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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KfldVO7lx3X1OBBYtMb0wkR_objGo0Rs/view?usp=sharing

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Tri-Deep Meditation painting Art by Inna Laktionova 

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Tri-Deep Meditation painting Art by Inna Laktionova 

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This painting art teaches me a lots about to see my mind when either calm and agitate. Hopefully this art helps us to find calm mind within us.

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I posted my presentation on Google Drive to avoid the size limit and sorry that it went a bit too long. But I hope you enjoy it!(btw, you change fidelity setting to 1080p in the settings)

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Mengzhen (Nancy) Hao's Oral Presentation Option #3

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Mengzhen (Nancy) Hao's Oral Presentation Option #3

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It really takes big effort to compress the video within 10MB... Forgive that my voice is always low and my tone is somehow plain.😢
In this presentation I share wonderful experience about cutting off shopping.

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Option 2, Persian concept with that does not exist in English language

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Option 2, Persian concept with that does not exist in English language

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A Vent on the Nature of the Mathematical Universe (Leonid Nediak)

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talk about running out of time rip

EDIT: I just watched Brian's presentation and realized that my usage of the term "mathematical universe" is somewhat confusing. What I mean is basically, in some sense, the collection (not under some proper and correct rigorous definition, sorry) of pairs of collections of assertions (once again, not under some proper and rigorous definition, sorry) and collections of rules which govern relationships (this could've been rigorous, but is more like just something that can be universally comprehended by all people) between truth values (this can be rigorously defined) assigned to each element of subcollections of the first element of the pair that the collection this rule is in, is in. However, as you can see, this is an extremely fuzzy definition, but this is what I'm talking about, basically.

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A Vent on the Nature of the Mathematical Universe (Leonid Nediak)

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I compressed the video. Maybe there are some words not clear on the screen.

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Everyone in my house sleeps early so I was whisper/talking. Hope it's ok!

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Vivian (WeiGuang) Bao : Oral Presentation Assignment Option 2

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Vivian (WeiGuang) Bao : Oral Presentation Assignment Option 2

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In his book, Elements of Indigenous Style, Younging claimed that Indigenous community was not acknowledged properly by Western world for their Indigenous knowledge which was treated in a similar fashion with Indigenous land: Western colonists took control as if it belonged to no one. Younging believed that the Western Intellectual Property Right (IPR) system, which denies property right of traditional knowledge (TK) from its keepers, should not be applied to Indigenous knowledge brutally. He argued that different cultures view knowledge differently and do not necessarily all believe in the principle of universal access to knowledge, so it is important to respect Indigenous claims of ownership of Indigenous knowledge under the system of Customary Law.

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Brian Buchler - The Most Interesting Thing I Learned in the Past Year

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Brian Buchler - The Most Interesting Thing I Learned in the Past Year

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Finally after one hour and half of effort, and too many failed uploads, i compressed everything into a video under 3 minutes. Apologies for the video quality, it is made with the front camera of my iPad.

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Scavenger Hunt Mission #2 - Ayame Kaneko - 

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Scavenger Hunt Mission #2 - Ayame Kaneko - 

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A1. C. She dressed appropriately.
She appropriated her mother’s dress.

A2. The origin of appropriate (verb) goes back to the 15th Century in Late Latin where a word, meaning appropriate, “Appropriatus” was used. Its past participle “adpropriare” consisted of two parts, ‘ad’ meaning to and ‘propriare’ meaning take ones own.

While appropriately (adverb) is made up of ‘appropriate’ (adjective) and a suffix ‘-ly’ meaning to act in a such way indicated by the adjective. The word appropriate originated in the 15th Century and came from a Latin word Appropriatus’s other past participle “appropriare.” This verb can be translated as make one’s own.

The source I used for this post: https://www.etymonline.com/word/appropriate?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_15520

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Critical Comment Post # 1 - Ayame Kaneko - 

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Critical Comment Post # 1 - Ayame Kaneko - 

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A1. According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, ‘Elusive’ means difficult to find, define, or achieve. While ‘Illusive’ means not real although seeming to be.

A2. In the reading, Smith mentions that even though Prince who was as as popular as Micheal Jackson, many considered his dancing was ‘elusive’. The author explains this phenomenon as she quoted, “[Prince’s] greatness was confined to the moment in which it was happening (2). In other words, Prince’s performances worked the same way as (sleeping) dreams, in which while when we are asleep we can be in the moment and enjoy it, when we wake up from them, we can not capture what was happening there.

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In the first paragraph of Gregory Younging’s “Elements of Indigenous Style”, the author discussed the invasion of indigenous’ territory and cultural by the western people. Besides the land colonization, the indigenous culture is also integrated into the western culture without recognition. This includes institutions, sports, and ideas originally generated by the indigenous people. While the western society is declaring the ownership of colonized territories, they did not realize the importance of cultural belongingness, which cannot be easily embraced in the western culture.

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Younging stresses the risk of placing Indigenous knowledge and practices into the public domain. Alongside their land, Indigenous knowledge was not given its rightful credit to Indigenous peoples, but rather viewed as knowledge voluntarily placed for the public. Then, due to colonization, the information fell into the hands of western information.

Though freely providing Indigenous knowledge to the public may seem beneficial, there is a high risk of miss or improper representation under a western system. Some information may not play a significant role in diverse cultures compared to Indigenous societies, and others may not follow western customs and laws. Due to this, and the lack of ownership Indigenous people have over their creations and ideas, placing Indigenous information in the public domain may cause more harm towards the Indigenous people and their information rather than good.

