Curious Caucasian Question: Why Do Some Black People Say "Aks" Instead Of Ask?
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- From time to time, Bert will ask Moe and our Producer Keity a question that he calls a "Curious Caucasian Question" - it's basically a (respectful) question about race that he's ignorant about.
We got an email from a listener (along with quite a few DMs from other people to Bert) with a Curious Caucasian question for Moe.
Now remember - Curious Caucasian questions are things you're ignorant about that you'd like to LEARN. There's no malice or ill-intent behind them. The whole goal is to learn and better yourself, and that's what our listener is doing:
"I have a Curious Caucasian question for Moe! I am white and my next-door neighbor is black. She’s awesome and we are friendly with each other. I invited her over when we were cooking out the other night. I asked her a question that I honestly have always wants to know. I prefaced by saying that this was a “Curious Caucasian question.”
Why do most black people say AKS instead of ASK?
She looked at me sideways and then tried to diffuse the tension by saying it was a southern thing. Well I know it’s not a southern thing because Moe says AKS instead of ASK and he’s from New York.
My husband said that question was inappropriate and now I feel awkward with my neighbor. Was it inappropriate and what is the real reason for the pronunciation I AKS?!"
And here's some explanation from Moe and Keity, and then some audio Cassie found from Francesca Ramsey of MTV'S "Decoded," which is a GREAT series that tackles race, pop culture, and uncomfortable issues.
In short: both "ask" and "aks" are correct, and "aks" (or "axe") has been around since the 17th century.
Yup, I googled this title.
Likewise.
Same
Same
Same
Me too😅
In my opinion, the guy’s neighbor was kind of an idiot for getting all offended over him politely asking her a question about linguistics. He wasn’t being offensive at all. Some people are way too sensitive.
I agree, the girl who said you should ask google, I mean so we should ask google for everything instead of asking the actual person because they might be offended…?
i think it depends if you know the person or not.
If a stranger questioned the way you laugh or any other mannerism then you would think they are being condescending / point scoring for ego , but a person that knows you and you know they respect you should be fine
It's because they don't want to admit they simply can't pronounce the word correctly. Also "aks" is appropriation and they don't like be called out on their hypocrisy.
@@squeezyjibbz7407 Excellent comment, I Don't care anymore. I avoid all of them like the plague, I'm done with the hypocrisy, the double standards, etc. Society treating them like a special needs victim, no accountability. Why, would I waste my time being around a group of people that deep down despise me because I'm white? And I'm tired of hearing, "they're not all bad" bull 💩!!!!!!! Get them in a group, & the true nature comes out every time.
blacks
As a Black man from Generation X, I have to be upfront here. People are "Offended By That Question?" Please ... . We've been educating folks for centuries now. Sure, some phrases might echo from the 1700s, but let's be clear: terms like "we is here," "we was going," or "ax" for "ask" are not acceptable in professional environments. They set the wrong precedent for our youth, leading to potential failure. You might label me a Bigot or even an Uncle Tom, for this stance, but I personally prioritize professionalism in my hiring practices. Such language can reflect poorly in business. From what I've observed, even during the late '70s and '80s when schools began to introduce and normalize what they called 'Ebonics', many educators, including fellow Black teachers, were critical. I remember clearly being advised, "Mr. Johnson, we are not slaves Do not speak like one." This guidance was about empowering us to thrive in all societal aspects, not restricting our cultural expression. Gee, I hope no one was OFFENDED~ 🤯
I'm not American, i used to think phrases like "we been knew" and axe were odd, until i learned about their history. now i find it interesting, this slang has a deep history, we should retain and protect it imo. it's like a spoken historical relic.
a smart american monke
wow didn't knew this kind of specimen existed
makes you akks yourself how so many of them can't even spell a 3 letter word correctly
smh
The problem for me is always being expected to answer stupid questions. Why should we always have to do the labour of educating people? I've been asked if black people wash our hair, and why black men have bumps after shaving. Google it. I've never seen it in reverse. The English people where I'm from (Yorkshire, UK) pronounce so many English words 'wrong' and miss out basic words. Id never think to ask them about that or comment on their professional integrity.
Most of my Nigerian friends say Aks. Very strange to me, because all my life in alllll books I have read I saw ASK. Therefore it is not an inappropriate question. I want to know and I ask.
So what about "aunt" or "route"? Some people pronounce them as "ant" or "root".
@@carelixacosta5601 Not the same, as you can see nobody is questioning why that’s the case. Ask is a word no one can get wrong. Don’t ask defensive questions to obfuscate
So perhaps it goes way back to African heritage and has just been passed down through the generations. It would be a great topic for a linguistic study.
@@carelixacosta5601 thats more of a diffrence in accent .
you cant change an accent to make ask isound like aks.
@@Aden_III Aunt being pronounced "ant" & route being pronounced "root" are the EXACT same thing. 😂😂 You just want to find some type of fault with black americans for doing the EXACT same thing whites do with certain words
It's linguistic laziness, because not all blacks do it.
I've literally ONLY heard black people say "aks" instead of ask.
Black Americans*
You do realize that the black race exists in a lot more number outside of the US, right? Stop painting all black people (billions of Africans, Caribbeans) as a monolith. When you talk about black people in America, refer to them as black Americans not black people.
