FULL SPEECH Today, a baffled lady observed the shell where my soul dwells And announced that I’m “articulate” Which means that when it comes to annunciation and diction I don’t even think of it ‘Cause I’m “articulate” So when my professor asks a question And my answer is tainted with a connotation of urbanized suggestion There’s no misdirected intention Pay attention ‘Cause I’m “articulate” So when my father asks, “Wha’ kinda ting is dis?” My “articulate” answer never goes amiss I say “father, this is the impending problem at hand” And when I’m on the block I switch it up just because I can So when my boy says, “What’s good with you son?” I just say, “I jus’ fall out wit dem people but I done!” And sometimes in class I might pause the intellectual sounding flow to ask “Yo! Why dese books neva be about my peoples” Yes, I have decided to treat all three of my languages as equals Because I’m “articulate” But who controls articulation? Because the English language is a multifaceted oration Subject to indefinite transformation Now you may think that it is ignorant to speak broken English But I’m here to tell you that even “articulate” Americans sound foolish to the British So when my Professor comes on the block and says, “Hello” I stop him and say “Noooo … You’re being inarticulate … the proper way is to say ‘what’s good’” Now you may think that’s too hood, that’s not cool But I’m here to tell you that even our language has rules So when Mommy mocks me and says “ya’ll-be-madd-going-to-the-store” I say “Mommy, no, that sentence is not following the law Never does the word “madd” go before a present participle That’s simply the principle of this English” If I had the vocal capacity I would sing this from every mountaintop, From every suburbia, and every hood ‘Cause the only God of language is the one recorded in the Genesis Of this world saying “it is good” So I may not always come before you with excellency of speech But do not judge me by my language and assume That I’m too ignorant to teach ‘Cause I speak three tongues One for each: Home, school and friends I’m a tri-lingual orator Sometimes I’m consistent with my language now Then switch it up so I don’t bore later Sometimes I fight back two tongues While I use the other one in the classroom And when I mistakenly mix them up I feel crazy like … I’m cooking in the bathroom I know that I had to borrow your language because mines was stolen But you can’t expect me to speak your history wholly while mines is broken These words are spoken By someone who is simply fed up with the Eurocentric ideals of this season And the reason I speak a composite version of your language Is because mines was raped away along with my history I speak broken English so the profusing gashes can remind us That our current state is not a mystery I’m so tired of the negative images that are driving my people mad So unless you’ve seen it rob a bank stop calling my hair bad I’m so sick of this nonsensical racial disparity So don’t call it good unless your hair is known for donating to charity As much as has been raped away from our people How can you expect me to treat their imprint on your language As anything less than equal Let there be no confusion Let there be no hesitation This is not a promotion of ignorance This is a linguistic celebration That’s why I put “tri-lingual” on my last job application I can help to diversify your consumer market is all I wanted them to know And when they call me for the interview I’ll be more than happy to show that I can say: “What’s good” “Whatagwan” And of course …“Hello” Because I’m “articulate” Thank you.
@@Justin-gt2ch You definitely do and you care so much that you're going on and on. Why are you so desperate to be here in the face of black people? We're never seeking you out but you ALWAYS make sure we know that you exist. Why?
She makes perfect sense. You speak broken english at home, slang with friends, and American english in school. Its a matter of having people understand you, much like if it were another language all together. Listen to whats she's saying before you disapprove....or go visit the Cajuns down in Louisiana to understand the importance of knowing how to communicate with people in your environment. Youll get her point afterwards. Proud of this young lady!
00:01:32 'I'm here to tell you that even articulate Americans sounds foolish to the british' 00:02:16 'The only God of language is the one recorded in the Genesis of this world saying it is good' 00:02:51 'I had to borrow your language because mine was stolen'
+deonta melton Criticize whose hair? It's blacks always criticizing white people hair when most black women wear fake hair on their head. These stereotypes that blacks make up aren't even close to being true is the funny part
“This is not a promotion of ignorance/ This is a linguistic celebration/ That’s why I put ‘tri-lingual’ on my last job application.” Beautiful execution; I’m happy to have found this.
I am Dominican, so I speak spanish. I was born in United States, so I speak English. I was raised in the South, so I might sound Southern. Most of my family were raised in New York, so sometimes I sound like I'm from Flatbush or Far Rockaway. But my father learned English overseas, so my accent is confusing and my origins are often mistakened. Because of that blend, my "articulate" voice isn't easily attached to a specific region. It's a blend of all of them. I accept and have pride in all the geographic entities that combine to make me who I am. The many flavors of the world. It's a beautiful thing.
English is dynamic and living, with countless dialects to choose from. I'm glad to see a few demonstrated and think it's perfectly valid to be talented in more than one.
While some may applaud because this was great poetry or art... I literally cried because this is my life and everyday experience she is talking bout. I THANK YOU for sharing and I will be sharing too!!! Thank you Jamila for expressing what I feel. Blessings!
Love this As a hispanic, growing up, living in the hood, going to private schools and being bilingual its natural for us to keep this moving back in forth with our use of speech. But my professor told me to just talk like i normally would because I KNOW it may not be the proper way BUT BECAUSE I KNOW THIS it is okay to do so... Knowingly.
You know, if people just googled "African American Vernacular English" and clicked on Wikipedia, they would understand what she is getting at. "Linguists maintain that there is nothing intrinsically "wrong" or "sloppy" about AAVE as a language variety since, like all dialects, AAVE shows consistent internal logic and grammatical complexity, and is used naturally to express thoughts and ideas." Also, "AAVE should not be thought of as the language of Black people in America. Many African Americans neither speak it nor know much about it."
