Ax vs Ask

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's a pity so many contributors to this thread either can't manage to be articulate, or can't manage to articulate a point without being crude or vulgar.

So sad that your influence will inevitably rub off on your child.

And if you're the same person who keeps going on about how "vulgar" everyone's language is, it's a shame that you can contribute nothing more to the discussion than scolding anyone who dares use naughty language.

[Anonymous]

The point goes beyond naughty language when your only rhetorical tool is swearing. It demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect.

[Anonymous]

hmmmm...the language one uses "demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect." Isn't this the whole point of this thread!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hmmmm...the language one uses "demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect." Isn't this the whole point of this thread!!!

To some people. I don't think I'm superior to someone that mispronounces a word, but plenty of people out there do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hmmmm...the language one uses "demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect." Isn't this the whole point of this thread!!!

Precisely, and your improper use of !!! rather than ??? just proved the whole point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hmmmm...the language one uses "demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect." Isn't this the whole point of this thread!!!

To some people. I don't think I'm superior to someone that mispronounces a word, but plenty of people out there do.

Do you think people who say "someone who" are superior to people who say "someone that?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hmmmm...the language one uses "demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect." Isn't this the whole point of this thread!!!

To some people. I don't think I'm superior to someone that mispronounces a word, but plenty of people out there do.

Do you think people who say "someone who" are superior to people who say "someone that?"

Obviously not. I posted earlier that everyone makes mistakes sometimes. For me to feel superior over language usage, is for me to be embarrassed about my mistakes. No speaks properly all the time. No one. But, thank you, for the correction!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think we are all agreeing that the more favored pronunciation of "ask" is generally advantageous to a child's future prospects. (Has anyone implied that it's not?)

Is this really true? Prior posters, what say you? My impression was that the Linguist Cabal sought to proffer evidence of the legitimacy of the use of "aks" and thus by implication would take issue with such a statement. If I'm wrong, then I stand corrected.

Yes, it's really true.

I cannot believe no one has called you on this. Let's stop dancing around this and get right to the point, in black and white. To use "aks" makes one sound black. What you're saying the is that to sound black is disadvantageous to a child's future prospects. Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think we are all agreeing that the more favored pronunciation of "ask" is generally advantageous to a child's future prospects. (Has anyone implied that it's not?)

Is this really true? Prior posters, what say you? My impression was that the Linguist Cabal sought to proffer evidence of the legitimacy of the use of "aks" and thus by implication would take issue with such a statement. If I'm wrong, then I stand corrected.

Yes, it's really true.

I cannot believe no one has called you on this. Let's stop dancing around this and get right to the point, in black and white. To use "aks" makes one sound black. What you're saying the is that to sound black is disadvantageous to a child's future prospects. Yikes.

Sir or madam, I'm afraid you're not really understanding the issue and you're targeting the wrong person with your disappointment. What you said is true- it is racist, but it's not racist to say that it's true. It's a sad fact of life in America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_3mSW8XUZI
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorstruck/201009/whats-so-wrong-sounding-black

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hmmmm...the language one uses "demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect." Isn't this the whole point of this thread!!!

Precisely, and your improper use of !!! rather than ??? just proved the whole point.

seriously? any one can make a simple mistake. that proves nothing. repeatedly teaching children to incorrectly using the punctuation "!" instead of "?" would "prove the whole point" as you say. firing off a quick snark blog post proves nothing...nor does it impact the damage being done by teachers who just don't know better the core curriculum they are paid to teach (otherwise known as the english language).

p.s. - used lowercase on purpose...hope that doesn't prove the whole point of anything either. teaching kids to only write in lowercase might prove something...well, you get the point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hmmmm...the language one uses "demonstrates the inferiority of your intellect." Isn't this the whole point of this thread!!!

Precisely, and your improper use of !!! rather than ??? just proved the whole point.

seriously? any one can make a simple mistake. that proves nothing. repeatedly teaching children to incorrectly using the punctuation "!" instead of "?" would "prove the whole point" as you say. firing off a quick snark blog post proves nothing...nor does it impact the damage being done by teachers who just don't know better the core curriculum they are paid to teach (otherwise known as the english language).

p.s. - used lowercase on purpose...hope that doesn't prove the whole point of anything either. teaching kids to only write in lowercase might prove something...well, you get the point

You're not making sense. I would slow down on declaring yourself intellectually superior to teachers who say "aks."

