Hollie Whittle: Identity, Code-Switching and Autonomy in Contemporary Black British Writing by Women.

Hollie Whittle, English Literature Graduate

For her third year dissertation, Hollie Whittle explored representations of sexuality, identity and trauma in Keisha the Sket by Jade L.B. and Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. The following extract is from her section on “code-switching”. Hollie is currently studying for her PGCE at York St John University.

From the 2000’s Black British culture in literary texts increased visibility. Novels written by young black writers meant that young black readers could relate and recognise themselves through fictional characters. The fictional icon at the forefront of Black girl history is that of Keisha the Sket (KTS), written by 13-year-old Jade L.B in 2005. Completely unaware of her impact, Jade began her chapters on Piczo, and became a naughties viral sensation. As stated by Jade in the 2021 published version, it is “a tale of this black girl from inner-city London, and the politics that governed her womanhood and sexuality” (2). […] With its use of slang and ebonics , KTS spoke to black teenage London youths. Carty-Williams was highly inspired by Jade L. B’s work when becoming a writer, describing the story as an “entry point to understanding what sex was” as a teenager and “where (I) understood the perceived value of the Black female body” (323).

The act of code-switching is when “a speaker moves according to context” (Rob Drummond, 642). The language that the younger characters in Queenie and KTS use is known as “Jafaican”, different from both the patois spoken by their family and the language they use outside of their communities. “Jafaican” is a combination “of two crucial (yet incorrect) assumptions about this kind of language”, known as “Jamaican-ness” and “fakeness”. Jafaican was first identified in 2006 (Kerswill, 2014), but was renamed as Multicultural London English (MLE) through Mohammed Emwazi. MLE has created a stir of negative comments by older generations, believing that youths are “literally talking their way into unemployment” (Harding, 2013).

Through the different generations in the novel Carty-Williams explores the variety of experiences within Queenie’s family. Queenie’s grandparents identify less as “Black-British” as they had grown up in Jamaica, compared to Queenie and her mother who grew up in the UK. Queenie’s stepfather, Roy, calls Queenie, who works in the primarily white publishing industry, a “bounty”, suggesting that she is “white on the inside” and “brown on the outside” (297) as Carty-Williams represents Queenie as having a literary ‘formal’ way of speaking. This insult may be also to do with the white settings that she is found in, as Queenie and other young black women navigate a very different environment from previous generations.

Keisha’s world is very small when referring to location, which emphasises the use of MLE, and code-switching seems to be non-existent in her small life of being at school, home and other local youths’ houses. Queenie understands the act of code-switching due to the area that she grew up in, along with her friends and family despite not speaking it herself. Queenie expresses the frustrations of code-switching in order to remain more ‘professional’ in the workplace due to the negative connotations with MLE. Queenie’s friend, Kyazike, converses with Queenie: “Fam, did you hear how I have to switch up my voice out there? The new manager, some prissy white woman, has told me that I need speak ‘better’. Doesn’t want me to ‘intimidate customers’. Can you believe that? The only person I’m intimidating is her, fam” (360). Despite Kyazike’s well-paid job in a bank and hard work, she has to code-switch in order to match her location and the people that she is surrounded by.

Ironically, the inspiration for Queenie would have the original MLE of the title, Keisha Da Sket, later replaced to Keisha ‘the’ Sket when picked up by a mainstream publisher, Penguin. In the original KTS chapters Jade L.B uses constant MLE for all the characters speech and Keisha’s narration, along with a 2000’s text style of writing such as “Ne wayz cum 2 ma yrd in lyk half an hour?” (22). The original KTS chapters created a niche piece of cultural fiction for a targeted audience which is based of life events of youths that Jade L.B was surrounded by. In Keisha Revisited Jade still includes MLE slang in the characters speech, but uses standard English in the narrative. This new publication not only creates an easier understanding to wider audiences, but, the author feels, it also gives more humanity; “Revisiting the text now, attempting accountability and acknowledging my internalised misogynoir is central to embracing and feeling some pride in my role in creating a cultural work that a generation enjoyed” (14).

Due to Keisha the Sket being such a locally popular literary piece from inner-city London, and not aimed for audiences outside that region, there is no definition as to what certain words or phrases mean. Queenie does discuss how the black working-class community area that she grew up in, has become a whiter liberal area that has had small black businesses’ taken over; The sense of community that Queenie had felt as a child has left her when she comes back to visit it when she feels a sense of loss in her own identity.

The beauty in the writings of Black-British writers is that there is always a sense of uncertainty when referring to identity, place and belonging, as woman, working-class and non-white. Candice Carty-Williams and Jade L.B have written about where they grew up and what and where they find familiarity, which is a comfort for readers who might find relation to it but is also an insight for readers that do not. These novels are not meant to generalise the Black-British experience, but to embrace the topics that are very real within communities.

