Why We Code-Switch (and the Cost of Speaking “Proper” English)

Описание: An essay on linguistic disobedience, language, and power.

I got bored and wanted to write an essay. Now it’s a video essay.

This piece thinks about language, who gets to sound “correct,” and what happens when we abandon, soften, or translate ourselves in order to be heard. It moves through standard English, code-switching, the literary canon, and the quiet pressure to speak in ways that feel acceptable.

The visuals used here are short excerpts and overlays from existing videos. They are not mine. This video is not monetised. This is for commentary, education, and fun. Please don’t sue me.

📖 Read the full essay on Substack:
https://raisa00ahmed.substack.com

🎥 Short-form clips and thoughts on TikTok:
  / rais.pudding  

Readings & references

James Baldwin - I Am Not Your Negro:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/30694... | https://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/570f1...

Gloria Anzaldúa - How to Tame a Wild Tongue (from Borderlands / La Frontera): https://www.everettsd.org/cms/lib07/W... | https://www.amazon.co.uk/Borderlands-...

Danez Smith - Homie: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/43989... | https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

Ntozake Shange - For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...

Harmony Holiday - “Somebody Who Loves Me” (Poetry Manifesto):
https://poetrysociety.org.uk/manifest...

Amiri Baraka - “An Agony. As Now.”: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...

Joel Leon - “Anti-Standard English”:   / anti-standard-white-people-english-an-idea  

Additional themes: standard English, code-switching, linguistic imperialism, literary canon, language and power.