Identity Through Language

If communication is considered an exchange of information between individuals through some sort of medium then, next to appearance and dress, language could very well be the most important and descriptive quality of an individual’s personality and character. In everyday realistic interaction, we use language as a primary source for communicating our thoughts and ideas. Thus language can play a critical role in how others form perceptions about us. More importantly, others can form both positive and negative stereotypes about individuals by evaluating their linguistic sophistication. After reading Paul Beatty’s novel Tuff, the language and linguistic choices compelled me to question what ideas and goals Beatty was attempting to achieve. The book also incited questions about what type of image (whether true or not) that hip-hop language affords the African-American culture. How are African-Americans perceived through language on a national level? And, if there are works of art including: paintings, sculptures, music and literature that perpetuate the negative stereotypes of a particular culturally specific linguistic choice, how should one go about evaluating these works? Are they merely representative of the culture itself or are they as much of a problem as we consider negative digital images or photographs—or any demeaning cultural depiction?