If most would take a moment and actually listen to the message instead of judging the way that she chose to deliver it, there would be less dislikes on this video. But like another poster commented, I am not surprised. She did a great job.
realnarutoboy I have no idea what "wacism" is. Regardless, there is no implication of anything other than what was said. I feel that a lot of people don't respect spoken word as a sincere form of art and that is why I am not surpised that many skipped over this video or did not take is seriously. Nothing more, nothing less. Take my words for what they are and not what you think underlies.
this is important to me because throughout my life the compliment of being articulate had always been tossed around but i never really thought it mattered. then i thought about why it matters and it was because the people who gave them to me were either surprised or wanted to congratulate me as if i had broken the mold to a stereotype. i understand that language is malleable and that those who may speak a collective language have their individual tongue of speech. this is important because of the historical precedent of shaming people of color for how they express themselves in a euro colonized land. i speak several versions of english: one for friends and family, one for school, one for crazy motherfuckers, and the universal languages of music and silence.
This was so good it brought me to tears. This is the best thing I could share with my writing class of international first-year students at an elite college. We spend so much time learning how to write in the Western academic rhetorical style that I needed to spend some time talking about politics and identity of language. This is just the best. You rock.
I was also brought to tears. But mostly because being yelled at for five minutes by a shrill attention seeker with nothing but the typical activist lines to draw from, gives me a splitting headache.
So many dislikes. I'm sure most are from people that have no idea what she is talking about. Just because you're ignorant to the topic, doesn't mean you should dislike it.
Bro the dislike button there is to "dislike if you didn't like it" has nothing to do with whether they got the message or not, there's many reasons why someone would dislike
This is ten years old? I just saw this today and this is still 🔥🔥!Code switching is a skill that not everyone has to use. But if you do , it's your super power! Blessings
As I watched the video, I knew the comment section would run amuck with ignorance. I was right! No wonder there are thousands (and thousands) of "Stupid American" videos on YT
Most people here know nothing about linguistics. A language spoken by even one person alone in this world that has a history and a culture behind is considered a language at the same level with "articulate" English or Oxford English, for example. It is considered to have the same dignity, not something to mock or seen as something less. Political views and prejudice makes us see some languages somehow superior to others when from a scientific and educated point of view, they are all equal in their value. There just are some that are spoken more often than others are or by more people than others are. Oh, and before someone mocks me for writing some things in a strange way, I would like to point out that Englush is not my mother language. Get over that and comment with intelligent, constructive things, if you will.
Your English is excellent, but your points are bonkers. Grammar exists to provide structure and to enable communication. If everyone were to start talking however they like, people wouldn't understand each other.
@@fabrizio483 There are different grammars and words can have different meanings in different dialects; and as she points out, if I were to go down onto the block, I'd be the one that was inarticulate. 400 years ago, you'd have been complaining about that Shakespeare guy making up words and breaking the rules ... and not being properly educated.
I want to empathize with people who are mistreated, because I have been in every country where I lived, and especially now by ignorant leftists (often white). But today all kinds of people have similar opportunities, and so much help and many opportunities are provided to people of color. Can you not get past the mind block that you're not a victim these days? Success belongs to those who work for it
This was great. As an educated, well-rounded Black woman in Corporate America, I totally feel what she is saying in terms of assimilation. If you haven't experienced it, it is hard to grasp, but whatevs. Kudos to her!
What a beautiful talk :) I love the part when it says we should celebrate Linguistic diversity. This is the exact situation that indigenous people in Latin America face when it comes to their diction of Spanish. They get mocked, called "uneducated" or "uncultured", just because some bits of their ancient languages got mixed up with the language that was imposed to their forefathers. And now that I think of it, the same applies to all the dialects of colonized peoples. This is indeed, and idea worth spreading.
More people need to see this. Languages are different forms of communication. But even within a language, there are sub-forms of communication. I agree with EVERYTHING she said. If the purpose of speaking is to deliver messages to the intended recipient, it would be wise to deliver the message in a form of communication that the recipient is comfortable with. She is comfortable communicating with 3 audiences: carribean, casual, and hood. Furthermore, she knows when to use them, articulate indeed!
The flexibility, creativity, and use of language is a blessing so judge another not by how they speak but what they say. Seems simple enough but at my 7.45 job I've seen more fights and eyeroles over how someone speaks than what I can sanely justify. I wish we could put the judgments away.
Thank you so much for this video. I used to be so ashamed because I could speak in Patois, Espanol and English and folks would criticize me on how I talked all the time. Thanks for not making feel like I was such a freak. Dios cuida de tu.
All I see are comments saying "This is for school" Well, if you can just take a moment and not think about how this is required by the class you are taking and understand the concept of what she is saying. You'll understand why she is fighting because she has all the rights to be standing.
I was absolutely enraptured by this, thank you Jamila and thank you TED for sharing. I teach English for a mostly black, all girls public charter school and I will be using this video to frame our approach to language for the year. Inspiring and beautiful.
I think you misunderstood my comment, which is normal because it's not very well written. I menat people in the comments, that seemed offended because she said these things.
There are many things to consider with different cultures for proper communication.. as a person with 50% hearing loss in one ear I find it hard to understand most accents ..when they speak a little slower it helps..If we are to quick to judge we will all lose ..you can learn something from everyone if you are open minded.
Many of the people that seem to not understand this spoken word might not be culturally diverse. Thus, I believe this only shows the amount of closed-minded people that are watching this, along with TED's demographics. In my opinion, I believe it's quite sad for people to believe that they are above others because they speak properly, which i guess in their mind's makes them superior. Many politicians, doctors and educators speak with slang here and there, however they are still intelligent and educated. I don't want to argue! I just want to say, if you didn't understand the message, maybe this video was not for you.
