Has anyone noticed that Blacks in Canada ... (move, near)

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by e.ortega

A "black accent" huh........Wow that sounds really bad "Not uniform"? says WHO? Society??????

Why are people always trying to judge you by how you DRESS, SPEAK, LIVE YOUR LIFE, HANG OUT WITH?

Even if they have a 'BLACK ACCENT" what does that mean? They are GHETTO and don't fit in or belong?

I didn't say anything about judging a person by her/his accent. It's just a fact that many Blacks in America have a distinctive accent. That's all.

Btw, this reminds me of a similar thing with the Pacific Northwest. Blacks who grew up there generally don't have any discernible accent.

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by LuckyGem

http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~patrickp/AAVE.html

CAL: Topics: Dialects: African American English

It's AMERICAN culture, I'm sure you can understand that right? Which is why Canadian Blacks don't have the same "accent".

Thanks for the links. Even in the US this AA accent seems to be missing in certain regions, like in the Pacific Northwest, as I mentioned above.

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by sunpack

Neutre, what is it you are looking to find out? Blacks that are French, Dutch, Italian, etc., all having an accent that are distinctive to the country that they are in. American Blacks, have a much different history than most Canadian Blacks (or other Blacks) so although we (Canadians) share borders we have a different history.

Tell me, what is the "recognizable characteristics" you are are referring to?

You're right.
I can't really explain the characteristics, but there's this accent which when you hear it, you can be 90% sure that it's a Black person speaking. Some Blacks even seem to be able to switch it on and off. There's a girl I know who does that.

[chicken.or.the.nugget]

in my sisters Queens university textbook (i forget the course maybe pshychology?) they said blacks often speak a different dialect. Like a white person might say "he is tired" while a black person might say "he be tired". that was actually what the book said. Im pretty sure it also said that they may speak like that with their black friends, but then they can change it off.
a lot of black people i know have like black slang.

[sunpack]

Originally Posted by Neutre

You're right.
I can't really explain the characteristics, but there's this accent which when you hear it, you can be 90% sure that it's a Black person speaking. Some Blacks even seem to be able to switch it on and off. There's a girl I know who does that.

I am curious of your motive for this thread? Are you an employer that conducts phone interviews and wishes to know what is distinctive about all Black voices so that you can hire (or not hire) accordingly? If you are truly intrested in lingustics and phonetics, maybe you should enroll in a few university courses and get scientific, historic, valued and respected opinions on a topic that appears to be quite delicate. These forums, I have found, does have its share of slack jawed yokels

[sunpack]

Originally Posted by chicken.or.the.nugget

in my sisters Queens university textbook (i forget the course maybe pshychology?) they said blacks often speak a different dialect. Like a white person might say "he is tired" while a black person might say "he be tired". that was actually what the book said. Im pretty sure it also said that they may speak like that with their black friends, but then they can change it off.
a lot of black people i know have like black slang.

I am glad I did not attend Queens, if they have books like that. Do you honestly believe that all Black people talk they way White people are expecting them to communicate? I was taught to enunciate my words and to speak clearly and concisely. But you know, no matter where you live, you can choose your friends and people you wish to emulate. Maybe, "chicken.or.the.nugget" you should up the ante about the places you befriend people.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by sunpack

I am glad I did not attend Queens, if they have books like that. Do you honestly believe that all Black people talk they way White people are expecting them to communicate? I was taught to enunciate my words and to speak clearly and concisely. But you know, no matter where you live, you can choose your friends and people you wish to emulate. Maybe, "chicken.or.the.nugget" you should up the ante about the places you befriend people.

I know what you mean. Some people might describe me as "talking white". It can get old.

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by chicken.or.the.nugget

in my sisters Queens university textbook (i forget the course maybe pshychology?) they said blacks often speak a different dialect. Like a white person might say "he is tired" while a black person might say "he be tired". that was actually what the book said. Im pretty sure it also said that they may speak like that with their black friends, but then they can change it off.
a lot of black people i know have like black slang.

Or you could also say "he tired".
It's more about pronunciation though. Many Blacks speak with a flawless standard English grammar, yet they still have this accent.

Edit: I'd like to make clear that I try not to judge people based on their accent. I know and have met enough well educated people who don't have a standard mainstream general american accent or whatever you call it.

[sunpack]

Originally Posted by Neutre

Or you could also say "he tired".

You know growing up in Canada and then living in the South (Alabama, Georgia, Texas) for quite a while has equipped me recognize racial sarcasm. My humble recommendation for people of visible minority on this forum, is to let this thread die with the Neutre's and the Chicken.or.the.Nugget's of this forum. Ignoring the ignorant always works

[west_end_don]

Originally Posted by chicken.or.the.nugget

in my sisters Queens university textbook (i forget the course maybe pshychology?) they said blacks often speak a different dialect. Like a white person might say "he is tired" while a black person might say "he be tired". that was actually what the book said. Im pretty sure it also said that they may speak like that with their black friends, but then they can change it off.
a lot of black people i know have like black slang.

Wow. Really.
But you did mention Queen's University, so I'm not too suprised.

Originally Posted by sunpack

You know growing up in Canada and then living in the South (Alabama, Georgia, Texas) for quite a while has equipped me recognize racial sarcasm. My humble recommendation for people of visible minority on this forum, is to let this thread die with the Neutre's and the Chicken.or.the.Nugget's of this forum.

If you let these types of threads die, City Data forum would cease to exist! Honestly, like 80% of the threads are comprised of stuff like this.