Alright...this is an issue that I always hear about. It seems that some blacks are told that they talk white, or that they sound white, and whenever it happens these blacks will usually take offense. They will usually say something like, "Just because I speak correct english doesn't mean I talk white" or "just because I don't sound ignorant doesn't mean I sound like I am white."
To me, I don't think there is a definition of what it means to sound black or white, but I definitely do think there is something that we can generally say is sounding white and black, not even dealing with speaking correct english or not. From how I see it, sounding white and speaking correct can be different...it is more in having a "white" accent than just speaking correct. Jackie Reid doesn't sound that white to me, neither does Kobe Bryant or Kevin Frazier or most people of that level. Talking white to me is more less the white accent, slang, laugh, and voice. Sayin "like" 5 times a sentence, stuff like "awesome!" "like, oh my God!" and phrases like that will classify as sounding white to me. So if someone is told they sound white just because they speak proper, that person is ignorant for saying it...but if they say it for the reasons I just listed, then I could agree with them. Also, there is nothing wrong with sounding white, especially if that is who you grew up around, I have a lot of friends who sound white and I joke about it sometimes but it is nothing serious at all.
I expect to get all types of replies, and I know some people may be offended or come with the whole speech about "there is no such thing as sounding black or white" and all that, so go ahead with it..this is just how I see things.
I dont really believe in the so called "acting and talking black" thing. Yes we has a people tend to have our own ways of doing things. When it comes to talking, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN TO CUT IT ON THEN CUT IT OFF.....My job is with working with the public so I do talk different then the way I talk to my bois...It's really commen sence to know how to flip between the two, when u think about it... :?
I say that all the time! say we're doing a project and some white person wants to say let's make it ghetto, let's act black. I say how can you act black or make it ghetto. Ghetto is a noun not an adjetive. i be getting **** off cause all they do is stereotype black people and everybody thinks it's funny :roll:
yea i know what you mean. i hated when i first moved to florida and i was the only black kid in my PE class and it was like they picked me first for everything based on the fact that i was black...i mean i was the best basketball player in the class, but it was my first day they aint kno me.
there is nothing wrong with speaking correct english!!! I say again, there is nothing wrong with speaking proper english!!! If you want to succeed in life one must know how to communicate with the masses. Speaking white, might be a problem when you say awesome , bogus, or DUDE where is my car!!! that is the problem. The biggest problem is the whole keeping it real deal! That is why african americans are in their present state. When someone is being proper or doing something positive , their is always a hater on the side saying "he aint keeping real"(speaking **** english) . The rap game is suffering now because of the whole keeping it real theory. What is keeping it reaL? **** , robbing, selling **** , not achieving my full potential, treating african queens bad, all the while disrespecting Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, W.E. Dubois, etc.....I WILL NOT KEEP IT REAL
Talking white and speaking correct English is two different things. Speaking proper English is using correct grammar, not using fragments or run-ons, or saying complete thoughts.
Talking white is about dialect and accents. It's they way they talk and how the words come out their mouth. We as Black people have a tone in our voices that no matter what part of the country you come from you can tell that is of African ancestry. It's not about slang, it's about tone.
where i come from, theyre both regarded as the same thing. if you enunciate, youre guilty of both "talking white" and "speaking correctly", but its more aimed towards "talking white". just because im black doesnt mean i have to talk like 50 cent...
im a former spelling bee champion, i used 2 read the dictionary, and i went to private school my whole life- if someone tells me i "talk white", i look at them and say, "so whats ur point?"
i bet my "white lingo" will help land me a job somewhere, thats for damn sure...
hmmm...
I'd say I do feel most of what you're saying....
but at the same time...some Black people really are quick to call the voice of a Black person who speaks correctly "White"...
some don't like to hear too many big words :roll:, y'know...
