axe they questions.

i just really want to know...

My friend and I have talked about this topic many times before but I was just reminded of it via Kanye West's Twitter (seriously, if you haven't check it out, do it.. it's pure entertainment) and a co-worker's comment. I just want to know why African-Americans who speak in ebonics say "axe" instead of "ask" and "they" instead of "their."

ex 1) "I don't know where this letter has to go.. I'm going to axe the receptionist."
ex 2) "Why do they have to make they passwords so long?"

Why would you axe the receptionist. That is just unnecessary violence in the office, friend. All kidding aside, I understand it's a lingo and I actually genuinely think the idea of "ebonics" is really fascinating but while I can stomach the double-negatives ("there ain't no milk!) and the replacement of "y" with "ch" and shortening of verbs ("whatCHu gon' do?"), I just don't understand why they cannot say, "ask." I mean, they say "mask" just fine? They don't go around saying "did you buy a max for Halloween?" So why, in heavens name, can't they say A-S-K? Someone enlighten me.

The same goes for "they." At first, I used to think this was because they can't (rather, didn't want to) pronounce "their" with the "r" sound at the end. Then, I realized they don't say "hey" instead of "hair"! You don't see women shouting, "gurl I'm gon' git ma hey done!" If anything, they'd said "hurrr" right? So why don't people say "thurrr" instead of "they" for "their?"

Does any of this make sense? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to degrade or belittle African-Americans and this manner of speaking in any way. As aforementioned, I am quite fascinated by ebonics. I think this post hits the heart of my fascination; I just don't have a grasp on it. There are no rules to it; you just have to listen and memorize. It's actually super genius if you think about it. Where did it start and why and how has it developed over the years? I took a communications course in college that touched upon the study of ebonics and it was probably the most interesting part of the class.

My friend, who is Korean-American but grew up and went to school with primarily African-Americans, throws out a phrase or 2 (or 9) in ebonics from time-to-time. He's an investmant banker so it's pretty funny when he does this dressed in his glasses and suit. It really makes a person stand out; not to mention, everything is 10x funnier said in ebonics! Does anyone else feel me on this?

Please, don't call me a bigot. I'm just voicing what I bet a lot of folks are thinking.

Cheers,

Cheryl

PS: If anyone is interested: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ebonics.