Great video. People need to rid themselves of the notion that "non-stardard" varieties of English somehow means they are inferior. Every person's language changes depending on usage: how you speak to the CEO of your company is very different to how you talk with your children or best friends. The more socially distant you are from the person you're communicating with (whether written or spoken) the more standardised it becomes. As an Australian, if I spoke to my Canadian friends using my home-based Australian accent, they wouldn't understand me. So when I talk with them I used a more neutral kind of English. Problems occur when people mix up the registers: using their home based variety of English in a formal setting, for example. This can happen with people from any cultural background. Jamila says she is articulate because she knows how to use her varieties of English in the correct contexts; she wouldn't use her home-based variety of English in this talk, as it is a largely socially separate context. If she were doing the same talk with her close family, I bet she would probably use her home variety of English. Education should be seeking to inform students of correct register selection based on their contexts: We should be teaching people in school and college that when you talk to your boss, you should use a standard variety of English, and that when you're at home, it's okay to use your variety of English. They are all equal in that they perform the role of language: to make meaning and to communicate effectively.
I think its good. I can understand why a lot of people don't like it. In my opinion, the good videos/talks in the past that made TED what it is today, was also criticized and disliked in the same way. Its just that people changed and accepted the old videos. I am not sure with my assumption and I'm not saying that this talk is as good as the ones in the past but I think we should trust TED more and open our minds a little bit. IMO...lol. :D
Love!! Her articulation in all 3 "languages" should be applauded. She understands what it means to live and speak in this world as a black woman - not to be accepted by all parties to be simply understood. Her tone was needed to express the seriousness (and frustration) of the issue "well spoken" (aka educated) black women face daily.
Ahhh the ignorance in the comments. This was actually brilliant but all I see is people twisting away at her words not understanding the bigger picture here.
I agree with her. It's similar to when people say dominicans can't speak spanish, without understanding their history as a people. Their spanish is a different form or language all together. It's like italian which is mixed with spanish and english. Dominican spanish is mixed with tribal, slang and african tongues, as well as spanish.
If listened to as a poem, any intelligent person can ascertain what she is saying. This is poetry about the many different ways some African Americans as adolescents communicate (i.e. within their environment vs. in the workplace, etc.). She even explains the hurt of colloquialisms being misunderstood by others- particularly with the tribal histories and languages having been removed from their ancestors
I found this interesting. Mz Lyiscott addresses diction and grammar biases and declares english a living language, adding a new dimension to Susan Curzan's earlier ted talk on english. I personally do not like stage oration styles, whether they be NPR radio narration or, as this is, " poetry slam" cadence which I think is a child of the "beatnik" style of poetic declamation. I respect both as valid and contributing to the language. Kudos!!
Love this video. I'm a middle school English teacher and I showed this video to my students for Black History month. Your words helped to give my students confidence in their words and dialect. I've been teaching them to talk how they feel most comfortable (always in a scholarly way)and know that they are smart and articulate! BOMB!
The reason people like a "standard" pronunciation of English is because it means that everyone can have something to return to when they want to communicate something in English to someone who may or may not be able to understand a given dialect. English is my second language, and while I understood every word she spoke, and I understood the points she made, I would be less comfortable if someone used a strong dialect/accent when they were delivering, say, a lecture. While there isn't a real standard (more like 2 with the mild, Midwestern accent being the de facto standard for the US and the English accent being the de facto standard in the UK) a mild accent that does not distort words and swallow letters makes it much easier to understand the words being communicated for a much bigger audience.
Exactly. The point is that there is a time and a place for everything. As you can see she uses the Caribbean accent with her parents, but Standard English in the classroom. Accepting that their are non-standard varieties does not mean Standard English is no longer the standard. If you are chilling with a diverse group of friends its, nice to know that if you let a little black vernacular language slip in they won't devalue your intelligence or assume they are superior to you over something as trivial as a different English dialect.....that is the point.......
I am impressed by Jamila's oration. The more I learn of history, the better the perspective of where people like her are coming from, and now I see myopic vision. You see, people putting other people in slavery is not something peculiar to black Africans. Myself, being a mixture of 'races' (DNA will obviate the 'race' concept) know that my ancestors were sometimes slaves, sometimes not, you got?
A teacher directed me here, but this is so good that I’m having trouble focusing on the lesson...like holy wow. I know I can never understand the struggles black people (and BIPOC people in general) go through, but I hope I can help somehow. I hope the world can reach a point where we don’t put down people based on how they talk, look, etc.
Checking in from Sweden - very powerful stuff! Let's hope and strive for a future where a person's words are judged by their message rather than the vernacular or accent in which they were spoken.
Shocker that most of the comments went left. All in all I still maintain that there is hope in humanity since this has been viewed almost 150k times. She has articulated (see what I did there) something that has frustrated me all of my life, especially having moved to Oklahoma. I HATE being called the "white-black person" or the "safe black person" because of my college-grammar skills, friend choices, and musical preferences.
Loved every bit of it!!!!! Some people just can't deal with another element of the truth. Very soon we all will be expected to be bilingual since the minorities are quickly becoming the majority. The sooner people embrace the all elements of diversity and truth about change, the better we will be in achieving positive results. Thank You TedTalk for extending the invitations to others outside the small realms we have become accustomed to and exploring all realms of our American culture. Nice Job Jamilaaaa!!!! Experiences shared can definitely be identified by many others including myself and thank yoooouuu for being you! Keep it up esp. as criticisms come, "it's all good" lol and you hear it or in this case read it, it's a mental note, thank you and keep pressing forward :) Love life, live out loud
No one should ever mock broken English. Learning another language is a sign of great intelligence, how can anyone make fun of those who are still struggling or arrived at a happy, personal understanding? Our English language is in itself broken, a result of our peoples mingling of Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans. It's a beautiful, evolving thing. There's no need to jeer because it continues to be so :) Lovely poem.
People say... you have to do like this... have to do like that. and they say that's not right way. you must be on my way. don't let them judge you. let you judge yourself. cause I'm articulate!!
This is so beautiful and sad. I almost felt the pain when she said, "tired." I'm not really related to any of this, but I am tired of this world and its man-made rules too. My heart goes out to you.