Imagine getting offended by a simple question
It really all depends on how you axe the question. 🤭
Black people what else is new
That 1 white chick was apparently
It’s actually more difficult to say “aks” then “ask”. Why follow absurd trends in vernacular?
For me, as I am getting order and experiencing life through my travels, I came to the realization that people living in small social bubble. Despite all the media that exists in the U.S., not everyone is exposed to it the same way.
we all pick up on what we hear around us . If most people you respect say aks then you may well copy them . Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Say if your parents said it that way since you were young
I agree to me it just shows stupidity especially if you know how to pronounce a word but still pronounce it wrong I mean there’s no debating it it’s just you’re stupid at this point
Simple answer, it's because of laziness. As an Arabic person, I know many people who say B instead of P, vice versa. Same with Oriental Asians with L and R. If I learn a language, I will learn it how it is and not spin it around for my liking. It always bugs me, mostly B and P mix up, but oh well what ever..
@@phoenixskyward9972 okay I can't speak for other communities, but as an Asian, it is definitely not because of laziness. This is false information. For example Korean or Chinese simply don't use that strong 'r' sound in their language... you should check out how a Korean pronounces 'ramyeon' in casual conversation. This also exists in the p and b sounds in Korean.
Certain sounds don't exist in certain languages. So it is hard to differentiate them. Not everyone follows the sounds of the English alphabets ya know 😅
In conclusion, it's not always laziness.
So some people who say aks not ask were educated in the 8th century?
Also what modern education in anyone's life time today teaches the word aks?
I know right? These people are annoying as hell
Whooosh!!!
So I don't think the question was really answered....history was informed which was perfectly explained.... but honestly why?
they teach the word to be spelt as “ask” as that is how it is spelt😂. how it is said is completely involuntary, for example i am english white working class and i know the word is spelt “ask”. however i have realised that i say “aks” and that is how i have always said it without knowing or intentionally putting the k before the s. when i look at the word and say it, i am trying to say it as it is spelt but when i concetrate on it i do say “ask”. like i said its involuntary. 👍
@@simbatr4266 why don't you just learn to say it properly
I have NEVER heard a white person say "aks."
To me it sounds like they say “axe”. And yes, I grew up understanding that it is lack of education. And what is with lack of ‘s’ at the end of their words? I say, “ She’s going to school tomorrow”. They say “ She going to school tomorrow “. To me that is poor education.
I honestly think its more learned behavior....or how humans automatically adapt to surroundings ....
@@Randygacha Had to go back and listen to hear for myself and yup Cadbury Tales. More proof Jessica Ramsey is not a good source of information.
It's a choice and/or a cultural difference that was handed down. Obviously not always intentional either. It's not a lack of education. Just because I use slang like y'all doesn't mean I'm uneducated. I just like using it sometimes. It's fun. It you mistakenly think I'm uneducated I can certainly set you straight...or let you make a fool of yourself with assumptions. 😅🤣😂
@@Showtheworld68, slang is much different than the mispronunciation of ask. Y’all is short for you all. To mispronounce the word ask is ignorant, pure and simple.
It’s a cultural-linguistic delineation due to being alienated be segregated from the US white population do the majority of their existence here.
It’s not a symptom of non education. It’s a symptom of linguistic isolation, a new dialect.
Except aks. Aks is just dumb.
The question is absolutely appropriate. It’s not ASKING too much to demand a three letter word be appropriately pronounced. And it’s not an accent or issue with dyslexia. It’s not hateful or racist. An axe is a device one uses to chop up a tree and ask is the act of proposing a question. Two completely different words. This effort to excuse the mispronunciation is WRONG and needs to be labeled as such. Dumbing down the English language is not the answer and does only that - dumbs our language down.
its a case of copying others around you . If you live in a diffrent area you will eventually change your accent to match it if you hear the difference on a day to day basis.
I agree with KMS5280! I'm glad somebody else said what I was thinking. Whatever happened to good grammar turned into ebonics and the King's English is lost. To be Frank it makes somebody sound ignorant or stupid when you botch the English language.
Excellent comment, you're a 100% correct on everything you stated.
It's cringe-worthy when someone says aks. I've never met an educated black person who prounced it that way. It's always someone who reeks of weed and has 4 kids from 4 different women who say it that way.
@@trishaustin4101 Excellent comment, very true.
It's a great question, and is still not being answered. You can tell the "social media" person is trying to be oh so PC with her response. Let's be Honest, proper english language is ask, not aks.
Jon Leonhardt AAVE is a legitimate dialect and thus the pronunciation is valid. Dumbass
There's *nothing* "legitimate" about poor grammar, @@riverwilhelm-robertson2108. Jon's 100% right.
@@muffdiver240 no, he's not. didn't know you and that person made the rules for every English spoken around the world...
people from many generations ago would look at how you speak, as in incorrect. theres not one form of English, it's a language spread around the world, theres many types of dialects. language is always changing.
ask is ask not aks no matter how you want to spin it .
what I want to know is why do americans say alluminium wrong?
I had a African American gf and she pronounced it as "ask", and she had amazing vocabulary range or wide, dropped out of school, never got GED, because of mathematics. I tried to help her but she was just not into it. Great variety writing skills too. I am Swiss and when she started asking me questions "is it true that white guys do this, that, " I got so confused and shocked(I've been living in USA for some time) how divided USA still is, or not interested in learning or knowing your first neighbor if I can call it "culture" -please correct me where am I wrong ,and I am sorry for my English. I wish you all healthiness, happiness and to yours families and loved ones.
