I was just told by a white person that I have great pronunciation ?

Question

I am African American and I work in a call center should I be offended? Do white people think that we as African Americans don't know how to speak proper English?

Answer 1

No! Gee She gave you a compliment. I doubt she had any racist undertones....

Answer 2

Let me start by saying I also work in a call canter. People's don't know what race u r. if she knew that u where African American then u still should'nt feel offend. We as African Americans think the worst in white People and their motive. But the person on the other end of the line was just been honest, and like the way u pronounciate ur words, so don't jump on the defense so fast take at as a complliment.
Joy-Jesus on Yourside to U and UR's.

Answer 3

If it was over the phone, how would they know that you were African-American? Depending on where you live, some people have a dialect ;for example if you live in Texas you might sound diffrent from some one who lives in New York. Some people are able to speak without any dialect so that you can't tell where they are from. This is usually prefered especially if you are doing news reporting for certain stations. So to make a long answer short, no you should not take it as an insult.

Answer 4

Why do you think she knew or assumed you were African American? If she had any expectations, it might be just because she's been encountering call centers that employ people in India--some of whom are perfectly intelligible to this (white) Western US guy, and some of whom ... aren't!

But supposing that she did know:

Have you ever listened to NBA players talking to sports reporters? Have you noticed how many of the black ones are identifiable without seeing the picture? That's what is often called Black English.

I'm a linguist by training, and I know that dropping final consonants and simplifying clusters isn't any more sloppy or ignorant in Black English than it is in Standard French--as compared to Standard English and Provencal respectively: It's a feature, not a bug OR a benefit. But surely you can understand why mono-dialectal whites might think it is! (And why some NBAers who are bi-dialectal, i.e., who can "sound white" when they want to, don't do so in post-game interviews. One of the stereotypes, at least among white men, is that black guys are tougher.)

"Proper" English is a socio-economic concept. And given the way whites have treated blacks in this country, it's not surprising that Black English doesn't make the cut. But for a lot of whites, the Southern, Down East, Texan--all of which, like Black, "drop" their Rs--and many other Englishes don't make the cut either. So Black is in pretty good company!

P.S. I'm not saying that every African American speaks Black English. And as others have repeatedly pointed out, it's pretty stupid to assume they do. I *am* trying to make my points without any more side-trips than I think are absolutely necessary.

P.P.S. I, too, get complimented on my pronunciation and/or taken for a Brit. This is because I'm excessively precise and I have a wider range of speech melody than most Western US males.

Answer 5

How would the person on the other end know if you are black or white or yellow or whatever? Do you introduce yourself as "Hi 'I'm such a lady!' and African American" on your calls? I don't think she meant your pronunciation was good because your African American just that you speak well. Have you heard many of people who work at call centers? Half them can't speak correctly and the other half you can't understand what they are saying because their English is so bad.

Answer 6

Yes they do. But she did mean well. She was trying to be nice but in actuality it's like saying: Gee! It's so unusual to hear a black person speak proper English! The other "compliment" I love is, "You're so articulate!". I mean how would whites like to hear: Gee! Your so civilized! You didn't try to lynch me or anything!
I apologize if I offended anyone but I hope you can understand what we are trying to convey. If you don't compliment other racial groups for being "articulate" then you are actually saying that blacks in general are not. And that doesn't always come across as a compliment to most blacks.
Just an FYI to help improve cultural relations.

Answer 7

Yes, you should be offended. I'm white, and no one ever tells me I articulate well (I do, by the way, lol). Perhaps a quick to-the-point retort should be something you have ready. "Why thank you. I just love it when I break through the barrier of ignorant stereotypes." Maybe come up with something wittier than that. It's late. :)

Answer 8

No and yes. Thank the media and the lovely rappers and hip hop artists out there.

Blacks talk about other blacks when they "talk white" and they're basically making fun of the person. You can blame hip hop culture and the media for making people think that you don't know how to speak.

Answer 9

This is a tough one. I know your first instinct is to be offended---but just try and remember the woman wasn't trying to offend you, she was trying to compliment you, no matter how misguided.

And while many black people CAN and DO speak proper English, many more of them choose Ebonics and slang for their every day use. It's an unfortunate stereotype that is true to an extent.

Try to be the bigger person and accept the woman's "compliment" for what it was: she was just trying to be nice, even though she was obviously misguided.

Answer 10

Attention all non African Americans!

Contrary to popular belief and what you see on tv.....there are quite a lot of African Americans who are intelligent, have their own business, speak eloquently and are very successful.
The ones who end up in jail or doing the wrong things you EXPECT of them, brought that upon themselves because of THEIR behavior. Not because the entire race is corrupt.
Should we say that all caucasions are like Jefferey Dahmer who ate people....I think not.

The ignorance of people never cease to amaze me!

accept it as a compliment sweetheart, then move on. If it was a true compliment from the heart (great).....if it was sarcasm( then she has to live with her own ignorance).

Answer 11

Whether they want to be approached, or left alone is usually the difference between approachable and not approachable. Anybody could be approached in a hypothetical situation, not all situations are hypothetical though. Most people pick up on when somebody wants to be left alone, and when they feel like approaching people, they usually let people know by approaching people.