CUNY student here your ted talk is a part of our assignment, I must say I am too impressed with my professor for choosing your work as our subject matter, Future lawyer and totally jazzed by your work .
I agree... I speak differently depending on my audience. I have a way I speak to my parents, my friends, and people in the business world. There were some good points, but I didn't feel her style on delivery. Felt a little forced to me.
I get it, I just think it's daft. We all speak with different dialects (NOT languages). It's not revolutionary or even particularly interesting. Just a waste of four and a half minutes of my life.
Notthony Fantanotano It's more so about (mainly) white people looking down on (usually) black people speaking their dialect as if there's something wrong with it.
What do you mean your people? Your people are all around you. We're all Americans. We advocate the common tongue so that it's easier for our immigrants to have a way to communicate with us (the American people).
It actually does. Our National Language is American English. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_language#United_States It was on the news back when Bush was in office.
Did you even bother to read your own link? It says exactly what I just said: "The United States Constitution does not explicitly declare any official language, although the constitution is written in English, as is all federal legislation."
It's because this entire speech is, 'I'm better than you. Don't hate me, I'm better than you. People I know are better than you. I'm better than you. Also, I am articulate.' Yes, I am exaggerating, but only to illustrate the point.
onemanofgod But what is "articulate"? I think that was the point of her performance. At first I wasn't feeling it either but then once you examine it further it's actually quite good conceptually. I'm not a huge fan of spoken word but I think she could have code switched a bit more throughout. It'll probably fly over a lot of people heads. It was interesting enough, not top tier for me, but certainly not terrible.
I was here about four years ago for a school assignment but now I’m back because I actually recommended this video to someone who was confused about aave and the like
I connect with her so much.i was born in jamaica and moved to britain when i was little so grew up speaking many different dialects.i don't understamd why americans are being so hateful, she's standing up for her history and saying the truth because we do speak that way because white people in the past forced us to forget our language ans culture.americans love to ingore the racism that's rife in their country.when shall we learn not to judge a person by the colour of their skin
I can see where everyone comes from.. I too am getting mixed feels from this, but I'm definitely leaning towards positive.. because I'm articulate (sorry I had to do that LMAO).
Everyone in the comments tryin to sound all intellectual and I'm just here cause of school
Seph me to
Me too😂😂😂
GPE assignment😂😂😂
I mean you’re not wrong-
Ahlieee
FULL SPEECH
Today, a baffled lady observed the shell where my soul dwells
And announced that I’m “articulate”
Which means that when it comes to annunciation and diction
I don’t even think of it
‘Cause I’m “articulate”
So when my professor asks a question
And my answer is tainted with a connotation of urbanized suggestion
There’s no misdirected intention
Pay attention
‘Cause I’m “articulate”
So when my father asks, “Wha’ kinda ting is dis?”
My “articulate” answer never goes amiss
I say “father, this is the impending problem at hand”
And when I’m on the block I switch it up just because I can
So when my boy says, “What’s good with you son?”
I just say, “I jus’ fall out wit dem people but I done!”
And sometimes in class
I might pause the intellectual sounding flow to ask
“Yo! Why dese books neva be about my peoples”
Yes, I have decided to treat all three of my languages as equals
Because I’m “articulate”
But who controls articulation?
Because the English language is a multifaceted oration
Subject to indefinite transformation
Now you may think that it is ignorant to speak broken English
But I’m here to tell you that even “articulate” Americans sound foolish to the British
So when my Professor comes on the block and says, “Hello”
I stop him and say “Noooo …
You’re being inarticulate … the proper way is to say ‘what’s good’”
Now you may think that’s too hood, that’s not cool
But I’m here to tell you that even our language has rules
So when Mommy mocks me and says “ya’ll-be-madd-going-to-the-store”
I say “Mommy, no, that sentence is not following the law
Never does the word “madd” go before a present participle
That’s simply the principle of this English”
If I had the vocal capacity I would sing this from every mountaintop,
From every suburbia, and every hood
‘Cause the only God of language is the one recorded in the Genesis
Of this world saying “it is good”
So I may not always come before you with excellency of speech
But do not judge me by my language and assume
That I’m too ignorant to teach
‘Cause I speak three tongues
One for each:
Home, school and friends
I’m a tri-lingual orator
Sometimes I’m consistent with my language now
Then switch it up so I don’t bore later
Sometimes I fight back two tongues
While I use the other one in the classroom
And when I mistakenly mix them up
I feel crazy like … I’m cooking in the bathroom
I know that I had to borrow your language because mines was stolen
But you can’t expect me to speak your history wholly while mines is broken
These words are spoken
By someone who is simply fed up with the Eurocentric ideals of this season
And the reason I speak a composite version of your language
Is because mines was raped away along with my history
I speak broken English so the profusing gashes can remind us
That our current state is not a mystery
I’m so tired of the negative images that are driving my people mad
So unless you’ve seen it rob a bank stop calling my hair bad
I’m so sick of this nonsensical racial disparity
So don’t call it good unless your hair is known for donating to charity
As much as has been raped away from our people
How can you expect me to treat their imprint on your language
As anything less than equal
Let there be no confusion
Let there be no hesitation
This is not a promotion of ignorance
This is a linguistic celebration
That’s why I put “tri-lingual” on my last job application
I can help to diversify your consumer market is all I wanted them to know
And when they call me for the interview I’ll be more than happy to show that
I can say:
“What’s good”
“Whatagwan”
And of course …“Hello”
Because I’m “articulate”
Thank you.
Thank you 💙
Bro you dont even know how much time you just saved me
😍😍
"Enunciation" not annunciation
There is literally an open transcript option
School during quarantine really out here making me do Homework on this.
