Is It "Wrong" To Say That Someone "Sounds" Black?? (page 3)

Paralipomenon

I think people are just overly sensitive.

If you deny that many black people share a particular dialect then you are just in denial.

How else would you describe a dialect found primarily in black North Americans?

I see alot of people here insinuating that sounding "black" is sounding uneducated. Now THAT is racist. There is no racism in identifying a dialect, if there is I'd like to know what is the politically correct term for a dialect found primarily in blacks.

A derogatory observation I would hazard to say would be to claim someone sounds "ghetto". People really need to think about the context of expressions before jumping on the racism bandwagon.

Brother Apostate

Nope.

I've often thought I could tell what a person looked like from their voice.

I'm usually wrong, but it's still fun guessin'!!!

BA

Confession

Did anyone start a thread on the irritation expressed by some when Barack Obama is described as "articulate"? I've tried to understand this position. Truth is, I believe I have previously described him as articulate. Apparently, when this is said, some take it that this suggests "black people" aren't usually articulate and that his being such is so out-of-the-ordinary. Again I try to understand, but struggle with it.

I remember the first time I heard Obama speak. I was assembling a desk while the Democratic National Convention was being televised a few years back, but the TV was in another room so I couldn't see him--and had never heard of him. When "Barack Obama" was introduced, it sounded to me like a Middle Eastern Muslim name. But when I heard him speak, I was truly impressed--not only with his remarkably clear speech--but also with his gentle manner and clarity of expression. As a generally more conservative person, I was also impressed with the way he didn't use this time as an opportunity to beat his chest in front of fellow Democrats. He spoke directly to me about precisely the concerns I have about liberal politicians. He explained respectfully and succinctly why my opinions might not as informed as they could be.

From my position on the floor, I had to stretch my body and crane my neck in order to finally see the man who was talking. It's true that I didn't think I was going to see a black man. But this also demonstrates that my extremely positive impression of his speech and bearing--that my considering him "articulate"--had nothing to do with his race, since I didn't see who was talking for several minutes.

I don't believe there has been any President in my lifetime (I was born in 1966) whom I would say could be called "articulate." Maybe Ronald Reagan. But more likely Reagan (like Bill Clinton) is best described as "charismatic" than particularly "articulate." Lyndon Johnson? No. Nixon? No. Ford? No. Carter? Heck no. The first Bush? Not really. In fact, come to think of it, I don't know that any president I've ever seen or heard from historical recordings could really be described as "articulate" on the level that Mr. Obama is.

BizzyBee

The problem is that the un-articulate segment of the black population is over-represented in the media, or, conversely, the articulate segment is under-represented. Whose fault is that? I don't know - who made rap stars stars?

Even Miss Oprah falls into the street-black idiom and body language when she wants to get a laugh or act like she's "jus' folks."

Tuesday said:

I'm at a customer service job now where I'm on the phone all day, I can't pick anyone out as being black by listening to them. I guess I could pick out uneducated, and maybe age, but race has to be impossible.

I say: Then you are spectacularly unobservant.

TRUE STORY: Many years ago I was subpoenaed to testify in a rape case. The suspect had called the movie hot line (where I answered the phones) to find out what was playing at one of our theatres on a date several weeks previous. Before I told him, I went to my boss and said, "should I tell this guy? Why would someone want to know what was playing 6 weeks ago? It might be he's setting up an alibi." My boss told me I'd been watching too many movies and to just give the guy the info. A few days later I got a call from a District Attorney, asking for the same info. I remarked that I'd had another call like that.......he was very interested, and I was subpoenaed. A KEY PART OF MY TESTIMONY WAS THAT THE GUY SOUNDED BLACK. Sure enough..............

Bumble Bee

I deal with people from all different backgrounds/cultures/countries on a daily basis. I've gotten pretty good at recognizing where people are from, and enjoy asking people about where they've come from and what their homeland is like etc.

Only once was I thrown for a loop. A woman called, made an appointment to come in. From her speech she was definately from Jamica. When she came in I was expecting a black woman. She was white. So, she sounded "black" but was definately not!

Anybody could "sound" black, doesn't mean they are.

BB

AK - Jeff

There is no denying that in the US, there is a definite dialectual 'read' in someone's voice, depending on the area of his rearing, his education, and often his inherited racial voice patterns. To acknowledge that is not racial in itself, but to do so implying predudice would be IMO.

There is a white guy where I work, that sounds dialectually black. I think in his case it is geographical, as he might have come from another region of the country.

Anyone who knows me, knows I have not a single predudice in my heart. I am white, my daughter is black/white, my SIL is black, my cousins wife is black, and my grandmunchkins are 1/4 black. I love every damned one of them. But some of them sound black. On the other hand, they likely say that I sound white. I am not offended. I am white. I would not be offended if I sounded black to them either. If they didn't notice what I sounded like, or care, then that would offend me.

Jeff

Tuesday

I say: Then you are spectacularly unobservant

Eh, it's a phone job, the calls just kind of blend together after a while.

BizzyBee

I say: Then you are spectacularly unobservant
Eh, it's a phone job, the calls just kind of blend together after a while.
Gotcha' Tuesday.

under_believer

Seconding what Leolaia said, it's the idea that one dialect or another is "superior" or "inferior," or less or more "articulate," that is offensive. They are all just different dialects of English, with specific and quantifiable rules. In this case the dialect being referred to is African American Vernacular English, or AAVE. A very good description of AAVE can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English. So, that's my take--you can say someone sounds "black." It is "wrong" to say someone who sounds "black" is "inarticulate"-- what you're really saying is "people who don't sound like me are inarticulate."

minimus

This thread's the real deal not that "white" one.

Is It "Wrong" To Say That Someone "Sounds" Black??

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