It seems likely that you also have an "interesting" command of the English language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to believe so many people here are afraid to tell a teacher to pronounce a word in proper standard english. I think it shows a profound lack of respect for the teacher that you assume she could not change her pronunciation of that one word.

I have a regional dialect that drifts back whenever I'm in that region. In fact, I tend to pick up accents and colloquialisms pretty quickly, but when I'm speaking professionally or with a group of people not from my home region, I speak standard English, as do the people around me.

What if a white teacher said "ax" - would that be OK?

Why is it so hard to understand that it's not a race thing? No one is saying it's okay, they're explaining why she might speak that way. As 20:56 noted, "ax" isn't just part of AAVE, it's also part of some white Southern dialects.

Because it is a race thing. My husband and I are both have deep Southern roots. I have lived in the South for most of my life, and frequently visit various regions of the South for work and to visit family. Despite the linguistic "history," I have never heard a non-African American use the pronunciation "axe."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to believe so many people here are afraid to tell a teacher to pronounce a word in proper standard english. I think it shows a profound lack of respect for the teacher that you assume she could not change her pronunciation of that one word.

I have a regional dialect that drifts back whenever I'm in that region. In fact, I tend to pick up accents and colloquialisms pretty quickly, but when I'm speaking professionally or with a group of people not from my home region, I speak standard English, as do the people around me.

What if a white teacher said "ax" - would that be OK?

Why is it so hard to understand that it's not a race thing? No one is saying it's okay, they're explaining why she might speak that way. As 20:56 noted, "ax" isn't just part of AAVE, it's also part of some white Southern dialects.

Because it is a race thing. My husband and I are both have deep Southern roots. I have lived in the South for most of my life, and frequently visit various regions of the South for work and to visit family. Despite the linguistic "history," I have never heard a non-African American use the pronunciation "axe."

Oh hi, nice to meet the final authority on all matters.

Please read the entire thread so you can see the posts where people have said they know white Southerners who say ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to believe so many people here are afraid to tell a teacher to pronounce a word in proper standard english. I think it shows a profound lack of respect for the teacher that you assume she could not change her pronunciation of that one word.

I have a regional dialect that drifts back whenever I'm in that region. In fact, I tend to pick up accents and colloquialisms pretty quickly, but when I'm speaking professionally or with a group of people not from my home region, I speak standard English, as do the people around me.

What if a white teacher said "ax" - would that be OK?

Why is it so hard to understand that it's not a race thing? No one is saying it's okay, they're explaining why she might speak that way. As 20:56 noted, "ax" isn't just part of AAVE, it's also part of some white Southern dialects.

Because it is a race thing. My husband and I are both have deep Southern roots. I have lived in the South for most of my life, and frequently visit various regions of the South for work and to visit family. Despite the linguistic "history," I have never heard a non-African American use the pronunciation "axe."

Oh hi, nice to meet the final authority on all matters.

Please read the entire thread so you can see the posts where people have said they know white Southerners who say ask.

Serial posters and sock puppeteers do not count.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why is it so hard to understand that it's not a race thing? No one is saying it's okay, they're explaining why she might speak that way. As 20:56 noted, "ax" isn't just part of AAVE, it's also part of some white Southern dialects.

Because it is a race thing. My husband and I are both have deep Southern roots. I have lived in the South for most of my life, and frequently visit various regions of the South for work and to visit family. Despite the linguistic "history," I have never heard a non-African American use the pronunciation "axe."

Oh hi, nice to meet the final authority on all matters.

Please read the entire thread so you can see the posts where people have said they know white Southerners who say ask.

Not the pp, but I would say that that is most likely irrelevant to some people. It may be that there are white Southerners who say that but they don't live in the DC metro area. Here it is generally identified with low-income African-Americans. The reality is that there is more stigma associated with low-income African-Americans than, say, white Bostonians and even white Southerners (although there is a lot of northern bias against them too). It shouldn't be that way but that's the reality.