"Good English" & 12 Angry Men

"He's a common, ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English." - Juror 10

"He doesn't speak good English." - Juror 11

These two lines are from my favorite scene in one of my favorite movies: 12 Angry Men. 12 Angry Men follows a jury debating whether to convict a Puerto Rican teenager accused of killing his abusive father. This moment comes during the group's extensive deliberation, with Juror 10 demeaning the defendant and his intelligence, due to his apparent lack of control over the English language. Juror 11, a European immigrant, responds, correcting the grammatical mistake of Juror 10. This moment is played for a joke; the silliness of making a grammatical mistake while criticizing someone for their grammar is obvious. But I think there's something more going on here.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into this moment; it is only two lines and barely spans 20 seconds, but to me, this represents more than a joke and a mechanism for characterization. Moments like this fascinate me because they reveal how policing speech can masquerade as a form of moral judgement and separation. I love the concept of language. The idea that basic communication has evolved over centuries to form deeply complex webs of cultures and peoples is so beautiful and so human. But, as language is primarily used to connect, I also see how it exists as a barrier and a means for exclusion.

Juror 10 has no issue with "incorrect English," after all, he uses it himself! What's actually happening here is that Juror 10 already believes the defendant to be a common, ignorant slob. And once the defendant uses some grammar that 10 isn't used to, he strikes, using language as a justification for his bigoted beliefs, when those beliefs existed all along.

When language has historically been used to exclude others, it creates lasting trauma within those marginalized peoples. I see it in the way the Black community in the United States is demeaned for utilizing English through AAVE. It's treated as "lesser" than "real" English, whatever that is, completely ignoring its rich history of art and community for those who needed it the most. I see it in the way creoles are treated, from Haiti to India to Louisiana. These languages, like any other, serve one goal: to stimulate human connections. As long as they succeed at that goal, they deserve respect.

I believe in using language to unite us all. It's how I got into programming. I wanted to find a new way to interact with my world. I tutor middle schoolers in it, more specifically in USACO (the USA Computing Olympiad). It's a prestigious competition, with many believing success in it will equate to success in the increasingly difficult computer science job market. As such, it, and therefore my tutoring services, attract a common demographic similar to my own: the children of immigrants or "lower class" folk, people who are desperate to succeed in whatever way they can. I see myself in these kids, in their raw eagerness to learn.

Programming isn't exactly a traditional language or art, but I see it as one in the same with something like English; it's a means of communication. "Good English" isn't real; no one language or dialect is the proper one. Correct speech to me will always be the speech that reaches the most people.

As long as I believe in the sanctity of human connection, I will believe that language is beautiful.