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Oral Presentation

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A1. Elbow shifts from fairly mentioning both upsides and downsides to of the ‘believing game’ and ‘doubting game’ to arguing how the doubting game has an unfair amount of attention and admiration. This change begins with a phrase, “In a sense this essay is an extended attack on the doubting game,” (Elbow, 2) indicating his offensive stance towards it.

A2. Elbow created a smooth transition between subtopics in the first few sentenses of ‘The Two Dialectics as Games.’ For instance he starts with how it is impossible to force someone to participate in the ‘believing game’ and the same senario applies to the ‘doubting game.’ This comparison creates fairness as unlike the previous ‘The Believing Muscle’ excerpt as Elbow equally discusses their similarities and differences along with a simple real-life example. Moreover, he makes this change of the flow possible using the the phrase, “But neither can you…” (5) sharing the other side of his argument.

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A well written book “Elements of Indigenous Stye” by Younging. He included the sense of manner between Indigenous people and Westerners. Indigenous cultural systems have been preserved for thousands of years and it is well sustainable equal treatment for ecosystems in the globe. They had rules and regulation to preserve all territories and work for development for all areas. Based on the text of “Gnaritas Nullius”, Indigenous knowledge has well shown such as the canoe and kayak design, bungee jumping, snowshoes, lacrosse, surfing, etc. They protect law for peace and respect for equally. But after invading western culture, Indigenous people turn to dark side. It started dispute even among Indigenous communities.  They lost their lands and territories and freedom. Indigenous people are colonized for decades under the Western law and began to lose their knowledge.

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TK is treated by the INTELLECTUAL property regime as Gnaritas Nullius, meaning nobody knows. This suggests that it was placed in the public domain along with Western knowledge, just as colonized lands were treated as ownerless in the process. In fact, as the land was colonized, indigenous knowledge was also colonized. The Western nations took this acquired indigenous knowledge as their own and refused to acknowledge it as their original attribution. This knowledge actually exists in the form of canoe and kayak design, bungee jumping, uggs, lacrosse, surfing and sustainability. It took place despite widespread belief among the indigenous population that the practice violated ownership rights and customary law. Yet concepts of freedom and equality are imposed on indigenous knowledge systems because advocates of the public domain of knowledge believe that all knowledge systems have the same understanding of the concept of "knowledge". This is wrong because knowledge has different roles and meanings in different epistemologies. And different world views do not agree that knowledge is universally available. At the same time, it is impossible for all knowledge to conform to western ways and legal systems.

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Indigenous territories have been treated as terra nullius in the process of colonization. Similarly, the IPR system has regarded TK as gnaritas nullius, which also makes it into western public knowledge. Apart from that, items belonging to indigenous people have been colonized such as local institutions, private possessions and unique indigenous culture. For example, western people embraced many designs developed by indigenous people, such as surfing, snowshoes, and bungee jumping, but the western world did not admit where they get the source. However, it is not a good idea to incorporate indigenous knowledge into western public knowledge. Local knowledge has a different significance and role from western domain culture and also cannot provide useful principles to all human beings all over the world.

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In the book Elements of Indigenous Style, Younging discusses the "Gnaritas Nullius (No One's Knowledge)" of the indigenous territory. Western people come to notice the indigenous culture through language.  However, western people take  Indigenous language, Indigenous institutions as their own culture for granted just like invading Indigenous land--from "terra nullius" to "gnaritas nullius"( Younging, 2018, P. 132). This phenomenon has caused the fight of the Idigenous for their own culture. Indigenous knowledge system is unique and special, any regime cannot see this as inferior.  After all, all langauges are different, thus, they cannot have a specfic boundary in terms of the belongings.

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Because indigenous knowledge is declared as gnaritas nullius (no ones' knowledge) under the Intelectual Property Right system, it has become available to the general public with Western knowledge. Western people now think of indigenous knowledge as their own knowledge without recognizing it. Moreover, knowledge plays a different role in different cultures so indigenous knowledge doesn't necessarily fit into western culture and western knowledge does not necessarily fit into indigenous knowledge. So the author argues that Intellectual property law is a European idea and does not apply to indigenous culture. Therefore, indigenous people are trying to keep pursuing the acknowledgment of their own indigenous knowledge.

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In Gregory Younging's essay Gnaritas Nullius, he reveals Western people's blatant invasion of Indigenous People's possessions. According to Gregory, besides land properties, many Indigenous intellectual properties, including transportation tools and sports instruments, have all been occupied by the Western colonizers based on gnaritas nullius, and integrated into the Western culture without acknowledgement to Indigenous intellect, despite Indigenous People's denunciation of the violation of Customary Law. Gregory also points out that the issue to notice in this colonization process is that the Western people just transplant their perspectives of culture onto Indigenous knowledge, treating it with the same sets of rules that are sued elsewhere. However, the colonizers have omitted the fact that not all cultural and knowledge forms can be incorporated together to form a harmonious entity, nor does the Indigenous culture completely fuses with the Western one. The truth is that different cultures always diversify in their importance and functions within a big range of cultural landscape. (Gregory Younging, 132)

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The western community has colonized not only Indigenous knowledges, but also Indigenous institutions and possessions despite the Indigenous community's effort to claim its right of possession.

The west has never once credited the Indigenous community of the things the westerners now enjoy in terms of arts, sports, lifestyle and so on. Lacrosse and surfing, for example, which are sports first established and found by the Indigenous people, now "belong" to the west.

