If blacks spoke African...?

Question

language(s) and practiced their old African culture traditions today in America, would you call blacks African American or Nigerian American,etc. if they knew where their heritage was from and still spoke english?

Answer 1

I think I know where you are going with this in general. It is my belief that blacks do not want to get absorbed into American society leaving our (past) culture at the door. It seems that being "American" is conforming to white popular culture (such as many asians and hispanics do) and minimizing who we are comfortable being. I think holding onto the term African American is a knee-jerk reaction to the pressure to conform to a culture that is foreign to us. To listen to Metallica, drive a pick up truck and put down the R&B and Hip-Hop.

I don't think that the name is such a big deal. Its just the sympton of a larger issue. Some say that we are being "separatists" as long as we enjoy doing things that make us happy. As long as we identify with our blackness we are setting out=rselves apart. Why can't we all just "be". Thats good but it seems that just "be-ing" is not being myself. As long as I am myself it is a reminder that I am different and not like the mainstream and that somehow is wrong. We don't all have to be alike, look alike, listen to the same music to get along. But it seems that is what mainstream america is trying to say without saying it. As long as you are different than me you are an outsider. Now it is not because oif your skin color but it is the clothes you wear and music you listen to (which is an even more asinine reason). What people have not noticed is that every group has a culture and giving up mine to take on the mainstream is unacceptable to me such as the mainstream imulating the culture that I am comfortable with. Lets just agree to disagree and have some Starbucks.

I think if Americans of African descent practiced thier cultural traditions we would be looked at as strangely as we already are. Our culture is already 95% based in European/Colonial things but we wear slightly different clothes and listen to different music on our free-time and there is a chasm as wide as the Grand Canyon so I believe if some of us were still practicing Animism/Voodoo and eating our traditional foods that may not be as paletable we would be having the same discussion today that what could of happened if we were more colonial, if we were more like the rest of americans. Today we are and we are STILL having this discussion.

I think If I knew I was from Angola and still spoke the local language I would be an American with Angolan ties. The thing is that america is not the typical monocromatic "country" where all of it's inhabitants look alike, act alike and speak the same EXACT language. America is more of a UN where no particular country can claim dominance besides the host country but the influence is only the baseline and from there everyone if free to be who they are.

Answer 2

Lol no affence but why does it matter?? I guess it would depend on if they came from there or not. Most black people who grow up in the United States speak english not African right? So if they came to America not as a citizen then they would just be what they came from. Obviously the U.S.A is a country, and say if somebody Italian was born here but was raised to speak Italian, I figure it would be the same with an African, a citizen of America, who just knew about their culture, maybe from ancestors..

Am I making any scence?

=D Whooo knows!

Answer 3

There is no such language as 'African',most African countries speak a different language from their neighbors but most can understand and communicate with their neighbors in adjoining states.Swahili for instance is mainly spoken in East and Central Africa,Kenya,Uganda and Tanzania. The people of Zambia and Zimbabwe speak Nyanja. In all these countries many people also speak English, a relic of Britains colonial past. Arabic is also widely spoken and understood.

Answer 4

As someone mentioned, the terminology for African American came about to prevent the continued use of words referring to color to refer to one's nationality.

African American was then confused for those citizens of African who became American citizens.

Please note that if you go to Africa and they ask you your nationality and you say, "African American," don't be surprised you get a puzzled look and the agent looks at the guy next to him and asks him (in French) what the heck is this person and the African agent says, "American" and shakes his head (as if you didn't know what your ethnicity was).

Only in America do we typecast so much on ethnicity. Lets just say we are American.

Answer 5

Hi there,
The bottom-line to your question is this, they would still be African Americans as long as they were legal citizens.
In South Carolina, the people were born here but speak Gala which is an African dialect...
Any person speaking more than one language simply means that they are Bi or multilingual...

Answer 6

I don't ask people to call me German American...

The term African American has basically just become a less offensive term for skin color than those that were used previously. It would be confusing and mostly pointless to go into such nuances as origin of one's distant ancestors to address others.

Answer 7

If you met any black african in america and called that person an african american then that person would not be offened, or they would correct you and and call themself african or american but hey why call them anything but friend??

Answer 8

if black people spoke African, they would be newly from Africa, unlike most black Americans who, like most Americans, have so many different cultures in their blood that they are just American

Answer 9

what a stupid question.
sorry im not going to waste my time and answer.
just think about this one sweetie.

Answer 10

sigh.