Is "Talking White" Actually A Thing?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2018
- The phenomenon of "talking white," or changing your voice to sound more like a white person, is having a real media moment right now. Upcoming films "Sorry to Bother You" and "BlacKkKlansman" both feature black men appearing to be white over the phone. But does it work?
Learn more about Olivia Kang's project on implicit bias: outsmartinghumanminds.org/
The INSIDER team believes that life is an adventure! Subscribe to our channel and visit us at: thisisinsider.com
INSIDER on Facebook: / thisisinsider
INSIDER on Instagram: / thisisinsider
INSIDER on Twitter: / thisisinsider 
Животные
“If you speak in a Southern accent, people automatically want to deduct 100 IQ points.” -Jeff Foxworthy
Or +100 if you speak in British accent 😂
James Miller Especially if that’s the “gold standard” for the language, no? The people of the Midwestern USA speak a dialect that predates the American Revolution and was spoken on both sides of the pond. I don’t mean to sound racist or anything, but how come that isn’t the standard if it hasn’t really changed?
Elliott Ness Perhaps that’s why people are less keen on hiring people who talk in their accent.
@Elliott Ness BS
@Elliott Ness en out utyy
Host: "Can you tell my race just from hearing my voice?"
Me: "Yes, you're gay."
Host: "Correct."
Me: "I knew it."
I love this
Lol funny
lmfaoo why is this so funny
Lol
I see what you did there, but gay is not a race.
I hear the voice and the beginning.
"He's white!"
Nope, I'm not good at that
I am good at it and I am black.
I thought he was white
He sounded black to me. Even when black people speak standard American English, I can usually still detect a hint of an accent. I can't always, though. Candice Owens could probably fool me.
Then you probably not around many black folks, I can tell he’s black the moment he started talking
You weren’t around many black folks then
I'm white and honestly I've noticed a trend with everyone changing their voice when they are on a phone call. My mom always does it and we call it her "phone voice." My dad also tries really really hard to speak clearly on the phone (he has a speech impediment) so I don't think it's always JUST a race thing. People change their voices to come off a certain way just as we dress different ways for certain occasions.
Yeah strong cultural stuff..it’s sometimes amazing to see these things trespass the biological racial barriers
I agree with you Emma, many different people do change their voice for multiple reasons, but for Black people it is something we know we have to do to fit in certain environments. Even Black people who are deaf switch from their Black sign language to ASL to fit in. It truly is a Black thing!
I've noticed that, too. My mom has a pretty neutral voice normally, but she goes into a thick southern accent when talking to some of her friends, and a more posh accent when doing business over the phone.
Actually, the host sounds white
No, he sounds american
Other Otter hes biracial and probably grew up around white people wich could explain his voice
nuberiffic thank you.
sayajin I grew up around black people and I don't carry any type of stereotypical vernacular.
Omm
Was I the only one that guessed wrong?
Joe Ramirez i guessed wrong too
Joe Ramirez no
Youre not the only one
Are you a filipino?
No i know the struggle
Criminal makes me think of a bald stocky heavy tattooed white guy with a thin moustache
That’s oddly specific lol
🤣 the thin mustache killed me
I think of a short Jew in a suit trying to sell me a loan
So Hitler? that makes sense.
Nah. Watch prison documentaries. Almost all the inmates are black
it’s like saying “ax” instead of “ask”
Lol, Michael Jackson mentioned this in that ill-fated interview
@[BosS] HITMAN 20 agreed
When I say asked it’s sounds like ast like “I jus ast you a question” is what I usually sound like
@@randomaccount8846 yeah I say it that way too isn’t that the way your supposed to say it it’s hard for me to say “asked” quick in a sentence it sounds forced when I do
The pronunciation of the word ASK is very different and very strange depending on where you're from. ACTUALLY the New Yorkers say it the same way as black people say it which is AXE and apparently the Dutch people who came to New York --way before the British-- pronounced the word ASK the same way, like AXE. I actually know the minute I hear it pronounced as if it were the word AXE that it is probably a black person or if their voice tone is not as low as most black people's,I know it's someone from New York. I don't particularly like it to tell you the truth --unless it's a mafia movie 😄😁lol--but then I remind myself that way beftore the English came, the Dutch people were here and that's HOW they said it, so that is the original way that we in America pronounced the word ASK, we said AXE 😊
As a black girl who grew up going to a primarily white school, I can’t talk with an African American vernacular even if I tried; I’ll just sound like a basic white girl trying to act black 😂😂
akilahposh I can understand that. But when it's time to fight I guarantee you your Becky side is nowhere to be found but you can hear Keisha coming LOL. I see it all the time
I have a cousin like that
That’s a good thing. At least you will always be employed. Plus, I have found that when a woman speaks proper English that it functions as baby daddy repellent.
I'm Zimbabwean American I talk like a bit of A Hispanic suburban and more Black American my accent is a mix
You do you girl
I also speak job interview
That's a very useful language to learn. Are you fluent?
So as far as speaking "job interview" Let's say you are applying for a job answering the phone at a law firm. If you get the job, then you are representing the law firm. They want you to sound educated, articulate and intelligent. I don't know why you wouldn't want to sound this way all the time. The fact that people can speak "job interview" and choose to only do it when applying for a job shows that they are capable of speaking standard English and simply choose not to.
anon amous You can sound intelligent and speak slang at the same time. People choose to speak in their most relaxed manner when around family and friends. Speaking like a caveman/idiot is not the opposite of speaking “job interview”.
@@02122_ I don't believe slang and intelligence inherently go hand and hand. Or that it's necessarily the best way to express something. I do believe at home it is reasonable to speak in a more relaxed manner. However, I think it is good for children, especially small ones to learn from their parents how to speak Standard English by example. This will help them when they enter school and in general. I apologize for taking my frustration out on you. Not necessarily you, but in the black community if you speak Standard English or if you have a decent vocabulary, you may get asked, why you are trying to talk white? To me Standard English is neither black nor white. It is the language and dialect that has been taught in schools for centuries. I think it's in everyone's best interest to learn it. But if people only speak it to get a job, how can it be something you are fluent and proficient at? Again I apologize. I'm not trying to annoy you.
anon amous Talking white or black is more about intonation and inflection than about standard English. An educated black person, even one who speaks “job interview”, will still sound black assuming they’re raised in a black environment. “Talking white” is independent of a decent vocabulary and standard English in the black community, it is a reference to tonality and inflection that’s more common in the white community. Speaking Ebonics at home is not an impediment to learning standard English, black people can walk+chew gum at the same time.
