I never realized I code switch until I heard myself say "Hey good morning!" to the white man on the elevator and "wassup bruh" to the black man on the same elevator. I want to stop this!

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What’s wrong with being multilingual?

likefunny

I'm super sensitive when white women say "Hey girlfriend!" to me. 🤷

likefunny

I do it too and have for over 10 years. What people don’t realize is you aren’t doing it on purpose. Maybe you started out that way, but after years and years it’s unconscious. I realized that as I got more comfortable with people personally, my natural at home way of speaking would come out and it confused them. I’m just upfront about it. I tell them I have two ways of talking, it’s not intentional, and eventually you may hear one or both

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K1, I think it’s an issue if people feel they have to do it and it’s exhausting to fake everyday. If someone does it naturally, I don’t see the issue either. Putting energy into trying to stop it creates unnecessary stress and you still aren’t your authentic self

likeuplifting

Don’t conform. Be yourself. Wassup bruh is shared culture.

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There is a lot of great linguistic and psychological writing about code switching that you might find interesting and helpful for thinking about this K2. Code switching is certainly not a uniquely AA trait and is often a function of bilingualism (which is certainly more common among non-black poc immigrant families). Relationship with the person, formality of the setting, language barriers, group identity, and other factors all prompt people to change the register of their voice, the lexicon they are pulling from, and shifting the overall dialect and language being used. Why does it only become a problem when it is done on the basis of race?

likesmart

Interesting point. I code switch but not with how I speak or the words I used, but with my Accent. When speaking to non-Trinis, they get the Non Trini accent, else it’s Wah goin on?

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Can you explain more why you think this is a problem?

Do you think kids talk in the same voice to their parents and their friends? Do you think people speak the same way to their significant other and their boss?

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I used to stress about it. Now I just accept it. My authentic self has 2 voices and dialects. One with my family, friends, and others I connect with and one with everyone else. I don’t do it on purpose. I was in the car with my husband this morning and said “ain’t gon be no parking spots when we get dere”. I’m glad my brain knows how to switch that off in certain work situations without me having to think about it

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I had to explain to another associate what code switching was last week. It must be nice to not know about code switching

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Yea why do you want to stop?

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At a loss as to why this is an issue. We speak differently with different people based on the environment and audience. Why is it a thing when that audience is wypipo? I think of it as a strength. I certainly hear it with white southern folks when they speak with each other in informal settings versus others. Seems an unnecessary authenticity standard to keep. We carry enough weight. Silly to add this to it, IMHO.

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Just say hey how’s it going to both 🤷🏾‍♂️.

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@PwC1 I like that idea, i just need to be aware. I do it instinctively.

funny

I like doing this. Talk to people the way u want to.

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I really don’t see this as a good thing and I don’t know too many black folks that do ...Brian Gumble and Samuel L Jackson’s dialect and voice should not occupy the same brain....Black people want to sound black, and in their natural voice not like they are trying to fit in

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Well it’s simple if it’s not an issue “to you”, then it’s not an issue. We don’t all have come to a consensus on “things to be upset at”. I’m just noting In my experience I don’t find that minorities code switching around other minority groups, only around non minority groups. To me there may be some deeper psychology, social issues at play that I want to control differently...

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Pwc2, it all depends on if it’s natural or not. If you grew up in an aa neighborhood or around a lot of aas and it’s how you speak, it will come out naturally and most people won’t be offended. If you revert to using slang and callin ppl brother etc just because you around aa, then I’d say don’t do that

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I’ve tried my wife pointed it out to me, I may need to see a psychologist or something. At this point in my life it’s so ingrained I have to think about it....

First for context are you AA? Are you familiar with the term code switching?

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