6 pages- For Dr. Rocal ONLY

Hao Wang

Merzamie Cagaitan

ENGL 131/ A9/MJ1D2

April 21th, 2017

Language and Identity

Language may be used to create, build or even destroy a particular identity and this aspect is depicted clearly by Amy Tan and Lee St. James. Language is a tool so powerful that it can be used to misrepresent a certain identity to the extent of its utter obliteration. St. James produced an anti-Ebonics advertisement that called for the establishment of Ebonics, a special kind of English that combines the features of a dialect and a sociolect; it is spoken, and in some cases - by the literary language of African Americans as a language since it gave African Americans some identity through their experiences. On the other hand, Amy Tan acknowledges that language brings people together. In as much as Tan uses anecdotes while St. James takes an almost comedic attempt at explaining the value of language, it is still clear that identity and language are interconnected since one leads to another.

The experiences certain people share constitute their representation of themselves within the community and shape the language they speak, therefore, language becomes a mirror of the identity that embodies cultural codes that unite this community. In the other words, people who have undergone similar experiences speak the same language as this creates and reflects their identity. What is more, the language serves as a tool that distinguishes these people from the others and identifies their peculiarity through the means of verbal communication. Thus, the language of these certain groups reflects the experiences they share and, to some extent makes their communication impossible to understand for the others. In the other words, it transforms their communication into the exchange of coded messages. Tan and St. James take different perspectives on this aspect with each scholar confirming the contribution of language to identity. St. James shows that language can have destructive power to people who identify with particular aspects while Tan illuminates the way language builds the identity of an individual. In his anti-Ebonics movement advertisement, St. James draws on significant historical aspects such as the actions of Martin Luther and other civil rights activists. He uses these instances to sort of question the validity of the language in Ebonics speakers. Tan takes a different approach and focuses on instances in her life when language was used to create and build her identity (Tan 789). As a matter of fact, Tan goes with another and quite illustrative depiction of the role the language representation of cultural identity might have. For Tan, the tongue her mother speaks, the “broken language”, the one that sounds like the natural one for the Asian American and does not cause any frustration in author’s mind but reveals the difference between the members of her family and the other people. Whether or not language destroys or builds on identity, it is obvious that it plays a significant role in the life of an individual and how they are situated in a particular social group (Edwards 231). As the matter of fact, one is not being ridiculed for the English as much as one is for the refusal to switching language codes and using the casual dialect for a casual discussion. That might be considered as even a n impolite action - not to change the mode of talk - though, it is not a confirmation of a flow or a shortcoming.

Talking about the language of Ebonics, there are a few definitions that are regarded as the basic ones. The first is Afro-American language is Creole, which originated in West Africa as far back as the seventeenth century among indigenous peoples belonging to the macro-family of languages. This language was a means of communication between aborigines and English navigators. The second is that African-American language is a product of mixing English vocabulary with African pronunciation and, in part, grammar, which appeared on the territory of the current US with the beginning of intensive importation of slaves. Thus, both points of view confirm a mixed character, but differ in the definition of the origin of the language that became the immediate predecessor of modern Afro-American English. In these terms, both definitions diminish the value of Ebonics and neglect its cultural and identical value.

Other than constructing and destroying identity, language influences the way people speak and listen thus giving them particular characteristics that classify them with a particular group. St. James looks at Ebonics as having a special kind of language and speech mannerisms that are immensely unique. This is why civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King could afford to use phrases that conjure up images of Ebonics. With this uniqueness, language is synonymous to power to those people who believe in this language. Tan borrows ideas from her personal experiences to portray its power. For instance, different people in America had differing attitudes towards her family especially her mother because she was not a native English speaker. Tan’s mother was discriminated against even in ridiculous places such as hospitals (Tan 888). In both instances, it is obvious that language has the ability of differentiating a group of people from another because it makes them unique.

Other than creating uniqueness of a group of people, language creates identity especially because it helps in bringing out the good and the bad experiences of a group thus creating some form of unity. St. James begins by confirming the significance of language by showing that Ebonics was particularly created by African Americans in order to connect them to each other and to help them get through the experiences they underwent. On the other hand, Tan cherishes the imperfect English that her mother spoke because they contributed to her identity both as a writer and as part of her culture. In fact, she ways that as her mother spoke, she expressed her thoughts using stylistic devices such as imagery (Tan 890). In this way, language contributes to the identity of an individual. Without it, Tan would not have known her ancestral background while St. James would not have been in a position to understand the unique linguistics of the African Americans.

The major difference between the perception of Tan and St. James in regards to language is that Tan fully supports the constructive nature of language while St. James believes in its contribution to both. Tan strongly believes that language has constructed her ability to be a writer and it has also maintained her culture which she is immensely proud of. On the other hand, James supports the constructive power of language but also shows that it is destructive. He appears to suggest that the civil rights activists were ignored simply because they only spoke Ebonics. This was a language that was common to the African American populace thus making it impossible for the civil rights activists to get through to the rest of America. Even with these differences, Tan and St. James confirm the necessity of language in the creation of identity.

Language is one of the most powerful tools in the development of personal identity as it connects people who have undergone similar experiences and/ or are part of a similar culture. Tan and St. James confirm the benefits of language in constructing identity. It makes people unique and asserts their dominance over things that they hold as common. The two authors differ as St. James also confirms that language sets a group of people aside and this may destroy their identity.

Works Cited

Edwards, James. Language and identity: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print.

St. James, Lee. “I Has a Dream.” Contexts for Inquiry: A Guide to Research and Writing at the University of Washington, edited by AnisBawarshi, et al., Bedford St. Martin’s Custom Books, 2013, pp. 884-885.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.”Contexts for Inquiry: A Guide to Research and Writing at the University of Washington, edited by AnisBawarshi, et al., Bedford St. Martin’s Custom Books, 2013, pp. 886-890.