As a side note, in other languages, "code switching" is talking informal with your friends and family and talking formal for your elders and higher-ups
Formally means using polite words, this is straight up changing your accent though.
@@_sparrowhawk Sure you could say that, but this video just doesn't sit right with me. In his first example, the narrator states: "When it comes to talking on the phone, black people often try to sound white," when in reality they're just speaking formal and articulate, so the person on the other line can actually hear them clearly and understand what they're saying
His main point is that black people don't use pronunciation, only white people do.
Simplified he means the standard is white people smart-black people not smart.
It's simply not true. Black people can be articulate and not be deemed "trying to sound white," and me for example, I might sound articulate through text, but in person I sound like a rambling incoherent mess because I was never taught how to speak formal growing up.
Let me give an example. I'll use Arabic, although this applies to most languages except English.
In Arab countries, everybody is taught proper Arabic as they grow up.
That's not what they speak to their friends and family however (and they have A LOT of family), they would use their local dialect. Each Arab country has a local dialect, and they all sound totally different from each other, and totally different from proper Arabic. Their dialects are almost like seperate languages.
It's like comparing the dialects of the English speaking world: Britian, U.S.A., Australia, but the difference in the Arab world is that they can all understand each other if they just speak proper Arabic. European countries do this too within the respective country.
On top of that, in most countries, including Arab countries, it's standard to learn 2-4 languages growing up, with the languages varying country to country.
In English speaking countries, like America, it's standard to learn 1-2 languages, and most people wait until high school to learn their second language, greatly decreasing the chances that they'll actually learn it.
Learning languages (and looking into history) actually makes you smarter, too, and helps you understand the world a bit better the more you learn, but most Americans can barely speak their only language. (Btw, being American is a lifestyle, not a race.)
Going back to your point though, that's exactly what informal vs formal is.
Formal is not just "using polite words," that's an American concept.
Formal is actually speaking in a polite and articulate dialect, and changing the tone of your voice that you wouldn't normally speak in, as a sign of respect to strangers, elders, or higher ups at work.
It's not about "talking white" like this video suggests.
I don't understand why they feel the need to turn this into a race issue, when it shouldn't be.
Of course I know why. it's America, the place where everything needs to be a race issue for attention, because slavery happened.
(Even though slavery has occured on every continent, with every race being a slave at some point. It was just overly brutal in America and very recent compared with the rest of the world. Look at the Romans for example. They enslaved their prisoners of war, and it didn't matter what race they were. Actually, most of them were white. But in Rome, some slaves could earn their freedom and they were also somewhat respected. Romans were also SUPER racist, but more in the sense of where people lived, not their skin tone)
Anyways, sorry for the essay and all, but ignorance like this really gets to me for some reason. I hope maybe you learned something, and I hope I didn't annoy you too much with how long this was.
I'm also just bored at work, where my employer was surprised I was trying to be formal during the interview, and she also speaks Spanish (which I don't speak, being a white American I only know English), and 90% of my coworkers are black making me the minority, and also making me believe this video isn't relevant where I live at all(Virginia)
That's part of it, but it also includes talking differently to children than to teens, even though both are below you socially. There's a lot more nuance than just two "codes".
And yes, this video is idiotic.
@@wilfdarr this video was made by americans for americans
@@SunnyD420 Even in respect to American culture, it's mostly wrong.
Nobody talks about the opposite effect! I'm an actress and am currently dealing with not sounding "black enough" or more "urban". I'm not less black because my mother taught me how to speak with correct grammar!
Portraying a black person that is articulate and speaks eloquently would be a positive thing.
Aave is correct grammar since it’s its own dialect you self righteous baffoon
@Bee Bee Simmer I feel like saying "Summer vibes" and using the head voice when you speak and whatever is what people call "sounding white". Many people assume the reason people think they sound white is that it sounds educated. Malcom X has never been accused of talking white and he sounded so educated.
Looks to me, judging from the comments, that everyone talks about it.
"Urban" that reminds me of the Walking Dead Game!
People are going to talk in the tone of voice they pick up from the area they were raised in. In my neighborhood, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you closed your eyes and listened to a room full of people.
You mean their environment. It could be work, school or living environment
This whole “white, black accent thing” is mainly in America, in Europe white people talk differently from each other. For example in ireland you could have a Cork accent or a Dublin accent. Or in France, a South france accent or Brest accent
While the major parts of your accent are developed through the area you grew up in and the people you were around. Different races do have subtle differences in their basic speech characteristics.
I grew up in maryland and we all sound the same
Exactly. I was raised by white parents in a white neighborhood, so I talk like them. And Know white people who grew up in the ghettos who talk in ebonics. It really isn't tied to skin color. More culture and area of proximity.
When I thought of a criminal, I thought of a white guy with a shaved head, wearing a tracksuit. That is more typical in England.
The505Guys depends where you are, plenty of us in the UK just concentrated in some areas more than others. We definitely have our own cultures and massive influence here, especially when it comes to music
The505guys it depends what part you live, where I live about 30% of people are black.
He sead genious i thought of myself then he sead criminal... I thought of myself again
Paul James
Track suitist!
tbf my thoughts are quite flexible for "criminal"; suit-wearing robbers in masks, white guy in bandana, black guy in bandana, anything goes really.
You can literally take anyone of any race, put them in a environment where they're raised in for years and they will sound like the people around the area. I know asian people that speak in ebonics, hispanics that speak in british accents, etc.
True, but neighbourhoods and social circles tend to be quite homogenous.
Fun fact Hispanic is not a race you can be any race and Hispanic
@@eliza9011, thank you
Girl: why you sound like a white person?
Me: didn’t know I could talk a color.
Black people were not allowed to read and write in the past. Why they want to continue sounding like they can't read and write is beyond me. Shine now. Show them how intelligent, articulate, and educated you've become. Don't hold on to poor grammar and pronunciation like it's honorable. To get an education and speak intelligently and articulately for those before you that couldn't, that's honorable.
Gabriel Rubio no need to be racist buddy
Gabriel Rubio Welcome to 2020. Things change bro.
