After reading and watching, “Should Writer use they own language” by Vershawn Young and “Three ways to speak English” by Jamilia Lyiscott, my initial reactions to these two texts were being a bit confused about the wording that the author used. It sort of surprised me, it was unexpected since I figured the passage would be in “formal writing”. However, after creating that switch in my head, I was able to grasp the understanding of what Young was trying to argue. As for the video, I found myself being very concentrated and carefully listening to all the keypoints being made about the English language. Young and Lyiscott both mention how there’s more than one way to speak English. They also demonstrate the dynamics of the English language and portray that there is more than one way to speak English. They do this by speaking in different forms of English to indicate that there is in fact multiple ways to speak the language. Young uses the English you speak outside of school, the type you speak to a friend while Lyiscott makes a stronger argument by providing more than one way to speak English. She uses the type of English you speak with friends, formal English like the type you use in school, and her Jamaican English. This was particularly intriguing since I think the way the use of language really powerful. It also made me think of language as a “shapeshifter” it shifts and changes. It’s one language but it shifts and changes into different forms.

I absoulutely agree with both of their perspectives and is probably one of the reasons why I was so engaged in what they were saying. “Yes, you do, and I’m not here to take that language from you; I’m here to teach you another one.” Who could object to learning a second language? (Fish “Part 3”). Young responds to this quote by stating how hypocritical it is to say that we should learn a second language but why can’t they? I absolutley agree with the point Young is making here, if people stopped emphasizing the use of “formal English” so much more could be said and done through different perspectives. Lyiscott states, “Now you may think that it is ignorant to speak broken English, But I am here to tell you that even “articulate” Americans sound foolish to the British”. It’s such a good way to put this term “dominant language ideology”. In other words,  those who speak “formal English” sound the same as a person speaking “informal English” to a British Person. Which really emphasizes that it is the same language we speak, other’s just force the idea of “formal English” upon others. Language changes over time, so I wonder what will soon be considered “articulate”.