Name: Taylor Lewis
Contact: tlewis24
Hello!
I was born and raised in Maryland, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. I spent my elementary years in Prince George’s County, and middle school and high school in Anne Arundel County. As a result of this, and from having family that came from Baltimore and from the D.C. area, I was raised very aware of how the language among Black people compares between those closer to Baltimore and those closer to D.C. The language that I speak is a blend–I pronounce Baltimore with a “d” (Bawldamore), and used “lunchin” growing up.
In my research as a student in the Second Language Studies program, I focus on Ebonics, the political dimensions that made it came to be, and the controversy around it. I am passionate about recognizing it as not a deformed variation of English, but a rule-based language in its own right.