Teaching through Obama: Understanding Styleshifting and Discourse Patterns

In general, members of every minority group continue to be measured largely by the degree of assimilation—how closely speech patterns, dress, or demeanor conform to dominant white culture-and the more that a minority strays from these external markers, the more he/she is subject to negative assumptions.

WARNING:Individual prejudice leads/feeds structural discrimination. When students see their language as having lesser value, they start to see themselves in that light too.

Purpose: To afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted…

Social Justice: WHEN STUDENTS ASK WHY IS THE SYSTEM THIS WAY: Work to show them that the system has been rigged to favor those who have power; guide them to see how they can work to change it. Teach them through activities that they have agency.

Consider:Had the majority in power spoken AAVE/BEV or Spanglish, or another variety of English, our country might have privileged a different English. Then “Standard” English would have become the bastard discourse and students who spoke that variety would have had to assimilate.

ar•tic•u•late while black

H.Samy Alim and Geneva Smitherman

Crossing Over—Afro-Americanization of Youth/Crossing Over into the Mainstream Fashion, music, attitude, dance, children’s games, and words Unabated Words Include: man, go, put down, make, beat, cool, swing, with it, crazy, dig,

flip, creep, hip, square…. (travelling into twitterverse vis-a-vis Black twitter), social media Hand gestures:

Givin’ dap or pound- not a fist bump With Church origins, hand waving has become a cultural symbol connected with

agreement, signifying, and a form of expressing something that one cannot find words for; spiritual connectivity

Cultural and Political Struggle of Language Language is a site of cultural and political struggle How we feel about a language, more often than not, reflects how we feel about its speakers. White policing of Black (others use of) language Language is currency Language has symbolic power (how we distinguish ourselves from others) Americans are socialized to link articulateness with intelligence and whiteness; White people are automatically assumed to be articulate and others use and style of

language are compared to that of Whites or “EWC.”

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Articulate is connected to deeper enduring politicized, non-neutral, views, that is loaded with a sociohistorical, sociocultural, cultural-linguistic hegemony that imposes itself on a people, and praises them for covering up their own language varieties;

Articulate is used by members of the dominant culture to describe the speech of those on the linguistic margins

Our everyday discourse is “racially” structured! Black communication “becomes” controversial only because of fear from social

groups- there is nothing inherently controversial about Black communication (fear of losing power, acts as a neoenslavement)

When people refer to Black English as ignorant, they are actually showing their ignorance of linguistic principles

White English is the “price” of admission to mainstream society—so others try to assimilate by dropping their English variety

The way we talk can grant or deny us access to social, political, and economic opportunities Since racial discrimination is legally banned, language has become a vehicle in the denial

of access to resources to Blacks; a “postracial” proxy for discrimination

Language is the very heart of teaching- teaching is a linguistic activity- it is the socially and cognitively based linguistic determinations speakers make about style, register, vocabulary…(Delpit, 1995)

Culture is the rule governing system that defines forms, functions, and content of communication- (for African Americans, culture tends to be inductive, interactive, and communal in task performance)

Communication is dynamic, interactive, irreversible, and contextual and is the ground of meeting people- think about how delivery matters

Logic informs how we approach tasks and has to do with how we are socialized, by third grade it’s ingrained. So, knowing how logic operates influences how students engage with learning tasks and demonstrating mastery of them

**Absence of shared communicative frames of reference, procedural protocols, rules of etiquette and discourse systems, makes it difficult for culturally diverse students to fully convey their intellectual abilities

Language , linguistic codes, and communicative styles of ethnically diverse students are intimately connected to loved ones, community, and personal identity

Academic Language (AL) should be taught as a complement to one’s language- when one speaks BE (AAE/BEV/AAVE), they are making statements about who they are and what they value; when you diss on someone’s language, you be dissin on they mommas (Smitherman)!

