In an 1979 essay by James Baldwin, he describes language as a “Key to identify” by associating intelligence and social acceptance with language. While some aspects of language Baldwin claims are true, there are some flaws as well. Baldwin states “You have confessed your parents, your youth, your school, your salary, your self-esteem and alas, your future. To a certain degree, half these statements I agree with and the others I do not. I believe your youth, salary, and school can’t be determined because of your language. Yes the people you were around influences your language, but how you were in you youth does not fully determine how you speak now. A person may have grown up in a community where they speak broken english, but speak proper
