Where did your facination start?

in the black community, there is much debate about speaking "properly" and "keepin it real."

people from both camps either don't mind each other, or dislike each other..

some people who speak proper english are looked upon as "acting white," while the ones who are "keepin' it real," are speaking the way they are comfortable with, regardless of who is around and the sorts.

the rivalry exists across many races, but it holds a dear place in the hearts of some african-americans.

hope that helps


When you put it that way, it makes alot of sense. Thanks!!

 

honestly, some people speak and write lots of slang, but that doesn't mean they are "inferior." That same person talkin like a thug one day, could be that suit at the business firm, drafting mission statements, the next day. Knowing how to speak and function, in multiple environments, is another level of intelligence on its' own.

If your boyfriend uses some hood terminology, don't think any less of him

 

He's not my boyfriend...yet. I hope to change that soon enough, though.

 

A lot of people on this planet speak their language properly, and are very relaxed and comfortable doing so. Couldn't this also be true with many of the black people who speak "proper" English?

 

of course there are black people who speak plenty of proper english...

and there are plenty who speak "broken" english..

the problem is when the ones who speak broken english, are frowned down upon by the ones with a more sturdy, firm grasp on the queen's english.

 

Wetin you dey talk?

You say I no fit speak english?

Look! Don't try me ooo!

I go slap ya face, ya head go roll!!!

 

Good God, man! Control yourself!

Stop acting like a blithering savage!

I daresay you need some educating on proper speech and etiquette.

Indeed!

 

lol

funny thing is...

some people who speak proper english, simply do not understand what people from the hood are saying...

so..

they consider those types to be stupid morons...



however, the people from the hood know EXACTLY what each and every mofo from that area, is talking about...

but when you have the majority of the us speaking regular english, not "black english," people that refuse to adopt standard english are labeled with negative words and given such a dark image in society.

 

That's not a "black" phenomenon at all. People who speak any language properly will often look down on those who speak broken/swear/use slang etc...And vice versa... It doesn't matter where you are, it's the same everywhere. It's because the level of proper language is usually strongly connected with education and social background.

What seems to a black (American) phenomenon however, is that those who speak "poorly" accuse those who speak properly for sleeping with the enemy (acting white). Here they'll only accuse you of being snobbish or over-educated.

When you claim that "those who keep it real speak the way they're comfortable with", it seems to mean you believe that those who speak properly do not. I'm 100% sure that the huge majority of black Americans who speak properly, do so because it comes natural to them, not because they're trying to "act white". Just like the huge majority of those who are "keeping it real" speak "broken" because that's what's natural to them, and not because they're trying to fit into some stupid stereotype...

 

Yo, petty...What it do?

I feel ya, cuz...

'namean?

Brush dat shit off...seewamsayin'?

:lol:

 

:lol:

Learned a new line a few days ago. Kamtok though... of course...

Wattin be news?
Oooh , I'll be so good speaking pidgin one day

 

umm noo...

i was using that as an example, as to why the people who maintain the way they spoke, in their "hood," outside of it..

I did not say that imply, that they were the ONLY ones comfortable with a certain frame of speech...

that would be like putting words into the petty's mouth....

you can put whatever you want into it...as long as they ain't wurdz

 

No need to apologize, bookworm. (And I thought my screen name was funny.) You were actually complimenting your BF, but not in a backhanded way.

This disscussion started on the "Barack Obama and White Women" thread a few lines down. Some lady on the radio, when asked about Obama said that she was impressed by how well he spoke. "What the...?" This man is an accomplished legislator with a Harvard Law Degree. Of course he would be well spoken! How else is he supposed to sound?

 

don't worry babygurl, that's because some of us, like me, do nothing but sit at this website and wait for people to post things, so we can slam on em'

:wink:

j/k


on the real tho, make sure you research jellybird's previous posts, so you don't offend his delicate sensibilities

 

"yeah hoe, i'm on this perculatin' bullshiet...you know....becuz i gradumatriculated from south central harvard projects, people expectin' me, to be on some ol' bullszhiet about fixin' de ekonomics and whatnot... so i said, yeh boi, put me on the trizzy, so I can make rock this campaign off the hizzy *slaps the reporter in the face with his powdered pimp hand* - B-Bama, O.G.

 

lol

Dat's right! 'Cause one minute we're cooler than iceberg lettuce, and then without warning the jellybird "Hand of Death" will reach out and drag you into oblivion. :toimonster:

 

oh no, not the hand of death homie

 

:lol:

Ok, I didn't get that it was an example. I understand you now.

Still think it's a weird phenomenon though...

