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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This article, written by a black linguist, describes the use of "aks" quite well. Here is an excerpt:

[b]The first thing to understand is that, for black people, "ax" has a different meaning than "ask." [/b]Words are more than sequences of letters, and "ax" is drunk in from childhood. "Ax" is a word indelibly associated not just with asking but with black people asking. That sentiment alone is powerful enough to cut across conscious decisions about what is standard or proper.

"Ax," then, is as integral a part of being a black American as are subtle aspects of carriage, demeanor, humor and religious practice. "Ax" is a gospel chord in the form of a word, a facet of black being — which is precisely why black people can both make fun of and also regularly use "ax," even as college graduates.

Yet nothing can stop people from hearing "ax" as illiterate, which makes the word a small tragedy in its way. When a black speaker gets the most comfortable, the most articulate, the most herself — that is exactly when she is likely to slide in an "ax" for "ask." Immediately she sounds ignorant to any nonblack person who hears her, not to mention to quite a few black ones.

Yet I hope that my small contribution to the pro-axive literature might help some of us hear "ax" in a different way. The simple fact is that because "ax" is blackness, it has survived and will continue to.

And here is the link to the whole thing:

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/19/opinion/la-oe-mcwhorter-black-speech-ax-20140119[/quote]

All this time we've been arguing over two different words.  What a waste of time this thread has been.[/quote]

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