Customary law is ignored in the west and colonization is still condoned. The westerners think that knowledges and cultures belonging to the ones they colonize must be under the West's jurisdiction. Hence, items authentic to the Indigenous community were never appreciated as coming from the Indigenous people and there is nothing they can do while under the West's colonization.

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Gregrory Younging's first paragraph of "Elements of Indigenous Style" can be paraphrased as follows,

The western world's colonization processes involved using Indigenous knowledge of daily activities and making it their own, without any consideration, similar to what was done with Indigenous land. This is an issue because liberal ideas of freedom and equality are imposed onto Indigenous knowledge systems but not onto other knowledge systems. Nevertheless, Indigenous people continue to fight for their rights over their knowledge daily.

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A1. The epigraph of the reading suggests me that believing something unknown is challenging while this is not the case with doubting. I believe that the author wanted to share readers some tips on how to learn believe something unimaginable and upsides on why doing so is good.

A2. After I finished my reading I realized that both the epigraph and the main argument indicated to spend some time accepting unique things that you normally would not believe to be true.

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The first paragraph of elements of indigenous style by Gregory Younging can be paraphrased as follows:

The west took aboriginal knowledge just like their land, despite the objections. It’s problematic because people don’t treat knowledge the same way everywhere and the west should recognize that.

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Day 1-Ayame Kaneko- Elbow Annotation Picture 

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Day 1-Ayame Kaneko- Elbow Annotation Picture 

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IPR system considered Indigenous knowledge as ‘no one’s knowledge’ in the same way as many other indigenous properties and lands were colonised and taken from indigenous people. As a result, indigenous knowledge has been allocated to western wisdom. Example of this includes manufacturing of kayak, snowshoes and many more that been clamed by western people as their own with out giving credit to its original source despite indigenous claims of ownership.

The problem arises when public domain advocates force the liberal ideas of freedom on indigenous knowledge systems by viewing them as the same notion of knowledge across cultures. The Author explains that firstly, all knowledge does not have the same position and importance within diverse epistemologies; secondly, not every different perspectives includes a concept that knowledge can be obtained universally; and thirdly, all knowledge can not fit into western model and judicial systems.(Younging, 2018)
Younging, Gregory. 20180 Elements Indidenous Style: Gnaritas Nullius (No One's Knowledge). Brush

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Younging asserts in the first paragraph of "Elements of Indigenous Style" that Western peoples imposed their values with respect to the sharing of knowledge onto Indigenous Knowledge as well as their own, and that this resulted in the forgetting of the source of much of this knowledge in the memory of many, which, to the Indigenous, can be viewed as having had their knowledge taken from them.

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Gregory Younging (2018) explores the topics of Indigenous quality and knowledges in his essay "Elements of Indigenous Style" (p.132). In the essay, he claimed that during the process of "terra nullius", the Western society not only took lands from the Indigenous people, but more importantly, they deprived the Indigenous people of their own knowledge and "embraced as their own" (p.132). As a result, the Indigenous population's rights were intensively violated as a direct result of Western colonization. In addition, Indigenous claims of ownership and breach of Customary Law has already strived  for Indigenous rights, yet they failed to realize that Indigenous knowledge is actually a different concept, and that it should never be considered as a type of "knowledge that can be universally accessed" (p.132).

Younging, G. (2018). Elements of indigenous style: A guide for writing by and about indigenous peoples. Brush Education.

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Gnaritas Nullius: Elements of Indigenous Style is Younging's explanation of the treatment of gnaritas nullius (no one's knowledge) of the colonization of Indigenous territories and knowledge that has been lost, removed,  and has been culturally appropriated through Western society (Younging, 132). Through colonization, Western people have exploited and claimed Indigenous institutions and possessions as their own through the practices and derivation from Indigenous knowledge of canoe, kayak design, lacrosse, bungee jumping, sustainable development, and snowshoes (Younging, 132). Despite the acknowledgement and recognition of ownership and the legacies of the First People and breach of Customary Law, the challenges that colonialism forges and elicit a misinterpretation, misrepresentation and dilution of knowledge within the cultures of the Indigenous knowledge system (Younging, 132). Thus, not all knowledge can be universally accessed and authentically fit into Western paradigms (Younging, 132).

Work Cited:

Younging, G. 2018. Gnaritas Nullius: Elements of Indigenous Style, A guide for writing by and about Indigenous people. Edmonton, AB: Brush Education.

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Gregory Younging in the essay "Elements of Indigenous Style" asserts that European colonization not only resulted in theft of indigenous lands ("terra nullius), but also in theft of Indigenous knowledge and technology ("gnaritas nullius").

Younging lists "canoes and kayak design, bungee jumping, snowshoes, lacross, surfing,,,," as examples of Indigenous knowledge and technology appropriated by European colonizers.

Colonization has done this by placing Indigenous thought, culture, and knowledge in the "public domain". Indigenous peoples have protested this appropriation of their ingenuity developed over the millennia to no avail.

Younging does not see a correction of this injustice any time soon, because Western thought holds that all knowledge, regardless of origin, should be freely accessible across cultures. The problem is that Indigenous knowledge has a different role and follows different rules in their epistemology, compared with that of Western epistemological systems.

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In his essay "Gnaritas Nullius (No One's Knowledge)", Younging (2018) draws our attention to the misuse, lack of recognition, and appropriation of Indigenous traditional knowledge as part of a continued process of neo-colonialism. Long after the supposedly historical colonization of Indigenous lands, Younging notes that indigenous knowledge has been annexed in a similar mindset in today's society, despite the community's ongoing efforts to protect their physical and intellectual property ownership under Customary Law. Followers of liberal ideals of freedom and equality declare traditional Indigenous practices as "no one's knowledge" and had made TK publicly accessible, while ironically, indistinguishable from western knowledge (p. 133).

