Judgment and Code Switching
I recently came across this article about
code-switching and remembered this concept had came up in class discussion and
in one of the videos we watched. It was interesting to find out that the
definition of this term for linguists is that it is the practice of alternating
between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation. But
based off of what I had learned previously, this did not sound accurate so I
kept reading. In the article, Eric Deggans tells us how in today's increasingly
multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society, the term's deeper meaning involves shifting
between different cultures as you move through life's conversations — choosing
your communication style based on the people you're dealing with. So in other
words, people will "code switch" or change how they talk or behave
based on who they are around. When I first heard of this concept I
automatically thought of my now ex-husband. He is of Haitian and African American
ethnicity and I am French (okay, I am white) but because of this I noticed how
he would act or speak a certain way around me and then his homeboys would come
around and he just like "flipped this switch" and was a different
person because he sounded and acted completely different. I used to call him
out for this and say that he was being fake. He would get very defensive or
upset and would say that he was not being any sort of way. He clearly did not
even recognize what he was doing because it happened so naturally for him.
Deggans talks about how Barack Obama, our first black president also
code-switched and had done it publicly for a speech back in 2007 which was in
front of a mainly black audience and Fox News thought it was absurd and a "put
on" all because they themselves had never done it or experienced it. But this
"behavior" is to help fit in and making sure you are understood in
whatever group setting you are in and that it becomes so natural like how
breathing is. Now after learning about this concept and really understanding
it, I too have realized that I code switch and I won't ever judge someone for
it again. Whether it is speaking more southern around certain family members,
or using slang around my ex husbands family, or my professional
"white" voice at work, I am still the same old Cathleen.
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/10/176234171/learning-how-to-code-switch-humbling-but-necessary
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