Language is a very special tool because it is used everyday for communication, thoughts, reading, writing, even the voice in your head that you hear reading this. It is always evolving and developing, there is no one set of a certain language. The dialect changes by its region, culture, people and people looking to express themselves with words that haven’t been invented yet to truly express themselves. Two authors that have inspired me to further indulge my interest in language are Robert MacNeil and James Baldwin. Their articles reels in their audience to feel what the authors felt when writing the articles and to share a connection about their opinion on language, as well as develop appreciation, admiration or fall in love with the development of language. The purpose of this analysis isn’t to express more appreciation about MacNeil and Baldwin’s article but how exactly they draw in their audience. Robert MacNeil’s “English Belongs to Everybody,” and James Baldwin “If Black English isn’t a Language, Then Tell me What is?” utilizes features of pathos as his rhetorical key to keep the audience’s attention and interest in their articles. In this analysis, there would be a closer look at the tone in the beginning of the excerpt sets the tone and how the mood is transitioned. Secondly, a quick analysis of specific words with the emotions they convey. Lastly, how pathos from the authors influences the effect on the reader. 

Robert MacNeil is a journalist and known for covering news. The genre for most of his coverages and novels were politics, “analyses of language,” and memoirs. Some of his well known pieces are the “Kennedy assassination” and the “Watergate hearings.” He even had his own News Hour which later became PBS News Hour. For his piece “English Belongs to Everybody,” an excerpt from a book, what makes MacNeil a  credible author is that he has written about language and the analysis of language before. Robert MacNeil stated “he recalls developing his love for language and readings as a child… how that love has influenced his ideas about language.” Writing about Language is not new to him. The idea of his targeted audience can be found within the second paragraph of the excerpt, to those who love language and accepting it’s change, to those who are intolerant of change, and to those who abuse language. The purpose is to inform the target audience that English is meant to evolve and change, there is no one correct way of utilizing English because English has always been evolving. MacNeil describes the change as “as people evolve and do new things, their language will evolve too,” finding new ways to describe things. An example that uses the terms “turn on or turn off” is used as a metaphor, it became a slang that everyone uses. Slangs and forms of expression that are used in a different way creates a vivid feeling or understanding and it can be used in numerous ways. MacNeil goes a bit into the history of English, when it first developed, there were no set rules of English or permanent establishment of words. It’s compared to French, describing English as a park, “in which you are allowed to walk everywhere according to your own fancy ..” English roots are “Celtic-Roman-Saxon- Danish-Norman.” The development of English basically helped give birth to the “principles of freedom and rights of man.” It’s a free language that gives people the freedom to express themselves.  There is even a comparison of old English, using quotes from Hamlet to show how old pieces we admire today using languages that would not be grammatically correct or understandable in today’s modern world. 

Robert MacNeil sets the tone of feeling of uneasiness at the beginning of the excerpt, creating mixed feelings about language; “Language reinforces feelings of social superiority or inferiority; it creates insiders and outsiders,” (MacNeil 192). It has been used to separate and divide people, to discriminate against those who don’t know the same language or struggle to speak English fluently. Then it transitions on page 193, the first paragraph evokes feelings of interest in language of how the change of language affects how we can use it. “They will find ways to describe the new things and their changed perspective will give them new ways of talking about the old things,” (MacNeil, 193). There is much more to English than to divide people, it has many uses. Setting up this feeling of interest pulls the reader to keep reading to find out more about language evolving and it’s uses. 

MacNeil chooses words and adjectives based on their denotation. On page 192, many words with a negative denotation, “Anxiety,” “Side effect,” “Discourage,” “intolerant,” “snobbish,” and “annoyed.” Together, these words evoke feelings about language, the uneasiness about language and how it is used. As well as bashing those who use language to create a divide in people, calling them “snobbish” to convey that people who speak standard and proper English think they are better than most. To add on, MacNeil mentions how “axe” used and meant what we now know as “ask,” and then continued to say, “Was that transmitted across six hundred years or simply reinvented?” (MacNeil, 195). This invokes wonder and curiosity of other words we know and use. The words “transmitted” and “reinvented” allowed the audience to wonder specifically about how words are passed around over time and changed or just created to replace words that exist to keep up with standard English. 

