- What's up y'all, my name is Benjamin Abiola,
and I am a first generation British-born Nigerian.
And today, we are going to be talking about code-switching.
I define code-switching as basically the way
one person alternates their language,
their speech, their dialect,
depending on the situation
and the people that you're around.
This was just a survival tactic for me growing up.
So I didn't even know there was
an official Oxford, Webster dictionary definition
of code-switching.
I'm gonna be talking about how I code-switch
in my life personally, because I code-switch every day.
This is the code I use when I'm talking to my friends.
"Bruh, can you believe the fight
that happened today at school?
Bruh, that's what I'm saying.
He jumped over the table, picked up the tray,
bink, minked on his head.
It's like, yo, this was crazy (beep).
Hold on one second, my mom is calling.
Hello?
Hello mommy.
Yes, no, I'm just hanging out with my friends.
No, no, we're just talking about Bible study
and everything that we're going to do, yes."
And here's the thing about African parents,
when they get on the phone with you,
they're gonna make sure they give you a prayer
before they get off the phone.
"Amen, the Lord will bless you too.
Okay, I'll talk to you later.
Okay, buh-bye.
(people laughing)
Now what y'all laughing at, man?"
I used to feel some type of way.
I was like, let me go off to the corner
and take this phone call and not be in front of everybody.
But to the point where it was like, you know what?
I don't care.
This is the truth, this is my truth.
And now, we are in London, England, where I was born,
where my sister still lives.
And this is where I switch back to this code
'cause I feel a lot more comfortable speaking to her
with a British accent than I do into my American accent.
She's also very apprehensive of it
'cause she feels like I'm an Americanized person now.
And I think that's just me wanting to stick to that code
and still feel that sense of belonging to how I grew up.
Let's give my sister a call.
(phone ringing) How about that?
Yo?
- [Benjamin's Sister] Hi.
- So I was thinking this morning, I was like, yeah,
I haven't talked to my sister in a minute,
so I might as well call her, yeah.
How do you feel?
- [Benjamin's Sister] I feel great. (laughs)
- What are you laughing for?
Like, what's the problem?
- [Benjamin's Sister] I thought you sound
like you're from Canada, or maybe Australia.
- And here's the thing about my sister.
Anytime I talk to her,
she always laughs or she always points out the fact like,
why am I still speaking with this British code?
But the thing is, I'm still that.
Your American accent is terrible though.
- [Benjamin's Sister] No, it's not.
- All right, let me hear it.
- [Benjamin's Sister] Like, I'm about to like,
meet up with one of my friends.
(both laughs)
- Howdy, y'all.
And now we're in Texas.
When I moved from England to Texas, it was a big adjustment.
I would be in class and I'd be answering the questions,
just trying to be a good student.
"Yeah, I might have the answer to that.
Well, here's the thing,
on page four. (children laughing)
What's so funny?"
And I have my friends be like,
"Oi, Harry Potter.
Oi, get us some tea and biscuits."
"Well, Harry Potter is actually
a fictional character. (chuckles)
It's not real.
I'm not, not the real--
No, I'm not the black Harry Potter.
Alohomora.
Expelliarmus."
(twinkling sounds) This is me wanding curses
on all of my friends who made fun of me
in the seventh grade.
(Benjamin whooshing)
Can y'all get some wizardry (beep) going on.
(banging sounds) I had to deal with that
every day.
So I started picking up the language of my friends
that I did make and calling everything a hoe.
From going from Harry Potter to, "Ey, hoe, what's up?"
If you meet a person from Texas and they call you a hoe,
they're just giving you an overall encompassing definition
of something that they may not feel like they should define.
So if I say, "Yo, could you pass me that hoe?"
And I'm talking about my water cup,
just pass me my cup of water please.
(phone ringing) And now we switch
to the corporate code.
(Benjamin stretching)
This is my professional sitting for professional settings.
A lot of people like to refer it
as speaking properly or talking white.