That is how all US Americans talk. They assume skin color tells them who a person is.
I'm of mixed ancestry Latin, Arawak, Nigerian, and Danish but I look non Anglo so I am assumed black with Asian to most people.
I am ethnically Hispanic and the assumptions people make about me based on my skin color have been absurd.
They have no culture here so race is all they have to cling to.
@@bleachedout805 respect
@@bleachedout805 The idea that the US has no culture is a ridiculous one. There's plenty of culture, but as long as you associate culture with ethnic food and traditional ceremonies, you are not talking about the wide range of what culture is.
@@lotanowo yeah culture of school shootings and random unprovoked violence
@@y2m3e.45 thank you for proving my point
I’ve only heard black ppl saying AX !! It’s a black thing
Next thing you know, upper-class white liberals will try to convince us that saying "Where you is?" is as acceptable as saying "Where are you?" Yeah, just a local dialect...
Upper-class white liberals are hurting this country and they make me sick.
Not only is the word “ask” pronounced incorrectly, so is the word “escaped.” They pronounce it “exscaped.”
WE ARE DIVISION.
WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE DO NOT FORGET,
WE DO NOT FORGIVE.
AND WE WILL AVENGE FOR YOUR ACTIONS,
EXPECT US.
nah it’s probably just easier for you to say it incorrectly tho
its only incorrect if your told it is and believe it.
Who's "they"?
@@steamer1 Black people
It’s taught and/or learned by parents & friends. If you can correctly pronounce task or mask than you can correctly say ask!!
but if you watched the entire video aks is not incorrect...
@@senorfootball2460 Aks hasn't been "correct" in centuries. It should be "ask"...just like it's spelled.
@@kwebster62 plenty of English words are pronounced differently than they’re spelled.
@@powpowouchy5 There surely are. 'Ask' is not one of them.
No they say maks and taks
I highly doubt the ones who use "axe" are doing so because the "17th century proliffic writers" were using it. 😅🤦
Because tIf you cannot pronounce a three-letter word, it's easy to assume that the person who said that is less educated.
For me, it also goes with "wif" instead of "with" and replacing the word "are" with "is"...' who is you? '
Look up the Langfocus video on African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and it describes it in great detail.
Um not really, there’s a huge different between the word Ask and Axe it’s literally retards that can’t pronounce it right
@@thehorrorcounselors4747 You are not a good person.
@@thehorrorcounselors4747 nobody gives a shit
@@D_Parks that’s what i was thinking but you said it
How can you not know how you pronounce a word? The black dude is extremely well spoken. He must have SOME idea how he speaks words!
As someone who is muliti-lingual I know it's possible for people not know how they're pronouncing words and even hear a different pronunciation than what's being pronounced. I tell people to say certain words in other languages and they say it back wrong and argue that they said it right lol
I think often when we speak we get so caught up in what we're trying to bring across that we don't notice what we're saying; for example sometimes I'll be thinking about how I want someone to pass the cheese, but my mouth will ask for the butter instead, or when I was learning to count in Spanish I'd switch to French halfway to ten without realizing it
nope most people havnt got a clue otherwise they wouldnt say it that way
we are all influenced by how people around us say things,
tomaytoe
tomartoe
The thing is, if that’s the way you’ve said it your entire life, why would you question how you say it? I actually used to pronounce the word different as “diffERNT” and had no idea that was wrong. Then one time a good friend pointed it out. After that, every time I said it I heard it and it just sounded like an ugly, blunt word to me. I started paying attention to when I would say it and actually trained myself to start saying it as “diff-ER-ENT”. However, that’s a lot of syllables and choppy to say that way and now I usually say it as “diff-RENT” or “diff-eRENT” (small e meaning the e sound is there but very short and you don’t really hear it).
The first year or two after it was pointed out I would pay attention to the way other people said it. Most people pronounced it the way I corrected myself to, but occasionally I would find someone that said it the way I used to say it.
Long story short, you don’t think about what you’re saying if it’s something you don’t have to think about before saying. Pick any word. Say it once and it sounds normal. Say it 20 times and it will start sounding weird and you will think about how you are actually pronouncing the word. My favorite word to do this with is “bowl”. I believe there was an episode of Friends (or some other sitcom maybe) where Joey (or the equivalent of Joey on another show) was eating cereal and said bowl a bunch of times until it didn’t sound like a word anymore. I am off track now, but the point is, if that’s the way you learned when you learned to speak, you have no reason to think about if you’re saying it wrong or not.
Just thought of another example of a word spoken differently. This is another one often thought to be associated with lack of education, though I think more likely it is more of a southern US pronunciation: the word “draw”. I pronounce it as “drAH” (I think that’s a good way to write it), but I’ve come across people that pronounce it as “drAWL”. Where is the “L” in the word? It’s not there… but somewhere it was pronounced that way and has stayed as a potential way of pronouncing “draw”, likely because parents say it that way and their kids learn it that way from them.
One more example that I just thought of and then I’ll stop with my tangent 😂.. my dad says the word “wash” as “waRsh”, which I KNOW is a southern pronunciation. Don’t know where he got it from, I believe his mom says it that way, but his 5 other siblings say it the “normal” way. Also, my mom says it as “wash” and so do all my siblings and I.