Gabriel Rubio uh huh. You seem a bit old to be on the internet. Hey who’s dad is this?
Gabriel Rubio 1. I’m a girl. Make sure to check profiles before assuming. 2. Are you sure because you are acting like an old racist trump supporter.
Take notice that Asians are always left out of this whole race debate.
Alexander Bjerkvik whites automatically think of blacks when they think of who they hate the most.
@@borginburkes1819 Dude stfu. You're closed minded af for thinking that
TheBooce OfBungles prove me wrong boi. You ever hear a racist white mention Asians, or Muslims or Hispanics as often as blacks?
L
@@borginburkes1819 yes
LightningZap you would know cuz you’re probably a racist hahahahhaah
I'm a dark skin black woman and I have a lot of people tell me 'I sound white'. My grandmother used to help me with my school work and she speaks proper, so I most likely got my accent from her than having a traditional black southern accent
Standard English (some call it proper English) is taught in every school and spoken by the overwhelming majority of Americans. I'm sure it has served you well in life. I think it is a great thing your grandmother did for you. I wish all black parents and guardians taught their children standard English right from the beginning. It would help them out so much in life. From getting into a good college to getting a good job, reading, writing and speaking standard English is a prerequisite.
She speaks *properly. *Dark-skinned *rather than
Lol you probably don’t speak as ‘proper’ as you think. This is AAVE that you’re using here.
anon amous Why exactly does every single American need to speak the same? There’s nothing wrong with regional accents and dialects. Other people around the world not only communicate with each other with different dialects and accents, but even completely different languages. People in the Nordic area communicate with each other all the time despite there being 4-5 different languages in that region.
WolfsbaneFilms because you wouldn’t understand and would always say “ huh” “ what was that??”
@@condyland2630 I wasn't speaking about an accent. I was talking about mispronouncing words and using poor grammar. Birf day, amm blance, ree dick lass. etc.
-When he said genius I thought of a really smart white dude
-When he said criminal I still thought of a really smart white dude
Hints of progress since the 1950s are lovely
I thought of Mexicans when he said criminal, and sadly I’m Mexican
That's because you're brainwashed by the media
lol for some reason Mexicans remind me of Bonnie & Clyde IDK WHY LOL WHAT!
@@arturorod990 LMAO
That's weird when someone says handsome or debonair my brain goes to Latino. My mind doesn't go to criminal for Latinos.
Colton Celaya
When he said criminals, I thought of criminals. I am from Panama. This is one reason why latin-Americans hate to be called Mexicans.
its almost like accents exist
ashton parrish We're aware of accents. This is talking about the need to conform and having to double speak
ashton parrish I thought it was just a myth
That's crazy man I thought accents didn't exist
ashton parrish How tall are you? Because it sure was easy for this to go over your head
You racist bigot. How dare you state facts.
I'm a black teen living in the getto side of a city that talks with a "white person's voice" and proper English.
One day after school, I went to the store with my mom. I was telling her about my day.
The cashier lady interrupted me by saying "Where is she from?" (She being me.)
My mom said, "She's from here."
The lady respond with, "Why does she speak like that?"
My mother told her "because she was raised that way." As I grabbed the bag and started to leave.
As always, I looked back and said "Have a nice night." With a fake slight British accent.
She looked confused and my mom was pissed off.
Rude salesperson.
Diamond White really? That’s interesting. It’s crazy how there are some who can even “adapt” to an accent. I’m from the NYC/North Jersey area and was growing up had a New York accent, but moving to Northern California made me have a typical general American “white accent” (I am white). Now it’s like mix generic American and NYC accent.
ghetto ignorance at play there. your mother should take it as a compliment, surely?
*ghetto
r/ThatHappened
It has nothing to do with race. The accent that someone speaks in generally gives off the thought about where someone was raised. People raised in the wealthier areas are better educated and are perceived with higher intelligence. It doesn't matter what color someone is, it will always be assumed that the person who speaks more formally is the smarter one.
@@NoCluYT
The accent is not much the problem. It is the grammar, vocabulary. It is making the effort to speak clearly so other people can understand what we are saying. I have a strong accent because Spanish is my native tongue. But I have been taking English classes for years because I want to improve the way I speak. When I speak, people do not think I am uneducated. They know I wasn't born in the US, but they know I have a college degree without me telling them, and I am proud of that. This is the difference with blacks; they have a resistance to improve themselves. They think speaking Ebony, creole, rap nonsense, or what ever they want to call it is good. Let me tell you, it sounds horrible. I am bilingual and I love my roots. I defend my beautiful Spanish every where, but what is wrong with everybody speaking good English in the United States?
@@soniaf7794 I love how you tried to answer someone's question with ignorance of your own. That college degree clearly did not help you become any less ignorant.
@@chrissiec2123
What is your point? You talk and talk and talk... and still, you do not say anything!
Stop spending money you do not have in wigs, disgusting long nails, BBL's, and instead, get a college education. Then, maybe you and I can talk again.
@@soniaf7794 I currently do not spend any of my money on "wigs, disgusting long nails, [or] BBL's". However, should a Black woman purchase and enjoy those things, she should not be looked down upon. Also, I'm in college pursuing an education, so maybe you're going to have to come off of your high horse so "you and I can talk". Next, let's not bypass the fact that Black women are not the only ones buying wigs, long nails, or BBL's/plastic surgery. As a matter of fact, despite the rising percentage of minorities getting plastic surgery, it is still mostly White people who get plastic surgery, and that is a statistic you can look up. Additionally, more Black women than ever have been enrolling in college, completing their degrees, and going on to obtain post-secondary degrees. That is another statistic you can look up. Former First Lady Michelle Obama, a Black woman, is one of the most college-educated women in the USA's history of First Ladies, obtaining her education from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Black women are not an uneducated monolith of wigs, long nails, and BBL's/plastic surgery. Your view of Black women is the stereotyped, narrow-minded view of who a Black woman is. I said it before and I'll say it again, that college degree clearly did not help you become any less ignorant. So, you ought to stop assigning people's intelligence (and maybe even worth) to whether or not they have a college education and how they choose to present themselves (wigs or not, long nails or not, plastic surgery or not, etc). College degrees do not necessarily make you an intelligent person, as your ignorant comments have so perfectly demonstrated.
