To Be a Slave

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With the events transpiring hundreds of years ago, much of the language is now archaic. For example, with the end of slavery, people do not use the word "coffle" today as it relates specifically only to the slave trade. Since many of the slaves came from Africa, there is a language barrier. Obviously, the slave owners did not learn the African tribal languages of their slaves. The slaves had to pick up the English language from their masters and other white folk. Their language became a mixture of their former language and English. This is one reason why white people believed that they were "superior" over the blacks.