Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education Noticiario Noticiario_Summer2017 | Page 5

American Englishes: Celebrating Fluencies
By Rebecca Balcárcel, Associate Professor of English, Tarrant County College
Latinx students, in particular, come in with a variety of language assets. Many have some
knowledge of Spanish, and therefore, Latin. This makes college vocabulary more
transparent. Most have a cache of English slang and idioms, which can add flavor to a
personal essay. Many have a tío or abuela who is a storyteller, which means that they
have absorbed the spell-like potential of effective language as well as narrative structure.
This knowledge will serve them well.
Students bring another awareness that helps them thrive in college writing
classes and college classes in general: audience. Students already appreciate differences
between sacred spaces, official spaces, family spaces, and peer spaces. They know which
words go with which place. They know the right tone to strike. In the field of English, we
call this audience. In class, we make consideration of audience conscious. We select
wording that matches the occasion. To be taken seriously as academic writers, students
must wield Standard English. To be taken seriously in their neighborhoods, they must use
the audience-appropriate lingo, even if their neighborhood is an on-campus dorm.
Looking at languages globally, we see that some languages have whole
vocabularies and even grammars that correspond to different levels of formality.
According to linguist John McWhorter, this is especially common in South and Southeast
Asia. He tells us that in Javanese, “Rice at a wedding is samenika; rice at your apartment is
saniki; rice on your baby’s bib is saiki.” Spanish and French have something similar with
their usted and tú, or their vous and tu. To compare, Javanese has (at least) three levels of
formality, so their word for you has a high version (pandjenegan), a medium version
(sampéjan), and a low version (kowé). (McWhorter, p.63) People use one form to talk to
kids, another for friends, and a third for formal functions. It’s three languages in one.
Wrangling multiple Englishes makes us smart, not wrong.
As we instructors equip students to succeed in college and beyond by giving
them the keys to Standard English, let us also celebrate their fluencies. I, for one, would
not know how to address Jamila Lyiscott if she approached me with “Wah gwaan.” I
admire her and all the people for whom English is a big place, with varieties and versions
that make our world richer.
Work Cited
McWhorter, John. Language A-Z: Course Guidebook. The Great Courses, 2013.
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