Both AL and BE are necessary and do not need to be mutually exclusive or nullifying. They can enrich the other- to speak both skillfully means one has a high degree of bilingualism or biculturalism

24 States and many cities and towns have English Only ; 4 states have English Plus (NM, Oregon, RI, and WA), promote English and other languages; Kris Gutierrez says that EO practices are detrimental to achievement—such practices define students on the basis of their language skills rather than on their diverse backgrounds, language skills, interests and learning needs (2004)

Dual language learners enact code-shifting, styleshitfing/code-switching (contrastive analysis), code-meshing, bidialectism, bilingualism. Proficiency in heritage language/language variety or indigenous language correlates positively w/higher academic English performance

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Black English Complex verbal system which derives from a Creolized form of African and European

language varieties-distinct from white, mainstream English Black English is irrefutable evidence that there is a distinct, healthy, functioning African

American culture which is not white and does not want to be white. Black students who speak BE, for survival sake, are forced to be bicultural/bilingual in a

white social system. The same societal pressure does not exist for many Whites unless they choose it (neoenslavement)

When people refer to Black English as ignorant, they are actually showing their ignorance of linguistic principles

Black English syntax contains rules and use: Rule Example

Copula absence- actions in regular present are marked without any form of to be

“Nah, we straight” and She writing a new story right now.

If subject is first person (“I”), use am or (I’m) I’m writing a new story right now.Invariant be for habitual aspect (marks repeated actions)

“He be talkin a lot in class”

Questions in present tense, use conjugated form of be

Is she writing a new story right now?

Questions involving habitual actions, use do combined with be

Do she be writing new stories often?

Actions in the past are marked by conjugated form of to be

“She was working yesterday”

Equatives “We be them bad boys”Intensified continuative (use of steady) “She steady prayin her son come back from

Iraq”Stressed been to mark remote past “I been told you not to trust them”Mark future or conditional perfect (use of be done). When marking future, be may be optionally combined with an auxiliary (a or gon(na))

“By the end of the day, I be done collected $600”

“She gonna be writing a new story soon.”Aspectual stay “She stay up in my business”3rd person present tense, s absence “I know who run this household”Possessive s absence “I’m braidin Talsesha’s hair”Multiple negation “You can’t help folks who ain’t gonna make

it nohow”Negative inversion “Ain’t nothing gonna change”Generalization of was w/plural and 2nd person subjects

“Tell me we wouldn’t be treated different if we was white:

Cultural modes: Signifyin (bustin, crackin, cappin, dissin) Playin the dozens Call and response Tonal semantics Battlin and entering the cipher Artful use of direct and indirect speech

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Discourse Strategies Black folk tend to be participatory-interactive—(meaning, speakers engage others actively through vocalized, motion, and movement as they are speaking) (Af-Am, Latino, Native Hawaiians)

a. Signifying (bustin, crackin, cappin, dissin)- verbal art of insult in which speakers use humor, insinuation, and exaggeration, to put down and talk about one another (use this for problem solving: why not use this to build upon; tools for signifying include; metaphor, irony, symbolism, and innuendo; b. Sounding, verbal dual: similar to signifying in content, technique and effect.Discourse patterns (should be used for academic capacity building)

1. Af-Am use “gain the floor” through personal assertiveness, strength of impulse to be involved, and persuasive power of the point they want to make (some teachers view them as rude, when they are expressing themselves through their known discourse pattern)

Call-response- as speakers speak, listeners, give encouragement, commentary, compliments and even criticisms; the speaker issues the CALLs and the listeners responsibility/obligation is to respond often auditory called Signification, which ranges from mild teasing to vicious slander (smiling, vocalizing, looking about, moving, amen-ing)- talk back!

Interaction (Tonal semantics): body dramatics, body language, gesturing; sermonic tone; cultural references; ethnolinguistic idioms and proverbs; Narrative sequencing-conversational storytelling employing rhetorical devices such as rhythm, rhyme, rate, repetition, improvisation, lyricism, histocultural contextualization (polyrhythmic patterns);

o Playing the Dozens--Snappin’/signifying: incorporates double meaning and humor, playful commentary, or social critique couched as verbal play, involves rhetorical hyperbole, irony, direction, metaphor, deployment of semantically or logically unexpected

o Battlin- Black verbal dueling associated with Hip Hop and improvisational rhyming- try to outsmart your opponent through linguistic wit and creativity

o Hush mode- tends to be played by Black girls through argumentation and play- try to leave your opponent dumbfounded and speechless.

