Why do some black people say "axe" instead of ask?

Question

I have lived in the north and the south and have encountered this in both areas. I have heard this pronunciation from virtually every black person that I have heard speak the word. Any thoughts on why this happens or where it originates. Also, most black people pronounce aunt as "ah-nuh-ta". I am just curious and am not picking on my fellow citizens, it's just something that I have always been curious about. I do believe in peace and harmony and I share respect for all my fellow men.

Answer 1

Interestingly enough, the Old English word for "ask" is "acsian", so in Afro-American Vernicular English (AAVE), ask is reversed to /aks/. This might reflect the influence from some African phonology.

Don't diss "axe", because "ask" comes from "acsian"!

Answer 2

While the pronunciation /aks/ for ask is not considered standard, it is a very common regional pronunciation with a long history. The Old English verb áscian underwent a normal linguistic process called metathesis sometime in the 14th century. Metathesis is what occurs when two sounds or syllables switch places in a word. This happens all the time in spoken language (think nuclear pronounced as /nukular/ and asterisk pronounced as /asteriks/).

Metathesis is usually a slip of the tongue, but (as in the cases of /asteriks/ and /nukular/) it can become a variant of the original word. This alternative version in Old English was axian or acsian, as in Chaucer's: "I axe, why the fyfte man Was nought housband to the Samaritan?" (Wife's Prologue 1386). Ascian and axian co-existed and evolved separately in various regions of England. The ascian version gives us the modern standard English ask, but the axian variant ax can still be found in England's Midland and Southern dialects.

In American English, the /aks/ pronunciation was originally dominant in New England. The popularity of this pronunciation faded in the North early in the 19th century as it became more common in the South. Today the pronunciation is perceived in the US as either Southern or African-American. Both of these perceptions underestimate the popularity of the form.

/aks/ is still found frequently in the South, and is a characteristic of some speech communities as far North as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Iowa. It is one of the shared characteristics between African-American English and Southern dialects of American English. The wide distribution of speakers from these two groups accounts for the presence of the /aks/ pronunciation in Northern urban communities.

Answer 3

Like any vernacular it's a product of the culture who uses it. I am a Black American and I say Ask not Axe and aunt or auntie. As did many of my friends.

However, I was also teased when I moved out of my culture (think the Cosby show type family) into an inner city school. Where speaking in the "black American vernacular" was a sign that you had not "sold out."

So it really depends on the sub culture you are dealing with. Remember Black Americans (like White Americans) are not Homogeneous.

Answer 4

This is not actually a racial issue, and probably not a cultural issue either. The mispronunciation of words like "ask" is a result of poor english education, usually found in poor urban populations. Whites, blacks, hispanics, asians... doesn't matter which race a person belongs to; if a person is raised in a low-income, urban environment, chances are that they have received sub-par english education, and therefore are likely to mispronounce words.

I live in a middle-class, suburban community. About a third of my neighbors are non-white. NONE of them pronounce "ask" as "aks." On the other hand, When I spend time in urban areas, I hear about an equal proportion of whites and blacks pronounce it that way.

Answer 5

I think the poster is trying to incite racist thoughts from a few others and anger from the larger community of those of average intelligence.

I say this because, as a part of my job, and as many people know, people of different groups (NOT racial groups, but regional subcultures) have varying ways of speaking.

If any of you watch the recent waves of reality shows you will remember in particular a girl named Kenya (who was african-american) who could not shake her incorrect pronunciation.

AT THE SAME TIME, a girl name Adrienne (a Caucasian) could not for the life of her pronounce one specific word she was supposed to repeat, in standard English.

The judges thought Adrienne was being lazy and not trying her all when it was FAR FROM THE TRUTH.

If that's the way everyone within 50 miles talks, that's the way YOU ARE GOING TO TALK. There's no way around this. Studies confirm that most people have strong ties to the ways, geography, and culture of a 50 mile radius to where they were born, and that's where most people die, approx 50 miles from where they were born.

Try saying "Gholim" or "Khoda" if you were born ANYWHERE in the US (except LA or Boston) and people who were born native speakers of that particular language would laugh at you. Even I, who learn to speak foreign languages when i was an adult, cant say it correctly, and i speak that language FLUENTLY.

Answer 6

The transposition of two sounds in a word is called "methathesis". This is a normal linguistic process that happens over time with many words. For example, in English, "horse" used to be "hros", "bird" used to be "brid" and, yes, "ask" used to be "aks". I am not sure, then, whether the use of "aks" in the language of black people is a methathesized version of "ask" or a preservation of the older form.

Answer 7

Is not about race...it depends on the location and the culture from where one is raised. Also many speak like that because that because every part of the world pronounces words differently.

Answer 8

I'm part black and I say "ask" correctly.. I know what you mean, though. As for some guy who commented, that doesn't make some people lazy, it's just a habit. I heard white people who speak in a very illiterate way (my old best friend).. It isn't just some black people...

Answer 9

Well, I live in Engand and have met many people (black and white) with different pronunciations of ask, so I don't think it's a race thing.

Answer 10

Some peope just were not taught to speak English properly and they were not corrected when they mispronounced words. Some say "axe" rather than ASK because they got LAZY with their speech and it was never corrected. I hate it when people say "liberry" instead of library. Or "warsh" instead of WASH, or "conversate" rather than CONVERSE. (many don't know that conversate isn't a word!) It's a shame because it makes people sound DUMB by their vocabulary.