Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 6 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 24 years, 7 months ago by
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I know I am out of touch, but why can’t I understand what a lot of young black people say? Words aren’t pronounced, speech is lazy and the only thing that is clear is ‘You know what I’m saying’ or ‘It’s all good.’ The worst part is, they all want to talk simultaneously on Ricki Lake. Do they hear themselves?
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Name : Sion, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 26, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,I have two theories on this, but they’re somewhat mutually exclusive and not applicable only to blacks. First, Americans love to talk, but they are awful at communicating. They just assume that they’ve communicated an idea effectively because they just got through talking. Never mind whether what they just said was comprehensible or made sense to the listener. Couple this with almost non-existent listening skills and you have nothing more than simultaneous chattering. I also think some young blacks mumble because they do not really want to be understood, especially by white people whom they don’t care for to begin with. It is as though they want to frustrate the listener, make the listener ask for clarification; then the listener is the bad guy because he or she didn’t understand! If someone, of whatever race, has something to say to me, and they deliberately fail to make themselves comprehensible, then they are just playing games, and I don’t bother listening to them. And some people just do not know how to enunciate.
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Name : Augustine23572, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,As an African raised to speak properly (I speak slowly and clearly, because I have a different accent), I was amazed and rather disappointed at some of the mannerisms of African Amercians when I came to this country. I was an avid viewer of all those talk shows, and I thought all the African Americans were all the same. What I am trying to say is that those talk shows do not portray all the faces of black America. Also, when all the athletes, rappers and artists speak in such a lazy manner or cannot speak without the use of slang, of course the youngsters will try to emulate them, in almost all aspects.
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Name : Ife, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : Miami, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College,My first word of advice is don’t judge a group of people by those few who appear on Ricki Lake’s show – or any other trash talk show for that matter. Jerry Springer has his share of white guests who shout over each other and mumble all their words, too. These types of shows cater to the lowest common denomonator in this country by having trashy people as guests. After all, who else would go on national TV to air all their dirty laundry? I’m sure that you would find that your average young black person is just as easy to understand as your average young white, hispanic, asian, person.
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Name : Lucy22383, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 26, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,One of the major reasons many people, such as yourself, can’t understand what young black people say is that they don’t want you to understand. Our young black culture has used the manipulation of language as a defense mechanism against those of the upper class and other ethnic backgrounds. It has become popular for them not to be smart or achieve in class because if they are considered lazy, the whites who are usually their instructors will leave them alone. My recommendation to you would be not to watch too much Ricki Lake; that is not a good basis on which to judge young black culture. Most of the people on that show are paid to act a certain way. That will not help you get more in touch with what is going on in the world today.
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Name : April23747, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/White, Age : 18, City : Alexandria, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class,I will only offer that you check the oral history that is a large part of who we are as a people. There are those who assimilate to the standard, dominant culture (white) way of speaking. That is fine. A time and place exists for slang/colloquial language. The key is knowing that time. When I come home from work, and sometimes when at work, I do not feel the need to speak the King’s English. Just know that dialogue, in various forms, has always been a part of what has maintained our people throughout history. No, it is not wise to go into a place where the dominant culture prevails (for example the workplace, a university classroom) and always use your personal form of communication (usually slang). However, language is one of few riches our people possess and fight to keep. Why do you think the poetry, the verse, the blues, R&B and yes, Hip Hop, were created? Popular media shows that there is acceptance of the ‘black dialect,’ but only when it is convienient for capitalist dominant culture ventures. Think about the shows you watch. The next time you turn on the TV, listen to the language/dialect. Much of what you hear today is slang – that which was created by our people. Check works by the following people and begin to get in touch with the roots of our oral history: Patricia Hill-Collins, bell hooks, Joe Kincheloe, Joanne V. Gabbin, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Beverly Tatum Daniel and many more.
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Name : OneIntellect, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Ypsilanti, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : College instructor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,I don’t think it’s just a black thing. In spite of the media slamming George W. Bush for his clumsy speech, the 20,000 or so votes tossed out in Florida got him the electoral majority. As someone who’s been accused of sounding like a character in the X Files, I know that people are less likely to trust you if you speak in complete sentences.
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Name : Mike20392, Gender : M, City : San Francisco, State : CA, Country : United States,
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