European Americans tend to be “ topic-centered ”- tend to focus on one issue at a time…, a. Arrange facts, and ideas in a logical and linear order; b. Make explicit referential, temporal and spatial relationships; c. Speech episodes tend to be short and precise; d. Cognitive processing moves deductively from discrete parts to cumulative

whole with a discernable closure; e. Quality is determined by clarity of descriptive details, absence of

unnecessary or flowery elaboration and how well explanations remain focused on the essential features of issue being analyzed,

f. Structure, content and delivery parallel the expository, descriptive writing and speaking commonly used in schools.

Latino, African American, Native American, and Native Hawaiian tend to be “topic-associative” or “topic-chaining,” “performance discourse,” or “narrative style”

a. Episodic, thematic, integrative, anecdotalb. More than one issue is addressed at oncec. Related explanation unfold in overlapping, intersecting loops, with one

emerging out of and building on others

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d. Relationships among segments are assumed or inferred rather than explicitly established

e. Thinking and speaking appear to be circular and seamless rather than linear and clearly demarcated

f. Topic chainers rely on paralinguistic devices as tempo, rhythm, intonation, vowel elongation, repetition, nonverbal gestures

g. Creativity in delivery is as important as qualityh. Speakers are active participants in their own narrativesi. Often accused of not responding directly to a question--- provide

narratives and tell stories- but this is the discourse pattern; when this process is interrupted, the more difficult it is to get to the heart of the story….often accused of “belabored verbosity”

GENDERED SPEECH PATTERNS:Women, Lakoff identified 9 speech patterns:

a. specialized vocab for homemaking and caregivinga. mild forms of expletivesb. adjectives that convey emotional reactions c. tag comments- midway between questions and commentsd. exaggerated expressivenesse. super polite formsf. hedges or qualifiersg. hypercorrect grammarh. little use of humor

European women vs. men:a. more affiliative, accommodative, and socially bonding language

mechanisms, women’s stories include women and men engaged in supportive relationships focused on community building

b. while males are more directive, managing, controlling, task-focused, and action oriented, men’s stories about conquests where individuals acted alone

c. girls: speak more politely and tentatively, less forceful words, less confrontational, less intrusive when entering a conversation

d. boys: interrupt more, use more commands, threats, boasts of authority, give information more often

Black women and mena. talk is imbued with intimacy, deep caring, intuitiveness, candor, pride,

strength, inner convictions, intensity, wisdom, assertiveness, fortitude, forthrightness, sincerity, seriousness, and confidence; also coping with racism and sexism

b. also enacted “shifting” or “code shifting”- process of shifting style of expression and content to accommodate social and behavioral codes of White middle-class America- feel they are being sized up, and prejudices can ensue.

c. code shifting entails; censoring speech, editing dialogue internally and externally, -- young black girls learn this from early on and develop communicative devices early in life. Play mental gymnastics and this impacts their emotionality- this is established well before 3 rd grade.

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d. gendered styles of communication are problematic and patterns tend to be well established before 3rd grade

We see these discourse patterns at odds: Topic associative is troubling to many conventional teachers- why? Quite oppositional to each other.

****Problem solving: moving from whole to parts, the pattern and principle (engaging cultural norms)

Highly contextual- setting the stage or setting prior to performance; this involves establishing personal connection with others who will participate as prelude; activating cultural socialization (works better in a group)

Collaborative/negotiated problem solving: Many Asians do consensus building and proceed congenially; use advocacy or adversarial positions, seek out compromise positions, factually rich descriptions, use “hedges” and “starts and stops” in conversation and use “apologetic nuances”

Consider this: schools are not set up typically for non-White discourse types of learning and so students of color are disadvantaged and must learn to adjust to different ways of performing…. Constantly mediating between home and school!

Pedagogical needs must account for cultural differences

CRP Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) is grounded in three tenets: “an ability to develop

students academically, a willingness to nurture and support cultural competence, and the development of a sociopolitical consciousness” (Ladson-Billings, 1995b, p. 483).

