Speaking in Color: Code-Meshing Against Standard Language Ideology in the Public Speaking Classroom

Abstract

Public speaking courses do more than teach presentation skills; they also teach students which voices count as credible. In Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), instructional norms tied to standard language ideology position standardized English as the unmarked benchmark of professional communication. For students who speak African American Language (AAL) or other culturally informed language varieties, this creates a double bind: conform linguistically or risk being penalized for rhetorical authenticity. This reflective essay identifies the double bind as an underexamined problem in communication pedagogy and suggests that code-meshing—the intentional blending of multiple language varieties within a single communicative act—offers a more equitable, rhetorically rigorous alternative to the code-switching instruction currently normalized in many public speaking classrooms. Drawing on scholarship in raciolinguistics, Black language pedagogy, and communication education, this essay offers concrete recommendations for curriculum design, rubric revision, and low-stakes practice that uphold communicative standards without demanding linguistic conformity.