[R. Davis]

I am an African-American female and have found myself asking the same question. I do not have the pronunciation trouble cited in the original question. In fact, I used to teach public speaking. Articulation and enunciation are, therefore, very important to me.

I agree with the person who stated that it can be hard to overcome how family members speak. If you grow up hearing something the wrong way and no one takes the time to correct you, that speech pattern becomes second nature.

I can say, though, that I have heard non-blacks make similar mistakes, probably for the same reasons: Education, environment and even attitude. I think many people today don’t take the time to listen to how they speak.

Brian, I don’t know just how well-educated your co-workers are, but we do have models of great African-American speakers in our culture: Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell, James Earl Jones and Maya Angelou, to name just a few.

User Detail :  

Name : R. Davis, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 35, City : Towson, State : MD, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer/Editer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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