@@soniaf7794 racist af
You sounded the exact same when you switched to your job interview accent haha
People Get Bullied for This.
Nobody is trying to sound Like another race. Speaking calmly, clearly, and respectfully doesn't make you like some race or group.
It's silly
You're totally right. It's as if speaking English in an educated and articulate way, is discouraged. If you have a decent vocabulary and choose to speak proper English then you are trying too hard to sound white. This is not helpful to those that tried to better themselves by learning about English and literature. Those that tried to better their understanding and improve their vocabularies just to be told, stop trying to sound white. It's hard to rise up when people are pushing you down.
tobin2517 and who came up with this so called "proper english". Who do you think created this whole notion that you have to speak a certain way for english to be considered "proper". Because my African ancesters certainly didnt speak "proper english" when they were being loaded on ships, sailed 1000's of miles across the ocean and forced to work day after day in horrific conditions and constant fear. It kills me when black people who weren't taught about thier roots or heritage or culture try and dismiss others because they dont speak " proper english" as if that shit is suppose to make thier life any different.
@@zactaylor2376you are right but that is just the way it is...if you want to advance your educational and career you will have to speak a certain way
@@zactaylor2376 The English came up with proper English lol
LoneLittleJerry no shit
I’m too focused on how to speak back on the phone to focus on all this.
Ol black
Why does the host look like a randomized Sim
4:57 this man does not sound black
lmao
Idk if it's the lighting or his bone structure, but he doesn't look black.
His voice is high pitched and he is well spoken, makes him sound like a white Mexican voice actor who only does young characters or young personalities.
(But in English)
Are we confusing "talking white" with proper grammar and enunciating your words?
When you use terms like "proper grammar" in contrast to AAVE or other English dialects, try to bear in mind that there is no objective justification for the view that one English dialect is correct and that others are incorrect. Language is a constantly evolving set of arbitrary communication conventions, and dialects arise as an inevitable consequence of geographical separation, segregation, integration of immigrant groups, etc. E.g. the language that Americans call "standard English" is not grammatically identical to the language that English people call "standard English" (although the differences are small). So if you consider AAVE to be grammatically incorrect according to the rules of American standard English, then you should also consider American standard English to be grammatically incorrect according to the rules of British standard English. Alternatively, if your definition of "proper grammar" is based on the roots of an English dialect (like AAVE), then you should consider both British and American standard English to be grammatically incorrect according to the rules of the various Anglo-Frisian dialects that were introduced to the British Isles about 1500 years ago, and you should consider those Anglo-Frisian dialects to be grammatically incorrect according to the rules of the Indo-European languages that they came from. The only logical conclusion would be that "proper grammar" refers to the grammatical conventions adopted by the first humans, in Africa, about 200,000 years ago. But presumably you didn't mean to say "are we confusing 'talking white' with proper prehistoric Ethiopian grammar and enunciating your words?".
MelodiousThunk thank you for sharing, I learned something new 😊
A lot of people seem to assume that white people don't code switch, too. I'm a white guy with a neutral accent, and in a formal setting my pronunciation of words such as "while," "for," "the," and "to" are much different than in casual speech.
Marco Mejia No
To me it's more tone than anything. Michael Eric Dyson talks proper & is educated but he doesn't sound white. I think there's a spectrum of self hate involved when people light up @ the thought of sounding white
Even white people(well me at least) when we have and important phone call or doing a presentation put on a posh voice
Well we talk formally on the phone, and don’t use slang. It’s nothing about “black accents” or “white accents”
Shhhsha! You just destroyed their narrative!
General English is associated with white Americans bc of how many white people in the 1900's and so on spoke. It doesn't mean ALL white people don't have accents other than general English. It's just that the majority of white Americans tend to speak like that normally, and not use it during phone calls or suxh
Lawnmower Man shut up and mow a lawn or something lmao. all the video is saying that, yes, there is such thing as a white accent (when it comes to America) it's not meant to attack anything, or make white people look bad, you nut.
jogatu they're talking about implicit bias, as if it's racist in any way to associate an accent free (or majority accent) way of talking with intelligence or credibility. But it's not. The same goes for white Texans with a heavy accent or for me (I live in germany) when I hear people with a Bavarian accent. It just sounds unprofessional and is partially difficult to understand, so most people talk in majority accent to be most accessible.
I like when he said "criminal" my mind was a sheer blank lol.
“Code switch”? How about just call it “talking clearly”.
because it's not about clarity. It's like a regional accent, except it's spoken by an ethnic group.
Matthew Floyd exactly !! Instead of using unclear pronunciation of words.
@@86moonnight black excuses
Cause that's what it's called, everybody does this but for some it's way more noticeable, especially in highly stereotyped minorities, say black people, it's also something gay people do, men in particular, if you go to a gay man and ask him to speak with his straight voice you will know the difference, that's code switching.
Code switching does exist. But I'm guessing some of y'all don't know about that because it's not really taught. I'm from the Caribbean and we learnt about this in Communication Studies. What he said about 'talking white' is also true. Yes, language is involved but it also has to do with the tone of your voice, it's richness or tinniness; basically the timbre. Black people - not just African Americans but blacks in general - tend to have deeper, richer, more melodic voices and it is recognisable in speech. Therefore, you tend to be able to identify someone's race by their voice. We also do speak clearly and articulately if we want to. Articulation, however, had little to do with your larynx and how your voice is.
I kinda disagree with this whole thing. It just depends on your upbringing and how people sound around you.
It's the same as having an accent.
True, I mean heared Eminem, he sounds black if you don't know it's fckin Eminem speaking.
@@glorifiedtoasterwithlegs2294 nah, he just sounds like a tryhard wigger.
@@DivineHyperion not tryin to be racist but is that how they sound in the hood? Idk I'm not from America.
@@glorifiedtoasterwithlegs2294 look up ebonics. That's the accepted form of speech in black neighborhoods.
i agree. i live in a place with a lot of african american accents. so naturally, i gathered that accent
Who else didn’t think of a black male when he said criminals ((why did this blow up))
I Did
I didn't. But I'm European so I guess it doesn't count.
Nope. Thought of Ted Bundy, Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer.
@@bialynia tf are you talking about?
