In his essay, <em>"If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?"</em>, Baldwin contends that Black English is not a dialect but a distinct language.
The author shows the differences between a dialect and a language. According to him, a language reveals the private identity of the speaker and he provides arguments to prove his thesis that Black English is indeed a language.
Baldwin enumerates the conditions necessary for a language to be formed and used. Black English, as he presents, complies with these conditions. In his words, <em>"People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances, or in order not to be submerged by a reality that they cannot articulate"</em>. Thus, a language is formed in order to describe and control people's circumstances. He also adds that a language is created by the necessity to confront life and as a proof of power. In this way, he illustrates his argument: that Black English is a separate language because it is formed under many historical conditions.