Discussion of how to Shift Between Language VarietiesCode-meshing (accommodating more than one code within the confines of a “text”)

Calls for multidialectalism, language pluralism, contains divergent varieties of English Blending of AA rhetorical strategies- extends range of forms of grammaticality, recognizes

the importance of standard and undervalued varieties Not just specific to AA, but also includes Spanish speaking students, Chinese English,

White working and middle class English, Appalachian English, Mexican immigrants, online German hip-hop Cajun English, inner-city Black students, Hawaiian English

Draws from a speakers experiences and invites a blending of dialects for best communicating in a given context

Draws from larger set of resources for interpretation and communication (e.g., from OPE, pp. 136: For students “language competence is not just the rational faculty but other sensory dimensions as well.” They “bring the physical environment, social contexts, gestures and multimodal resources for communication (Canagarajah, 2009, pp. 19-20). Integrates other rhetorical dimensions, pathos, and ethos

Words Symbols Emoticons Linguistic conventions

**C-M is Translanguaging (Canagarajah, 2011)---Allows speakers and writers to communicate across differences by creating norms and constructions. Meanings and grammars are emergent- enlarges traditional tropes of composition strategies such as meaning, voice, audience, purpose, and genre. This is a rhetorical choice.

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Obama is a master of cultural modes of discourse, which helped him get elected. He could speak with whites and “kick it” in a way that was familiarly Black

Code-switching Tends to prevent African Americans from viewing Standard English (SE) as expansive and

inclusive, and as inclusive of culture and dialect Promotes a segregationist view of literacy/linguistic segregation- puts dialects in

false/binary oppositions. There are formal degrees within all dialects-- Not all people can fully code-switch, or can keep language varieties separate Editing out grammatical features (supplanting one for the other) Vestige of legalized racial segregation- where one dialect is put into the mouths of the

undervalued and disadvantaged and is favored by those perpetuating prejudice. Has stalled racial and linguistic progress in classrooms but not for much longer… Canagarajah says that code-switching causes linguistic division because students have to

separate their dialect registers from academic registers

Leads to Cost 1: “Acting White”- Cost of assimilation-negotiating and giving up Blackness and taking

on a racial burden, mimics what whites expect of them Cost 2: Increased negative attitudes toward AAE Cost 3: Linguistic confusion

Advanced Analysis of Linguistic Variations

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Code-shifting When speakers move from language to another across time. First language is left behind

and may be rarely used later in life.

Early dialectDialect- the way a person speaks a language which is informed by social contexts. Each dialect has formal/informal standards

Influences how we read and write later in life—and our academic writing Children begin to adjust speech according to situations before they enter school. Children adjust speech depending on topic

What this means to US/Language Shifts: Use African American English (AAE) not AAVE/BEV which subordinates it English, AAE

suggests it is a type of English that can be integrated with SE All languages and dialects are equal: only uneven racial, social and/or power

relations in society, allow any one dialect to become “standard.” To call a dialect nonstandard obscures that power and naturalizes language domination in a way that makes it appear benign

AAE has been undervalued

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We should all have the ability to code-mesh, read and write in multiple varieties of English and understand how to navigate or draw upon language in various contexts

Obama- the master Styleshifter (some might call it codeswitching but that has a different connotation)

Sytleshifter: shifting between discourse models and linguistic forms in the same interaction Obama shifts between language (grammatical structure) and style (language use) See youtube clip: “Nah we straight.” (see pp. 7-9) (it can be said in three ways, compared

to American English, which has one acceptable form) (you could have students analyze the discourse patterns/how he style shifts, etc)

We are straight; We’re straight; We • straight.

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Go to saved NPR clip. See transcript below Obama uses verbal/emotional persuasion: repetition (altering pitch and stress), code-

switching, rhythmic patterns, metaphors, stories (connected to larger themes), adopts a Pastorial African-American vernacular and references Biblical verses, uses passion and rousing speech tools of preachers from Black churches (signifyin’), and has a slow cadence and uses pauses pregnant with meaning.

