"‘They preaches you a pretty sermon and they don't say nothin'. They sings you a song, and they don't say nothin'. But Cora's here, honey, and she's gone tell 'em what they done to you. She's gonna tell 'em why they took you to Kansas City.’”
- Langston Hughes “Cora Unashamed” –
I have said this many times to many people. I do not like reading heavy dialect, but Langston Hughes’s “Cora Unashamed” did not bother me like other examples of dialect have in the past. I realize that the dialect in this story is not quite as thick and heavy as the dialect in books like Their Eyes Were Watching God or Huck Finn. The dialect in this short story was wonderful. It added such an amazing element to the story. The theme of this blog is language and literacy. I think that this story is a great example of how literacy has advanced. Cora’s speech was intended to sound uneducated, but many people today still talk with similar slurs and blends. Words like “gonna” instead of “going to” and “yous” instead of “you” are still popular. The difference today is that this type of language is no longer stereotyped as uneducated. Many people may believe that it sounds uneducated, but this idea does not often extend to the person. I think much of this has to do with the importance society places on what is “fair” and “politically correct.” It is no longer widely accepted to judge a person’s intelligence level by their dialect. It is still done, but not so much in the public eye. In the past, a person like Cora would have been uneducated and would have sounded uneducated. Today, Cora could walk on this campus and speak in the same manner, but very few people would point out how uneducated she sounds to her face. Another reason for the new found politeness is the fact that there now exists an “educated” dialect. People can speak a certain way to make themselves sound educated even if they are not. Educated people can “sound” stupid. I think the fact that we have learned how to play with, manipulate and accept the wide varieties of speech and dialect really shows far we have come in this field. Discussion Questions:
1. There is a difference is teasing about an accent and truly getting ridiculed for a dialect, have you experienced either of these? How did it make you feel? What did you do about it?
2. Much of dialect is considered an African American difference. What experiences have you had with an unfamiliar dialect that does not involve the African American race? What does this say about the misconception of dialect and its association with labels like stupid, uneducated, etc.
3. Do you think that the new found acceptance of dialect is evidence of advancement in literacy or is it just society's worry over what is and is not politically correct?
Written By: Elizabeth Willbanks
I feel like you asked question one directly at me. I am teased about my accent almost daily. I'm not for sure about the difference between teasing and ridiculing. If there is a difference, it is perhaps only the severity of the action, but the action is one and the same for both. I generally accept being teased good-naturally. If I say a word in my dialect and it is extremely different from the norm, someone may repent the word in a questioningly tone. I don't normally realize that the word came out differently until someone points it out. Sometimes it bothers me, that I speak so different. But I don't want to speak different, so part of me welcomes this gentle teasing as I can learn for it.
ReplyDeleteI often tease my friends about accents and use them in jokes, but I would never tease someone with whom I am not a close friend.
ReplyDeleteI also have a strange habit of picking up and involuntarily using an accent if I am around it a lot. It has gotten me into trouble in the past and now I consciously make an effort to speak in my normal dialect when talking with ESL people. If I don't make this effort, I will quickly pick up the accent and use it when talking to them.
Question 2 and unknown stereotyping.
ReplyDeleteAt one of my jobs, we worked with Dallas PD officers. There was a Vietnamese descended Officer that spoke with a very heavy Vietnamese accent. After a while, I met a Japanese descended Officer and was shocked in two ways. He came up to me and began talking and I was completely surprised. He had a very thick Texas accent. I was floored, at first by the accent that didn't seem to match the person and then by my own stereotyping that I didn't even know existed. I was disappointed with myself for being so surprised. On reflection, I don't think I would have been shocked by an Asian or a neutral accent, but the strong Texan one threw me for a loop.
The only other time that happened was when I was in Korea. I saw a couple of White people and went up to them to say "Hi." As I got close, I heard them speaking French to one another. Again, I was in an Asian country and when I saw White people I thought they must be American like me.
These are a couple of situations where language has played a role in stereotyping my expectations of an encounter.
In response to question one…
ReplyDeleteI must say that I don’t particularly like the Appalachian dialect. I have nothing against people who speak with that dialect and I don’t think of them as being different from the rest of the world, but there are simply some ways of speaking that I don’t enjoy hearing. Unfortunately for, I choose a college where many people who speak like that attend. I have said to many people that I refuse to teach anywhere below Lexington. I don’t like the accents and the stereotypes that are associated with them. I don’t want to accidently acquire a southern or Appalachian accent so I won’t teach in the south. Again, this had nothing to do with the people in those areas it simply has to do with the fact that I have worked hard not to get an accent and I don’t want to have to deal with the pressure of not getting one if I were to live in the south. This of course also means that I don’t want to teach in certain parts of New York or Boston or Chicago. I like the way I speak and I don’t want to risk changing it.
Do you think this is irrational?
Kelly, I can't think of a part of the country that doesn't have an accent. Be it Yankee, Southern, Mid-Western, West Coast or Western Desert. If teaching in an area where people have an accent is a problem, you may be out of luck if you are accent neutral. If you have an accent, I understand wanting to teach in an area that has a similar one, though. I am not saying that everyone has one. You and I don't, but no region or area is without one, as a whole.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiousity - If you never picked up an accent growing up, what makes you think you will pick one up now that you are an adult?
- Japheth
My dad's side of the family is from the Smokey Mountains, so naturally they have a pretty distinct "mountain folk" dialect. I feel myself acquiring it whenever I visit them. It's different, and somewhat frustrating (authentic mountain dialects are s...l....ooooooo.....w!), but I know it has aboslutely nothing to do with their level of education. In fact, I have two aunts and several cousins who are educated with master degrees and teach. I'm really not sure who started the whole "you sound different so you must be stupid" thing, but I'm guessing it's been around for ages.
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ReplyDeleteI was born in Indiana and moved to Kentucky when I was 8. So if you consider what linguists say about language acquisition, then my primary dialect would be a more northern sound. However, there have been numerous times when my extended family has teased me about my Kentuckian accent (clearly we can learn other dialects, especially if we are immersed long enough in a particular region). Recently my husband teased me, though, about sounding "different" when I was around my extended family (apparently he thought I was trying to sound "northern" around them). I laugh because if I sound different in different situations, it's not something I do consciously. But I think it is interesting that we do use different "voices" for different people (even if we don't realize it).
ReplyDeleteI'd say we have made progress in not shunning or stereotyping people as "dumb" if they don't use standard English. But, it's interesting to note that we still teach standard English/grammar and expect it in academic writing.