How come black people use "were" and "was" incorrectly all the time?

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: spidey07
I guess nobody gets the joke of this post and poll?

and that is?

That the whole post and poll has poor grammar. I thought it was a joke.

 

[MichaelD]

This thread is still going? I'm surprised it's not locked.

 

[atom]

Originally posted by: Lifer

Originally posted by: atom
You think "Me and my boys..." is proper grammar, I don't think you should be critisizing other people's grammar.

When did I ever say it was correct grammar?
I was just quoting someone

From your first post.

When the proper way to say it is -

"Me and my boys were just chillin'.

So not only do you not know grammar, you don't have a very good short term memory either. TY, come again.

 

[Netopia]

<<<FONT size=3>This thread is still going? I'm surprised it's not locked. >>

Why? No one is throwing hate around and there is actually educational exchange going on.

Joe</FONT>

 

[thebestMAX]

You think I dont get the joke???

 

[BmXStuD]

stfu and dont post anymore thks.

 

Daaaaaaaaaaamn! You're good, Netopia. You took away my thought. Basically, you correctly explained the technicality of "you" in singular versus plural form. So yes, "you all" isn't the proper grammar structure. Your other expressed views are intellgent and accurate too.

"There are many educated 'white' people that say things like learnt, baught, gots, and tons of other absurd things."

Huh? Since when did "learnt" enter your list of improper grammar? I say "learnt" (a variant of "learned" but proper) all the time. If you aren't convinced, try the Oxford English Dictionary. As for the rest, I agree. The same applies to "spelt" and other words that I forget at the moment.

You know, I hear Americans say "I says". As far as I know, that is improper grammar. It should be "I say", not "I says". I am so confused sometimes because of improper grammar even by teachers, so it is passed on as proper grammar.

Yukichigai, I see what you're saying. It does make sense, since the same pattern is noted in third world nations with a measure of colonisation. However, I do think that at this point the people who use "Ebonics" are in two categories: The wannabes (i.e., they think it's cool) or people who grew up in that background and naturally blend 'cuz that is the language they always knew or the only dialect that their family members could speak.

 

[friedpie]

So the phrase "You all" is not grammatically incorrect?

"You all" is 2nd person plural.

 

[friedpie]

Originally posted by: PatboyX
grammar is really just a construct to help us understand each other. especially in spoken communication, it becomes clear just how arbitrary it can be. if you understand what is meant by "me and my boys was just chillin'" than isnt that enough?

That should be "then isn't that enough."

A lot of people get "then" and "than" mixed up.

But I smell what you're cooking any damn way.

 

[MrColin]

Here's a quiz!

Anyone want to guess what "fi'nto"(pronounced fintoo) and "jeet" mean?

BTW Both of these come from white southeastern USA tongue.

To address the poll, have you ever noticed that in less segregated communities where the schools get even-handed funding between the black and white neighborhoods that the ebonics aren't so heavy?

 

[friedpie]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
This thread is still going? I'm surprised it's not locked.

Oh lord, thought and speech police!

 

[alkemyst]

fixing to (Louisiana is where my brother is)

jeet I am not sure but I think I have heard it.

 

[PatboyX]

DAMN THE MAN!
i always make the then and than mistake.

and i tried so hard to make sure i got everything right on that post. i guess i should really keep up with my parsing...its only been a month and ive begun getting foggy.

 

[PatboyX]

another thing: why hasn't this been locked? i feel if i posted this topic it'd have been destroyed within seconds. (but i am very paranoid). what makes something worth locking?

 

[speed01]

Jeet = Did you eat? As in Q- Jeet yet??
A- Note.
Q- Yawnto?
A- Aight.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: speed01
Jeet = Did you eat? As in Q- Jeet yet??
A- Note.
Q- Yawnto?
A- Aight.

Damn, if they're really that hard to understand, be sure to remind me never to visit that part of the US. I have enough trouble understanding some of the inbred rednecks in this part of the country. :disgust:

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: PatboyX
another thing: why hasn't this been locked? i feel if i posted this topic it'd have been destroyed within seconds. (but i am very paranoid). what makes something worth locking?

In OT it usually only gets locked when things get personal. Check out the Tupac thread and how a certain idiots degraded the whole thing. Notice to how they avoid questions also.

Those types of people get so p1ssed at the world because they are nobodies, it's sad, but at least here they can imagine themselves as something special.

 

[phatj]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
(Cue highbrow explaination)

It can be traced back to the origins of African-Americans. As the name suggests, they come from Africa. I seem to recall that the majority of languages spoken there do not have different conjugations of "to be" for singular and plural cases, past tense or otherwise. This is why you get phrases like "you straight be trippin', fool," instead of "you straight are trippin', fool." It was how they spoke way back when and it's been passed down ever since. Don't ask me how it became cool though.