@@kevk9306 we have a different stereotypical image of a criminal and generally different set of racial stereotypes. What I meant is that because I come from a culture different than American it's natural that what this guy is saying doesn't apply to me. So I'm not sure if it counts as a piece of counter-evidence. We clear now?
3:24 the goat in the back😂😂
It's not "Speaking white" it's just speaking correctly.
jemimallah So tell me what’s so white about clear articulation and proper grammar
Well, it IS kinda easy distinguishing a black voice from a white voice.
Charlene Alyssa Ingram disagree
Disagree completely
Not kind of. It is. Most people who tell you are either politically correct white people or people who barely hang out with a race but their own.
Um, no. Not all black peeps sound that same.
Yeah. Also, black people tend to have a deeper voice
Up next "is talking yellow a thing?"
Darrick , Da ting goes skraaaaaa
no but talking white is
Great Gonzo got me there m8
Yes it is, it’s when u talk asian
Nah they wouldn't want to offend anybody...
I think this code switching could also possibly be applied to perceived class as well as race. When I worked at a credit union, my voice when I spoke to customers and higher ups was much different in tone and pitch than if I were talking to my coworkers, friends, or family. It was a lot higher in pitch and lighter. My normal voice is much lower and more gruff.
Spoiler alert for code switchers - job interviewers will check to see your social media, so the voice doesn't really do much.
when you said genius i had "verified" music in my mind lol
Omg I thought I would never find a video about this. I get treated like this on the daily because I “talk white” so I get called the “whitest black person they have ever met” it honestly upsets me because me as a black girl who owns it, it makes my confidence go down. As a black teenager, it happens a lot for me.
These people are obviously not your friends. Friends build you up. They don't bring you down. Don't be discouraged. Speaking English correctly is not a bad thing. It is a language, not a color you are speaking. There is a correct way to speak it. Being able to speak it correctly is beneficial in a lot of ways from interacting with others of all races to school to employment. In the end, it will help you.
I know exactly how you feel. A lot of back people dispies me, because I speak in a proper English mannor. But I don't understand why it has to be like that??
Its funny how American society gauges authenticity of races based off of stereotypes
It's not necessarily just a black problem. Stephen Colbear for example had to change his native southern accent
Yeah I speak with a purple accent but when I’m on the phone I change it to a white one
Joseph Biss definitely agree
He mentioned this in the video. Any sort of regional accent in any language is likely to cause people to judge you. If you speak without a regional accent, people have trouble making snap judgements because they don't have any information about you.
+Joseph Biss That, too, is actually not true. Accents from the New England region are also looked down upon IF they are super strong, and in some cases California/West Coast accents. The closer you are to the "Standard Accent" in America the better you fair professionally and socially.
Modal Soul No it didn't. The "southern accents" are usually sub divided into three separate types of accents which are Appalachian English, Texan English and southern Afro-American English. Appalachian English came from the descendants of the Scottish and English settlers who settled in the Appalachian mountains in the mid 1600's. These accents formed independently from mainstream English due to their isolation from the outside world and when road systems started being developed in the late 1700's to connect the various regions across the colonies (this started before American independence) it meant that people became more connected and so the accent spread across what's now the southern US. Texan English came from a mix of the various American accents that came with settlers to Texas after their independence from Mexico such as the Appalachian accents of New England accents that all mixed together. Southern Afro-American English came from how African slaves were forced to speak English but retained a degree of mannerisms that came from different dialects of different languages in west Africa. Southern Afro-American English evolved independently following slavery due to the isolation of black people in the south following slavery up until the 1960's.
for genius, i was thinkin neil degrasse tyson
Yeah...right...who think Jeff Bezos is a genious? An no-one who have ever used Windows 98 thinks that of Bill Gates.
DerGuteHut they would have have to been pretty smart to get to over $100B
Right. For this examples I didn't think genius. I just thought rich AF.
Yep need to learn this
Why is America so enthralled with associating everything with racism?
In Britain your ‘white’ way of speaking is called Received Pronunciation. Everyone has their own dialects that they speak in everyday life and regardless of race they use a more pronounced way of speaking in situations like being on the phone or in an interview.
I’m actually amazed that you assume African American vernacular is the only instance of this...
Thank you Lucas. I'm English and I totally agree with you.
Didn't your country vote for Brexit? That's no different than why Donald Trump is president.
+VXBEWITHME Brainwashed idiot
i'm from London and have been told that I sound white more times than I can count so it does apply to Britain
Ren Lou, I think what you’re talking about is a different issue - I recommend reading some of Coleman Hughes’ recent essays on that topic.
By the sounds of it, you must speak closer to RP than I do. I’m from greater Manchester and the way that i speak on an everyday basis is completely different to the way I speak at work or university. Up here it’s referred to as ‘taking posh’ and is not welcomed in anyway.
From this video, I see that when they’re “code switching” they sound more excited and friendly. I’ve done telemarketing for years, the recipient of of an over the phone conversation can “feel” a smile. That means, it is more likely to persuade a person when you can put them at ease with a smile over the phone. It should seem like the recipient has made your day by just answering the call. I think we as humans want to feel special.
Subscribed.
All I'm thinking throughout this video was, Damn that's a lot of butter on that Bread And Butter.
Just watch *Sorry to Bother You*
True Story.
Have you seen it?
Somali pirate who's actually somali I've seen you on another video before
hmm yes interesting. What up Niggia
Yes, the horse people
Boots Riley was on the Daily Show talking about his movie Sorry To Bother You: ruclips.net/video/oc70iFCaKho/видео.html
Wait what
Justin Y. Hi, nice to see you again.
Exclusive news just in. Y are you here on my news channel?
Justin Y. At this point you are desperate for likes and can't comment anything clever anymore........
Why u everywhere I go?
Is this a social experiment?
Justin Y. Again?
Lmao “I don’t want no smoke” at the end
My friends call it our "interview" voice
When he said now picture criminal all I could think of was the hamburglar🤦🏼♀️
lol
I think i watched that movie
I thought of my dad
I thought of Trevor on GTA
@@MichaelMixerMasonGASS Me too!
Its not just black people. Most people adjust their accent according to who they're talking to. For example I generally don't speak with a Southern accent except for certain words and phrases probably because I grew up in suburbs. But if I go to rural Tennessee and speak to my family my accent will readjust to a stronger southern accent.
