Literacy, Literacy Everywhere

“Stated simply, people use written language to make their daily lives, to earn a living, to operate their businesses, to provide and receive public service, to educate, to create joy and to create pain, to segregate, to promulgate justice and injustice, to impoverish, to pray and promote spirituality, to create caring relationships, to marginalize and dismiss others, and to move from one part of Columbus to another” (Bloome and Encisco, 297).

When we think about literacy and this quote I like to look at literacy in two different terms. The conscious literacy and the unconscious literacy. The conscious literacy is fairly pretty simple to describe. I would describe this as literacy that is used to “show” a higher level of literacy; one that is out of the writers or speakers comfort zone. If a student was asked to write a four page paper but had to use certain language and grammar that exceeded their normal language than they will be consciously changing their literacy level.

Bloome and Encisco talk greatly about the unconscious literacy. One that dictates everyday life without thought to certain words or actions chosen. I like to think of this as “diner talk”. When one goes to a diner they usually see a sign that says, “Please wait to be seated”. Therefore the diner is assuming that the customer will be able to read and understand the sign. Then the customer waits for an employee, called the host, to come over and seat the customer. Once seated, the host typically hands the customer the menu, which the diner implies the customer can read. After a few minutes the waiter or waitress comes over and distributes coffee and ask the customer what they would like to eat. This simple exchange of communication is very typical. Therefore this form of literacy is universal among similar establishments. Bloome and Encisco say that this social setting is material; there is the use of menus, tables, and seats.

The authors also note such implied and excepted literacy practices at specific establishments like Starbucks. The use certain language that caters to a certain social-economic group. In Columbus, Ohio a large majority of Starbucks are located in the middle and upper class neighborhoods. Please see the current video from Duke University on how Starbucks success if created around this unconscious literacy.  

Judith Baker discusses the use of different languages through the word “Trilingualism”, in “The Skin That We Speak” (see course texts). Baker states that in order for students to succeed and get successful jobs, they have to speak and write in different ways and know when it is appropriate to use this language. I would call this the conscious literacy because they are conscious changing their language to accommodate someone else. Baker says that there are three different forms to the English language, to quote her:

• Home
• Formal
• Professional

Baker hopes to teach these three different languages of dialects, then they will “master the actual mechanical differences between them”.

In contract to the use of language in different social settings, Michael Stubbs in “The Skin That We Speak” talks about the “The Primitive Language Myth”. According to Stubbs, there is “no language or dialect is inherently superior or inferior to any other, and that all languages and dialects are suited to the needs of the community they serve.” The “diner talk” may be different, but not superior to a group of professors. Stubbs also continues to mention that primitive languages, although appear simplistic, are governed by detailed rules that make them complex structural systems.

This idea of conscious and unconscious dialects can be described in terms of code-switching by Lisa Delpit in “The Skin That We Speak”. She describes how her daughter is able to switch from speaking properly to speaking loosely with her friends with the use of slang. Like Stubbs, she argues that instead of correcting students when they use the “wrong” language, teachers must embrace the differences in language so students can grow through language, rather than resistant. This way students can see their true potential, without barriers.