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Audience: General
Format: 2 page handout
Description: Based on the practice of comparing different communication language styles from around the world to different sports, which is taken from field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, this handout builds on that sports analogy to show how when put under the lens of White Supremacy, the communication style of white cultures are upheld as “normal” or “superior” while other communication styles are seen as too much or too little.
Background & Purpose: When I was in my early 20s, I began noticing that I felt stifled when in certain conversational settings. When I was in predominantly white spaces, I felt that even when I tried, there was something unseen happening that prevented me from joining in the flow of conversation. But when I was in predominantly Asian American spaces, I had no problems joining the conversation in a carefree and lively manner. When I was training to get a teaching certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), I was introduced to this sports analogy of describing different language communication styles. When I saw this I felt like it was explaining my personal conundrum. Even though I was speaking English, I was likely raised with an East Asian communication style, and this made it difficult for me to participate freely in conversations with a white American conversation style even though we were all speaking the same language.
Turning this analogy into a chart also helped me clarify what likely happens in many settings, especially work places, where a white conversational style is seen as the norm, and Americans who speak with a different conversational styles may be punished as being seen as “too quiet” or “too loud” or “not a cultural fit”.