Same bruh
I had to respond to this I sent this
ua-cam.com/video/BLUkgRAy_Vo/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/2ZIpFytCSVc/v-deo.html
U didn’t have to call me out, bro!!
you should be doing homework on this because if this isnt talked about in school white people wouldnt have any fkin idea
I think most people coming here recently are from school.
same
I sent this back when they pressured me for a response
ua-cam.com/video/BLUkgRAy_Vo/v-deo.html
If it ant Kevin English class
English class haha
SDV 100 haha
This is so beautiful. Had me in tears. "Don't call my hair bad unless its robbed a bank."...YAAAAAAAASSSSSS!
no one cares
Justin you obviously do!
@@NikkiStarTV no one cares
That line hit super hard
@@Justin-gt2ch You definitely do and you care so much that you're going on and on. Why are you so desperate to be here in the face of black people? We're never seeking you out but you ALWAYS make sure we know that you exist. Why?
She makes perfect sense. You speak broken english at home, slang with friends, and American english in school. Its a matter of having people understand you, much like if it were another language all together. Listen to whats she's saying before you disapprove....or go visit the Cajuns down in Louisiana to understand the importance of knowing how to communicate with people in your environment. Youll get her point afterwards. Proud of this young lady!
00:01:32 'I'm here to tell you that even articulate Americans sounds foolish to the british'
00:02:16 'The only God of language is the one recorded in the Genesis of this world saying it is good'
00:02:51 'I had to borrow your language because mine was stolen'
My favorite lines of this piece!
I am not a native. I had to listening that many times to understand. This speach is awesome. I got it. Thanks a lot.
@Hibye Byehi That is rude and let her speak her mind.
@Hibye Byehi I'd like to know why you say this? Just curious.
@Hibye Byehi heard people named "hibye" doesn't know what "appreciation" means.
" I'm so tired of the negative images that are driving my people mad. SO, unless you seen it rob a bank STOP calling my hair bad." ♥
+K. Yvette So true
+K Karly i love that line but i don't fully understand it. What does the bank have anything to do with hair?
+deonta melton Criticize whose hair? It's blacks always criticizing white people hair when most black women wear fake hair on their head. These stereotypes that blacks make up aren't even close to being true is the funny part
AKM5.45 SHOOTER please name a moment in history where we black people criticized white people's hair? 🙃
People treat black hair like it robbed a bank
“This is not a promotion of ignorance/ This is a linguistic celebration/ That’s why I put ‘tri-lingual’ on my last job application.” Beautiful execution; I’m happy to have found this.
I am Dominican, so I speak spanish. I was born in United States, so I speak English. I was raised in the South, so I might sound Southern. Most of my family were raised in New York, so sometimes I sound like I'm from Flatbush or Far Rockaway. But my father learned English overseas, so my accent is confusing and my origins are often mistakened. Because of that blend, my "articulate" voice isn't easily attached to a specific region. It's a blend of all of them. I accept and have pride in all the geographic entities that combine to make me who I am. The many flavors of the world. It's a beautiful thing.
English is dynamic and living, with countless dialects to choose from. I'm glad to see a few demonstrated and think it's perfectly valid to be talented in more than one.
While some may applaud because this was great poetry or art... I literally cried because this is my life and everyday experience she is talking bout. I THANK YOU for sharing and I will be sharing too!!! Thank you Jamila for expressing what I feel. Blessings!
no one cares
Your a liberal get over it
Love this
As a hispanic, growing up, living in the hood, going to private schools and being bilingual its natural for us to keep this moving back in forth with our use of speech. But my professor told me to just talk like i normally would because I KNOW it may not be the proper way BUT BECAUSE I KNOW THIS it is okay to do so... Knowingly.
It's about code switching and of course not everybody is going to "get it".
Well done, Jamila. Well done indeed!
You know, if people just googled "African American Vernacular English" and clicked on Wikipedia, they would understand what she is getting at. "Linguists maintain that there is nothing intrinsically "wrong" or "sloppy" about AAVE as a language variety since, like all dialects, AAVE shows consistent internal logic and grammatical complexity, and is used naturally to express thoughts and ideas." Also, "AAVE should not be thought of as the language of Black people in America. Many African Americans neither speak it nor know much about it."
Exactly, well said!👏
no one cares
@Isatou Cante no one cares
@@fictionatitsfinest8140 no one cares
@@Justin-gt2ch Sounds like you actually care.
"That’s why I put “tri-lingual” on my last job application" Love this! 🙌🙌
Well done Jamila!
If most would take a moment and actually listen to the message instead of judging the way that she chose to deliver it, there would be less dislikes on this video. But like another poster commented, I am not surprised. She did a great job.
realnarutoboy I have no idea what "wacism" is. Regardless, there is no implication of anything other than what was said. I feel that a lot of people don't respect spoken word as a sincere form of art and that is why I am not surpised that many skipped over this video or did not take is seriously.
Nothing more, nothing less. Take my words for what they are and not what you think underlies.
realnarutoboy Okay, so you weren't the audience I was referring to in my initial comment.
facts
this is important to me because throughout my life the compliment of being articulate had always been tossed around but i never really thought it mattered. then i thought about why it matters and it was because the people who gave them to me were either surprised or wanted to congratulate me as if i had broken the mold to a stereotype. i understand that language is malleable and that those who may speak a collective language have their individual tongue of speech. this is important because of the historical precedent of shaming people of color for how they express themselves in a euro colonized land. i speak several versions of english: one for friends and family, one for school, one for crazy motherfuckers, and the universal languages of music and silence.
'So unless my hair has robbed a bank don't call it bad' she killed it right then!
Could you teach me that mean? I can't find the mean :(
@Hibye Byehi Candice is awesome.
This was so good it brought me to tears. This is the best thing I could share with my writing class of international first-year students at an elite college. We spend so much time learning how to write in the Western academic rhetorical style that I needed to spend some time talking about politics and identity of language. This is just the best. You rock.
I was also brought to tears. But mostly because being yelled at for five minutes by a shrill attention seeker with nothing but the typical activist lines to draw from, gives me a splitting headache.