What the West has failed to understand, Younging argues, is that indigenous traditional knowledge, like every other culture's own knowledge, is founded on a system of values and interpretations different from that of Western culture. As a result, knowledge of the same sort may be assigned different significance across different cultures, yet stands valid in their own way and does not need to conform to any other epistemologies (p. 132). It is irrational, therefore, according to Dr. Younging, to measure the Indigenous knowledge system against, let alone adapt the Indigenous knowledge system to, the standards of the Western world (p. 132).

Works Cited (APA for social sciences)
Younging, G. (2018). Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing by and about Indigenous Peoples. Canada: Brush Education.

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"A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey."

These words touched me most deeply throughout the entire essay. Personally a lover of world history, my most direct source of information - classes and textbooks - had taught me to understand language as a byproduct of social development. The creation and variation of languages we have nowadays had always been regarded as an extraordinary advancement in the history of human existence; even those that we hadn't been able to preserve, are still seen as linguistic veterans that contributed to the development of today's newer generations of languages. But Baldwin had taken on a much more realistic view on the creation of languages, specifically the Black English: words are not put together to convey messages of happiness and joy, but cries for help and forgiveness; the speakers of this language long to connect with each other yet dread to be heard and understood by those outside of their group. This is the first time I have ever learnt of, heart-breakingly, the protective power of language. For those who are interested in learning more about the lives of enslaved Black people travelling to the US, I would recommend the book "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano".

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I most certainly agree with previous posts - Baldwin has not only demonstrated his determination to defend the legitimacy of Black English, but also first-handedly put his promises into actions. To relate to his previous points on the power of language being a political instrument, I believe Baldwin is also actively manifesting his "private identity" while publicly inviting the rest of his larger community to connect and to partake in similar defence of their language.

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Gregory Younging points out the lack of credit Indigenous knowledge recognized by Western people in his book Elements of Indigenous Style (Younging). Using the term, gnaritas nullius, meaning no one’s knowledge, Younging expresses how Western people remain ignorant of the Indigenous history of common activities such as kayaking, bungee jumping and surfing  (Younging). Younging then draws attention to the Customary Law that should be protecting the Indgenous claims but has not taken action to dispute the Western idea that the activities are also theirs (Younging). Similar to the Western colonization of Indigenous territories, Younging writes that Indigenous knowledge has also been colonized, which could be stopped if the West accepted that knowledge can not be labelled as universal or have to fit under the West’s values and beliefs (Younging).

Younging, Gregory. Elements of Indigenous Style a Guide for Writing by and about Indigenous Peoples. Brush Education, 2018.

P.S. Is this cited alright? I was basing this off of my knowledge of MLA8 so if anyone knows and can confirm, please comment a "yes." Thanks!

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"Putting his business on the street" is a metaphor that tells me about his experience about discrimination in England. Black English is English that Black people speak. Black English is not important in white society. It is shameful and embarrassing for Baldwin to share his discriminatory experience with parents, youth friends, in school with teachers and colleagues. And he worries about his future even. What Baldwin has to tell the future generation about the past and his ancestors? Nothing! It is because his face is black.

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As Baldwin himself explicitly puts it, the question was not meant to bring attention to the legitimacy of Black English as a language itself, but rather the status and reality of the language's speaker. After a long history of Black Americans being disapproved of, maltreated, and unrecognized by white Americans, their language is now also being victimized.

Baldwin cleverly sets up a "problematic" question in the essay title, while his explanation in the introductory paragraph smoothly shifts the focus from the Black language - undoubtedly one of the most significant symbols of a culture and a community - and provides an interesting gateway to the topic of greater significance, and that is, the spiritual denial that European colonizers and white supremacists continue to uphold. The lack of recognition that Black English receives merely gives a glimpse of the unjust treatment that Black Americans continue to undergo.

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See the full instructions on the Assignments page in Quercus. 

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See the full instructions on the Assignments page in Quercus. 

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Technical Stuff:

For this assignment, you may use any recording device  (camera, phone, powerpoint recorded presentation, etc.) to create a short video, or a narrated presentation (similar in format to course lectures). You may also choose to use Padlet directly, and simply "Post Film" by speaking directly into your webcam on your group's "Daily Activities" Padlet. Your presentation should be about 3 minutes long. If you choose to use slides, that's about 3 slides.
Note: To record your video, it will be easiest to use Padlet's built-in video capture feature. If you prefer to record via some other app, please note that your file will have to be less than 10MB to post to Padlet. You can, however, use a free, web-based resizer program to help you shrink your file. Here's one that rates highly on Trust Pilot: https://clideo.com/ (Links to an external site.).

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What is language? What is black English?
Language is created to express thoughts and ideas. It is constructed with various phonetics using alphabetical systems. It has nothing to do with race as black and white or Asian, etc. It is because every race has its own language to share its own identity. But, what to do with black English? It is about "the role of language" which is standing for "preserving the community's history, customs and traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression" (Q. what is role of language, google.com).

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One of the sentences from the first paragraph is revealing the main controversy in this essay. "The argument has nothing to do with language itself but with the role of language." Most people would category black English as "English", but Baldwin wants to make a distinction since each language is representing the culture, history, and nationalities behind. Black English differs from white English because they are representing a different group of people. This can be taken into consideration when we category languages.

