Gamble 1 KOntrey Gamble Professor Alicia Bolton English 101 17 October 2013 Slang and Proper English: Coexisting

in a Normal World My anxiety was increasing. The anticipation was becoming more and more unbearable. My ears seemed to gain an inhumane power; every click of her heel I could hear. Each time she passed by my desk the anticipation grew and grew. Finally, she placed my essay face down on the cold desk. My hands, clammy from the nervousness, inched towards the paper. The paper was covered in pencil marks. Above every other sentence were abbreviations like CS, PA, and SV, all foreign to me. I flipped to the last page to see my grade. The first grade my eyes came across as the grammar grade. I had failed. Immediately, tons of emotions flushed my body; I could not make out any of them, except the worst one of all, disappointment. What really hurt the most was not the fact that I had failed, but it was the sentence under the grade, You cannot write the same way that you talk. That one sentence mocked me . Several questions crossed my mind at that moment. Is the way that I talk not good enough? Why should I have to switch things? Why should I have check for grammar? Is the reason because you do not understand? Am I not making the same statement just with a different presentation? How is the way I speak different from the way interpreters communicate to the hearing impaired? Are we not saying the same thing, but through a different medium? Believe it or not, there are two worlds of English. In the world of slang, ion means I dont, turn up means lets have fun, and word can either mean true, to agree, or can be a

Gamble 2 verification. In the world of proper English, there is no room for contractions, misspelled words, or other grammatical errors. When writing an essay, I am required to uphold the rules in the proper English world, but when sending a text, I am sucked back into the world of slang. In a normal world, proper English and slang co-exist. My entire life consisted of trying to balance two types of English, proper English and slang, which caused me to struggle with my writings. Slang is the English I use with friends and family; and to some, my speech may be considered ghetto or ratchet. However, to my peers, slang is a normal, everyday type of communication. When Im around my family and friends, it seems as if all my years of schooling disappear. I forget the grammar rules I have learned, and I begin to purposely pronounce words incorrectly. My friends and I have a mutual understanding of slang; Slang is the primary English used in our discussions. Recently, I scrolled through my text messages and came across a thread between my friend and me and noticed that the messages were filled with excessive grammatical errors. In the conversation, I was trying to figure out where she was so we could walk into a party together. Where you at bo, I said. Ion even know the name of this place. But Ima hit yu up when I get close, she replied. Aite, I responded. The grammar within the messages was horribly wrong, but my friend and I were able to understand each other perfectly. How is it possible that we could understand each other with such ease? Well, we both speak the same English, slang. There is no need for me to speak proper English with my friends because that is not the type of English that we can easily understand.

Gamble 3 Obviously, the type of English I use varies depending on who I am speaking to or what I am writing. In the presence of teachers, people Ive never met before, and essays, I am sure to speak properly, with correct grammar, and absolutely no slang. My language change is immediate; sometimes I switch so quickly that I do not realize that I have changed. All of those Huhs turn into Maams, the nah bos, transform into no maamsor no sirs, and the ion even knows change to Im really not sure.About a year ago, one of my teachers, Mrs. Danford, asked me to stay after school but she insisted that I call my mother first. KOntrey, Id like you to stay after school, but make sure its okay with your mother, Mrs. Danford said. Oh yes maam. Ill give her a call right now I respond. I quickly dialed my mothers cell phone. She didnt answer. Slightly frustrated, I called her work phone. Dang ma, you never answer yo phone. What you got one fo? Um, ya betta watch it. What do you want, my mother fired back. I gotta stay after school, so I probably be home a lil later. What time you leaving? Mrs. Danford what time do you think well be finished, my mother would like to know, I asked Mrs. Danford. She say 5 ma, I replied to my mothers question. After giving me a list of things to pick up, we said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone. My English changes constantly when talking to my mother and my teacher, but I hear no difference. All of my life, I had been unknowingly speaking two completely different Englishes. In fact, it had not occurred to me that two different worlds of English existed, or even that I spoke

Gamble 4 two different Englishes until I received my first graded essay from Mrs. Gordon. I can never forget that day, the grade I made, or how I felt. The class became a huge blur. There was a lump in my throat. I knew that if I blinked again a single tear would trickle down my cheek, and a waterfall of tears would immediately follow. At that moment, I made a vow to myself; never again will I see those words on my essay. My disappointment turned into pure motivation. Days and nights of handwork became my life, as I made deliberate efforts to improve my writing. After a while, the time had come again. I turned my paper over to see job well done at the bottom of the sheet. Although the statement was small, it had a large impact on my life and my writings. Finally, I had learned how to mesh the worlds of slang and proper English. I had discovered the balance of two different worlds that hindered my writings. The coexistence of slang and proper English was now comprehensible.