Why, der language down dar de far South is jus’ as different from ours in Maryland, as you can think. Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an’ I could not understand ‘dem, no how.
Harriet Tubman
Brainy Quote
Language is intriguing. It’s often thought of as being either a barrier or the doorway to understanding.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, I turned to the life of Harriet Tubman, and wanted to share one of the thoughts that her story inspired. I was drawn to several of the many powerful quotes we’ve all seen from her. But instead, I picked one that (maybe) was worded closer to how she may have actually spoken.
Of course, there are differences between the facts and myths surrounding her life but for the purposes of this blog, it doesn’t matter whether the above quote accurately depicts the way she spoke or not.
Even if she used a dialect, she was understood. Her intentions were clear, and she executed them with the best precision available to her. Her language was clear enough to get her message across – and in the outstanding, heroic role she played, she spoke to many different kinds of people throughout her mission and journeys through life.
The quote, and its written dialect, drew my mind back to discussions about code switching. For those of you who may not know, code switching is how a minority group adjusts the way they speak depending upon who they are speaking to. The goal is to be understood, be accepted, and fit in all at the same time.
After all, there is a difference between talking to “the in crowd” and talking to those who might misunderstand, judge, and/or ultimately reject our “most authentic selves.”
We have all done it at work and in our personal lives, at one time or another, even if we were not fully conscious of it. Whatever language you choose as a leader, spouse, friend, or parent, the key is to communicate with the aim of being clearly understood.
This ideally entails speaking both from your heart and your head, speaking with both honesty and compassion.
Harriet used language (and song) to drive change.
Choose your words wisely and do the same.