Just some other examples to think about.
uh... or not. people just talk, even smart people.
Blacks that say “Axe” are plain ignorant and won’t change.
Not just an American thing or a southern thing. It's said in the UK as well.
With some British pronunciation of "ask" being "arsk" (like grass vs grars)... in the UK "aks" tends to be pronounced "ocks".
"I ocksed you a question"
Weird thing with language and accents.
It's like in the UK, people have a tendency to drop the letter T from words.
Butter becoming Buh-er, Letter becoming Leh-er.
Or Bert in this show, actually dropped the K from "asked".
Listen carefully, Bert says "assed".
Swapping letters like Aks and Ask, or dropping letters like the letter T from words... is simply just dialect.
Yeah but you’re comparing different countries’ accents. In the US people growing up in the same state and school system use the two different “ask” and “aks”
Renzo Cheesman it’s not so much about county borders, more about family traditions and cultural heritage.
@@renzocheesman862 every place has it's different dialects and usage of words.
@@renzocheesman862 This is also the case in the UK. I am white, two of my closest childhood friends were black. We were all from the same town, went to the same primary and secondary schools, we were all into the same things (music, films, TV, computer games, pokemon etc.) They always said 'aks/arks' whereas my white/Asian/mixed-race friends all pronounced it 'ask', and whenever it got brought up, neither of them knew that they did it. My parents spent their entire lives in the same town, as did the parents of one of my black friends and the other had a Kenyan mother and a local father.
I haven't thought about this in years until I just watched a black US journalist who was very well spoken but used 'aks' instead of 'ask'. In all honesty, I'm just super curious as to why it seems to be divided on racial lines even from groups within the same socio-economic and linguistic backgrounds. The only white people that I know in the UK to say 'aks/arks' are younger inner-city people emulating 'black' culture. I couldn't care less about how someone pronounces it, it's pretty obvious what is meant either way it is pronounced.
@@ketmateo I wouldn't say those white inner city kids are emulating black people. They more likely just grew up in an area where everyone speaks like that. I wouldn't say a black man with a cockney accent is emulating them if he grew up in a cockney area
Saying axe is just showing pure ignorance.
Why tho if that’s their accent they have
If you were interviewing someone for a sales job for example and the person said "axe" would you hire them?
Using an outdated and now non-existent pronunciation to validate a blatant mispronunciation of a word isn't a viable, nor reasonable excuse for said mispronunciation. ie. The people mispronouncing 'ask' had no idea of the etymology of the word and its prior pronunciation. This is a lazy and pathetic excuse to legitimise poor English.
John Park actually no it’s not. If it’s outdate and nonexistent then why do people still say it. Your outdate and nonexistent argument is bullshit. If you don’t get on every mf around the country for the way they pronounce things then don’t get on black people for the way they pronounce it.
@@Keeyasiah the fact that I have no idea what your point is only demonstrates how poor literacy is in the USA. You're the prime example of how an education system can fail its citizens and you're bundled in with those morons who mispronounce 'ask' as 'axe'.
John Park or that could mean your comprehension skill is so poor anything outside of essay format you can’t understand. And those people aren’t morons it just seems like you can’t take the fact people speak differently from you. You’re calling people morons when your comprehension skills are practically down to zero because a sentence is missing a few punctuation and isn’t in grammatical form. This right here proves your “education” is just constant and makes you stupid outside of whatever you “learned”.
@@Keeyasiah John Park is right, you are wrong. Quit trying to justify the ebonics. I'm a black guy have always pronounced it "ask". My dad always taught me if I wanted to embrace my color, then do it with intelligence and dignity, not defiance. How wise he was.
@@parkerplace2910 we should elevate the aspiration for proper literacy and you're a perfect example of this. I'm glad your parents valued a decent education and you're the kind of person others should aspire to, not the lowest common denominator. Well done mate!
Language is racist. Math is racist,. Science is racist. Education is racist. Why should 2+2=4? Why not 5, 6, or 7?
At what point in the black household growing up do you ask your parents why they say axe and everyone else (White) says ask. And why do they say "sleep" instead of "asleep". I'm sure kids who grow up hearing their parents say "sleep" when referring to a person who is currently asleep. The black kid says he's never heard the difference. Well there's your answer. These people don't even hear the difference it's ridiculous. I'm a grammar nazi oh well.
That was then, this is now.
If you know something is wrong, instead of taking offense, acknowledge your error, and then move on. Don't use cop out excuses.
Every day for years now, I download new words from the Internet that I'm either totally unfamiliar or somewhat unfamiliar with. I've always respected the English language and as a published writer, I want to be able to express myself in both print and in person the best way I can, because it is a reflection of you and your intelligence. The only person continuing your errors hurts is yourself. Why wouldn't you want to improve?
Even heading into my 70s, I"ve found a few words I've been mispronouncing. I winced, but then made the correction. I never sought to blame a person or a culture for my error. Accept responsibility for your actions. Make the correction and move on. Life is too short go go around confusing "Axe" for "Ask". If you do make this mistake, you're probably making a lot more, so don't be surprised when people judge you negatively behind your back.
Another thing is they will say something like "Who that is?, instead of "Who is that?
not heard that one
Who dis?