Incidentally you can trace a lot of accents like that. For example most of the Minnesota area was settled by Nordic speakers, (Norway, i.e. "Orgen blurgen flurgen" and whatnot) hence the stereotypical Fargo accent.

thats straight funny son

 

[imported_Papi]

wow this thread isn't locked yet?


hi!

 

[phatj]

Originally posted by: Walleye

Originally posted by: Lifer
Do they really have bad grammar?
Or do they do it because they think it sounds cool and ghetto?

Example: I was just watching "Making the Band II" on MTV.
And they say something like -

"Me and my boys was just chillin'.

When the proper way to say it is -

"Me and my boys were just chillin'.

dont make the mistake that all black people are that way.

just the idiots who think sh1t like this is culture. same idiots who promote Kwanzaa, and BET. it's really pathetic...

Where is White Entertainment Television? Or American Indian or German Entertainment Television? No doubt fa sho.

 

[KaBudokan]

As an eighth grade English teacher in an inner city school, I guess I could chime in here.

A few people were right (IMO) when they posted that this "dialect" is a legitimate form of communication. It is generally related to socio-economic status and not race. The school I teach in is about 70% Latino and 29% Black, and nearly all the kids speak this way. 95% of our students also receive a free or reduced price lunch.

Those of you equating a certain way of speaking with intellectual capacity are the only ones showing your ignorance here. Even those of you saying that these people are using improper "grammar" are incorrect. Their usage is incorrect, but as a few people pointed out, grammatically what they are saying is perfectly comprehensible and appropriate.

What I try to teach my students is that there are different registers of communication in society. In many circles, their ingrained speech patterns are certainly appropriate, and speaking in the upper-middle class register would be clearly disadvantageous. At the same time, it is vital for them to learn that once they are outside of these circles, using these forms of communication will hurt their chances of ever being successful. That is the simple reality of the world, and I clearly try to communicate this to my students. It only takes reading through this thread to see what the perception of upper-middle class society is toward those who speak in a "lower-class register."

Some of my students who have trouble speaking in the upper-middle class register could easily out-think most of the people here.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

Fo shizzle my nizzle, this thrizzle is off the heezy fo sheezy.

/removes low-hanging FUBU pants
/runs around wildly

Dawg, I be all up in this hijackin like a mofo!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

- M4H

Pepsi, the choice of a new generation!

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Incidentally you can trace a lot of accents like that. For example most of the Minnesota area was settled by Nordic speakers, (Norway, i.e. "Orgen blurgen flurgen" and whatnot) hence the stereotypical Fargo accent.

Is that Fargo, Minnesota?

 

[imported_Mike]

that is one of the dumbest questions....

how come texans say y'all?

 

[fredtam]

Originally posted by: KaBudokan
What I try to teach my students is that there are different registers of communication in society. In many circles, their ingrained speech patterns are certainly appropriate, and speaking in the upper-middle class register would be clearly disadvantageous. At the same time, it is vital for them to learn that once they are outside of these circles, using these forms of communication will hurt their chances of ever being successful. That is the simple reality of the world, and I clearly try to communicate this to my students. It only takes reading through this thread to see what the perception of upper-middle class society is toward those who speak in a "lower-class register."

Some of my students who have trouble speaking in the upper-middle class register could easily out-think most of the people here.

The only dialect that truly blends any African language with English is Gullah. The speech and grammar patterns which you refer to and promote are a sign of laziness in the same way that cussing is used as filler. This is not a race specific statement since as previously stated there are plenty of whites, hispanics, and asians who have adopted it. It is no wonder that we trail the world in math and sciences because your students are taught that it is just fine to slack on their speech and grammar which they need to properly understand other sujects. You will argue that you said it was only appropriate within their social circles but that is where they spend most of their time and that bad english is what is etched in their mind. You will surely assume I am some backwoods racist idiot but as I type this we are lowering test standards
so kids that can't understand them can score higher. The lower economic class that you speak of were making significant gains on these same test until bad english became cool. Now the test are suddenly "racially biased" because they are not translated into ghetto speak. Instead your students should be taught to use proper speech and grammar at all times and maybe it would catch on. They may get accused of talking "white" but they will be better off in the long run because their free and reduced lunches will come to an end sooner than they think and they will need to get a job to buy their own and most employers seek people with good communication skills. Employers are not being biased toward low income people and I am not saying that good english is going to lead all of them to the American dream (now a pimped out Escalade) but I should be able to understand them at the drive-thru and they should be able to understand me. Nothing irratates me more than getting home and realizing my order is F'd up. For your enjoyment I threw in a couple of run-on sentences, spelling mistakes, improper punctuation, and I think I began a sentence with a preposition.