Rhetorical Reading Response: "“If Black Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?”"

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Rachel Scott

English 1102

In the article “If Black Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” (1979), written by author James Baldwin, it is argued that the fact that Blacks have their own language but is not looked at in such a way that can classify the way Blacks speak as a language, but is looked at in such a way that their behavior presents a more forward attitude.  Baldwin makes this known by using the comparison of music and the effect that it can have on a person by stating how two completely different races can react when one hears a song, then Baldwin goes on to make an analysis of how the dialect can be different amongst race simply because of how some are raised. Baldwin speaks on the Frenchman living in Paris speaking not the same as a person living in Quebec in order to give the reader an idea how speaking a different language in a different place may be looked upon. The intended audience for this article is to people who may feel that Blacks don’t have their own language, but rather they have actions that are not ok to display simply because of who they are and where they are.

I am saddened by this article. Giving every monumental event that has happened it is sad to know some people still at Blacks in a different view than others. I believe that each and every culture has their own way of communications and should not be classified any differently.

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Looking at the fifth paragraph in the argument, “I do not know what white Americans would sound like if there had never been any black people in the United States”, black people have had some type of influence on others. Why is it that some choose to disregard the fact that blacks are no different than any other race? The acceptance of different language can be totally fine, even when it comes from across seas, internationally, but it is not acceptable when a group of people in your own homeland is dealt with such ridicule and analyzed in a manner that disregards and demeanor rights that have been fought for.


Citations:
James Baldwin, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” © 1979 by James Baldwin. Originally published in The New York Times. Copyright renewed. Collected in The Price of the Ticket, published by St. Martin’s. Used by arrangement with the James Baldwin Estate.