Just speak southern all the time. As long as it isn’t some dumb hick southern accent, they’re usually very pretty
Why? Why dont you be yourself?
That sounds very inauthentic to me. :/
"when i say the word criminal"
me: *thinks of ted bundy*
am i off the hook?
waffenwaffeln no
Robert Chambers
I thought of a samoan with face tats and long hair
I know this is an old comnent but omg... I thought of Ted Bundy too.
When I'm on the phone people think I'm a young woman. I'm a brown male.
Im sorry lmao
Now that is an interesting concept!!
ShoutLatios its been around for a long time.
Go look up Noam Chomsky or Peter Auer for code switching. They've done tons of research into it. This video is super misleading, as basically any heavy accent (including valley girl, texan, german, etc) will be looked down on in a super proper professional setting. I mean, like, of course a guy won't take ya totes serious if ya tryina close an acquisition n ya dun try ta speak the part. They literally won't even.
It's a tactic for survival for us. Way more than a concept.
It's beyond a concept, is a fact, is a technique, it's part of our behavior, our psychology, and in most cases, stereotypes.
I drop my regional accent as much as possible when I want someone to like me.
*its crazy how my fellow black ppl find it cringe when some of us speak proper english but when a British black person speaks proper english with a British accent, they dnt find it cringe. Smh This is yet another reason whata wrong with my ppl. We always find a reason to put our ppl down and or make them feel like they dnt belong* 😳😳😳😳
oBlizkin
They don't want to be associated with whites, hence why they hate people who're using proper-English.
They even call asian people white-wannabes because of them speaking proper-English.
All in all, although black people consider themselves to be the victims of racism, it's quite the opposite base on my observations, they're one of the most racist group of people that i had ever observed. Hypocrites i should say.
Bro it the same round here in the UK, Black ppl and White ppl speak different here aswell.
Taio Valentino so someone like idris elba doesnt speak with the regular british accent? Or u refer to the low class blacks?
What are you talking about, we still cringe when we hear a British black person speaking with a posh accent. Take Idris Elba, his accent changes a bit when he does interviews
.... how is it not from white people... Racism in America has ALWAYS been White oppression towards Blacks, since the nation's inception. White people used race and Black "inferiority" to justify slavery, and ran with it.
Black people were denied basic human rights, the ability to accumulate wealth, were terrorized and disenfranchised, and now we have to deal with the ramifications of 400 years of physical and emotional abuse. I'm talking generational trauma that has worn down our communities and broken our spirits.
And then we STILL have to deal with contemporary systematic oppression like mass incarceration, redlining, racial profiling, school-to-prison pipeline, food deserts, spatial mismatch, and more.
The racial injustice of the past and present has all been at the hands of the White demographic, simple as that. Whites have always held the social, economic, and political power in this country, establishing social norms, passing legislation, and determining the flow of funds and resources. It was White oppression that ruined the well-being of blacks and other minorities, and it will be white moderation, like yours, that keeps it that way.
I would love to talk with you about the details of systematic racism in America if you're willing.
"Now if I say Word Criminal"
My mind:"A German dude with his square mustache"
1) He was austrian
2) Usually called a toothbrush mustache, not square
2:41 Ted Kaczynski and Charles Manson were actually the first ones that sprang to my mind. Oh, and Donald Trump of course, but he isn’t white, he’s orange.
There's a big difference between an accent and someone speaking with improper grammar
Exactly! They are completely different things 🤦🏿♂️
@@Drstrange3000 when people say "they do be.." or "doe" instead of though and "nawwww" like fix your grammar please
I don't completely agree with this video's proposition that "code-switching" only has to do with race. The video's view that the only way to be seen as a proper speaker is to speak like a white person is flawed. It only seems that way because the makers of this video think that the only ways to communicate in America are African American Vernacular English/Black Slang/Ebonics and white speech, but that isn't the case. There is no one, singular way Caucasian Americans speak. There are different forms of Caucasian American speech, such as southern, northeastern, surfer-dude stereotype, and so on. I have many white friends that speak in a way that would not be considered proper. What most people consider proper speech is considered that way because *it is the easiest to understand by most people regardless of race or background.* Why would we want communicators like teahcers, news anchors, and doctors speaking in a way only one race or community can understand. Having a standard form of speech is not a bad thing.
Having a standard form of English is a good thing and facilitates us all being able to communicate with one another. Another way of looking at "proper" English is as the standard and non-standard would be for instance slang. We need to have a standard with rules in order to be able to communicate. We all need to learn this standard and the rules that apply. This will enable us to convey thoughts and ideas to others without there being misunderstandings.
This was clearly the early stages of the corrosive and racist(or should I say anti-racist) woke movement…..I’m tired of that bullshit in 2021…..All I ever hear from numerous races in 2021, is that we all are tired of the “Progressive, socialist, Marxist, thought control, cancel culture, censoring, BS Woke movement….Time to wake up indoctrinated people. The constitution exist, for the specific purpose of the unalienable rights of all in modern America. We have come a long way. Judge a book by its character, not by its appearance or color…..It’s that freakin simple….Do we have things we could be better at in this nation??….Absofreakinlutely!!!!
Finally some common f sense. Americans are obsessed with this racial thing. When in fact it's more of an understending thing.
Honestly, I’d learn any one language if the whole world would just pick one language and teach that to everyone and use that on all official documents and signs.
Humans are being kept divided by being educated away from unity.
Controlling language controls the minds of the people.
Further, we’re animals and it’s pretty easy for animals that can’t communicate between each other to fight.
Fun fact, to go onboard the ISS in space, a person must fluently speak both English and Russian, no matter where they are from.
Language both unifies and divides.
What’s actually kind-of scary is how calling proper speech “talking white” when it’s really just a sign of effective education in the language indicates that maybe some people don’t want to become better educated.
What I’d like to know: how well do people that primarily speak in vernacular do when tested on their proper understanding of the language.
I don’t think I’ll ever be convinced that “tryna” was coined by a genius that just knew people would figure out that they meant “trying to.”
Also like “halfta” or “half to.”
Axe you a question.
I don't know what you're talking about you can have an accent and still speak proper. Speaking proper and having an accent are two different things
We have the same thing here in France. Everything is kinda centralized around Paris in the north, so northern accents are preferred in the media and other powerful positions. People with southern accents, such can be heard in Toulouse or Marseille, are often pushed to consider erasing those accents in order to move up the social ladder.