Bibliography

Carty–Williams, Candice. Queenie, 2019

Drummond, Rob. (2017) “(Mis)interpreting urban youth language: white kids sounding black?” Journal of Youth Studies, 20:5, 640-660, DOI: 10.1080/13676261.2016.1260692

Harding, Nick. 2013.“Why Are So Many Middle-class Children Speaking in Jamaican Patois? A Father of an 11-year-old Girl Laments a Baffling Trend.” Daily Mail, October 11

Kerswill, Paul (2014) “The objectification of ‘Jafaican’:the discoursal embedding of Multicultural London English in the British media.” In The Media and Sociolinguistic Change, edited by Jannis Androutsopoulos. Berlin: De Gruyter, 428–455.

L.B, Jade, Keisha the Sket, 2021

“Returning” by Andrea Woodward

A white woman with long blond hair smiles at the camera
(c) Andrea Woodward

Andrea Woodward is a York St John English Literature PhD candidate. Andrea, who started her HE journey at 30, could have taken a very different path in life. Here she reflects on her experiences as a returning student, recalling the day as an undergraduate when she thought she would give it all up – and why she didn’t!

I first came to York St John as an undergraduate student in English Literature in 2006. I was 30 years old.

As a mature student who’d spent 15 years out of full-time education, I quickly felt overwhelmed and more than a bit out of place. Those classmates who’d arrived fresh out of college seemed to radiate knowledge in seminars, knowledge that my first essay results suggested to me I didn’t have. After several weeks into the first semester, I felt it would be for the best if I withdrew from the course, believing that I’d never succeed. Continue reading ““Returning” by Andrea Woodward”

Making Time to Take Time For Yourself by Lily Baldanza

Lily Baldanza is a final year undergraduate student who was writing on Daphne Du Maurier’s Revolutionary Women for her dissertation (now submitted). She took a break from her research to tell us about the importance of taking time to focus on wellbeing. These are self-care tips. If you feel that you need wellbeing or mental health support, please contact our lovely Wellbeing team here

Pink water lilies and green lily pads on a po

Lily Days.

With my dissertation date in very short sight and my last two undergraduate assessments in a month’s time, it is more important than ever to give myself time off. Time off from my laptop, time off from my set texts and time off from the stress and worry of being a university student. However, with deadlines approaching and having commitments to part time work, finding the time can seem daunting. It’s why one day every week I give myself a ‘me’ day: a ‘lily’ day. I get ready to have a day doing whatever I want to do, and whatever my body needs. This is a day where I take pleasure in doing things that I enjoy. Continue reading “Making Time to Take Time For Yourself by Lily Baldanza”

Dissertation Corner: Tia Clifford on Fairy Tales for Feminists

Recent graduate Tia Clifford sums up some of her dissertation ideas for us in this blogpost.

Fairy-tales: the term itself is attributed to Madame D’Aulnoy, a French writer who coined the term conte de fée in the 17th century (Zipes, P. 222- B).

Engraving of woman with arms folded
Dorothea Viehmann: a German storyteller and source for many tales collected and published by the Brothers Grimm

Oral fairy-tales, I contended in my dissertation, were often likely to have been told by women. Noticeably, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were given the title of “dignified scholars” after the publication of Children’s and Household Tales, their first revised fairy-tale collection for mass consumption in 1812; however, the lexis originally surrounding fairy-tales, prior to their appropriation by male writers, tended to be negatively gendered as “domestic art”, “women’s art” or “old wives’ tales” (Maria Tatar, P. XVI). I suggested that fairy-tales were initially a form of female rebellion against the patriarchal society oppressing women. Some fairy-tales acted as proto-feminist critiques of patriarchy, but they can also be viewed as survival manuals or as warnings by women for women regarding the dangers of a male-dominated society. In “Little Red Riding Hood”, for example, young girls learn that men are not always what they seem and that deviating from the socially accepted path will lead to danger. Continue reading “Dissertation Corner: Tia Clifford on Fairy Tales for Feminists”

The Top 10 Books Studied on English Literature! (According to a recent graduate) by Adam Kirkbride (he/him)

As we begin a new semester, and as some of us begin a new path in life as a university student, Adam Kirkbride reflects on his recent undergraduate studies and the books that inspired him:

This semester I began my MA in Contemporary Literature at York St John University, where I also studied for my BA in English Literature. I’ll be completing my MA on a part-time basis, so by the time I hand in my MA dissertation, I will have been at YSJ for five years.

So, I felt now was a good time to stop and reflect on my previous studies, and I’m writingToni Morrison author this down because it will help me to remember what I have learned in the years to come. Over the past three years the texts that I studied have helped to shape my views on literature, politics, representation and so much more. Reading is, in my opinion, the best way to educate or entertain yourself in an age of turmoil. And if I get to the end of writing this post without developing an overwhelming desire to read all of these books again, then I will be shocked!

The freedom and independence to pick and choose texts, topics, and modules on my degree was by far the feature that I enjoyed most. I rarely came across a text I disliked, and not once did I have to write about a text which truly bored me with no redeeming factors. Creativity and the study of literature go hand in hand, so it is important when reading to engage with texts that pique your interest and inspire originality. These ten books have nurtured my head and my heart throughout my degree, and I know that I am a better person for having read them. I can only hope that the texts I will read over the next two years will have the same impact on me. Continue reading “The Top 10 Books Studied on English Literature! (According to a recent graduate) by Adam Kirkbride (he/him)”