So many dislikes. I'm sure most are from people that have no idea what she is talking about. Just because you're ignorant to the topic, doesn't mean you should dislike it.
So what you're saying is that everyone who dislikes this video are ignorant and don't understand the message?
cronmannot Not everyone, but i seriously doubt most that get it, are disliking it. Who knows.
Bro the dislike button there is to "dislike if you didn't like it" has nothing to do with whether they got the message or not, there's many reasons why someone would dislike
So much pain, hurt, and suffering in her words and voice. I understand, and I cried.
Im here for school, but I was surprised my teacher gave me such a good thing to work off of, I enjoyed it.
This is ten years old? I just saw this today and this is still 🔥🔥!Code switching is a skill that not everyone has to use. But if you do , it's your super power! Blessings
should've known better than to read the comments
I feel that same way hun...=/
I'm going to stop scrolling down right here then.
MsGamine2 On my way :) I enjoyed this.
As I watched the video, I knew the comment section would run amuck with ignorance. I was right!
No wonder there are thousands (and thousands) of "Stupid American" videos on YT
I regret it too.
Most people here know nothing about linguistics. A language spoken by even one person alone in this world that has a history and a culture behind is considered a language at the same level with "articulate" English or Oxford English, for example. It is considered to have the same dignity, not something to mock or seen as something less. Political views and prejudice makes us see some languages somehow superior to others when from a scientific and educated point of view, they are all equal in their value. There just are some that are spoken more often than others are or by more people than others are.
Oh, and before someone mocks me for writing some things in a strange way, I would like to point out that Englush is not my mother language. Get over that and comment with intelligent, constructive things, if you will.
Your English is excellent, but your points are bonkers. Grammar exists to provide structure and to enable communication. If everyone were to start talking however they like, people wouldn't understand each other.
You're sitting here, vomiting out words, but I understand you fine. So there goes that argument.
alyilen right on.
Hey my name is Aleria and I was wondering if i can ask you something
@@fabrizio483 There are different grammars and words can have different meanings in different dialects; and as she points out, if I were to go down onto the block, I'd be the one that was inarticulate.
400 years ago, you'd have been complaining about that Shakespeare guy making up words and breaking the rules ... and not being properly educated.
So many people get pressed whenever a black person [especially a black woman] provides an opinion on their lived experiences.
Cuz they make other black people look dumb
I want to empathize with people who are mistreated, because I have been in every country where I lived, and especially now by ignorant leftists (often white). But today all kinds of people have similar opportunities, and so much help and many opportunities are provided to people of color. Can you not get past the mind block that you're not a victim these days? Success belongs to those who work for it
@Hibye Byehi FACTS. YOU KNOW THE TRUTH. RESPECT +100
This was great. As an educated, well-rounded Black woman in Corporate America, I totally feel what she is saying in terms of assimilation. If you haven't experienced it, it is hard to grasp, but whatevs. Kudos to her!
What a beautiful talk :) I love the part when it says we should celebrate Linguistic diversity.
This is the exact situation that indigenous people in Latin America face when it comes to their diction of Spanish. They get mocked, called "uneducated" or "uncultured", just because some bits of their ancient languages got mixed up with the language that was imposed to their forefathers. And now that I think of it, the same applies to all the dialects of colonized peoples. This is indeed, and idea worth spreading.
What a gwaan? I'm trilingual and articulate. Love it💥💥💥💥💥
More people need to see this.
Languages are different forms of communication. But even within a language, there are sub-forms of communication. I agree with EVERYTHING she said. If the purpose of speaking is to deliver messages to the intended recipient, it would be wise to deliver the message in a form of communication that the recipient is comfortable with. She is comfortable communicating with 3 audiences: carribean, casual, and hood. Furthermore, she knows when to use them, articulate indeed!
no one cares
The flexibility, creativity, and use of language is a blessing so judge another not by how they speak but what they say. Seems simple enough but at my 7.45 job I've seen more fights and eyeroles over how someone speaks than what I can sanely justify. I wish we could put the judgments away.
The terrified smile of the lady on the left at 1:06 :D
I totally missed that until I saw this comment.....LMAO!
no one cares
@@Justin-gt2ch Thank you, Justin. Keep on smiling.
@@VRichardsn no one cares
Terrified? I didn't get that at all from her smile. Sounds like a racist comment if you ask me...
Thank you so much for this video. I used to be so ashamed because I could speak in Patois, Espanol and English and folks would criticize me on how I talked all the time. Thanks for not making feel like I was such a freak. Dios cuida de tu.
These women are so freakin amazing. Bringin out the poet within me.
I dont understand everything but I support the energy that is brought by this woman.
All I see are comments saying "This is for school"
Well, if you can just take a moment and not think about how this is required by the class you are taking and understand the concept of what she is saying. You'll understand why she is fighting because she has all the rights to be standing.
Kids do what they do.
As an Aboriginal Australian I identified with this and Lyiscott articulates (couldn't help it) thoughts, experiences and ideas very similar to my own.
I was absolutely enraptured by this, thank you Jamila and thank you TED for sharing. I teach English for a mostly black, all girls public charter school and I will be using this video to frame our approach to language for the year. Inspiring and beautiful.
Everything about this spoken word piece was great! The words, her passion, her tone ERRTHANG! Mad props to Ms. Jamila Lyiscott!
People get offended by anything these days...
dude...thank you...this is TRUTH for black folks. It's our reality. The crowd looked confused as shit.
I think you misunderstood my comment, which is normal because it's not very well written. I menat people in the comments, that seemed offended because she said these things.
+Lokoboy84 doesn't seem like you can read people, those white people were right there with her, they know what's up
Hey. I identify as "anything". That offends me. (Jk)
people react to these sensitive topics with ignorance. like yourself
There are many things to consider with different cultures for proper communication..
as a person with 50% hearing loss in one ear I find it hard to understand most accents ..when they speak a little slower it helps..If we are to quick to judge we will all lose ..you can learn something from everyone if you are open minded.
