Why do more and more people say the word 'AXED' instead of 'ASKED' - main culprits are rappers

Answer 1

Because I suppose it sounds more "gangsta" another incorrect spelling of a word and further ill respect for the English language. It isn't new speak it's illiteracy, laziness and the break down of tradition in the pursuit of sounding cool. However Shakespeare had much of his own language and helped shape the English language as it's known or not today!! So you could argue it's just the changing of culture and society. Though for rappers using the word axed will in no doubt make them sound the angry rebellious individuals they strive to be.

Answer 2

The linguistics professor above me is right. It used to be "acs" in Old English and then it eventually became "ask." In fact, it was widely used until the 17th century.

In Chaucer's "Wife of Bath's Prologue" from 1386, he wrote " AXE why the fyfte man Was nought housband to the Samaritan"

I've been reading the companion book to the 2005 PBS documentary "Do You Speak American?" by Robert McNeil and William Cran and according to them, AXE used to be used among white southerners until the 20th century. Black American just preserved it. Here's an excerpt:

"The first generation of research surmised that blacks' speech derived from pieces of dialects brought by their slave owners from different parts of England. One example would be the use of axe instead of ask. Frederic G. Cassidy, editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English, notes that in Old English the word was acsian but over time the "ks" sound was reversed. The old verb axe appears fully conjugated in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde—axe, axen, axed. More than four centuries later, in the novels of Anthony Trollope, axe appears in the mouths of country squires speaking their local Barchester dialect. In fact, axe was used by Southern white speakers until recent years, when it fell out of favor because it had become such a marker for black speech."

It makes one aks (heh) - is anyone really mispronouncing it? The answer is obviously no.

Answer 3

I don't use 'axed', in fact - none of my friends or family do. IN FACT - I have never heard the term until this very question.
Its not really slang, its just a 'cooler' way for the young kids of the day to use.
Its not just with rappers its with young teens who want to use it just because it is the new trend. That is how these trends come around. The phrase 'whats up' overtime was built from teens in high school.

Answer 4

The variation between "ask" and "aks" is as old as English itself. In Old English (1000 years ago), the variation was common between ascian and axian. Indeed, it is the same variation that gives us the two words "task" and "tax", both of which are from Old English tascian.

EDIT: Actually the older pronunciation is not axian, but ascian. It is reconstructible to Proto-Germanic as ascian, NOT axian. The story that axian is the older pronunciation is urban legend to add further credence to the "aks" pronunciation. But both are old pronunciations. Ascian, however, is the original one (same goes for tascian; taxian is a younger word).

Answer 5

I heard Nigerian people say it long before rapping days. I guess it's like the German saying Ze for The, the Brazilian turning final Ls into Us, or the Italian adding a vowel to the end of most words

Answer 6

I am sure you have heard of the 'New York accent.' Well axed comes from that as far back as 50 years ago. It is a mispronounciation that has become wide spread and now NY rappers have spread it.

Answer 7

Less syllables. It works better with their poetry. Like when someone uses -lovin- for -loving-. Sometimes the "ing" doesn't sound right in the poetry, so the word is altered to suit the poet's message in rhythm.

Also, in common speech, it is less difficult than enunciating all of the letters in ASKED. In the southern US, -axed- is very commonly used.

Answer 8

So annoying that people have suddenly started saying this over the last 18 months or so. It's NOT big, and it's NOT clever.

Answer 9

God, I hate that, especially when white middle class british kids say it. And 'nucular' and 'ecscape'. Its ok if you're from New York, its a dialect thing but don't put it on, It sounds silly.

Answer 10

Should the word rappers not have the letter c in front of it,