Nava Fedida
Matthew Amyx, Ph.D
HIST 103-001
27 July 2023
Reading Reflection: Week 4
1.) “May I Say a Few Words?” - Sojourner Truth, 1851
Sojourner Truth’s speech for women’s rights and equality was written down in its original
form by Marius Robinson in 1851 using the same accent and spelling that she used in the
moment. Though she was African American and admits to not knowing how to read and
write (because she was not allowed to be taught!), she still used proper American English and
proved in her own words why women are equal. She used biological reasoning and biblical
reasoning to get her point across. However, in Frances Gage’s version in 1863, which
unfortunately became the most common version of the speech, it is recorded in the way that
Gage would have imagined Sojourner to speak. This version cuts out several vowels giving it
a strong Southern tone and phrases and trades the “th” to a “d” giving it an African sound.
This transcription makes Sojourner Truth sound foreign and uneducated unlike the
determined activist that she was in her period. It even adds words and phrases that she never
even said in the original version, ironically, such as, “Ar’n’t I a woman?” which ends up
being the line that the speech is known for. When someone is giving a speech, you expect
them to know what they are talking about and sound like the correct person to relay the