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"They each have very different realities to

articulate, or control."
This paragraph was discussing how language could be shaped by people from different territories. Even though people are all speaking French, people from different parts of the world could have various understandings.
After reading the article, the author is expressing that the power of language is not only communicate, but also a reflection of history or culture. All of these elements could influence how people speak or what kind of words they would choose.

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Throughout of the colonization of the Indigenous territories, it has also overtaken the unique culture and knowledge of the indigenous people. Younging explains that this knowledge unlike the Western ideologies of equality was not valued as equal to any other for its possession describes the importance and the history of their lives. Thus, Younging reveals the issue in the public domain system for it sees through a lens of equality. It treats all culture, people, and history as the same and thus loses all the significance behind those attained knowledge (Younging, 2018).

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Gregory Younging(2018) describes the situation of Indigenous knowledge in his book Elements of Indigenous Style: In the history of the colonization process, along with the colonizing of Indigenous territories, institutions, and possessions, the Western countries occupied the Indigenous knowledge included cultural productions and sustainable development of the whole system based on the name of gnaritas nullius. Without acknowledgment of the source and ownership, those Western countries seriously violated the freedom and equality to Indigenous knowledge systems and the value uniserial liberal principle, which also violated the paradigms and legal regimes they have designed to discipline themselves (Younging, 2018).

Younging, Gregory. 2018. Elements Indigenous Style: Gnaritas Nullius (No One's Knowledge). Brush.

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The question is problematic since it’s not about language but the role of language. It not only reveals the speaker, it also serves as a political instrument and how it black English evolved from the American History.

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“But each has paid, and is paying, a different price for this “common” language”
I find where this part confusing and doesn’t know exactly what “price” the author is stating.

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Baldwin tried to demonstrate how our identity, or literally many of our backgrounds, gets revealed inadvertently through our language in the paragraph. The example of the various regional dialects and sub-dialects of English in England is exactly the case. And Baldwin also revealed such disclosure by our language actually makes the language political and powerful. So it is important for Baldwin to urge the importance of viewing Black English as a “language”, not a mere “dialect”: Not in linguistics context but in the social context. And such recognition of Black English would be a recognition of the history of slavery and of discrimination against Black people in America.

Therefore, it is important for Baldwin to reveal himself by using the phrase “putting his business on the street”: His Black English is a pride for him - black pride. One needs to hide your identity only if one is not proud of that identity or one is faced with suppression and discrimination against such identity. Baldwin showcased his Black English just to support his claim that Black English should be viewed as a language.

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For my annotation exercise, I elected to show my annotations in reference to the title "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is", and the first paragraph of the essay.

For me to understand the essay, I thought I needed to better understand what constitutes a "language"; i.e., how is language defined.
I got a definition of language from Wikipedia, which is reflected in one of my annotations.

I also thought I needed to better understand what is "black English", and whether linguists today think that "black English" is a true language.
I found an interesting paper by Robert L. Bowie and Carole l. Bond, 1994, entitled "Influencing Future Teachers' Attitudes toward Black English: Are We Making a Difference?".

The paper unfortunately is behind a paywall; but the preview page did divulge the following text:

"By the mid to late sixties, linguists began demonstrating that speakers of Black English use a legitimate, rule governed and fully developed dialect (Labov, 1967; McDavid, 1964; Shuy, 1969), thus refuting the Deficit Theory. In what has become the prevailing view of linguists and educators (Labov, 1985; Ford, 1978; Smitherman, 1983), researchers in the seventies found black English speakers highly competent language users when speaking in their vernacular and in some degree of control over the situations in which they find themselves."

Deficit Theory, from the preview page:
"Deficit Theory: because children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds lacked verbal stimulation in their homes, they were not afforded the linguistic resources necessary to language success."

That paper, based on the preview, does suggest that linguists do see structure and rules inside "black English", therfore meriting that it be recognized as a "language".

The paper helped me to understand Baldwin's argument: Black English is not recognized as a language, not because black English lacks any essential characteristics of language, but because white America desires to maintain their oppression of black America; recognizing black English as a language could empower the black community, reversing their oppression.

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Based on the essay title "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? ", the author seems to be discussing whether Black English should be considered as a separate language and culture. However, the author's real aim is to reveal the unrecognized identity of Black Americans. The author believes that "language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power", and it's the "most vivid and crucial key to identify" (Para 4). This shows that the author believes that a language actually represents the social background of the speaker. The fact that Black English is still being questioned as a language speaks to the fact that African-American identity is not recognized. As a result, he argues that some of the arguments over the definition of Ebonics are inherently unreasonable.

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Yes, Baldwin is "putting his business on the street", in order to emphasize his argument and stand point about Black English. Additionally, he is choosing to show and reveal himself to his audience because he wants them to understand his struggles as a Black American and the inequality he had to face due to his race.

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"put your business on the street" is a metaphor, like showing it in public, which may attract people in terms of his or her thoughts of life, such as identity, education, occupation, and so on. Baldwin is putting his business on the street, for he delivers speeches about his adventure directly. He not only talks about his own life but also stands for his black culture directly.

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This passage reminds me of what was done to Indigenous children in Canada, where they were forced to forget their mother language and only speak English. Additionally, although, knowing many languages has it's benefits, it can also become dangerous or even fatal for people, which is a different approach to this topic.

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"…language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identify: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity."

I believe this is one of the most important reasons why Baldwin argued that Black English should be called as a “language”, not a mere “dialect”: this language is the direct product, and thus, the symbol of the history of slavery and of discrimination in America. From a pure linguistic perspective, it might be true that Black English is a dialect. However, Baldwin was not writing an academic article in linguistics, he was trying to reveal the systematic ignorance towards the black culture and the history behind, and the intentional denial of education for black children which eventually deprive them of their future.

