by Evan Perez

2/2023 

English 110 

The City College of New York 

Professor Vicars

If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

The author mentions this at the beginning of the piece, but I still want to reiterate this point. This piece wasn’t so much about language but the segregation that language can cause and the role of language. Something that I think the title pokes at as well as a previous piece of writing that we read is the fact that what we call Black English is just another style of English that is influenced by history and societal factors. 

The writer mentions how other subgroups in cultures cling to the style of their native language as either a form of retaliation or a perseveration of pride and history. I liked this point a lot as it provided other examples of other dialects and their purpose or reason for existing. This also supports the author’s note on how language comes into existence by brutal necessity. What I interpret from these points is that to call a version of a language a dialect is to rob that style of language of its individuality when the speakers of that language created it to be able to express themselves. To deny that black English is a language is to rob it of its power and roots. The conclusion of this piece kind of confuses me, but I believe the point of the piece is to argue that language is power to the people who create it, no matter what form or style it takes.