Rhetorical Situation: Argument
Please put in the comments what you think the ARGUMENT of June Jordan’s “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You…” is. Please just copy-and-paste from you Rhetorical Worksheet.
21 thoughts on “June Jordan Discussion”
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June Jordan is tying to say that Black English is the same as any other English. No one should be treated any less because they have their own form identity.
June Jordan argues that standard writing takes away from black voices. He believes that black people should learn how to write and comprehend black English because it is a part of their identity.
Reclaiming black English and using it for the response against police brutality is a way of reclaiming black identity and bringing justice to the community.
June Jordan is trying to introduce Black English as a legitimate form of English and tries to raise awareness.
The argument that I believe the author is making is that people don’t really want to accept the fact that language is used differently, especially within the black community. I say this because when she used an example with the group of kids, even the reader can tell that the students didn’t like the way the author used Black English by the way they reacted. I think that because of the fact that there are people out there are afraid to admit they speak like that, it just clouds a bit of their judgment on how they comprehend the text that was given.
The main argument that the author is trying to communicate is that there is a barrier between “White” and “Black” English and there should be a standard for all English.
The author is making the argument that the way you speak should not be looked down upon and suppressed if it does not agree with the barrier of “White” or normalized English, and that one should not be ashamed of how they speak, instead they should embrace their own way of speaking and expressing themselves.
I believe the main claim/idea/argument that the author is trying to communicate is to show the importance of Black language, help the students to pay more attention to themselves and fight for justice. Also, help the students to discover the communicative power and the language clarity which they are not clear about. In her essay she focuses on explaining what Black English and how it’s become oppressed by Caucasian Americans throughout the years. She wants to show that Black English is being ignorant and they have been raised to modify Black English to Standard English in order to fit in American norms. The stance she takes is to motivate the students to fight for themselves for their rights, and they do not have to act fake in order to fit in the norms of America because when they do it looks unrealistic.
The main claim of the text is Black English is a form of identity in modern households and should not be categorized as an informal speech. The author believes Black English is a part of minority’s background and should not be called as informal speech when it is a part of them like how standard English is a part of a white American’s life. White individuals look down on different but that should not make African-American individuals feel inferior but rather embrace their culture.
Jordan is proclaiming that Black English is English. Like Tan, she is expressing the importance of a specific form of English and that their form of English doesn’t make their language any different or less.
I believe that the author is trying to tell the readers that people in this country try to silence others by making Standard English the norm. A more specific claim would be that black people in this country are being silenced and stripped of their identity and a way for them to reclaim it is to use Black English.
June Jordan argues about people of color have there own language and thats what they are brought up to speak.
The main argument that the author aims to portray is that, Black culture has grown to become so undermined by others around it, that in effect, it has been suppressed from escaping and achieving complete liberty/freedom of speech.
The author acknowledges the fact that there is a degree of difference between the standard that Blacks and Whites hold for the English language. However, in America the White standard remains supreme and serves as the basis of one’s proficiency and level of correctness while using English in writing and speech. She believes that this shouldn’t be the case and that people should form their own level of self awareness.
I believe that the main idea that the author is trying to communicate is that we live in a society that is generally unwelcome to other unique ideologies and are constantly criticized by either the way they speak or live their life. In this example she uses black English to show that standard English affected it in a positive and negative way.
The main idea of this text is that Black English cannot be erased or denied and that the
injustices in the Police force cannot be ignored and should be spoken about. The stance that
the author takes is wanting Black English and Black injustices to be heard and learned.
I think what the author is trying to say is that the definition of a standard sets a fixed framework for everyone, and breaking that framework is a very difficult thing, and she tried it, and it wasn’t ideal. She is trying to speak out for black people who have encountered police violence.
Jordan is trying to argue that having a standard language can limit a person’s ability to express themselves. Jordan argues that language gives a person a sense of power and the acknowledgment of being intelligent which is problematic since White English is the only accepted language in society. How are African Americans supposed to be themselves when they are perceived as inferior because of the Black English they speak? In her essay, Jordan sets up the idea that no one is to question White English and just to accept it but she also acknowledges that if Black English is ignored, then they are ignoring their race and identity hence the reason why most police attack those people of color. This ties into why Jordan is so passionate about society identifying Black English as a language since it proves to African Americans that they can’t do or be anyone without giving into the American norms of society. The whole purpose of the civil rights movement was to change how segregated African Americans felt and in this situation, there’s nothing that really changed if the police are still targeting people of color due to racial assumptions. Jordan critiques how our society only believes in White English whereas other countries are allowed to speak their native languages but in comparison, they have more freedom than African Americans because they get to express themselves whereas students are forced to conform to the education that limits their identity. She strives to preserve Black English throughout her essay since it represents “the presence of life, voice, and clarity—that intensify to a distinctive Black value system that we became excited about and self-consciously tried to maintain.”(Jordan, 1985) Due to internalized oppression, it becomes a man versus man conflict since if these students want to take action to what happened to Willie Jordan’s brother, they would have to submit to Standard English which means they are abandoning their self worth and going against everything they believed in and learned, then what was the point in defending Willie Jordan’s brother if they were going to act like the ones who killed his brother. Therefore, this idea of an invisible wall and double consciousness is what Jordan argues as the implications of separating a person’s native language from the Standard English and the reason why Jordan is committed to inform people of the importance of an individual’s culture, language and identity.
The main claim that the author is trying to communicate is that Black English should be seen as legitimate instead of simply being a dialect. She takes the stance that the idea of “correct” English usually being seen as how white people speak and Black English not being seen as proper language needs to change.
I believe the main argument Jordan takes is that Black English isn’t a language that should be shunned for not being the same (White) English that white people and most other conform to using, Black English is a language that deserves to be accepted and utilized by anyone. Jordan takes an assertive stance on the argument as throughout the reading, she remains determined to teach her students Black English such as forming rules and guidelines to aid them in adapting to Black English and encouraging them to use Black English to support Willie Jordan in the efforts to bring justice for his murdered brother.
I think the idea that the author is trying to communicate is that Black English should be normalized because it is part of people’s identity and White English being “Standard English” does not leave room for that.