Many of the people that seem to not understand this spoken word might not be culturally diverse. Thus, I believe this only shows the amount of closed-minded people that are watching this, along with TED's demographics. In my opinion, I believe it's quite sad for people to believe that they are above others because they speak properly, which i guess in their mind's makes them superior. Many politicians, doctors and educators speak with slang here and there, however they are still intelligent and educated. I don't want to argue! I just want to say, if you didn't understand the message, maybe this video was not for you.
@Julian Camus Sorry, but in the real world, there is such a thing as speaking properly, try getting a decent job speaking slang.
I barely understand her. I'm a ESL. But like the power of her voice.
The audience look confused lmao
Great video. People need to rid themselves of the notion that "non-stardard" varieties of English somehow means they are inferior. Every person's language changes depending on usage: how you speak to the CEO of your company is very different to how you talk with your children or best friends. The more socially distant you are from the person you're communicating with (whether written or spoken) the more standardised it becomes. As an Australian, if I spoke to my Canadian friends using my home-based Australian accent, they wouldn't understand me. So when I talk with them I used a more neutral kind of English.
Problems occur when people mix up the registers: using their home based variety of English in a formal setting, for example. This can happen with people from any cultural background. Jamila says she is articulate because she knows how to use her varieties of English in the correct contexts; she wouldn't use her home-based variety of English in this talk, as it is a largely socially separate context. If she were doing the same talk with her close family, I bet she would probably use her home variety of English.
Education should be seeking to inform students of correct register selection based on their contexts: We should be teaching people in school and college that when you talk to your boss, you should use a standard variety of English, and that when you're at home, it's okay to use your variety of English. They are all equal in that they perform the role of language: to make meaning and to communicate effectively.
Thanks you just did my homework.
May Allah (God) give you all what you wish . U saved me from doing this.
i am obsessed. i just discovered this and just played it over and over on repeat. this is brilliant. this is a masterclass
I think its good. I can understand why a lot of people don't like it. In my opinion, the good videos/talks in the past that made TED what it is today, was also criticized and disliked in the same way. Its just that people changed and accepted the old videos. I am not sure with my assumption and I'm not saying that this talk is as good as the ones in the past but I think we should trust TED more and open our minds a little bit. IMO...lol. :D
Love!! Her articulation in all 3 "languages" should be applauded. She understands what it means to live and speak in this world as a black woman - not to be accepted by all parties to be simply understood. Her tone was needed to express the seriousness (and frustration) of the issue "well spoken" (aka educated) black women face daily.
She's clearly Jamaican. Much love❤️
Me de from di island. She na Jamaican.
Girl i loved it! You spoke with power and you made me feel proud. Don't judge me by my words, but by my actions.
I didn’t understand anything and I have watched it more than 15 times
Ahhh the ignorance in the comments. This was actually brilliant but all I see is people twisting away at her words not understanding the bigger picture here.
I agree with her. It's similar to when people say dominicans can't speak spanish, without understanding their history as a people. Their spanish is a different form or language all together. It's like italian which is mixed with spanish and english. Dominican spanish is mixed with tribal, slang and african tongues, as well as spanish.
If listened to as a poem, any intelligent person can ascertain what she is saying. This is poetry about the many different ways some African Americans as adolescents communicate (i.e. within their environment vs. in the workplace, etc.). She even explains the hurt of colloquialisms being misunderstood by others- particularly with the tribal histories and languages having been removed from their ancestors
👏👏 round of applause for this amazing demonstration of the different perspectives of English language. Wow! Loving this linguistic celebration! 🎉
bro all i gotta say is "daymnnnn thats intellect at its finest"
bros got all three types of english in there💀💀
I found this interesting. Mz Lyiscott addresses diction and grammar biases and declares english a living language, adding a new dimension to Susan Curzan's earlier ted talk on english. I personally do not like stage oration styles, whether they be NPR radio narration or, as this is, " poetry slam" cadence which I think is a child of the "beatnik" style of poetic declamation. I respect both as valid and contributing to the language. Kudos!!
AMAZING! Ironically, this left me speechless
:-)
Love this video. I'm a middle school English teacher and I showed this video to my students for Black History month. Your words helped to give my students confidence in their words and dialect. I've been teaching them to talk how they feel most comfortable (always in a scholarly way)and know that they are smart and articulate! BOMB!
The reason people like a "standard" pronunciation of English is because it means that everyone can have something to return to when they want to communicate something in English to someone who may or may not be able to understand a given dialect. English is my second language, and while I understood every word she spoke, and I understood the points she made, I would be less comfortable if someone used a strong dialect/accent when they were delivering, say, a lecture. While there isn't a real standard (more like 2 with the mild, Midwestern accent being the de facto standard for the US and the English accent being the de facto standard in the UK) a mild accent that does not distort words and swallow letters makes it much easier to understand the words being communicated for a much bigger audience.
Exactly. The point is that there is a time and a place for everything. As you can see she uses the Caribbean accent with her parents, but Standard English in the classroom. Accepting that their are non-standard varieties does not mean Standard English is no longer the standard. If you are chilling with a diverse group of friends its, nice to know that if you let a little black vernacular language slip in they won't devalue your intelligence or assume they are superior to you over something as trivial as a different English dialect.....that is the point.......
I think every prescriptivist linguist needs to see this. This is why I am descriptive.
i'm just here cause of school too
I am impressed by Jamila's oration. The more I learn of history, the better the perspective of where people like her are coming from, and now I see myopic vision. You see, people putting other people in slavery is not something peculiar to black Africans. Myself, being a mixture of 'races' (DNA will obviate the 'race' concept) know that my ancestors were sometimes slaves, sometimes not, you got?
Keep learning. There's more to the slavery story than white Americans brutally enslaved native Africans at a rate higher than anyone else in history.