@@4ntoCatch what rock do you live under?
@@biggienorm420 British one .
@@4ntoCatch😂😂😂😂
Such looooooooooong intro into a actual question, somebody gets offended again.. For no reason
Just aks 😂
aks the question about ask
Clip they brought up was from MTV... and the narrator literally misidentified “Canterberry Tales” as “Cadberry tales” 😂😂
She also says 8th Century. The Canterbury Tales was written around 1400.
"ASK" IS "Ask"
Axe is for chopping😂😂
Aks is just plain laziness
It is a black thing, though. Stereotype or not, you are going to run into more black people that use the ax pronunciation. Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. And by the way, stereotype is not synonymous to racism
also when people say "i seen it" instead of saying "I have seen it or i've seen it" is annoying
WE ARE DIVISION.
WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE DO NOT FORGET,
WE DO NOT FORGIVE.
AND WE WILL AVENGE FOR YOUR ACTIONS,
EXPECT US.
Yes, that "seen" crap is extremely annoying, indeed, Anthony!
I had black friends in school that said aks! In England ???!
Well English people in general talk funny so they’re excused to me 😏
It is used all the time in the U.K. by black people & I have no idea why, as my children are mixed race & don’t use it
@@Aden_III we actually speak correctly
@@maxinehodkinson7402 if “correctly” means you sound like you’re holding your nose as you speak, or speak like third graders struggling to comprehend speech, then by all means 😏
@@Aden_III 😂
Ya well it’s 2020. I don’t say VEXED when I’m mad. Language evolved, so it’s ASK not AX
I say vexed all the time lol
how do you say alluminuim?
aloooominum ?
I've read in numerous sources that 'aks' has been used for over a thousand years.
I can't refute that, but I didn't start hearing it until Ebonics grew popular where I live in the mid 90s.
It's something that still sounds incorrect, no matter how many times I remind myself that it's acceptable.
Red is a bit angry and defensive...she's not even black. This is stupid. It's 2022 and it's "ASK".
Put another way, (a ps to my comment below) when I hear really accomplished Blacks, say, Barack Obama, James Earl Jones, Colin Powell, August Wilson, Michelle Obama, Oprah, not a single one of these Blacks have you ever heard say "Aks" for "Ask", "Wif" for "With", "Ambalance" for "Ambulence", "Lieberry" for "Library", and so on. Also, they don't make excuses or try to apologize for other Blacks butchering the English language.
In this country we all receive a free education, at least through 12 grades (and Kingergarten) and while I wouldn't defend the U.S. school system, (and I had a rather mediocre education at best), I nonetheless tried to always have a book in my hand. Then as soon as I was old enough to get my adult library card at age twelve, I would spend a couple days each week at the library, and explore every single subject I could, even if it was a book on dinosaurs. I probably learned more on my own, than I ever did at school, but you have to be able to see the value of using standardized grammar as a way of expressing yourself eloquently and being able to influence others - not as a punishment.
I'm not talking some snobby version of the Queen's English, and of course in your personal life you can be as casual as you want, but one of the first things people will judge you on, before they get to know you, is your speech. It may not be "fair" but it is what it is. Even in my late sixties I look up words all the time and receive daily emails from Webster's dictionary which gives me at least one new word a day automatically with audio pronunciation. That means a possible 365 new words yearly! Gratis! How can you beat that?
It all adds up but you can't start out with a chip on your shoulder.
'Appropriate' question or not, it is just a curious language question in my opinion. I heard it many times (internet) and it was always a black person saying. If I knew any, I'd ask them. If I heard any color person pronouncing it "aks", I'd take it it's a regional or slang or whatever..
Unrelated to "aks", I met some people who genuinely thought they were pronouncing correctly a word but the sound that came from their mouth was just wrong (Spaniards saying "shoes" 😁)
White question: Why at some point black people started laughing like quacking ducks?
This is intellectually slovenly.
Many blacks I have encountered say aks/ax - not all obviously. Why some do and some don’t - I don’t know. I know the history, as many words have evolved over time. I find it hard to believe that people today that are saying aks/ax are holding to the old pronunciation out of honor/tradition to olden times. My experience is that those less educated or from poorer backgrounds use the aks/ax pronunciation far more often. No I’m not racist - my children are biracial, I have black friends, I live near a historically black college/university, and went to school where blacks were the majority. My experience is that most blacks with a higher education or from higher social ecconimic background prounoune the words as ask. Those pronouncing it as ask have said that they would never prounounce it as aks/ax because they are educated and know better, and that their parents would not be happy if they said aks/ax as it has a negative connotation.
Are you stupid? Did you not listen to the last part of the video? Both pronunciations are correct. Saying “aks” is legitimate because AAVE is a legitimate dialect. You have the typical racist response of “I know Black people therefore I am no racist.” Sleeping with a Black man and having kids does not mean a damn thing, this has already been established.
Are *you* stupid, @@riverwilhelm-robertson2108? Patronage of a radio show is neither equivalent to, nor an adequate replacement for, an actual education in the English language. "Aks" remains a blatant mispronunciation of the word "ask", and all of the "white guilt" in the world can't change that. *NOR* are you in a position to de-legitimize Family Bills' life experience observing the ignorant people who mispronounce it, and the educated which use the correct pronunciation, as it is spelled: *A - S - K.* Good day.
pretty sure the reason they don't pronounce it that way is just because that's how they talk, not because saying it that way is a choice. i say aks, it feels natural. however saying asked it feels off, feels stiff to me.
