why do so many blacks in the US mispronounce the word 'asked' by pronouncing it as 'axed'?

Question

I have noticed this phenomenon when watching the 'peoples court' TV programme, and occasionally when a black person gets interviewed on TV

this is not meant to be racist, just an observation. I am particularly curious as to why this specific word has the the letters s and k inverted when the word is pronounced by many US blacks (irrespective of which part of the US they come from)

Answer 1

This has got nothing to do with blacks. The work "ask" has been pronounced "axe" for at least 1500 years. In Old English, the two forms ascian and axian are regularly interchanged. In Modern English, we have the two words "task" and "tax" which have exactly the same origin as ascian and axian--they were originally one word pronounced two different ways.

Answer 2

nothing factual on that one. All though, during the days of slavery, the next step up from being African or a slave was the Irish. Whom i might add were near the bottom of the barrel them selves. and if you have ever heard an Irishman speak you might hear them say, " where ya be goin wih all that now lad. ' "be going" . well many of the land owners who used slaves hired the Irish to run the Farms, A proper gentleman would not actually work or oversee the plantation. so the "English" the slaves learned was from the Irish , who did not speak the Queens English! also have you ever heard a person from Japan speak Engrish, so solly, not crorecrt engrish. or a person from Russia or India they say willage for Village the Germans spell VW FolksVagen, ve understant you do not like ze vay ve schpeak.
The Tower of Babel Tell the Story , Look in The Bible.

Answer 3

It,s a black thing,as most of the USA are very bad spellers in general,I guess it is from watching too much TV and start reading more but (who cares,)since we are the richest and most arrogant,ignorant and self indulgent nation on earth who gives a hoot about a few misspelled and mispronounced words,or do we?

Answer 4

I don't think it's a 'black' person phenomenon, or isolated to America either.

Generally, mispronounciation comes from years of repetition - saying the word over and over wrong and never being corrected.

Or it could just be laziness.

Answer 5

Well, not all of us do that. A good majority of people who grow up in a community where many speak like that normally influence their young into speaking like that.

Almost the same as families who are racist involuntarily teach their kids to be racist.

Answer 6

hey, it's a regional thing. 'Axed' really is heard alot in the south [both white and black]. There are a great deal of regional dialects that sound funny from other parts of the country. The way you phrased your sentence isn't really a correct assumption....

Answer 7

a lot of the various mispronounciations you speak of came from the area in which they are raised initially - often it's the parents & passed to the children. various areas have people from varying cultures and it goes from there. my mom born and raised in the midwest can not say the phrase right away - it comes out rot away. we always laugh and tell her that's what fruit does in the fridge. her other it "tore-lit" instead of toilet. where on earth she got that from is beyond any of us!
it just happens. while i admit the axed and dropping of 's when something is plural - 5 dollars and 52 cents and it comes out cent is staggering - it' just depends on ther area in which you're raised.
here in the south everone is "fixin to take me a shower" where as myself fom michigan says - going to jump (or take) a shower.

it just depends on the area in which you're raised. BTW, we're "white"

Answer 8

Ever watch Everybody Loves Raymond? Ray says "axed" all the time instead of "asked."

Answer 9

people of all nationalities mispronounce 'ask as 'axed, also pronounce the T in often. I see this alot lately.

Answer 10

Well in many parts of the South and Midwest they say "Y'all" as a concatenation for the words you and all. Regional dialects I suppose.