For the past year or so, I’ve thought that something was missing from Outside the Book, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. The questions I was asking weren’t getting at what I wanted to discuss. For sure, I’m interested in how people approach the work and what kind of materials they edit, but I wanted to know more about their experiences.
What’s Missing From the Online Editorial Zeitgeist?
While chewing on it, I discussed with friends some ideas that won’t leave me be. I still haven’t figured how they fit together, but they involve codeswitching at work, editors who act as arbiters (for lack of a better word) of Standard American English and who come from communities that do not speak it, and nondominant Englishes in corporate and nonprofit communications. Yep: wild.
The codeswitching element, which also includes the conversation about nondominant Englishes, was what I wasn’t talking about and desperately wanted to talk about.
Regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or profession, you can complete this two-question survey to tell me what makes you uncomfortable, sad, angry, excited, or grateful about working with people who are culturally different from you, or email me at
info@outside-the-book.com.
Linguistics and Editing Practice — The Missing Link?
One of these friends sent me an article on linguistic anthropology. The missing piece came to me.
I want not only to represent people of color in the editing profession, but also to show what it’s like for people of different linguistic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds to work together, to work in publishing. More specifically, because of my own experiences, I want to explore how Black professionals work in this predominantly White profession. The codeswitching element, which also includes the conversation about nondominant Englishes, was what I wasn’t talking about and desperately wanted to talk about.*
And there’s been lots written on it, by academics and memoirists and fiction writers and public intellectuals. The fact that so many people of color are writing about it, even when they seemingly have “successfully” assimilated into White worlds, tells me that we are still searching for an environment to just be.
Besides satisfying my own curiosity, these deep dives can help the editing community’s diversity initiatives — if we want to be an inviting and growing community. Also, the world is getting browner: as people of color presumably gain more leadership roles, are we going to continue playing the codeswitching/respectability game, or will we make workplaces more “natural” and comfortable for us?
If nothing else, we (editors) need to at least be aware of how nondominant Englishes operate, instead of labeling them as incorrect or acting as if they don’t exist.
Future Outside the Book Posts
So in future posts, I’ll explore and comment on articles and books on Black English, other nondominant Englishes, and codeswitching/Black people in the workplace. (But I can’t say how frequently!) I’ll also discuss what implications the readings may have for the editing profession.
I’ll still interview folks. I understand, though, that many may not want to be on the record about these issues. Whoever you are — regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or profession — feel free to tell me what makes you uncomfortable, sad, angry, excited, or grateful about working with people who are culturally different from you or about publishing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Email me at info@outside-the-book.com. Tell your friends. You can also complete this two-question survey. Feel free to submit multiple responses or email as many times as you wish. I’ll be blogging about (but not using names from) these responses too.
So how you feeling about this? Excited? Nervous? Bored already? Let me know via the comments, email, or the survey.
* Many different kinds of workplace codeswitching exist. White Southerners do it. People in the LGBTQ+ community do it. Hispanic professionals do it. This blog will mainly focus on codeswitching involving Black people and African American English.
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