"knowing better" please, as if how they say it is inherently right. language is always changeling.
those people you mentioned, looking negatively at how certain words are said would be called incorrect, informal, ignorant many generations ago.
Love the fact that these guys are making conflicting comments, yet keeping it respectful and openminded. But infuse those comments into the typical comment section, and people respond with anger, insults, ALL CAPS, and exclamation marks.
Don’t believe me? Watch how quickly my somewhat neutral comment garners rancor and derision!
rabble rabble
I'm so very glad this question has been ASKED. My wife and I go through this quite often, she's from the Island of Guam, I'm African American from Baltimore. I'll cut to the chase. Hundreds of years of slavery, poor education as they migrated all across the U.S. improperly educated and not often corrected. Today as it is anywhere you are a victim of your environment. So it continues as long as no one challenges. Just as on the Island of Guam. They were colonized by the Spanish and they mispronounce the word for trash which in Spanish is "basura". They say "basula". Why? Because the Spanish left the Island and or didn't bother to correct the mispronunciation so its now history and a part of their mixed language. And we really can't stop there, because it's everywhere. That's how languages develop and change. Perfecty normal
@deepthang I totally got you and understand. Greets bro from Detroit. Respect
It's not that deep. Go visit Nigeria or Ghana TODAY and when they speak English to you, you will hear many people say "axe". Your people a long time ago came from those places in Africa learned English. It's that simple
Really? I'm not buying it. My mother says crips instead of crisps, none of my siblings say crips because of her, we all went to school and live in a world where every English speaking person knows them as crisps.
White, middle-class, chuckle head Americans are not doing black people any favors by making excuses for bad pronunciation. When an Asian person says Robster instead of Lobster, they don't say they're paying homage to Revenge of the Nerds, they work on correcting their language because most of them have better discipline.
The woman who said “ for all you haters” in regards to the word “ aks” I don’t get that??… how is it hateful to ask why predominantly black people pronounce the word “ ask” this way? Some people correct others for pronouncing many words incorrectly. I’ve been corrected many times and have never thought “ what a hater” lol I grew up in the south and have never heard the word ask sound like aks because of an accent. .. I personally believe it is just what people heard growing up and it comes natural to them. My mother pronounces the “ rinse” as “wrinch”. Why? I don’t know..my grandma had a very strong accent, maybe she heard it growing up.. ( I don’t pronounce it this way even though that is what I heard growing up) Is it hate if someone was to ask her why she says the word that way? No.. they are just asking because they want to know. I hear black people use the word aks but I’ve never heard a white person use it. Southern or not. It doesn’t make it wrong, it doesn’t make it right ( the English history lesson 😂) it is just noticeable so people are curios. ❤
I have often wondered about this. And "aks" is used (from my experience almost exclusively by black people) over here in the UK too. There's a KFC radio advert playing over here at the moment where a girl suggests you "aks" for the KFC special deal. She's speaking in what I would identify as the accent of a black Londoner. And then that gets me thinking -KFC - fried chicken - a black accent.......is this a bit of racial stereotyping by KFC about who eats fried chicken??!!. Anyway, good to hear about the background and history of this.
I've always wondered this, but still didn't get an answer lol
aks someone why they pronounce ask as aks
Basically, it’s just a poor education thing. The s comes before the k therefore “ask” is correct.
Curious question why cant Caucasians skin comply with the sun?
Thank God someone asked this! I was just curious but thought people would get pissed because of the racial current to it. I don't assume anything about the person saying it. I know some very intelligent people that say it. I think it's wild that Mo didn't even know he did. It's just interesting. I like differences. Good answer! I don't think I care for the recorded answer 100% "Cadbury?" But I do think it's a cultural thing and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just used to ask. I still understand what they are saying so no biggie.
Hes just aksing a question to the blacks
You know some very intelligent people that say it? I'm 54 and I've never seen or met anyone intelligent pronounce it that way.
The truth is, it comes down to ignorance. It's not an accent thing, it's simply not correcting yourself when you're young. Making excuses just shows more ignorance and no, there's nothing racist about asKing why. The other word that makes my eyes roll is eKspecially, it's eSpecially and no, it's not necessarily racial as someone I work with is blonde and white and he says eKspecially.
No, they're not acceptable just because idiots on this show say so.
Oh, and another thing, it's eSpresso, not eXpresso.
@Blue How about you worry about what annoys you and I'll worry about what annoys me, and all you're doing is making excuses like I said. It comes down to ignorance from a very young age and parents and teachers not correcting kids. No, that's not a different version of English 🙄 Unless you consider poor english a different "version"
@Blue Accents or dialects don't explain poor english. Stop making excuses for people who say words improperly. If it came down to dialects it wouldn't affect some people in the same areas and not others. BTW, I'm not American and as I said, this isn't about race, this is about ignorance and very poor upbringing by both parents and schools. When my kids made grammar mistakes or said words improperly, I corrected them, if I were a teacher, I wouldn't let it go, correct them every time. My wife has an accent from the country she came from, I correct her when she gets some words wrong and she's often shocked and grateful to be made aware of her *errors.*
Also, I have no idea what you mean by "AAVE" and I've already said, the one guy I knew who spoke like that was white, not to mention my wife is a woman of colour. Ignorance isn't about race, it's about poor upbringing and sometimes culture.
