The Words Make You

Rebecca Fenton

Blue Stream

January 13, 2011

I was born and raised in Roxborough.

When I was younger I didn’t really think anything of the way I spoke and how I said words but now that I’m older I see that they really define who I am today and the way others see me. I go to other places and I am seen as, and often judged as being a “Roxborough girl.” Some of the words that I say get on people’s nerves such as, “ard” which is an abbreviation meaning “alright then.” Also, if someone’s getting on my nerves I’ll say something like “k” or “o.” This is what most of the people in my neighborhood say and I pick up this slang from them.  Some people don’t realize the effect that their words have on others.

When I’m not in my own neighborhood no onse really thinks this language is weird, they just are aware that I’m from Roxborough. Also, when I go into other neighborhoods their language seems weird to me. For example, when I go to south philly and hear their slang like, “kilt,” “hengk,” and they all call people clowns. I didn’t know what any of this meant when I went there and it still seems weird to me even though I know what they’re talking about now, just because this slang is not used in my neighborhood. When I go to these different neighborhoods I feel weird when they say words like this because I feel like an outsider. I bet people feel the same way when they come to my neighborhood and I say things like “o” and “k.” For example, someone from New Jersey came down to my neighborhood with his friend. I said these words and he asked me if I was trying to be rude to him which I definetly was not. It really made me think about the impact that my words have on people and how I may come off to others. I feel kind of bad now because people don’t know that I’m just kidding around with them and whatnot.

People in places such as North Philly use slang that is different to me also. For example, lots of kids at SLA use the term, “bad” to describe someone being very attractive. I’ve never heard this term around Roxborough before either. The first time I heard someone use this word it was directed towards my friend Kim Parker. “She so bad!!!” I heard the boy say. I thought to myself, what is he talking about? Kim isn’t bad, nor does he know her enough to judge her in that kind of way. I thought it was pretty weird. The next day I heard the same boy say that another girl was, “bad.” This is when I started to catch on that he meant these girls were pretty. It sounded/still sounds so stupid to me. I don’t understand why they can’t just say that they are attractive.

In English class we read a few essays on how people use language in life. In the essay, If Black English isn’t a Language then What is? There is a quote by James Baldwin. “…When to speak a certain language could be dangerous, even fatal.” I agree with this quote 100% because lots of people can get really offended by language that others speak. For example, when I go in places with different types of people with ethnic groups I be careful of what I say. Not because I’m racist at all or anything like that just because I live in an area where there are all white people and I’m so used to speaking freely not caring what I say since everyone is just the same as me. I make a lot of jokes and need to realize that people might get offended. In different areas you also need to show respect because you can’t just go into someone else’s “territory.” If I were to go into a neighborhood highly populated with black people and I said words with profanity they would be so offended. I would probably get beat up.

            If everyone were to watch things they say then I don’t think there would be as much fighting and war and whatnot. I think we should all start thinking about the way we come off to people. If you are in class and you talk like you don’t care, then teachers are obviously going to think that you don’t care and think that you’re a bad kid. That actually happened to me firsthand so I would know. I think that your language that you use tells a lot about who you are and how you feel about the way others think of you. If you are going to meet a boyfriends family or your bestfriends family you’re not going to use curse words or words such as “you suck.” You’re going to be proper and hope that they like you. This is because if you have good language then people respect you a lot more and think highly of you. This is why some people don’t realize the effect that their words have on others.