Election : Understands White, main stream linguistic codes; knows how to speak familiarly Black; can bring together “White syntax,” with “Black style”—this made him appear both “American” and “Christian” (through his use of language and style, he reminded folk of MLK (linguistic links) and they could make links); needed to “sound White” to get elected

He demonstrates a linguistic flexibility which is a creative response to the awareness of how linguistic prejudice manifests

Satisfied the psychosocial demands of Whites, Blacks, and all others Considered the first “Hip Hop President” Linguistic role model for how to use language varieties well

Consider the following: Be mindful of not “othering” students’ discourse patterns, consider ways to blend

“academic language” with AAE: BEV/AAVE (etc.,)- they no not need to be mutually exclusive or nullifying. They can enrich the other- to speak both skillfully means one has a high degree of bilingualism or biculturalism and hence, cultural capital;

Schools are typically not set up for non-White discourse types of learning and so students of color are disadvantaged and must learn to adjust to different ways of performing…. Constantly mediating between home and school

Be mindful to not reinscribe a “new racism” by perpetuating MA through your teaching. In other words, blending language/discourses is not about “benevolence;”

Students are less likely to resist teachers when pedagogies are congruent with the cultural and linguistic identities to which they belong;

The media has tremendous power in disseminating and inscribing dominant perspectives. While many of us might be frustrated about ‘dissin’ on RJ at the trial, it provides opportunities to teach about how to disrupt microaggressions and shift both ourselves and our students into an agentive stance.

Additional activities for building upon cultural modes, teaching and critically unpacking-

Teachers: Unconscious attitude toward home language causes a psychological barrier to learning Must understand how different dialects/world Englishes are rule-governed (shouldn’t

penalize students when its actually the teacher who doesn’t know the linguistic patterns of dialects/world Englishes)

Might consider teaching pluralism: multiple dialects, linguistic registers, and cultural styles Teaching SE must be taught along with a unit on language awareness that addresses

prejudice

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Additive approaches preferred- teaches competence in both home and in the dominant language

P. 39, has excellent resources on approaches to teaching undervalued English Can teach code-meshing and support students to read and write in multiple dialects

simultaneously and from various cultural perspectives Should be open and inclusive and teach dialects of English as multiple and global so as

not to privilege any one over the other. Students could be taught that they are all equal and applied contextually. Englishes should not be mutually exclusive but used together in forms of code-meshing.

Students need to be taught how to read contexts Contrastive analysis can reinforce a segregationist belief—supplanting and using one form

of English over another. It should be taught purposefully and mindfully about shifting contexts and not “replacing” or “privilege” a type of English

When disregard a student’s language, disregarding their personhood (family, culture, values, etc)

Teachers can experiment with code-meshing. Assignments can integrate various inter and intra- and intersentenial aspects throughout expressive and composition pieces. Self-directed assignments are highly relevant

Bring in models and have students unpack the rhetorical elements and grammaticality— and as legitimate forms of human expression

When something has taken on meaning and been adopted by a group, it’s called uptake.

Teaching Writing Any approach that imposes a single type of grammar, restricts students’ abilities accurately

to express aspects of identity and experience C-M is Translanguaging (Canagarajah, 2011)---Allows speakers and writers to

communicate across differences by creating norms and constructions. Meanings and grammars are emergent- enlarges traditional tropes of composition strategies such as meaning, voice, audience, purpose, and genre. This is a rhetorical choice.

Inquiry-based questions for Code-Meshing What can C-M look like in an ELA classroom? How can AP Lit and Lang teachers employ C-M as a rhetorical strategy in timed writings? How can students come to see that all English dialects are equitable? Can C-M shift students’ perspectives about the value of their dialect? There are examples of the Unit from the text on the tcp website

Black Youth or Those have Taken up AAE Recognize a “two-ness” about the world they’re involved in while those who don’t use AAE

do not experience the split “Kids know they language and they peers ain valued at all if they ain valued all the time.” Students know that when they speak or write in a dialect that doesn’t meet a teacher’s

norms, and it’s corrected, they receive the message that their language is defective

Verbal playAsk students to draft rounds for the games and then analyze their use of language and discourse, modes of shifting, and how they integrated stylistic techniques.