I'm black && I've been told all my life I speak "Proper" I never really paid it any mind cux I can mix in with most racial groups; however as I got older I realized as a black man this is something to Treasure🙏🏾🙏🏾 Some can't read or even speak && that's not to bring anyone down I just acknowledge my privilege && blessing
Cant read or speak?
@@gil_7038 Yes! some people can not read or speak correctly! It sounds like gibberish especially in the south depending on who you are talking to.
@@gil_7038 this new millennium also does not read much! So a lot of people's reading level don't go no further than 6th grade which is sad but it's true I see it everyday... W/ ADULTS
@keenenwoods southerners can speak and write. We are taught that in elementary like the rest of you. (I purposely added that slight southern twain at the end, hope you enjoyed it)
Keenen Woods it’s not just blacks can’t read some white can’t read either you sound bias
Now if I say the word criminal
Me a Mexican: El Chapo?
Lol
Sir HorsesAround I just think of blacks
Meh El Chapo he's mediocre.... From 1-10, he would rank a 2 in my book.
Hitler, Kim Jong un, Stalin etc.
@@fjellyo3261 bernie madeoff
What you call The “Standard White Accent” is not for whites but closely related to education. It is the grammatically correct English language.
It doesn't matter. You can speak whatever language you want in private but in society, you must be understood by the majority. If you work in an all-black community then fine. The same way Spanish speaker can speak spanish all day if only surrounded by Spanish speakers. But since the dialect is only spoken by a minority, then said minority must speak the standard language when out. If AA become the dominant group, then their dialect can become standard, until then it is only logical to speak the standard language when adressing a broader audience.
Kurohebie nicely said.
But this is not another language. There are no issues with understanding them. Nobody would expect from an Australian, Englishman or a Southener to completely lose their dialect. You both are not very objective with this issue. You keep finding excuses, because you want it to be true.
Actually Irish English is barely understandable and they face the same issue when outside Ireland. So they also would be expected to switch to an "international English". The form of English taught in school and to people learning English as a second language. If you have a doubt on what form of English, check out the TOIC exam for non-English speaker. You won't see or hear any of the multiple English dialects but what is expected as "proper English". And you can have any kind of accent but if your sentence structure is correct, it shows that you are educated and know how to speak.
Simon Peters I talk for a living in call centers and I can tell you I do have to drop my southern accent if I want to maintain good quality scores (a key factor in my job). I have also noticed if I speak more neutral my customers tend to take me at my word vs when I am speaking in my normal southern accent they tend to ask for a supervisor. The assumption being southern equates to stupidity. It's frustrating and unfair but the bills keep coming so I do what I have to do. I don't know if it's exactly the same for you but I'm sorry you have similar problems.
How you gonna code switch on a code switching video and FORCE me to get the answer to the first question wrong?? 😂
“Criminal”: I’m Prison Mike!!
When I think of "genius" I don't think of rich caucasian innovators. And when I think of a "criminal" I don't think of a poverty stricken melanin individual. When I think of "genius" people don't pop into my head. The concept and meaning of what a genius is the first thought that I get. The same goes for criminal. When I think of the word criminal, specific people don't come to mind rather then the concept of what it is. You can't associate a specific race with one word. And if you do, you honestly need to reevaluate your psyche immediately.
Ashy Amir its simply word association. You personally may not associate these words with specific people but its very common for others to do so. All humans associate words with something they experienced or know.
I agree with you 200% of the way.
??? So it's okay to associate a minority as a criminal because "that's what they know"? Yes, you are right on the fact that humans do sometimes associate words with other things that they know, however, in this specific case we aren't talking about "everything". We're specifically discussing how someone could think of a word and picture a specific race. There's a difference between thinking about Chinese food and imagining Chinese people, and then thinking about a genius and instantly picturing a white entrepreneur. My point was that anyone who thinks that way, honestly needs to reevaluate themselves. To even back up claim, I went around my neighborhood conducting a small test. Not one person thought of a race when I asked them, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "criminal" or "genius". Each and everyone of my fellow neighbors responded with the meaning of the word rather than an image. I further rest my case.
Ashy Amir i never said it was ok. I said word Association is common and different for different people. Also people wont often tell you what immediately comes to mind if it sounds racist, and your neighbourhood is a small group.
Yea I don’t like that criminal part of the video. He’s obviously setting people up to think that a criminal would be in the minority figure, when in reality it can be anyone. Race baiting is really popular now-a-days huh?
Don't people of all races (including white) use a more posh accent on the phone tho? Now, I'm not a harvard graduate but i don't think its a black or white thing lol.
Somali pirate which is part of the 1% yes everyone does this. its not posh but its an accent closer to standard non dialect.
It’s different. All people do use a more posh accent, but someone who “talks black” will probably use a completely different voice to make themselves sound more “white”.
akilahposh you can’t sound a color
Jaybird J there righhttt
Sarah Chanel right you can’t sound a color and no accent is superior to another. Woo
It's 2023 now, I think of it as just making my Voice To Text actually work for me.
I like how there is now a PC way of saying ''privilaged'' as ''Socially adventaged group''
I agree with the notion the research in this video wasn't well fleshed out. That it isn't JUST a racial difference, in fact more than anything it's a class issue. We do it to be perceived to be of a higher class. It just so happens that (in america) the higher class is made up of mostly white people. If in the future that changes, we'd adapt how we spoke to fit the new higher ups. (I mean there's a reason why we don't attempt british posh accents when we want to sound "intelligent/wealthy" in america)
I think where this video went wrong was taking one example of this phenomenon (black people using it to interact with white culture) and then treating it as if it's the ONLY example of it. When it's not, every race and class have examples of doing this very thing to different racial and class groups.
So instead of dismissing the video entirely and pretending this isn't a thing, and the black experience is totally invalid-- no just try to entertain the idea that it isn't JUST a black experience.
Danie F if you read the title and listened to the first several seconds of the video you would know the reason why they focused on black people speaking in a different, "whiter" way is because it's very specifically what the video is about
We have/used to have a similar thing in England, except it was very much to do with class and region rather than race. People with regional accents or accents from the working class were typically treated with less respect than those who could speak with a "posh" or RP accent (if they were applying for a job or something like that). This is less the case nowadays, as we have specific laws against accent discrimination.
i do agree that americans in general focus too much on race and too little on class. i'm also pretty convinced that the racial tensions are fueled by the same higher class that doesn't want poor people to turn on them. same thing with the baby boomers vs millenials crap.
