I joined an English speaking book club a few weeks ago. I figured it would be a nice way to meet people and get out of the house, and it encourages me to read books that are a tad more thought provoking than the Elin Hilderbrand beach reads I've been into as of late. Not to discredit Elin Hilderbrand; her books are well written with high levels of imagery and drama, perfect for when you want something light and fun. But, I figured it was time to expand my horizons a bit. The book club was a super fun group. It consisted of Americans, Brits, and a Russian lady. The oldest lady was 80 (reminded me of GG!, she was sharing how she's trying out using AI for research paper inspiration, ja!), with the majority of ladies ranging in their 50s and 60s. I was the youngest, and there was one other younger mom, probably 40, and another mom who was 45ish. There were 8 ladies in total, and none of them were native Chileans. But the really interesting thing about the group was that all of them have been living in Santiago for 10 years or longer, with the 80-year-old having lived there for over 50 years! 5 out of the 8 women had married a local Chilean, so Chile is their home now. But, they said they would never be considered "Chilean" to a local, which, I'm sure they have mixed feelings about. They had incredible perspectives on what living in Santiago as a "foreigner" is like, across a vast array of political and social climates. I hope to learn more about them as the book club continues. They meet once a month at a different lady's house every time. I was excited by this, to be able to see how other folks live in Santiago. They also bring dishes to share that are in theme with the book. Yummy.
The first book we read was James, by Everett Percival, which is a remake of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn except from the perspective of James, the enslaved person. I have to admit, I read Huck Finn in high school, but it's been so long, I didn't remember much about it, so I used AI to give me a plot summary, themes, etc. I normally prefer to read on my kindle, but as I joined the book club late, I only had 4 days to read the book, so I was trying to squeeze in reading while walking to pick up the boys from school, doing laundry, etc.) So I actually listened to James as an audiobook, and it was actually a great way to do it, because, within the book, James switches the way that he talks depending on whether he's talking to white people or other Black folks. When he's talking with white people, he uses worse grammar and vocabulary to ensure he comes off as illiterate. The book talks about how this was a defense mechanism used by enslaved people, as white people became scared and prone to violence if they thought they were dealing with an intelligent Black person. However, when James spoke with his fellow enslaved people, he spoke with better grammar and vocabulary, as he is actually literate. I was floored by this, as I always assumed that people speak in certain ways due to a lack of access to education. I didn't realize that some people choose to speak in other ways to placate white people, which is on example of "code switching." Code switching is where a person changes their speech patterns and possibly even their mannerisms and clothing depending on the social situation they are in. Everybody does this to a degree, whether they realize it or not. I would do this back home, switching between very formal language and clothes at work and using more casual language and clothes when at home with family and friends.
But, I was making a very minor change, so much so that I didn't realize it was a thing. But, that is because of my privilege and upbringing as one of the majority as a middle class, white person, I've never had to code switch substantially to keep myself or my family safe. Some Black folks in the US have chosen to do it for numerous reasons literally since slavery. Even now, some Black people in the US code may choose to switch between AAVE (African American Vernacular English) or other ways of speaking and "proper" English. I realize now that the following assumption is racist, and I didn't even realize I was doing it before thinking deeply on this topic. It goes to show that we can all do better. There is always more to learn and more to ways to grow. I always assumed Black people who spoke in AAVE were doing so because of a lack of access to education. However, there are many incredibly well educated Black people who speak in "proper" English while in more formal settings, and then speak in AAVE or some other way of speaking with friends and family, not because they don't know better, but because they want to honor their ancestry and history when speaking with friends and family. And who am I to label "proper" English as "good" or "correct?" Language is how we communicate to others through words and sounds. If the other person understands me perfectly, then isn't the language I am using perfect?
I have become keenly aware of code switching now that I am trying to speak Spanish on a daily basis. This is code switching on a very basic level. However, going one level deeper on the ties between racism and code switching, when I speak very poorly in Spanish, because I am white, most people I interact with give me the benefit of the doubt; she's probably an intelligent, hard working person, she's just a beginner in Spanish. But, if a Black person were to speak "proper" English and make mistakes like I am when I speak in Spanish, some white people see them as unintelligent and lazy.
I have also never had to use code switching to keep myself or my family safe. Imagine if I needed to speak in perfect Spanish at the border crossing into Chile; otherwise, I could potentially be beaten up for no little to no reason. This thought experiment seems absurd, doesn't it? I can tell you, it was not on my list of worries when we entered this country. It wasn't a worry because I am a white, middle class American, and I get to take advantage of the safety and security that provides me. There are many people every day who do have to worry about how their accent labels them as from a disrespected country or race, and that their safety is in jeopardy because of this. Chilling isn't it.
The topic of code switching goes very deep, and I'm so thankful that this book and our move has brought this idea to the forefront for me. But that's the point of all this, isn't it? There is a podcast on NPR called Code Switch that goes into alot of race topics. I haven't listened to any of them yet, but it looks interesting, so I thought I'd share: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch Also, thanks to Leah for editing this blog post for me. Working in the DEI field, she has always has valuable insight.
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