Playing the Dozens--Snappin’/signifying: incorporates double meaning and humor, playful commentary, or social critique couched as verbal play, involves rhetorical hyperbole, irony, direction, metaphor, deployment of semantically or logically unexpected—

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Battlin- Black verbal dueling associated with Hip Hop and improvisational rhyming- try to outsmart your opponent through linguistic wit and creativity-

Hush mode- tends to be played by Black girls through argumentation and play- try to leave your opponent dumbfounded and speechless.

Have students analyze pieces of The Help for inaccurate/accurate uses of BE. Ask them to select passages, then edit for grammar and use. Ask students to write a letter to the author to demonstrate the rules that govern BE.

Ask students to analyze how a rap artist or Hip-Hop artist code-meshes or style shifts. Reflect on how well the artist understands the grammatical patterns.

Have students analyze their own and others speech patterns, especially the media, in a given context. Ask them to audiotape themselves or another and decode on use of language and discourse, modes of shifting, etc.

Do the Linguistic Profiling Activity (John Baugh) see p. 187 for worksheet. Reflect on how Rachel Jeantel’s use of BE was lambasted by the media. Chart the cultural

and linguistic microaggressions against her and compare/contrast how topic centered to participatory-interactive was viewed in the courtroom.

Watch Linguistic Profiling on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KCL97s1lJg Watch American Tongues: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/8711115/american_tongues/

Possible resources to use or draw from to teach Conclusion by Keith Gilyard No kinda sense by Delpit The Color Purple by Alice Walker da word by Lee Tonouchi pp. 9-15 How to tame a wild tongue by Gloria Anzaldua The wine of astonishment by Earl Lovelace

Future of language Moving toward varieties of spoken and written English, not just SAE, so what will can

mean for our classes?

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Purpose(s)

Lesson Brainstorm BE rules taught/applied Type of switching between language variety(ies) applied

Relevant Discourse Strategy/Pattern

Potential Learning

Outcomes

Standard (s)

Group A: Group B: _____RL-RI-W-L-SL-

RL-RI-W-L-SL-

RL-RI-W-L-SL-

RL-RI-W-L-SL-

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Transcript of Ben’s Chili BowlBarack: (Handing over his money to the cashier) You just keep that. Where’s my ticket? You got my ticket?Cashier: (offers Barack his change)Barack: Nah, we straight. (Reaching over to take his soda)Customer: You got cheese fries, too?Barack: Nah, nah, that’s you, man… (video cuts away and returns after Barack receives his chili dog)Barack: Now, do y’all have some Pepto Bismol in this place?All Present: (all laugh)Barack: (walking back up to the counter, addressing ashier again) Hey, home come he’s got some cheddar cheese on his and I don’t on mine?All Present: (laughter) Woahhh!Cashier: Whatever you like, sir.Barack: We got some cheese, you can sprinkle on it (gesturing the sprinkling of cheese, then signifyin)? Not, not, not, not the Velveeta but the…Customers: (Laughter)Customer: The cheddar cheese!Barack: The cheddar cheese

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Issues with “Articulate” Articulate is used by members of dominant culture to describe the speech of those on the

social and linguistic margins. When someone praises another for being articulate, i.e. how well they speak English, it

engages in paternalism and infantilizes Black (or others) intelligence and morality (i.e., moral failings). Implication is that most Black people don’t have the capacity to engage in articulate speech when White people are automatically assumed to be articulate. They are deficient (not). Yet celebrates Black movement toward White mainstream and away from cultural separatism. “Compliments” can perpetuate racist ideas.

Subtextual racism: When a Black person is given a compliment for being articulate with other adjectives like, “handsome,” “clean,” “good,”… it is a backhanded compliment-

Black people can call the lie- they know they are being praised for abiding by white Norms If an adult Black person is given the same compliment, do you think it is read the same as

a Black youth? One who is 5? 10? 15? Brings to the fore related issues of racial segregation, cultural assimilation, assimilation,

and linguistic policing- that in order for a Black person to “make it” in America, he or she must be an exception to the racist view of Black deficiency and must prove it by not speaking like other Blacks.

Query: Does it matter who is making the comment about articulate? Explain

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