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Here "put your business in the street" is a very subtle yet manifest metaphor. It suggests that using Black English reveals one's background, identity, belonging to specific community, and experiences that belong to not only the person, but also are particular trauma of a group of people.
I think Baldwin really puts himself in the street, since he publicly declares his intention  and determination to protect the fair position that Black English deserves in English history.

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On reading the title of the essay "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?", I thought the author was going to offer a linguistic argument of why Black English should be recognized as a distinct language.

Before proceeding with the text, I first tried to understand what constitutes a language.
According to Wikipedia, "language is a structured system of communication used by humans, based on speech or gesture (spoken language), sign, or often writing."
I then tried to find out more about the author, and what other scholars had to say. I came across a paper entitled "Influencing Future Teachers' Attitudes Toward Black English: Are We Making A Difference?" (by Bowie and Bond, 1994). Unfortunately the paper is behind a paywall, but the preview had the following to say:

"By the mid to late sixties, linguists began demonstrating that speakers of Black English use a legitimate, rule governed and fully developed dialect (Labov, 1967; McDavid, 1964; Shuy, 1969), thus refuting the Deficit Theory. In what has become the prevailing view of linguists and educators (Labov, 1985; Ford, 1978; Smitherman, 1983), researchers in the seventies found black English speakers highly competent language users when speaking in their vernacular and in some degree of control over the situations in which they find themselves."

I was fully expecting Baldwin to make an argument along those lines.

But Baldwin says in the very first paragraph (actually the first two sentences of the essay): "The argument concerning the use, or the status, or the reality, of black English is rooted in American history and has absolutely nothing to do with the question the argument supposes itself to be posing. The argument has nothing to do with language itself but the role of language".

In other words, whether black English is a language has nothing to due with whether it is structured, or follows certain rules (according to the Wikipedia definition of language).
The problem, as Baldwin sees it, is that black English is not recognized as a language because doing so would empower the speakers of the language; recognizing black English would recognizing the "black experience" in America.

As Baldwin sees it (and to be honest, I have to agree), whites in America wish to maintain their suppression of the black community; and one way to do this is to suppress the language of the black community. It has nothing to do with linguistics.

Baldwin writes: "What joins all languages, and all men, is the necessity to confront life, in order, not inconceivably, to outwit death..."
When a language dies, its people die. Language is a tool for survival of a people.

Baldwin writes: "People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances..."
Recognizing black English would empower the black community, thereby risking the continued suppression of black Americans by white America.

The most powerful statement for me occurs in the second to last paragraph:
"It is not the black child's language that is in question, it is not his language that is despised: It is his experience."
Whites cannot, as Baldwin sees it (once more, I must agree with his viewpoint), render legitimacy to black English, because that would legitimize the "black experience".

One final note: this essay resonated with me a lot, in the context of the history of Canada's residential school system. In a way quite similar to the US, Canada hoped to suppress the indigenous peoples's experience in Canada, by suppressing their language.

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My Annotation from Plato's Republic Book 7

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This is an excerpt from Plato's Republic Book7, about The Allegory of the Cave. The paragraphs I post here are Socrates describing what will happen when one of the prisoners previously in the cave watching the shadows is freed. I find this part particularly intriguing, since it reveals the hardship of recognizing the real truth, and tells the fact that what "the good" is is essentially a problem of mystery that we may never get the answer to.

Mengzhen Hao

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"…but even after a decade, his [i.e. Ricardo Chailly’s] musical character remains strangely X illusive and lacking any special definition."

Similar to Prince's dancing moves, I believe that the author is trying to say that Ricardo Chailly's musical character is hard to capture and hard to remember, instead of saying that it is misleading or that it is an illusion. Therefore it should be elusive instead of illusive.

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"The brutal truth is that the bulk of white people in American never had any interest in educating black people, except as this could serve white purposes. It is not the black child's

language that is in question, it is not his language that is despised: It is his experience. A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled." (Baldwin, p.3)
We have learnt black history and we know how black people are treated. I am not wondering about the language issue between white and black. Black people were known as inferior which means black people are not "eligible" or "qualified". It is a trauma that black community has been hunting for decades. Inhumanity was more seen rather than humanity because of colour. Because of colour, black people are treated like worthless beings.

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Since "elusive“ means difficult to catch, achieve, or to remember and "illusive” means something that misleads or deceives you, the author is trying to describe that Prince's dancing is hard to capture or remember not that his dance actually deceives you. From the text, it can be shown that the author describes Prince's dance to be elusive where she says "Prince's moves, no matter how many times you may have observed them have no firm inscription in member; they never seem quite fixed or preserved" this sentence shows that Price's dance moves are hard to remember, instead of that his moves are trying to deceive you.

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It seems that Bladwin is frustrated about the situation in US and wants to educate people through his words and ask them to change their views about “black English ”. I feel that by using this phrase, Bladwin is reminding the reader about his main point, which he mentioned is the first two paragraphs of the essay

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The authors states that language reveals the speaker. In this case, we could conclude that Black English is a language since it can give a chance for Black people to express their feelings, emotions, and life attitudes and so on. However, in the title, Baldwin also notes audience can argue what Black English is if it not belongs to language. This is a contradiction.

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Red highlight, This section reminds me of a saying “ name it to tame it ” which for me means if you can not describe something, you are not able to look at it objectively. and therefore can not control it.

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"The brutal truth is that the bulk of white people in American never had any interest in

educating black people, except as this could serve white purposes."