You can try and make poor english about race and racism all you like, bull, it's about ignorance and laziness.
@Blue We're not talking about, for example people in the south using words like "y'all" which you can argue is an accent doesn't represent ignorance. We're talking a clear example of someone not being correct when they say words improperly aKsing and eKspecially. Also, you want to make it about race and you have proof all around that race has nothing to do with it, other than a lot of African Americans have a poor education on paper.
“it comes down to ignorance”
-an ignorant person
Anybody who tries to say its an old word and can still be used is a fool. Basically it's said by stupid people.
Definitely a colour/Black thing, as people in UK do use the "Arks" thing too. That's what brought me to this debate.
Not a colour thing. It’s a culture thing. I’m black from up north and I was weirded out hearing it amongst some London youth.
It's an uneducated thing
@@thinkhaven7902🤡
Funny, the first time I heard it was from a white guy in his 40s from East Tennessee.
just saying, just becuz historically certain wording is used doesn't really mean anything, since grammar evolve.
For example, if I go on the street saying 'thee' 'thy' 'thou', ppl will look at me like I'm crazy. But I'm speaking perfect English with correct grammar!
My point is not to dis AAE, but the argument that "it's used in the past therefore it's correct grammar" is not a great argument in my opinion.
I’m a teacher and notice it with blacks. Also ‘th’ at the end of words is pronounced as ‘f’ for example the word Earth, I’ve noticed a lot of black students say Earff . When I try to correct them they have a hard time recognizing the difference and when they do recognize, a hard time saying it correctly. I guess all their lives they’ve said it a certain way and it’s hard to change.
In all my 25 years in the US, I heard ask pronounced as aks by 4 blacks and one white. I knew not all blacks pronounce it as aks because our black boss pronounce it correctly. Before that I just assumed that most blacks pronounce it as aks from hearing it from their surroundings while growing up. Those others who pronounce it correctly probably was made aware of the correct pronounciation early in their youth.
Also any English-speaking person I know cannot pronounce “etc” correctly. Unless they learned Latin. They keep saying excetera instead of et cetera. Always annoys me
Oh I have hundreds of those annoyances, I could go on for hours. One great example is pronouncing vinaigrette as if it’s the word vinegar with an “ette” on the end. It’s not, it’s 3 syllables. I don’t know why but it drives me nuts.
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Cadbury Tales... LOL!
Also says 8th Century. Was written around 1400.
Some Pakistani people say twish,, instead of switch. And bipty instead of fifty. Also they say fulf instead of bulb and moth instead of mop. Fact that is. I worked in a DIY shop for a while and these things became noticed. 👍
At one point in the video they said it has nothing to do with a persons intelligence level or “status” .... yet at around 5:50 she’s saying the slaves couldn’t afford education and therefore, didn’t learn proper pronunciation of English. And now it’s just signed off as a “dialect.” But the root of Ebonics will always stem from a lack of education which correlates to less intelligence. Which is why there will always be that stigma surrounding Ebonics, in terms of sounding uneducated. The smartest move is probably just... if you don’t know, sound it out. 😂
Am confused, slaves were not allowed to read. They came from a variety of African countries and English was not there first language.
I dislike incorrect pronunciations in general. My white father pronounces Washington as 'Warshington' it is maddening!
Hahahaha
Lmaoo
soooooooo, according to white history, the right way to say is aks, yet the only people who say aks is black people
Consonant cluster reduction. When you pronounce a word with two or more consecutive consonants by dropping one of the consonants. “I put my tes on your des.” “Fity cent.” New Englanders drop the “r” as in “pahk the cah” or “mow the yahd”
Tell me the page and line number where Geoffrey Chaucer uses AKS. In one of his books.
The people on this show are so annoying holy crap. This is my first time listening and I already feel so cringed out. The letters a-s-k in the English language have one correct pronunciation and it’s not “axe”. Read these words… task , mask, bask. It’s not racist to say someone is mispronouncing a word.
The biggest problem with the word "aks" is that it literally uses the same exact letters as "ASK", rather than being a completely different word of the same meaning...
When the ear/brain picks up on a word that sounds similar to a strongly well established word, with the intent of expressing the same meaning, it will of course create confusion.
It's not that it's just thinly veiled racism. That's an inept and an emotionally triggered observation. But, it truly is a matter of fact that you mostly hear such words used in specific "zones". Not just one either. But multiple "zones", including those outside of the USA.
Anyways, regardless of whether or not it has a long standing history of existence, it's not something I'd judge and pass as a "correct" term. That's actually quite destructive in the refinement of the English language. Haven't we wrecked it enough???
You're just freely accepting and adding yet another redundant word (or noise) of the same meaning that also happens to sound less intelligible and confusing (because it litereally sounds like you don't know how to pronounce the word ask). It's one thing if you have an accent. That's completely fine and expected. But if you're native to the language, then don't adopt things just to help you stand out among your peers. (like the use of the word "finna":... holy shit i hate that word)
There are more inspiring ways to stand out. We move forwards, not backwards.