I can talk to you like you're crazy.
And I can also talk to you like you have some sense.
When you switch to this code,
you're in this code for a specific reason,
and that is to solve the problem.
(chair thumping)
"Hi, Ms. Johnson, what brings you in today?
Absolutely.
Yeah, let me just pull up your account real quick.
Oh, I see.
Yeah.
Well, you have $200 in overdraft fees.
I do not actually set the prices, no.
You would like--
My manager's actually out at the moment.
I can just handle this for you right here, right now.
No need to yell. (laughs)
No need to yell, I understand.
Yes, Ms. Johnson, this is a one-time
courtesy refund, uh-huh.
Thank you, Ms. Johnson.
Okay.
All right.
Okay, goodbye.
(Benjamin laughs awkwardly)
(Benjamin sighs) Ladies and gentlemen,
that's how you switch in the corporate world.
And it saves you from cussing the (beep) out.
Code-switching in the workplace is an everyday occurrence,
but sometimes there's those co-workers
that you feel way more comfortable talking to than others.
For example, my black co-workers.
"Bruh, did you see the reports Michelle left on my desk?
Literally, racks on racks on racks.
Just how do you expect me to have this done
by the end of the day?
Straight trippin'.
Hey, what's up John?
Yeah, no, I'm actually super swamped right now.
Michelle just left a whole bunch of paperwork on my desk,
piling up literally.
And I don't know, it's kinda out of line."
Now, can you imagine if I would have said
she was straight trippin' to John.
He probably would have went and told my manager,
and I probably would've got fired.
So sometimes code-switching saves you a job.
But a lot of the times (beep) actually gets real,
and it's not all peaches and berries.
And I walked into work and there was
an "All Lives Matter" sign waiting for me, greeting me,
saying, "Hello, black man, tell me how you feel about this."
And boy was I livid.
I logged into our emails and I saw that someone else
had put "All Lives Matter",
"Back the Blue", as their signature,
that got sent out to everybody in the workplace.
And my question is though,
well damn, if I would've did this,
I probably would have been a problem.
So, I go into the office.
I talk to my black friend.
"Bruh, do you see this (beep)?
The disrespect.
John, black lives matter because black people
are getting killed by the police at an alarming rate.
It's actually disproportionate to other races."
Bruh, how does he not get that?
That's what I'm saying.
You didn't see him out there marching for Michael Brown.
You didn't see him say "Black Lives Matter"
in any of the emails.
They didn't even come to us to ask if we was okay.
"John, the reason I'm upset is because no one here
has ever said anything to appease the situation.
Where is the empathy?
All you all do is say "All Lives Matter"
as if it's a pacifier to stop us
from saying "Black Lives Matter".
But here's the thing, if all lives truly matter,
then black lives would too.
You get where I'm coming from?"
How does he not get that, bruh?
"I'm about done in this job, man.
Straight up."
So code-switching, saved me a job,
and saved somebody getting their ass whooped.
Now, if you've made it this far into the video,
you're probably wondering, who the hell is Ben really?
Is he Nigerian?
Is he British?
Is he Harry Potter?
Is he a hoe?
Is he a professional?
Is he a corporate American working banker?
Who is he, and what does he do?
(music stops abruptly) (fingers snapping)
The answer is,
I'm all of these things.
That's right, one code doesn't define anybody.
And in my personal experience,
all of these codes have helped me be who I am today.
I got a DM from a friend and she was like,
"You lie so good, I don't even know who you are."
I just told her that I have different things in my life
that allow me to identify with different moments.
You are being true to yourself because that's something
that you're doing to help other people either feel
more comfortable or adapting to a specific situation.
But here's a code-switch PSA,
for all of my lovely Caucasians out there.
If you have a black friend who you deem as "well-spoken",
or "not like the others",
or "Oh, you're just, you're just so different."
Well, he's probably or she's probably just code-switching
to make you feel comfortable.
So again, mind your words and switch 'em up.
(upbeat music)