Which do you believe would be the best choice?
I believe that the language should have all of the following characteristics, for specific reasons:
1) African Language. It makes no sense to adopt a European or Asian language, when it is African descendents we are talking about.
2) Sub-Saharan Language. Similar to the above. Arabic, Berber, etc. make little or no sense to learn.
3) Niger-Congo and Bantu Language. Bantu is the most widespread language family out of the Niger-Congo family--N-C being the largest Sub-Saharan language classification.
4) Non-Tonal Languages. The most common tonal language is Chinese, and if anybody is familiar with chinese, you know its fucked up to learn. "TO" for example could mean 4 different things, depending on what tone of voice you use.
5) Non-Click Language. Clicks are almost impossible for Non-Native speakers to learn.
6) Be a Lingua Franca and not a Tribal Language. It is important to have a language that is not limited to one area or locale, but rather, something that has many borrowings and that has regional appeal.
To this End, there is only one language that fits the bill: Swahili.
http://en.wikipedia.org/Swahili is a great page to go to learn about it, and if you follow the links at the end, you can find even more information about it.
You will find that it borrows a huge amount of words from Arabic, but also, from French, English and others. THe language has been described as having as many French, English and Arabic borrowings as English has French, German, etc. borrowings.
As for the implementation of such a language, and indeed, even explaining WHY the "need" to "organize" under a Common Language--that much is hard to explain.
Americans are Largely monolingual, that is, they speak one language. Many people who don't like to be labeled, and are independent, and are basically dumbasses, will try to pretend that speaking a dialect--Southern English, AAVE, etc.--"counts" as another language. It does not. It is, essentially, all the same language. (For those thinking to pull up the info where I said that English and AAVE/Ebonics are "essentially two languages", that was for another broader point. This comment here is about different languages, period; not about H Varities, Sociolinguistics, etc.)
My point is, that we are a closed-minded people, no matter how much we try and be Hippies or Rastas or anything else. In France, it would be inconceivable(sp) to not have learned at least some of BOTH German and English. In Germany, it is the same with French and English. In Mexico, they are required (according to most students I talked to) to take English classes.
Yet in the United States, we aren't required to take ANY specific language. We can choose whatever we want. And what is the net effect of that? That it is not desirable to learn anything. We pick a random language, study it for a year, and then we're off to something else, the same way we take our 2 English classes or 3 Science classes and move along to what really interests us.
The way i see it is this: If we are going to study languages, we might as well find a language to settle upon. And as far as Blacks go, there could be no better language to study than Swahili.
Of the possibly usages, there are many. Groups like the NAACP could hold conferences and lectures in Swahili. This would demonstrate that, if you are really dedicated to this Black shit, you will learn the language and then come speak it. Not just prepare some junk-ass essay in English, then come and deliver it monotone, hoping for applause and another line to add to your credentials. It could be much bigger than that.
In Rap music or Music in general, the Swahili language is very adaptive. There is also the possibility of creating a Swahili-English pidgin-creole, or mix of the two. This is similar to the way Reggaeton artists usually either rap in All Spanish, or in a Spanish-English mix. And that shit sounds cool as fuck.
In the Hood.....I'm not a hood person, but I'm sure you can do your own thinking here. It is one thing to use English slang, like "The eagle has landed" and so on. It is quite another to use Swahili equivalents, that are much lesser known. Outsiders, Snitches and Police would all have to learn this Swahili language to be able to track and follow you.
In the Classroom, this will create a situation where Black students are surrounded by Black students. Because Swahili would be an ADOPTED language, and not one with any "real" reason to learn it other than to be "down", it will not attract many Non-Black peoples or Non-Black teachers.
At Home, it combines many of the same situations I am describing above. Jewish kids have parents to yell at them or talk to them in Yiddish, when there is mixed company; Latinos do the same with Spanish. With Swahili, this would be a way to help keep people out of our business, and if they DID understand what you were saying, they would be someone who has demonstrated themselves to be truly concerned with the plight of the Black people by even learning the language in the first place. -- And of course, Embarassing things could be talked about in Swahili, or it could be used over the phone to say things like "I love you", etc, when you are talking on the phone and your friends are around.
Now, I know there are some of you out there that don't like Black Unity, that is to say, You live under this banner of "Let's everyone hold hands, not fight! Our common enemy is Rich people!" -- This is easy to say when you look around and 90% of the Nations wealth is in the hands of 2-3%--those 2-3% being almost exclusively White people and other Non-Blacks.
