is spoken. She states in class she has stopped “the flow of an intellectual conversation” to ask the question “why these books neva be about my people”. This brings up the idea that code-switching and speaking formal English is based on the history of our people and conforming to a new society. She then goes on to talk about how language variations and ways to speak were taken away from people not native to the English language like many other rights were taken. Lyiscott believes that code-switching is so big in fitting in groups because standard English is what is taught is proper based on the type of people the country was built off of. The prejudice from previous generations has still affected us in a way to see when it is fit to talk in a certain way. This concept and idea is why code-switching is so widespread and common. This idea also relates back to Young’s article Should Writers Use They Own English. In his article, Young states that people often don’t get jobs or can lose them solely because they don’t talk or write in the “status quo” which happens to be standard English. He says this is because of people’s attitudes towards language. He states, “it be the way folks with some power perceive other people’s language”(Young 110). In this Young is saying that the way we speak English is often influenced by people who are deemed important which treks all the way back down history. This is also seen in Sound Effects: Challenging Language Predjuice in the Classroom article by Walt Wolfram in the section titled the Seeds of Language Predjuice. In this article, Wolfram basically talks about how growing up the idea of right and wrong within language is instilled in us by adults. As soon as we begin learning to speak we are taught standard English and the ways of the dialect within our region. This often leads to people later and life being taken back by others’ range of speech. The biggest difference between Young’s argument and Lyiscott’s Ted Talk is their approach on the topic. Lyiscott took an approach that could be seen as less aggressive than Young’s. Young also talks about standard language ideology. Which is “is the belief that there is one set of dominant language rules that stem from a single dominant discourse (like standard English) that all writers and speakers of English must conform to in order to communicate effectively”(Young 111). This belief plays into Lyiscotts ideas of rules within languages that we must follow in order to be properly understood as we communicate with each other. 

In her talk, Jamila Lyiscott implies many messages to writing teachers. Going back to her comments about the history of language. When Lyiscott brings up books never including people like her she is implying that teachers should widen the horizon of books they teach on. In many curriculum programs around the country, we are all taught the same stories about the same types of people and not shown anything else. We are not taught about other types of people, cultures, or languages. This also has an impact on a student’s ability to be able to later speak to others. If we are always taught one way of writing and speaking then we will never be able to fully understand and adapt to other types of language. She also goes into the idea of people assuming that someone who does not speak in standard English is simply ignorant. Lyiscott wants to encourage people to not judge others by their choice of language. All languages are different and should be seen as equals. This applies to writing teachers because we are often taught that one form of language is better than another. This way of teaching leads to people as though they have to code-switch in order to be properly heard, understood, and respected in many academic and social settings. Jamila Lyiscott also talks about how knowing how to speak multiple variations of English is beneficial and brings diversity to jobs and other settings. She calls herself trilingual because she is able to adapt and communicate with so many people in various settings. This would be beneficial for teachers to teach students so that we can slowly diversify workplaces and professional environments to fit more people. 

Works Cited

C, Isabel. “Creating Conversation: Code Meshing as a Rhetorical Choice.” UCWbLing, 18 June 2020, …….http://ucwbling.chicagolandwritingcenters.org/creating-conversation-code-meshing-as-a-rh…….etorical-choice/#:~:text=Code%20meshing%20is%20the%20combining%20of%20multiple…….%20dialects,higher%20education%20and%20our%20work%20as%20peer%20tutors.?mscl…….kid=b63e1311b53d11ecb687ff1dc010f155.

Esen, Seckin. “Code Switching: Definition, Types, and Examples.” Owlcation, Owlcation, 13 …….Apr. 2014, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Code-Switching-Definition-Types-and- …….Examples-of-Code-Switching.

Fish, Stanley. “What Should Colleges Teach? Part 3.” New York Times, 7 Sept. 2009, …….https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/what-should-colleges-teach-part-3/. 

Performance by Jamila Lyiscott, 3 Ways to Speak English, Feb. 2014, https://www.ted.com/talks/ …….jamila_lyiscott_3_ways_to_speak_english?msclkid=4c3bfe82b51311ec9164505102c048fe. …….Accessed Mar. 2022.

Thompson, Matt. “Five Reasons Why People Code-Switch.” NPR, NPR, 13 Apr. 2013, …….https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/13/177126294/five-reasons-why-people-.………code-switch.

Wolfram, Walt. Sound Effects-Challenging Language Prejudice in the Classroom, 2013. 

Young, Vershawn Ashanti. “Should Writers Speak They Own English?” Iowa Journal or Cultural …….Studies, vol. 12, no. 1, 2010, pp. 109-118, https://lms.cofc.edu/d2l/le/content/268138/view …….Content/3465819/View. Accessed 27 October 2021