Chapter 10 - Mother Tongue - Suggestions for Writing: Keep an observational journal for several days, noting the judgments people make on the basis of how a person speaks or writes. Consider your peers, a business environment, or the media. Then write an essay explaining the relationship you have observed between power and language. Does someone’s facility with a language (or, in some contexts, with bilingualism) confer power? Did you observe situations where one’s position of authority makes his or her language acceptable? Did you note anyone who “code-switched,” or shifted his or her way of speaking to accommodate a different audience or community? Work your analysis of these observations into your essay.