[Jim W.]

Pronunciation is learned. Why did John F. Kennedy say Cuber? Talk to a black person in London and hear how erudite they can sound. What annoys me is for people to think that correct pronunciation is a “cop-out” in some way. Correct pronunciation in any language identifies you as a learned person. If you wish to appear unlearned to others, use incorrect pronunciation in formal settings. I was in Arkansas last month and the grammar and pronunciation I heard from the average white person was remarkably atrocious.

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Name : Jim W., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Native American, Religion : Christian, Age : 52, City : Albuquerque, State : NM, Country : United States, Occupation : Retired-Air Traffic Controller, Education level : Technical School, 

[renata-grayson30136]

Keep in mind that Black people’s true native tongue is not of American origin. The original slaves who entered this country didn’t speak the language at all, they were trained by white people who couldn’t speak ‘proper English’ themselves. (Ask any pure Englishman and they will beg to differ over whites who mis-pronounce the ‘Queen’s English’ or whatever you might call it.) Somewhere between the white hillbillies Blacks encountered in America, the Englisgh-speaking people who couldn’t pronoune it themselves, the Quakers and Shakers who had their own brand of native tongue, and the native tongue Black people once recognized as their own, a cultural blend of many different languages became what we now recognize as ‘Ebonics’ and hold to as our own. It is, therefore, no more mis-pronounced than a Frenchman’s inability to translate ‘th’ into his own native tongue or a Japanese person struggling with English or a Korean or Hispanic person who switches back and forth between their native tongue and English, or even an islander who speaks ‘Pig Latin’ or has a Jamaican ‘slow drag, mon’ and these people understand one another even when the rest of us don’t know what they are talking about. It is a chosen form of communication with us now, and it is the language of choice when we are talking to one another. You might also notice that Black people can step out of this cultural language barrier and into yours when they are talking to white people or think it’s anything white people SHOULD understand. Other than that, they figure if they’re not talking to you and the other Black person understands them, it’s between themselves and the person they are communicating with. It’s not necessary for white people to know EVERYTHING we say.

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Name : renata-grayson30136, City : atlanta, State : GA, Country : United States, 

[Hurley]

Probably for the same reason why folks from Indiana say ‘Warsh’ instead of ‘Wash’ in Hoosier-speak, or some pronounce Oregon ‘Ora-gin’ or ‘Ora-gone’ It’s all about how you grew up. Maybe I could ask ‘Why do White People speak through their nose instead of from their diaphragm?’

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Name : Hurley, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 18, City : Berea, State : OH, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[J. Miller]

I have a master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology, and I live in the south. The phenomenon you have noticed is a dialect. It is not that those individuals cannot produce the sounds correctly, it is that they choose to produce those sounds as their peers do. It is no different than how some people say ‘ain’t’ instead or ‘aren’t’ or ‘jumpin’ instead of ‘jumping’. There are different dialects all of our country which vary by race, socio-economic background, and location. One dialect is not better or worse than another; they are just different. Also, I know many black people who change how they speak, depending on the listener they are attempting to communicate with. They may ‘talk white’ at work, saying ‘ask’. Then they go home to their family and friends and say ‘axe’.

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Name : J. Miller, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 33, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Occupation : Speech Language Pathologist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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