I know you "down" White people that grew up "in the streets" will not like this proposal. You feel you've already "proven" yourself, and some even believe yourselves to be more Black than Blacks that grew up in the Suburbs and not around many other Black people. You need to realize that your games and debate-framing can only go so far.
You are not Black. Black is not a culture that you learn. Black is a condition. You are not it. At any time, you can cease being your "Black" white self, and go live in the White world. You can move into the Whitest, most racist cities in the country, and settle in and nobody would know anything about your former life. Others of us are not able to do these things so easily.
I don't mean to sound Anti-White on this particular segment--I am half white myself--but the point is that, if you are 100% White and *TRULY DOWN* with this Black cause (reversing Gentrification, stronger schools, eradicating AIDS, etc.), then you would not be hesitant to Blacks uniting under something that doesn't include and even aims to exclude you. What we need right now is more Black leaders--not White leaders who know what to say to pacify us.
"CRIME"
I brought this up in a thread about crime, and indeed, I do believe that there are ways that the adoption of Swahili as the de facto Black Language could lead to decreases in it, but this is more of an indirect thing than direct.
More Unity means More Understanding. More Understanding, of course, means Less Disagreements. Less Disagreements leads to less Non-Essential Crimes (if there is such a thing.)
"WHEN?"
It is important to understand that I don't think this is something that should happen overnight or in 5 years, but rather, something that will need to gradually be built for the next 10-20+. The main idea is, that if you have children, it would be great if you could raise them speaking BOTH Swahili and English. If you had pride in them speaking Swahili, the thinking goes that you would pay extra attention to make sure that they're not only learning it, but that their English doesn't fall behind. The result is a two- or even threefold increase in the amount of attention you pay them.
Anyone who is familiar with Bilingual Children, knows that they often act as "bridges" or Liasons, so to speak. They connect cultures and are often very bright and motivated.
This is all I have for now. There is much more, but I will wait. Just know that the reasons for Swahili are endless, and the only real argument against it are: 1) it takes too long, and 2) it doesn't earn you money. -- And this is not the thinking we came from. This is American philosophy, not our original philosophy.
I believe that the language should have all of the following characteristics, for specific reasons:
1) African Language. It makes no sense to adopt a European or Asian language, when it is African descendents we are talking about.
2) Sub-Saharan Language. Similar to the above. Arabic, Berber, etc. make little or no sense to learn.
3) Niger-Congo and Bantu Language. Bantu is the most widespread language family out of the Niger-Congo family--N-C being the largest Sub-Saharan language classification.
4) Non-Tonal Languages. The most common tonal language is Chinese, and if anybody is familiar with chinese, you know its fucked up to learn. "TO" for example could mean 4 different things, depending on what tone of voice you use.
5) Non-Click Language. Clicks are almost impossible for Non-Native speakers to learn.
6) Be a Lingua Franca and not a Tribal Language. It is important to have a language that is not limited to one area or locale, but rather, something that has many borrowings and that has regional appeal.
To this End, there is only one language that fits the bill: Swahili.
http://en.wikipedia.org/Swahili is a great page to go to learn about it, and if you follow the links at the end, you can find even more information about it.
You will find that it borrows a huge amount of words from Arabic, but also, from French, English and others. THe language has been described as having as many French, English and Arabic borrowings as English has French, German, etc. borrowings.
As for the implementation of such a language, and indeed, even explaining WHY the "need" to "organize" under a Common Language--that much is hard to explain.
Americans are Largely monolingual, that is, they speak one language. Many people who don't like to be labeled, and are independent, and are basically dumbasses, will try to pretend that speaking a dialect--Southern English, AAVE, etc.--"counts" as another language. It does not. It is, essentially, all the same language. (For those thinking to pull up the info where I said that English and AAVE/Ebonics are "essentially two languages", that was for another broader point. This comment here is about different languages, period; not about H Varities, Sociolinguistics, etc.)
My point is, that we are a closed-minded people, no matter how much we try and be Hippies or Rastas or anything else. In France, it would be inconceivable(sp) to not have learned at least some of BOTH German and English. In Germany, it is the same with French and English. In Mexico, they are required (according to most students I talked to) to take English classes.