James Baldwin is black author, poet and activist on civil rights. Some of his well known novels are “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” “The Fire Next Time,” and “Notes of a Native Son.” Unlike the excerpt Robert MacNeil, James Baldwin credibility of his article isn’t clearly stated, but as a black author and an activist it can be inferred with the support of the first paragraph that Baldwin feels strongly about how Black English is viewed; that Black English is a language and language is to describe. James Baldwin seems to be targeting a general audience as well as speakers from different regions that speak the “same” language. The purpose of James Baldwin’s article is to inform people that language has power and Black English is a language, it establishes culture, creates style and different forms of the same language is a representation of the people groups of people. He pointed out that people from Quebec, Marseilles, Guadeloupe and Martinique are not saying or meaning the same thing with the words they use despite that the common language of those countries is French. Their reality is different and to express the differences of where they are from is through different dialects. Language has power and influence over people and situations, it changes the way people interact and describe how they are feeling. Jazz was created by Blacks and white Americans imitated and adopted Jazz lingo. Black English was created to level the power between whites and to create style and express, black English is a language. 

Baldwin sets the tone in the beginning of the article with concern about language. The opening paragraph uses terms such as “argument,” and in italicized “role.” The connotation of argument can be interpreted as negative, meaning to argue and disprove something. The italicization for the word role, makes it stands out to create an emphasis on it, that the author’s concern is about the role of language. Towards the end, the tone changes to criticism and it is strongly conveyed in the end. Baldwin describes the United States as “ untrustworthy,” “criminal mediocrities.” Baldwin disapproves of America’s treatments towards blacks and how Americans  adopt and use  Black English and yet don’t recognize it as a language or English . 

Baldwin chose specific terms to emphasize the power and influence of language. In the article, Baldwin made a point about how language has power. Terms that help emphasize this are “concerning,” “ status,” and calling language a “political instrument.” The term concerning is pretty direct,  to worry or care, this influences how the audience will view the article, with concern and analyze the role and use of Black English. The connotation of the term status is a sense of power or influence, the influence Black English on America. To add on, when talking about politics, there’s a negative connotation, as there are normally arguments of conflicting views and politics is often associated with power. The denotation of “instrument” is to be a tool in the context of the article. Describing language as a powerful tool emphasizes the importance and the effects it has to the audience, that language can be dangerous. 

Both authors influence their audience in a similar way by sharing examples of slang and lingos used. Using slang like “with it” or “funky” creates a connection the audience can relate to because they might have also used those slangs before. These slangs and lingo are creations that express and describe a feeling in a new way that can be understood by many. While keeping the audience’s attention with something they can relate to, there is also a sense of seriousness that informs the audience about language. For MacNeil’s except, he informs the audience that English is always changing and evolving, people shouldn’t be criticized for using improper English as it is meant for everyone. Baldwin’s article has an emphasize on the role of Black English throughout America’s history, how Black had to learn English on their own  because of the history of slavery and the injustices they went through. They created their own adaptation of English to use, and their creation of Jazz and slang were adopted and used by white Americans, creating it to be a trend because it was “in style” or cool, and despite the adaptation and uses of Black English, it isn’t formally recognized. Both articles use strong senses of emotions through specific words to influence the audience’s emotions as they read. 

To conclude, pathos is effectively used by James Baldwin and Robert MacNeil to keep the audience’s attention. Robert MacNeil’s message throughout his piece is that language is mentioned to change over time and be expressive. Similar to MacNeil, James Baldwin establishes that Black English is a language and that it is English, just a different form and is to be recognized as it is widely used, from slangs to expressions. Something that allows pathos to work for articles that are meant to inform is the topic and the words used. The topic is about language, and words are a part of language, their choices in words they used would impact how the audience would feel about language while they keep an awareness of the language of the article. Invoking emotions through an article allows the audience to relate to the piece or feel what the author is feeling, which builds a connection between the text and the reader.  

Work Cited 

Baldwin, James, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” The New York Times. 29, July, 1979. 

Biography.com Editors. “James Baldwin.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 3 May 2021, https://www.biography.com/writer/james-baldwin. 

MacNeil, Robert, “English Belongs to Everybody.” N.A

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