See also Chapter 5:

CAUSAL ANALYSIS

Jonah Goldberg, Global Warming and the Sun

RESEARCH STUDY

Alysha Behn, Where Have All the Women Gone?

CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Lance Hosey, Why We Love Beautiful Things

GENRE MOVES: CAUSAL ANALYSIS

James Baldwin, From If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

CAUSAL ANALYSIS

Rita J. King, How Twitter Is Reshaping the Future of Storytelling

CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Natalie Angier, Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore

CAUSAL ANALYSIS

Robert W. Gehl, A History of Like

EXPLORATORY ESSAY

Tricia Rose, Hip Hop Causes Violence

GENRE MOVES Causal Analysis

JAMES BALDWIN

From “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?”

I say that the present skirmish is rooted in American history, and it is. Black English is the creation of the black diaspora. Blacks came to the United States chained to each other, but from different tribes: Neither could speak the other’s language. If two black people, at that bitter hour of the world’s history, had been able to speak to each other, the institution of chattel slavery could never have lasted as long as it did. Subsequently, the slave was given, under the eye, and the gun, of his master, Congo Square, and the Bible – or in other words, and under these conditions, the slave began the formation of the black church, and it is within this unprecedented tabernacle that black English began to be formed. This was not, merely, as in the European example, the adoption of a foreign tongue, but an alchemy that transformed ancient elements into a new language: A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey.

There was a moment, in time, and in this place, when my brother, or my mother, or my father, or my sister, had to convey to me, for example, the danger in which I was standing from the white man standing just behind me, and to convey this with a speed, and in a language, that the white man could not possibly understand, and that, indeed, he cannot understand, until today. He cannot afford to understand it. This understanding would reveal to him too much about himself, and smash that mirror before which he has been frozen for so long.

Now, if this passion, this skill, this (to quote Toni Morrison) “sheer intelligence,” this incredible music, the mighty achievement of having brought a people utterly unknown to, or despised by “history” – to have brought this people to their present, troubled, troubling, and unassailable and unanswerable place – if this absolutely unprecedented journey does not indicate that black English is a language, I am curious to know what definition of language is to be trusted.

Offer a causal narrative.

One of the most effective ways to illustrate probable causes and effects is to tell a story. Here, to oppose claims that Black English isn’t a language, James Baldwin focuses on how Black American English most likely came into being. For a causal analysis, you might not be able to prove cause and effect beyond a doubt, but if you can present a realistic and convincing chain of events supported by evidence, you will give your reader a compelling picture.

Baldwin could have focused on linguistic evidence to argue for the sophistication of Black English, but instead he focuses on social and cultural conditions that made the creation of a unique language inevitable. He also manages to very effectively show that the language cannot be separated from a history of oppression by explaining the exact nature of the situation and the dire necessity that created Black English. Creating a narrative, then, also allows Baldwin to avoid oversimplification, which is a common pitfall of causal analysis essays. Rather than reduce the analysis to its bare facts, Baldwin brings it to life.

In your own causal analysis research, look for the stories and the rich contexts that accompany causes and effects. For instance, if you are looking at how tuition costs have risen over time, why young people have stopped voting, or the effect of increased screen time on children, look for specific stories and examples that will help you illustrate probable causal relationships. While those stories won’t make up the total of your evidence, they can provide a much-needed perspective.