Why do some people, mostly blacks, mexicans, and Puerto Ricans say "AKS" instead of the proper word "ASK."

Question

Is it due to their native language, except for blacks. Or is it our educational system?

Answer 1

As Steve T noted, there is a long history to this word. But we should also note the specific DIALECTS which historically used this pronunciation.

At any rate, "aks" did not originate from an ignorant mistake. Rather, it is simply a dialectal variation within English. In fact, BOTH "aks" and "ask" are found in Old English and in the Middle English writing of Chaucer.

Most important for understanding why SOME Americans say "aks" -- In 17th century England, "aks" was the standard in one of the four major British dialects of the early Amercan settlers.

"From 1642-1675 the Royalists, also called Cavaliers, fled from the south and southwest England with their indentured servants and settled in Virginia when the English Civil War against Charles I began. They brought with them their south England drawl (a drawing out of the vowels); they also brought such phrases as aksed (instead of asked), and ain't (instead of isn't). Royalists later settled the Carolinas as well. Southern English speech laid the foundation for the development of American Tidewater speech, or Coastal Southern English."
http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling201/test3materials/AmericanDialects.htm

Since it was this group that held most of the black slaves, their dialect --including "aks"-- is the source of that pronunciation among certain parts of the black population today.

Answer 2

I always thought saying ask as aks was a southern thing not due to people's skin color.

Get used to the people in the world not pronouncing words the "proper way."

Answer 3

It's just dialect. different people from different parts of the countr and cultural backgrounds have different pronounciations,

I am a caucasian female and have been corrected many times for mispronouncing the word ASK.

This can be attributed to many things, such as te neighborhood I grew up, Speech problems from the past, or simply from speaking too fast.

In case your wondering, I also mispronounce the word Drawer.

Answer 4

The "sk" sound is harder to make. Add that to a difference in dialect. Plus, the "sk" sound is more common in Germanic languages like English than it is in Romance languages---and when it is there, there's a slight difference in pronunciation. Those three letters together are almost unheard of in Romance languages.

Answer 5

It is not a color thing it is proper grammar! If you have been around white people you have heard it pronounced the same way. Everyone does not speak correct grammar.
Why didn't you ASK this question the way you really wanted to?
Are you saying that white folks are the only race that pronounce this word correctly. If so maybe you all are not saying it correctly. Have you ever thought of that sweet pea!

Answer 6

It's just the natural way of pronouncing things - metathesis.

The pronunciation of ask as /æks/ goes back to Old English days, when ascian and axian/acsian were both in use.

According to OED, ax was the regular literary form until nearly 1600

Answer 7

Unfortunately, it is because of popular culture. The earliest that I can remember was the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, when it was considered cool. With that type of mass media, it caught on rather quickly. Now, it has become a cool way to speak. The bottom line is if you want to fit in, you don't want to talk properly.

Answer 8

It's just a dialect thing. I know some white people from midwest U.S. who pronounce milk like "melk". And some people who say "breafast" instead of breakfast. Now as to whether that's regional or cultural, I don't know.

Answer 9

I would say that it is a form of dyslexia, but dyslexia has nothing in particular to do with blacks, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans, so I guess my answer shouldn’t cover your racist feelings.

Answer 10

Don't punish yourself. Think of it like this. The gardening tool a prostitute uses is a ho hoe and it's always better to get the whole hole instead of only half a hole. Accidents happen. :)