2006-06-23 09:22:43 · 38 answers · asked by Justin Prime 3 in Social Science ➔ Sociology
it's more than slang. it's now common usage it seems.
2006-06-23 09:25:28 · update #1
it was not intended to be racist, i just could not think of anyone else that says "axe." and it's not a question of accent either. people with perfectly fine 'american accents' still say "axe." i just don't get it.
2006-06-23 10:00:41 · update #2
also, i thought it was relatively new. so the idea of it being passed down from generations before seems odd.
2006-06-23 10:01:23 · update #3
It's not just black people. I've heard people from New Orleans say it and also people from Tennessee (Where I'm from, unfortunately.)
They also say excape instead of escape.
It's easier to say axed than asked. Just something that people do!
2006-06-28 06:15:12 · answer #1 · answered by Brackalicious 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Andrea M, Obenf*cker, and KGB whatever are two examples of why there's a racial divide in this country. I dare both of those people to go up to that one black "friend" that they claim to have or to any black person an tell them the answers they have just written in the privacy of their computers...................................................
Sorry, it had to be said. But I do believe it is a regional thing from the East Coast. You will hear Bostonians and other New Yorker's use this term. The thing with us black people is we for styles sake will take a word, flip it, change the meaning, and make it cool. By your replies you can see that obviously makes some people shall we say, envious. If you think about it though, our language is slang. The pronunciation of 98% of our words are not the way the English pronounce them. The only thing that''s different is those words are accepted by the majority so it's not considered slang.
2006-06-23 11:41:52 · answer #2 · answered by mark b 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No all of us speak that way, so please don't stereotype.
For some they were never corrected by their parents (or anyone else); some think it's cool, and some simply don't know any better.
I've found that if you correct people that are speaking to you when they say something improperly, they will either try harder to get it right or stop talking to you.
I don't speak slang or ebonics, I don't understand it and I don't want to hear it. Quite frankly, I'd rather the person that doesn't take the time to articulate, not talk to me at all.
Also note, we are not the only people the misuse the english language!
2006-06-23 09:33:02 · answer #3 · answered by Dancer3d 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, it isn't a "black thing" ....it is the New York City pronunciation of "ask"....it's actually a "city thing". BTW...I find how others talk very charming...everyone has their own speech broken down geographically as well as with our "breeds" (I really do not like the term race....humans are actually a breed of animal, like dogs and cats...and with dogs there are rotweillers, pit bulls, poodles, hounds, etc....same with humans). I am assuming you are asking this question solely for curiosities sake and I don't think you meant it to be racial.....?
Listen to the song "Don't Ask Me Why" by Billy Joel...he deliberately pronounces it "axe" because he's from NYC.
2006-06-23 09:31:56 · answer #4 · answered by auntcookie84 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just like people from Southern England who drop their H's.
And Bostonians who drawl (pahk the cah dahling)
And Chinese people who don't say R's (Flied Lice, anyone?)
And people from Connecticut with their damned "mAm" instead of Mom
And Indians who can't say W (Vierd)
Seriously, the Axe thing appears to be a Caribbean thing to me, not Black people.
2006-06-23 09:35:14 · answer #5 · answered by jodraven03 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's just the way they pronounce it.
We pronounce things differently from English people. We say "Urb" when it's suppost to be "Herb".
Same difference. Doesn't matter. It's America....who cares.
Now if you can't understand what they are saying that is another issue. BUT Clearly you can understand that axe means ask........so no harm no foul.
2006-06-23 09:29:17 · answer #6 · answered by hisgirl 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why do people ask "Why do
Answer: because the person asking the question is a racist idiot.
2006-06-23 09:31:48 · answer #7 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's just a regional dialect. It originates from the blacks who live in the south. Ones who further their education usually figure out they are saying it wrong and work on saying it right.
2006-06-23 09:25:56 · answer #8 · answered by WiserAngel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ebonics
2006-06-23 14:54:40 · answer #9 · answered by delacroix 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't just blacks.
Many people mispronounce words. In part it falls under the "changing nature of language."
I prefer to worry about more important things.
2006-06-29 15:43:31 · answer #10 · answered by hhabilis 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