To be honest black Americans seem to really enjoy backstabbing and stereotyping each other in general. If it's not complaints about how others speak, it's about how they're dressed, or how fat and ugly their (white) girlfriends are... Got any theories of why you just can't seem to accept each others differences?

 

I do not have any theories, because I am not fit to decide why other people, besides me, do what dey do

:idea:

now, run wit dat ronja

 

I'll be honest, I like a bit of difference in speech/semantics. It's simply another way of communicating, and doesn't necessarily imply lack of intelligence. One of my exes (white) was English, and I didn't understand him half the time; despite the fact that he was speaking "english", it was a totally different method of communication - like the phrasing and different word usage (especially the rhyming, MistressB you know what I'm talking about, "apples and pears" lol). I've always loved languages, and languages within languages, so I enjoy learning different phrases/words and whatnot to express the same sentiment. I love it - like the first time my Latina friend told me she was "falling" for this guy, and I was like "Whooooa, you only just met him!" but then I realized she was saying she was starting to like him, not looove him, and I myself really enjoy that phrase now. It's a kind of poetry, you know?

Oh that was a long paragraph. Anyways, so I wanted to write about where my "fascination" began, and yes it is a fascination. Also I'm a bit tips so please forgive any rambling mmkay.

Until about 6 months ago I never really thought of black guys as an option. Not really sure why, it simply never occurred to me. Segregation is sometimes more a habit than a conscious decision. In a way, I'm happy that it happened as it did, because I'm very happy now with the way things have turned out. But anyways, if I'm honest when I was younger I developed a huge crush on Apollo Creed, both my mom and I would just watch him running down the beach with Rocky and be like "MMmmmmmmm." I should have listened to myself then, aye aye . . . But that's hardly a good way to begin zee description.

All my life I've kinda had problems with white guys. They never really matched me. I'm a strong female, and the strong WMs were sooo self-centered. Vanity can be good, but it was never good with my WMs. They were more interested in quantity than quality, if you understand me. That, and ensuring they were with a different Pam Anderson/girls-gone-wild lookalike every day of the week. The sex was always good at first, and then it sort of disintegrated into a give-and-take sort of thing. I never felt entirely present with a white guy. I felt outside of myself, like I was putting on a show of sorts. After a while, I'd get disgusted (due to lack of backbone and the whole mental battle thing), and break up with them. I dated some really great guys (both strong and not-so-strong) but maaaaaaan they were a lot of work. I always had the upper hand. I never liked them as much as they liked me. Again, I simply didn't match with them. They never satisfied my soul.

Then I happened to have a drunken tryst with a black guy with whom I trained. And that night, it was as if something in me opened. He was there and I was there and it was quite frankly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The play, the back-and-forth, the savagery, the tenderness, the extraordinary comfort he exhibited with just being around me (not to mention with sexxxxxxxx of course, mmmmmmmm), well I was just blown away. And the more I was with him, the more I realized how much I loved his attitude, his style, his confidence, his way of speaking, the way he acted with his friends, in the club, at home, the way he respected me, everything. He had more backbone than any white guy I'd ever been with (even the fighters!), and with him it was a personal thing but it was also a cultural thing, if that makes sense.

I hope I don't offend anyone with saying this, but there is a definite and marked difference between white and black cultures. Everyone's their own person, sure, but just as there are always cultural commonalities with a bunch of white guys, there is the same with black guys. The African-American culture tends to be so much more vibrant, so much more in the present, and so enormously less repressed. Get a bunch of WMs in a room and they'll approach each other like bristling dogs. Get a bunch of BMs in a room and seriously it is so wonderful to watch. I absolutely love the way BMs and BWs interact with each other, I love the appraisals, the play, the joking, the teasing, the back-and-forth, the community, the gossip, the choice of words and phrases, the sense of style and self, the confidence (both earnest and projected), everything. There's a sort of comfort with sexuality, with interpersonal relationships, with themselves that I simply adore. I respect it, and I know that everyone is their own person but to me black men just seem so much more alive than their white counterparts. Call it joie de vivre, call it je ne sais quoi, but every single black man I've met has got it, and has got it in absolute, delicious abundance.

So that's why I love black men. They match me, and because of this all my fears, all my inhibitions, go straight out the window. I will always thank my Teeje for showing me the light; even tho we're no longer together, he will always hold a very special place in my heart. And I know: the only man that I can stand proud next to is a black man. I'm not interested in other colors, if only because of the culture. Stereotyping this may be, but I know my heart, I know my soul. It finds answer in black men. And I've been calling for such a long time . . .

:smt056

ah remind me not to drunk-post again, lol . . .