I was looking back at what we’ve had to read for class throughout the semester, and one of the articles that really caught me both then and now is the one about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The article discusses code-switching, which is when a person speaks in very different ways depending on who they are around. Usually this involves multiple languages (English and Spanish, for example), or it can also include different dialects of the same language (y’all, ain’t, etc). AOC wasn’t pretending to talk a different way, rather it’s most likely the way in which she spoke and interacted with people in her community growing up. There are a number of people who do this, and some don’t even realize that they’re code switching. It’s similar to how the language you use in an academic paper is vastly different from what you might use on Twitter or Facebook. There’s nothing technically wrong with the language people are using, but certain dialects end up being regarded as ‘lesser’ than what someone might consider ‘standard’ English. While politicians or advertisers might occasionally try to use a different dialect to appeal to different voters, it usually ends up sound weird when they say it. It’s obvious that they aren’t code-switching, rather they’re making an attempt to appeal to a different audience. Most people are able to pick up on this, and it can have quite the opposite effect of what was intended with the speech or ad. Audiences can feel when a connection to something like code-switching is genuine, and when someone’s doing it to try and get you to support them.
Viewing certain dialects as formal and others as informal ends up being a harmful practice, often rooted in racism. There’s nothing wrong with different dialects and languages, or switching between various ways of communicating with others. There also tends to be something of a superiority complex that can come in—in which people feel that they’re more educated than others based mostly on how someone speaks. The way someone speaks, however, is often not reflective of their education. Just look at how people talk to each other through text versus how they write their academic papers. People are using language that’s appropriate for the situations that they are in. The article notes “. . . language is fundamentally designed for connection. People often not that their speech tends to meld itself to the speech of those around them . . .” (Jackson 4). Dialects change and vary as you move across the map, but certain dialects are no better than other dialects. Each is just a way in which communities connect and express themselves. Code-switching isn’t a bad thing, and people who use code-switching aren’t necessarily doing it just to appeal to certain audiences. Language is meant to be used to connect with other people and to express ourselves, so why should we limit the ways in which people are allowed to speak their minds?
(And, just for fun, here’s my gecko, Saura. Pet pictures always make things better.)
Language & Rhetoric 