"If Black Isn't A Language, then Tell Me, What Is?"

In this essay, author James Baldwin addresses the topic of language. He states that the language a person speaks reveals who he or she is. He states that language "is the most vivid and crucial key to identity. To open your mouth you have confessed your parents, your youth, your school, your self-esteem, and your future." Although there are common languages among certain locations, a person may be speaking a "subtly and different language" than one that is from another location. Baldwin provides an example of this through his observations of those who speak the French language; "A Frenchman living in Paris speaks a subtly and crucially different language from that of a man living in Marseilles; neither sounds very much a like from a man living in Quebec although the 'common' language in all these areas is French." Because each man is from a different area of the world, their way of speaking French is unique to them and their identity.

Baldwin also addresses the evolvement of the African American language and how it has influenced the language of the White Americans. He provides evidence of this with his example of how the White Americans have adopted the Jazz Age. Throughout history, African Americans have only been viewed as slaves to their masters; they are servants with nothing to contribute. Therefore, Baldwin addresses his argument: "If this absolutely unprecedented journey does not indicate that black English is a language, then I am curious to know what the definition of language is to be trusted." At the end of his essay, Balwin provides us with information that White Americans were not interested in educating African Americans; if a child was to be educated that he could no longer be black and that he knows he could never be White. But if the White American language is influenced by the African American language, why would an African American child need to be educated by a White American? The purpose of Baldwin's argument is to inform his audience about this issue and for the black English language to receive recognition.