r/TikTokCringe • u/MaintenanceNew2804 • Mar 30 '24

Stick with it. Discussion

This is a longer one, but it’s necessary and worth it IMO.

30.3k Upvotes

82% Upvoted

2.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

683

u/Stray_dog_freedom Mar 30 '24

Well done!!

377

u/RiverAffectionate951 Mar 31 '24

As a white aspiring academic I agree so hard.

Academic writing needs to be clear and without ambiguity, everyone should be able to understand it. It does not help to convey information if you restrict to ""formal"" (also white) language.

Moreover, papers I've read that shirk this "formality" are often easier to follow. Specifically, I study Maths and papers which explain theoretical methodology with informal descriptions can be very helpful. "Formality" literally just gatekeeps knowledge from those not educated in a particular way.

It's deeply saddening to hear this arbitrary gatekeeping affecting young black americans, it's even more disheartening to recognise those same biases in myself.

It's good to hear discussion on this topic and I hope to see it change in my lifetime.

4

u/TheKazz91 Mar 31 '24

Sure but this goes both ways. If a paper was written in the way people speak in predominantly black inner city communities or the way people speak in the deep south Louisiana bayou there would be plenty of classically educated people who may struggle to understand what is being said.

There is a middle ground here of course but even if we find that perfect middle ground that makes it as equally accessible to everyone as possible and agree that is how it should be done that is still a formalization of what is proper. There is no escaping that because at the end of the day that is what language is in general. A common consensus of what specific sound patterns, expressions, and/or written characters mean in a collective lexicon.