That's my shit take. 🤌
Digging ancient text or finding it's grammatically correct sounds like justification. It's not an explanation. It's not slang and it's not accent. It is a black thing. The word is not long or complicated to be about intelligence or education. And I've seen highly educated and eloquent black ppl. saying ax. So, it is a black thing. And it is curious.
"target certain slang, so harshly, other slang is fine" ?
Sigh, this is virtue signaling or sjw seeing racism in everything. It's NOT slang ! It's not targeting ppl. or harsh.
"black people owe you an answer?" Well I'm sorry for even asking a question. I guess I'm being aggressive. A bit /Micro.
You completely misunderstood this video, bruh.
Uhhh, did you listen to the vid my guy?
@@carelixacosta5601 Which par of ''targeting'' or ''harsh'' I misunderstood?
@@choledocholithiasis Sure did. What makes you think that I've missed something?
@@Aleksamson nah its nothing, don't worry about it.
I honestly never noticed anyone doing this until it was mentioned in my English class the other day.. know I notice it everywhere
“Decoded” is a garbage show, and shouldn’t be trusted by anybody
it's stereotyped as uneducated because it's the inverted form of the word itself. Just happens to be a three letter word where the last two constants are SWAPPED so its going to sound ridiculous anywhere.
It's not a south thing it's just that they do not hear the difference . So what is the instrument that cuts down trees called ?
I'm black and usually get mistaken for white over the phone because I speak properly. But, I do notice that older black people do say aks or axe. I don't know why they say it that way, but they are usually from the South. Just like the word jewelry which people say jewlery. Actually everyone I know say jewelry wrong. Maybe they should change the spelling of jewelry to jewlery.
I'm from California. I think it's a learned behavior. No one here has a Southern accent.
we are all influenced by what we hear . We speak before we read
guess where black people came from 😁
Even in the UK, a lot of black people say aks lol wth is going on
I’d like to axe 🪓 you a question 😂
My theory is that some African languages don’t have words where the “s” is followed by a “k”. It is a leftover from their African language history.
In the UK, black people say 'arks' instead of 'ask'. I have idea why this particular English word is pronounced so oddly by black people across the world.
Both are NOT correct . Black people trying to force THEIR mispronounciation will not work .
Just blame it on the education system
If you're that sensitive about being asked a question, you're the person with the problem.
"Like, 'Hi, Google'" LoL. This is exactly what brought me to this clip, saw a TikToc video that mentioned aks vs ask and I was like, maybe instead of asking here in the comments I'll just ask the all-knowing Google.
Interesting thing, that I never knew was a thing.
It's a super duper hard word to say and spell. It's spelled a s k. Not very hard to learn to pronounce. Go ahead and say "axe" when you're giving a speech or public talk or in a position of authority, meeting world leaders. Use the libary and see what you find.
I would not have used a clip from an expert who cannot pronounce the word Canterbury ! Incidentally MTV is hardly the authority that the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) is. They actually pronounce the word AXE not AKS and that is what people object to. Surely people are taught at school that the word is ASK. It is not just a Black thing as very many young people are now using this. I have never seen the word AKS in print.
do people pronounce "mask" as "maks"? I know one of my kids did this at a young age for both the word ask and mask. Was I wrong to correct them? I think a lot of kids don't get corrected and continue to say it wrong into adulthood. Like, I know a lot of low income blacks and whites who say libary instead of library.
It’s very annoying I work with a lot of black people and it just gets on my nerves. Just say it right!
They literally just explained that it's normal to say it aks...not annoying...it's just another way to pronounce it.
Laura S. I feel like that is being very generous.
@@dogsandcars202 but the woman who was speaking in the clip had the research to back up the claim. It's in the history books.
Derp D Nigga that ain’t racist one bit
Derp D I never said anything racist tf u on about?
I have heard two black people thats said aks instead of ask ,one was a coworker from Africa the another one is an African-American youtuber that I follow,and the guy is quite educated .
Unnn...No bro...it's definitely a black thing.
It comes from a certain part of England in the 17th century where they say I "I be" or "axed" for ask - it was also used by slave owners in southern US or any parts of the world where England had an influence
LMFAO....The even blame the fact they can't pronounce a simple word on slavery...My freaking god.
Black people also say betroom instead of bedroom. It cracks me up every time I hear them say betroom and ax instead of ask.
i thought this was a black british thing 😭 had no idea black americans said this too. i guess it’s just a thing. a lot of africans i know say that, as well as their children in the UK. doesn’t bother me in the slightest and i never pay it the time of day..
There is nothing wrong with the question it's motivated by curiosity, and there are no negative implications.
Some black people in England also mis-pronounce the word "ask" although with an English accent, the mis-pronunciation comes out as "arks".
Would people who say "aks" or "arks" also have trouble pronouncing the words "bask", "cask" "mask" or "task"?
I’ve always noticed that they say ambulance wrong They pronounce it like Ambalance At first, I thought it was a black southern thing, but then I send found out that it is a black norther thing as well.
So I married an ask murderer
This word would work for 1st person singular and plural, 2nd person singular and plural, and 3rd person plural. However, how would the word be conjugated to 3rd person singular (he, she, it)?
Listen to anyone from London, that are Black British, and you'll only ever here "aks"......its very much an inner city thing thats permeated from the Black British into the Asian British community in places like Bradford, Leicester etc.
Their tongue is attached slightly further back in their throats, thus, harder to pronounce certain words