This sentence reminds me of the racism in my Journalism class. It seems that the Black is doomed to be stupid, have low intelligence, uncivilized. The reason may be obvious--white privilege: this phenomenon is wide-spreading even in today's world. However, the Black has the right to fight for themselves. Maybe the dominators, the educators, should figure it out in a more subtle way.

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I read some of the other student's responses to this prompt and still can't understand why the title is problematic. If anything, the first paragraph is basically saying that the title is just a hook and is not even the main point of the text. It basically implies that the main point of the text is the role of black English.

What really set me off when reading this text was the fact that the author's definition of language was so different and unusual to me that I couldn't understand anything he was saying (that is, until I read a bunch of the other student's responses). I understand a language simply as a means of communication, no strings attached. However, Baldwin clearly views language as something with a convoluted network of connections to numerous other aspects of society.

I think the title is not problematic at all if language is clearly defined, but Baldwin seems to have a definition in mind that he doesn't actually spell out in the text, since he expects the reader to either already have the definition he has or to have a concept in mind which either agrees with his definition or is vague enough to import aspects of his definition as the reader absorbs the text. I don't. If anything, this makes the text itself what is problematic, not the title.

However, considering my level of understanding of this text, the most likely scenario here is that I'm simply missing some things that should be obvious to anyone in the target audience of the text.

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'Language, also, far more dubiously, is meant to define the other--and, in this case, the other is refusing to be defined by a language that has never been able to recognize him.' (para. 1)

I am confused that why we can regard language as 'him' instead of 'it'?

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I think Baldwin is “putting his business on the street” because he is clearly pointing out that he is a Black American and he does “confess” an experience with his youth that specifically happened because of his race. Using this expression further emphasizes his passion on the subject of Black English being a language. Readers can feel his deep connection with Black English and feel the pull to know more and to keep reading while forming their own attachment to the text.

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" [.]Subsequently, the slave was given, under the eye, and the gun, of his master, Congo Square, and the Bible--or in other words, and under these conditions, the slave began the formation of the black church. It is within this unprecedented tabernacle that black English began to be formed. A language comes into existence through brutal necessity, and the rules are dictated by what the language must convey". (p,2)

I had to sit on this passage for a while. It haunts and disturbs me about its history.

I want to do more research on this. I am curious about anyone's thoughts on this passage and what emotions it elicits? And if anyone knows of a great book/article that they can refer me to on the History of Black English, I would be greatly appreciative.

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The introductory paragraph portrays clearly how the author feel about having to use "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?" as a title.

The author is using that title as a form of rhetorical question to make the readers rethink and evaluate the seriousness of this matter, about how, until today, Black English is still not universally accepted as their own unique language.

However, his main point isn't just about Black English being considered a separate language. It is more about raising awareness about the history of Black Americans and how they came through with creating a whole different language (black english) as a means for survival against others (in this case, the white americans).

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Green = author's point, yellow = example, blue = vocabulary

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How did everyone interpret the phrase of being “submerged by a reality one cannot articulate” as underlined in blue? At first I thought it was a metaphor for the conflict of a person vs. society and the need of individualism. After reading, my thoughts changed a bit to thinking that the phrase is more about self-identity because Baldwin later describes the problem of a Black child receiving a white American's education from a person that looks down on them. I know my interpretations are pretty broad so please comment your thoughts! I’m interested to learn more!

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"There was a moment, in time, and in this place, when my brother, or my mother, or my

father, or my sister, had to convey to me, for example, the danger in which I was standing

from the white man standing just behind me, and to convey this with a speed, and in a

language, that the white man could not possibly understand, and that, indeed, he cannot understand, until today. He cannot afford to understand it. This understanding would reveal to him too much about himself, and smash that mirror before which he has been frozen for so long."

This paragraph summarizes the whole passage in a way that it explains why the author thinks that Black English should be considered a language.

The author uses Black English to protect himself from the white Americans he considers harmful and the fact that the White American does not understand the language the author is using to speak to his family, Black English is considered a separate language.

The author also added the statement "If this absolutely unprecedented journey does not indicate that black English is a language, I am curious to know what definition of

language is to be trusted."

Here, the author is saying that the Black Americans do not need anyone's verification or confirmation to have Black English considered a language. The author feels that the result of journey the Black Americans have (creating a language from brutal necessity) should be credited in a way that Black English should be considered and accepted as a separate language.

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"A people at the center of the Western world, and in the midst of so hostile a population, has not endured and transcended by means of what is patronizingly called a 'dialect.' ... It is not the black child's language that is in question, it is not his language that is despised: It is his experience".

This quote reminds me the concept of language standardization, where it refers to the process of which a transitional, formal and conventional language is created and being used by the majority. In this case, after mainstream English was established and  used by a large proportion of people (especially the Whites), urbanization and standardized educations helped to normalize mainstream English in the white dominant culture. Therefore, it further marginalized  Black English, changing it into a dialect at the same time. Language limits people's experience in a way that the Blacks must speak mainstream English and they fail to get exposed or know their own culture in a Black-English-speaking environment.

