James Baldwin's Essay On Language

Language is a truly unique thing since everyone utilizes it differently allowing people to show who they are. When I was in the sixth grade, I attended a summer camp where many of the campers were from Tennessee. Living in Alabama, I believed that I had a southern accent, but these campers made my accent seem nonexistent. Many people have stories like this one where they sound different or used different words than the people that they are speaking with at the time. In James Baldwin’s essay, he discussed how various ways of speaking show one’s heritage and affect one’s life. His essay from 1979 is still true today based how language affects political powers, the distrust of others, as well as showing a person’s past. Throughout time, influential language has been a leading factor in the decision of leadership positions. Baldwin states “language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power” which can be seen when examining leaders of the past and present. In the days of the Roman Empire, Alexander the Great once commanded his army to walk straight off a cliff which they proceeded to do; using nothing but his words, he took command of any given situation which shows how important a person 's language is to their leadership potential. …show more content…
The power of language is given by the speaker. One might choose to hide their past with fake accents or alter their words; however, they make a conscious choice to defy their natural use of language. Most people allow their past to shine through thus allowing those who understand the differences in language look into their heritage, education and background. Baldwin understands the undertones that the spoken word conveys about each individual, and his views on language are completely accurate since a person’s language identifies them by leadership potential, ethnicity and race, as well as where they have