Yet in the United States, we aren't required to take ANY specific language. We can choose whatever we want. And what is the net effect of that? That it is not desirable to learn anything. We pick a random language, study it for a year, and then we're off to something else, the same way we take our 2 English classes or 3 Science classes and move along to what really interests us.
The way i see it is this: If we are going to study languages, we might as well find a language to settle upon. And as far as Blacks go, there could be no better language to study than Swahili.
Of the possibly usages, there are many. Groups like the NAACP could hold conferences and lectures in Swahili. This would demonstrate that, if you are really dedicated to this Black shit, you will learn the language and then come speak it. Not just prepare some junk-ass essay in English, then come and deliver it monotone, hoping for applause and another line to add to your credentials. It could be much bigger than that.
In Rap music or Music in general, the Swahili language is very adaptive. There is also the possibility of creating a Swahili-English pidgin-creole, or mix of the two. This is similar to the way Reggaeton artists usually either rap in All Spanish, or in a Spanish-English mix. And that shit sounds cool as fuck.
In the Hood.....I'm not a hood person, but I'm sure you can do your own thinking here. It is one thing to use English slang, like "The eagle has landed" and so on. It is quite another to use Swahili equivalents, that are much lesser known. Outsiders, Snitches and Police would all have to learn this Swahili language to be able to track and follow you.
In the Classroom, this will create a situation where Black students are surrounded by Black students. Because Swahili would be an ADOPTED language, and not one with any "real" reason to learn it other than to be "down", it will not attract many Non-Black peoples or Non-Black teachers.
At Home, it combines many of the same situations I am describing above. Jewish kids have parents to yell at them or talk to them in Yiddish, when there is mixed company; Latinos do the same with Spanish. With Swahili, this would be a way to help keep people out of our business, and if they DID understand what you were saying, they would be someone who has demonstrated themselves to be truly concerned with the plight of the Black people by even learning the language in the first place. -- And of course, Embarassing things could be talked about in Swahili, or it could be used over the phone to say things like "I love you", etc, when you are talking on the phone and your friends are around.
Now, I know there are some of you out there that don't like Black Unity, that is to say, You live under this banner of "Let's everyone hold hands, not fight! Our common enemy is Rich people!" -- This is easy to say when you look around and 90% of the Nations wealth is in the hands of 2-3%--those 2-3% being almost exclusively White people and other Non-Blacks.
I know you "down" White people that grew up "in the streets" will not like this proposal. You feel you've already "proven" yourself, and some even believe yourselves to be more Black than Blacks that grew up in the Suburbs and not around many other Black people. You need to realize that your games and debate-framing can only go so far.
You are not Black. Black is not a culture that you learn. Black is a condition. You are not it. At any time, you can cease being your "Black" white self, and go live in the White world. You can move into the Whitest, most racist cities in the country, and settle in and nobody would know anything about your former life. Others of us are not able to do these things so easily.
I don't mean to sound Anti-White on this particular segment--I am half white myself--but the point is that, if you are 100% White and *TRULY DOWN* with this Black cause (reversing Gentrification, stronger schools, eradicating AIDS, etc.), then you would not be hesitant to Blacks uniting under something that doesn't include and even aims to exclude you. What we need right now is more Black leaders--not White leaders who know what to say to pacify us.
"CRIME"
I brought this up in a thread about crime, and indeed, I do believe that there are ways that the adoption of Swahili as the de facto Black Language could lead to decreases in it, but this is more of an indirect thing than direct.
More Unity means More Understanding. More Understanding, of course, means Less Disagreements. Less Disagreements leads to less Non-Essential Crimes (if there is such a thing.)
"WHEN?"
It is important to understand that I don't think this is something that should happen overnight or in 5 years, but rather, something that will need to gradually be built for the next 10-20+. The main idea is, that if you have children, it would be great if you could raise them speaking BOTH Swahili and English. If you had pride in them speaking Swahili, the thinking goes that you would pay extra attention to make sure that they're not only learning it, but that their English doesn't fall behind. The result is a two- or even threefold increase in the amount of attention you pay them.
Anyone who is familiar with Bilingual Children, knows that they often act as "bridges" or Liasons, so to speak. They connect cultures and are often very bright and motivated.
This is all I have for now. There is much more, but I will wait. Just know that the reasons for Swahili are endless, and the only real argument against it are: 1) it takes too long, and 2) it doesn't earn you money. -- And this is not the thinking we came from. This is American philosophy, not our original philosophy.
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