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The Language definition in the Oxford dictionary is a communication system used by a particular country or community. Baldwin demonstrates that Black English is not a dialect and is deeply rooted in American history and how language evolves and has notably influenced the role of language within society. Language is not static but is open to change. He then proceeds to pose the statement, " Now, I do not know what white Americans would sound like if there had never been any black people in the United States, but they would not sound the way they sound." (p,2). Baldwin provides an example of the term "jazz" within the black community. It was coined as a sexual term. However, this word vibrated and has been utilized, linking it to a specific period, the Jazz Age era (p,2). He then reveals that language provides insight and is consequential to the speaker, which describes and controls the circumstances confronted in life. As noted by Baldwin, language is not despised, but it is the experience. Here he uses the example of slavery and how these brutal conditions constructed Black English " A language comes into existence employing brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey." (p,2). Thus, the question is problematic because the Black English language has been defined and misrepresented and, importantly, unacknowledged of its role in the American language.

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The introductory paragraph states the question itself is problematic because Baldwin argued that rather than simply being a language, Black English tends to have a symbolic meaning that it not only reveals the speaker's identity and status, but is also influenced by the history of Black people. In other words, the focus is not about whether Black English should be considered as a type of language, but rather, what kinds of deep meanings Black English can deliver to others.

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Baldwin is using the term "put your business in the street" as a metaphor, perhaps to clarify or to make his point message  memorable to a mainstream audience (para 5). Though this form of dialog generally harms your credibility in most academic discourse, Baldwin in this instance is reinforcing his claim as he is specially arguing the validity of this form of dialog. The phrase demonstrates how black English can will be a valid language that can discuss the same academic topics as mainstream English, but using different wording and sentence structure that correspond to the people's history.

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"A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey" (para 7).

Some may argue black English is invalid, since it stems from a lack of "formal education" on mainstream American English, but based on this line, one could question what form of education places the validity of a dialect, if it does at all. Black Americans did not receive sufficient enough education to learn and adapt mainstream white American dialect, but does that mean the dialect is invalid based on Baldwin's explanation of language.

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The word elusive is an adjective word meaning hard to express or described, and tricky according to the free dictionary. On the other hand, illusive is another adjective word that means misleading, deceptive and false. My understanding of these two words is they are both used for something abstract, unclear. The difference is that the former is more benign and gentle to describe a physical object, and the latter is more creative to describe something not real. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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“Language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identify: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.” pg. 1, para. 4

This passage and the previous example of France triggered my memory of how this persisted through history and another example is English itself. We can understand the strength of the British Empire from history simply by examining today’s world. Many of its previous colonies now adopted the English language simply due to being taken over by British Empire. Even within its own people, phrases and terms differed by status and class in their society which reflects the difference in reality they live in among the same country. I believe this draws parallels to the division in North America between Blacks and Whites in history as indicated by the author.

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The introductory paragraph claims that the debate on language wasn’t the goal as he already believes that history has evidently recorded the existence of Black English as a language. Instead, He wants to argue on the “role of language” as in what it represents about its people and what it can tell us about those who speak the alternative.

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A language is a system of communication. It consists of a set of phonetic expressions that corresponds to a lexicon of concepts. The concepts are then articulated with a grammar system.

Black English is similar to English except with identifiable traits such as zero cupolas and multiple negatives.

The essay suggests that the argument is not concerned with the definition as it may appear, but with the role of the language. It’s concerned with the speaker, not what is spoken.

Also I think I am having a problem with this website, as I wasn’t able to see other people’s posts. I am able to see them now for yesterday’s posts, so hopefully the problem is resolved.

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A
He worked the room.
He was working in the room.

My definition:
worked (past tense): In my opinion, "worked" is a past tense. He completed his work in the past. The action has done but we don't know when he worked. We know he worked in the room. It could be any work. where he worked? He worked the room. The room is clear. Room is cleaned by him.

was working (past continuous): It is a past continuous tense. He was doing lots of work in the room.
For example, Hi Peter! I did not see Jack last Friday. Oh! Yeah! He was working in the room for a week. After finishing his work, he moved to Halifax for his new project.

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Incorrect: "Sharks up to forty feet are quite common, although they proved to be illusive when Helen was there."

Correct: "Sharks up to forty feet are quite common, although they proved to be elusive when Helen was there."

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The word elusive is an adjective which means "difficult to catch" or "difficult to remember". It also contains a similar meaning to subtle, indefinable, and intangible.

The word illusive, on the other hand, relates strongly with illusion. The word means producing, produced by, based by illusion.

Why does "elusive" used inside the passage? Notice how the writer describes Prince's dancing in the passage. She repeatedly describes Prince's move to be easily forgotten, illegible, and only known by a few (his fans). She also describes how Prince's performance changes with the mood/atmosphere of the performance. She noted how everyone might see him dance but never understand what Prince want to convey.

Therefore, I think the word "elusive" is the best fit for this condition. Notice that, throughout the passage, Prince's dancing is never related to illusion. His dance does not play tricks or to show something different than it should be. It does not fool anyone, unlike a magician who performs his tricks. You could see his dance, but they are subtle. His dance does not deliver such an impact or message which caused it to be hard to remember and hard to be comprehended. Hence, in my opinion, that's why the author chose the word "elusive" to describe Prince's dancing/performance.

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elusive: difficult to find, catch, or achieve.
illusive: deceptive and illusory.
quotation:  "elusiveness can possess a deeper beauty than the legible."

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Elusive- Difficult to find; catch, or achieve

Illusive- Deceptive; Illusory

Explanation: Smith describes that Princes' moves are mysterious and challenging to achieve, and although they seem simple, his moves are that of the elusiveness of beauty.

"No matter how many times you may have observed them, Prince's moves have no firm inscription in memory; they never seem quite fixed or preserved. If someone asks you to dance like Prince, what will you do? Spin, possibly, and do the splits, if you're able. But there won't appear to be anything especially Prince-like about that. It's mysterious"  (p,2)