I think that's all of what it is....
it's especially apparent when you come to the South....NO OFFENSE 2 native southerners, but ya'll know very well as I that a lot of people born on this side tend to have more of a slack way of speaking...& so when a Black who articulates, enunciates, and correctly pronounces his/her words in the presence of certain Southerners...they start acting as if that person feels he/she better...or superior...when that usually isn't the case...
but yeah, some Blacks do just have that "valley girl/surfer dude"-soundin' voice, lol....and I guess that's what most Blacks mean when they say one is sounding White...
nothin' wrong with it as long as you're not jus' puttin' up a front...& be someone you're not....
yeah i feel ya, im a southerner...and like when I would hear a black person talking white...meaning more of the accent....like they say "broth-eeeeer" instead of "BROTHA"....or "what is up my ****"...instead of "WASSUP MY ****".....i would be like "GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE with that proper talk!!"....but coming to howard ive had to REALLy really break out of that stereotype that blacks who talk like this think of themselves better than me, are trying to hard to fit into white society, etc....cause actually the ones in my town who were like that were actually in a higher class than me and my friends and were HELLA stuckup.....but also i admit i use slang heavily AT THE RIGHT TIMES and because i choose not to speak correct english ALL the time, i see it as a MAJOR advantage because as my black english teacher told me...'IM BILINGUAL IN MY OWN LANGUAGE"...i can talk about a white person and he/she wouldnt even know lol....i can go from relating to the ghetto to relating to the corporate world and its a wonderful thing to have that gift because for the blacks who dont they may not can be able to cope so well and may not be able to adjust so well to all TYPES of blacks, ghetto and sophisticated...and to the person who talked about selling cars...
in some cases you may have to talk in slang to a person just so they can trust you in making a deal...ya never know...my grandmother had to switch in between proper english and slang in order to start her restaurant and i mean we shouldnt ignore our heritage/culture about the way we speak just because some races (white) may look down on it...mexicans/asian/african/etc have slang so dont be shamed lol just know when to use it
Talking white and speaking correct English is two different things. Speaking proper English is using correct grammar, not using fragments or run-ons, or saying complete thoughts.
Talking white is about dialect and accents. It's they way they talk and how the words come out their mouth. We as Black people have a tone in our voices that no matter what part of the country you come from you can tell that is of African ancestry. It's not about slang, it's about tone.
^^^ What she said ^^^
Even though not all black people may carry this tone of voice, in general, this makes a lot of sense.
there is nothing wrong with speaking correct english!!! I say again, there is nothing wrong with speaking proper english!!! If you want to succeed in life one must know how to communicate with the masses. Speaking white, might be a problem when you say awesome , bogus, or DUDE where is my car!!! that is the problem. The biggest problem is the whole keeping it real deal! That is why african americans are in their present state. When someone is being proper or doing something positive , their is always a hater on the side saying "he aint keeping real"(speaking **** english) . The rap game is suffering now because of the whole keeping it real theory. What is keeping it reaL? **** , robbing, selling **** , not achieving my full potential, treating african queens bad, all the while disrespecting Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, W.E. Dubois, etc.....I WILL NOT KEEP IT REAL
That's definitely true, although I don't think anyone in this thread ever said it was something wrong with speaking correct english.
From reading this thread, and remembering past experiences, I can conclude this...when a black person speaks proper around blacks who are less educated and stuck in the "act black/act white" mindframe, they may be accused of talking white. But when a black person speaks the slang, tone, etc. etc. that a white person typically has, and he is around blacks who are educted and can speak correct english, then they may be referred to as "sounding white."
So I don't think it's too many people on this board who will say an intelligent black person sounds white just because they speak proper english.
...There is a big difference---
There are blacks who purposely try to talk white to hide their blackness (Bryant Gumbel, 'Carlton Banks'[off Fresh Prince]) and there are those who talk proper without purposely trying to sound white (Oprah Winfrey, Tavis Smiley) and those who talk 'normal black talk' without sounding ignorant ( Judge Greg Mathis, P. Diddy)..........
People who don't like hear "big words" get confused, perplexed, nonplussed, discombobulated, etc. It just shows their ignornance.
Just tell them pick up a dictionary. Or if their too lazy for that, go to dictionary.com.
Exactly. My and my mom have really big vocabs. We use words that alot of people don't know. So when I say a word that they don't know...they say I'm making it up and that I'm showing off..what the hell? Whenever I say something I direct them straight to dictionary.com. Look that ****up and then report back to me...wit ya IGNANT ****.
