Harris 1

Zach Harris (800820392) Hoffman English 1101 30 September 2013 Inquiry in to Language, Literacy, and Identity (Creative Title Coming Soon) Both of my parents are from Uniontown, AL. My moms side of the family education was highly valued to them; they were all determined to be successful and did everything possible to ensure that they were. While on my dads side of the family schooling and education wasnt ve ry important to them and speaking correctly wasn't anyone's main concern. The way Delpit reacted to her daughter speaking incorrectly reminds me of my mom reacts to my brother or dad speaking with incorrect grammar; she does not accept it and quickly responds to the issue. My brother and I both grew up in Davidson, NC a few miles from Davidson College. Growing up in an area with mostly educated white people has had an impact on the way I speak. The people I grew up around spoke proper English and contained no traces of Ebonics. I was constantly harassed by friends and family that didnt grow up in t he same area as me for talking white. At first I was offended by these comments because it made me feel as if I couldnt speak the way I did and be black at the same time. Though, in a twisted sort of way its almost as if they were complementing me for being more like the superior Caucasian race than like the one to which I truly belonged.