We speak street vernacular, and we speak job interview.” When black people can be killed for simply being themselves, code-switching presents a form of self-protectionīut despite our best comedic efforts, code-switching, now more than ever, is less than a laughing matter. This is why the comedian Dave Chappelle – who incorporates a satirical white voice into his standup routines – once said: “Every black American is bilingual. Therefore, in the search for modern essentials like housing, code-switching can provide access often denied to black people. In doing so, he found that in predominantly white areas of California such as Palo Alto, San Francisco and Woodside, standard English resulted in more “confirmed appointments to view apartments advertised” by up to 50%. To do so, he called landlords across California to inquire about housing opportunities while alternating between “African American vernacular English” (AAVE), “Chicano English”, and “standard American English”. Photograph: Mark Blinch/Reutersĭuring a 1999 study, the black researcher and linguist John Baugh sought to test the severity of such discrimination. ‘Every black American is bilingual,’ Dave Chappelle once said. But even for black people who are native English speakers, dialectic discrimination abounds. Lev-Ari also found that trust decreases when exposed to non-native languages, meaning our brains are predisposed to unconscious, linguistic discrimination. In one study, the psycholinguist Shiri Lev-Ari determined that we’re “less likely to believe something if it’s said with a foreign accent”. But historically, code-switching has served as a defense against linguistic discrimination: a form of bias that is partially implicit. And as a tool for social mobility – or in the case of black people, a tool for survival – it must be examined for both its power and potential peril.įrom navigating job interviews to ingratiating oneself with clientele, there are countless reasons people of color code-switch in white spaces. Sorry to Bother You then uses Cassius’s surreal code-switching to illustrate the tragedy of assimilation, but the reality of the linguistic act is far more complex. You wanna make some money here? Use your white voice.” Cassius’s new white voice quickly becomes his greatest asset. Soon after the main character, Cassius Green, begins a new job as a telemarketer – and fails to make a single sale – a black co-worker offers a radical suggestion: “Let me give you a tip. But Sorry to Bother You, a fantastical dystopian satire, paints a darker picture of this natural linguistic technique. Whether you’re a bilingual Puerto Rican seamlessly switching between Spanish and English, or you’re simply addressing your grandparents with added formalities, you’re code-switching. Since then, the term has expanded to capture how individuals adjust all forms of communication and expression based on their audience. When Einar Haugen introduced the term in 1954, he sought to describe the fluid nature with which multilingual people moved between languages. Thanks to the breakout film, code-switching has re-emerged in America’s racial discourse. At the shop, he was cool in a way only black people can be cool. And as the barbershop buzzed with local gossip and philosophical debate alike, I’d hang on my father’s every word, listening to him drop the “r” from “brother” or the “l” from “alright” or the “g” from seemingly any verb. From there, he’d pay similar respects to the other barbers and fellow customers, often extending a hug to the older women waiting for their sons, smiling at shopgoers the way you smile at family. As if preparing to bounce, he’d walk with a slight bend in his knee, greeting him with an ardent “My man!” before dapping him up. As soon as the shop’s door swung open, I’d watch him relax his stance before strutting towards the owner of the shop. From there, he’d answer calls from his white co-workers, ingratiating himself with carefree enthusiasm and a formal syntax while deftly employing his lawyerly lexicon.īut at the barbershop, my father was best at being himself. While checking in with his mother in Georgia he’d drift into a black southern lilt, subtly prolonging vowel sounds as he reverted to his childhood timbre. Long before Sorry to Bother You taught moviegoers the meaning of code-switching – the act of altering how you express yourself based on your audience – I learned its power by listening to my father take phone calls.
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