Nobody Mean More to Me Than You

¶ … Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan," June Jordan writes about the need to pay attention to Black English and to learn how important it is for African-American cultural identity. In David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day," the author writes about how hard it is to learn a new language: French, in particular. Although both authors write about language diversity, Jordan and Sedaris come from two totally different points-of-view. Jordan is concerned about race relations in America. The bulk of "Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan" is about Black English and its rules. However, the essay is also about race-motivated police brutality. The author links the two issues together, showing that race and language can go hand-in-hand to create political solidarity. In "Me Talk Pretty One Day," Sedaris does not write about race or even politics. The author simply makes fun of himself as a forty-one-year-old student learning French in Paris. He makes fun of his teacher as well as himself, creating a humorous piece. The main difference between the Sedaris and Jordan pieces is their teaching style that is described.

In David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day," the author writes about his French teacher in Paris. The teacher spoke only in French, so immediately Sedaris states, "I understood only half of what this woman was saying," (p. 11). Sedaris's teacher is also portrayed as being very rude and sarcastic, as she makes fun of her students. For example, she tells the Polish students, "I thought that everyone loved the mosquito, but here, in front of all the world, you claim to detest him. How is it that we've been blessed with someone as unique and original as you? Tell us, please." (p. 12). This proves how sarcastic the teacher was in the class. Sedaris even claims the teacher "killed some time accusing the Yugoslavian girl of masterminding a program of genocide," (p. 13). In the end, the teacher tells Sedaris, "You exhaust me with your foolishness and reward my efforts with nothing but pain, do you understand me?" (p. 15). In spite of the teacher's sarcastic style, Sedaris seems to learn something in class.

The students in June Jordan's "Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan," also learn but the teaching style of the author is organized and patient. Jordan is never sarcastic. Instead, she outlines the rules of Black English. Jordan also explains why learning Black English is important. When the issue of the police brutality comes up, Jordan is able to link the lessons in class to the incident involving Reggie. "They decided to compose a personal statement of condolence to Willie Jordan and his family, written in Black English," as well as notes to the police in Black English (p. 371). Writing the notes in Black English was a symbol of pride and political solidarity.