A teacher directed me here, but this is so good that I’m having trouble focusing on the lesson...like holy wow.
I know I can never understand the struggles black people (and BIPOC people in general) go through, but I hope I can help somehow. I hope the world can reach a point where we don’t put down people based on how they talk, look, etc.
The raw emotion is beautiful! Straight black excellence
@Ribb Rotgut How so
Checking in from Sweden - very powerful stuff! Let's hope and strive for a future where a person's words are judged by their message rather than the vernacular or accent in which they were spoken.
Amazing speech! What better way to demonstrate the value of each variety than combining them so eloquently...
she spitting bars bro, my head was bopping , they should've put a beat in the background to make it better
Shocker that most of the comments went left. All in all I still maintain that there is hope in humanity since this has been viewed almost 150k times. She has articulated (see what I did there) something that has frustrated me all of my life, especially having moved to Oklahoma. I HATE being called the "white-black person" or the "safe black person" because of my college-grammar skills, friend choices, and musical preferences.
I’m doing this for school and now I’m looking in the comments, what a shame🤦
10 years later and still doing school work.
Loved every bit of it!!!!! Some people just can't deal with another element of the truth. Very soon we all will be expected to be bilingual since the minorities are quickly becoming the majority. The sooner people embrace the all elements of diversity and truth about change, the better we will be in achieving positive results.
Thank You TedTalk for extending the invitations to others outside the small realms we have become accustomed to and exploring all realms of our American culture. Nice Job Jamilaaaa!!!! Experiences shared can definitely be identified by many others including myself and thank yoooouuu for being you! Keep it up esp. as criticisms come, "it's all good" lol and you hear it or in this case read it, it's a mental note, thank you and keep pressing forward :)
Love life, live out loud
5 years later we ARE expected to be bilingual
No one should ever mock broken English. Learning another language is a sign of great intelligence, how can anyone make fun of those who are still struggling or arrived at a happy, personal understanding? Our English language is in itself broken, a result of our peoples mingling of Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans. It's a beautiful, evolving thing. There's no need to jeer because it continues to be so :)
Lovely poem.
Well said.
People say... you have to do like this... have to do like that.
and they say that's not right way. you must be on my way.
don't let them judge you.
let you judge yourself.
cause I'm articulate!!
Can anyone tell me what the content and implications of this lecture are?
you're here for school?
This is so beautiful and sad. I almost felt the pain when she said, "tired." I'm not really related to any of this, but I am tired of this world and its man-made rules too. My heart goes out to you.
CUNY student here your ted talk is a part of our assignment, I must say I am too impressed with my professor for choosing your work as our subject matter, Future lawyer and totally jazzed by your work .
I got a write a page essay on this
ayaya ayaya ayaya ayaya ayaya
KickTheGins Ayaya Ayaya
Thank you college for bringing me here!
WOW WEE THIS IS POWERFUL.
She's articulate and, yet, so modest about it. :P
I agree... I speak differently depending on my audience. I have a way I speak to my parents, my friends, and people in the business world. There were some good points, but I didn't feel her style on delivery. Felt a little forced to me.
that's good. will share. thank you.
the amount of people that dont understand really says something
yup
I get it, I just think it's daft. We all speak with different dialects (NOT languages). It's not revolutionary or even particularly interesting. Just a waste of four and a half minutes of my life.
Notthony Fantanotano It's more so about (mainly) white people looking down on (usually) black people speaking their dialect as if there's something wrong with it.
Awesome piece. Continue to speak#Truth! From one poet to another!
Her three dialects all have rules. She's articulate in all of them.
Wow so much passion in her delivery.
What do you mean your people? Your people are all around you. We're all Americans. We advocate the common tongue so that it's easier for our immigrants to have a way to communicate with us (the American people).
What's the common tongue? The US doesn't even have an official language.
It actually does. Our National Language is American English. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_language#United_States It was on the news back when Bush was in office.
Did you even bother to read your own link? It says exactly what I just said: "The United States Constitution does not explicitly declare any official language, although the constitution is written in English, as is all federal legislation."
onemanofgod I'm referencing when she says her history was stolen / her language was raped away.
nickjoeb Wait wait wait, so do you think that everybody spoke English before being made into slaves? Hm... Questionable.
Her code switching is immaculate
…so many dislikes.. I'm not surprised though.
It's because this entire speech is, 'I'm better than you. Don't hate me, I'm better than you. People I know are better than you. I'm better than you. Also, I am articulate.'
Yes, I am exaggerating, but only to illustrate the point.
onemanofgod But what is "articulate"? I think that was the point of her performance. At first I wasn't feeling it either but then once you examine it further it's actually quite good conceptually. I'm not a huge fan of spoken word but I think she could have code switched a bit more throughout. It'll probably fly over a lot of people heads. It was interesting enough, not top tier for me, but certainly not terrible.
Max Udaskin That's not what she's saying LOL. she's saying that she code switches and people that do so are not ignorant.
azucarmorena5000 Exactly.
Max Udaskin Huh?
This is an amazing performance and speaks so true to so many.
I came here from school but I have to say, it was one beautiful speech.
Top 5 Rappers Eminem is Afraid to Diss
I was here about four years ago for a school assignment but now I’m back because I actually recommended this video to someone who was confused about aave and the like
they should have put a beat and a melody in the backround and its a banger
I connect with her so much.i was born in jamaica and moved to britain when i was little so grew up speaking many different dialects.i don't understamd why americans are being so hateful, she's standing up for her history and saying the truth because we do speak that way because white people in the past forced us to forget our language ans culture.americans love to ingore the racism that's rife in their country.when shall we learn not to judge a person by the colour of their skin
THIS IS AWESOME!
Can somebody please tell me the message she is trying to convey?
I can see where everyone comes from.. I too am getting mixed feels from this, but I'm definitely leaning towards positive.. because I'm articulate (sorry I had to do that LMAO).