Danie F spot on man
You are very correct. In China you sound more educated to speak standardized Mandarin than with any accent. Unless it’s a Beijingnese, Shanghainese or Cantonese acecent, then you’re likely from these rich parts of China. Although the wealthy folks from Beijing or Shanghai still tend to speak more perfect mandarin, while people from Hong Kong are nice enough to speak any Mandarin at all.
You see, in mainland China we are all one race, 98% of the population is ethnically Han, so there’s no intra-racism. Our discrimination is based on areas instead.
How can you be a speech and dialect coach and not know that there are hundreds of British accents?
A Person
He was talking for a general case. We have a bunch of accents here in the US too. You’re not the only one.
Lucas M no one says American accent they say New York,southern,valley,Midwest, etc
This “expert” has just lumped 4 different countries filled with hundreds of dialects into one specific accent
A Person At least people recognise there are different accents like in southern USA ect. When it comes to British accents we either speak like the Queen or in Cockney rhyming slang( which is..not spoken by many people) It's not so common that people understand there are regional differences here at all.
This is still relevant . I learned how to speak proper from other minorities yet I sound white as a Puerto Rican .
I am not elitist , nor do I speak super proper with people but just speaking clear gets you called white lol. Somethings wrong here , because being clear don’t mean you are elitist or looking down . Some of us just learned to talk right and I wasn’t afraid to speak what was comfortable . I met many people that use slang and honestly it’s down to what you say , not how you say it that shows how smart you are . People need to just communicate and not worry about how , because its about what comes out feel me?
Being a black male that talks proper in Memphis TN, I always get the where are you from comment... I love it
In norway this happends between white people, where some dialekts are seen as less inteligent and some just end up switching to the one used in the capital.
Sectormann thank you people from Europe often understand this more
As a linguist, I can tell you this happens everywhere.
It happens literally everywhere haha
You forget that norway is vert unique with dialects, as we praise the concept of it.
We have two "standard languages" , but since we see dialects as our cultural pride, we accept them in both politics and news.
The only exceptions are ain formal letters. Most other countries demand a certain language spoken in official situations.
I also think "white language" is a silly concept, it just creates more racism where there isn't needed one. There should be the agreed upon "official formal language" , and then there should be every day dialects, ethnolects etc etc
There are moments in life where identiy matters and there are others where identity doesn't matter, one should sit together and talk and agree on which moments is reserved for what.
MarkFilipAnthony I totaly agree
When he said think of criminals I straight up thought of the two burglars from home alone and now I’m WHEEZIng omg
Until now I still didn't know which accent or the accent name of the "that black mom in the church" tho 😢
Pretty much happens in all Native English speaking countries (IRE, US, CAN, AUS, NZ and the UK). You can definitely hear it in some people, over the phone or just around in public.
I talk purple
I was raped by Barney as a child and the word purple offends me
a a seems like barney didn't have a happy family afterall :(
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
The color purple
Jesus Christ this is so cringy this whole thread is cringy
"oh, stewardess, I speak jive".
"Cut me some slack, Jack! Chump don't want no help, chump don't get the help! Jive-ass dude don't got no brains anyhow, shit!"
>Accuses of you of thinking of a black man when he says the word "criminal"
>Implying you're the racist
lol
I find it humorous tbh
You mention losing the "R" sound at the end of words, but I notice that both AA and Brits tend to lose their "L" sounds and replace them with an "oo", also. That's why you hear them say things like "litt-oo" (for "little"), "terriboo" (for "terrible"), and "candoo" (for "candle").
I was under the impression that the vocal differences in tone were morphological rather than cultural. Of course dialect plays a role, but is there also a physical difference?
Naaah
I never expected you here
Hahaha. That is what I thought too, but of course it is rediculous.
That has been my question and I did a comment regarding that. BUT when I think about it, I have met white people who sound 100% black & until I look at them, I think they are black.
I myself am a hundred percent white and grew up in white suburbs with Midwest parents and yet occasionally on the phone I was thought to be black until they met me because my voice is lower. Not especially low but I speak from the gut rather than the upper part of my chest. IT'S actually a rather light lyrical voice but it is not as tinny as most white Americans. I think I surprise people when they see me for the first time😊
You can be discriminated in Northern Italy if you speak with a Southern Italian accent.
Figliolo, non sai quanti meridionali vengono e venivano trattati come cittadini di serie B qui al nord. Quante storie ho sentito nella mia vita. Gente a cui veniva negato un appartamento in affitto perché al colloquio l'interessato aveva un forte accento meridionale. Meridionali a cui veniva negata la residenza nel comune di Montichiari (BS), perché non soddisfacevano i redditi minimi, trattati come se fossero extracomunitari (a detta di loro stessi). Ragazze che non si metterebbero mai con uno del sud (miscegenation). So d'un bambino che veniva chiamato "monnezza" per avere una madre napoletana. Per non parlare del fatto che l'emigrazione di italiani meridionali, ma anche genovesi, veniva disincentivata negli USA rispetto a quella dei settentrionali grazie alle teorie lombrosiane che hanno avuto un impatto sul Immigration Act del 1924. Sveglia! www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2017/10/10/non-si-affitta-a-meridionali-la-denuncia-di-un-medico-di-caserta/3903471/
Why?
@@S.Sarajlic Translation please...
don don because northern Italians think they are lazy, uneducated, and violent
As soon as that "Correct" appears on 0:05 i was like what???
Speaking proper English is not "talking white" it's simply following the rules of the language you were taught in school. The language happens to have European origin but anyone of any skin color can speak it. For example if I were to speak Swahili I would follow the rules as they were taught to me, I wouldn't say I was being forced to "talk black". Language isn't a skin color so there is no such thing as "talking white" or "talking black". There are different dialects but again they are not always exclusive to one particular skin color. And if you complain that you have to speak proper English in a job interview congratulations so does everyone else regardless of skin color.
There are formal and casual ways of speaking, white people have to be formal too when they are in formal settings so it's not discrimination, everyone does code-switching especially when they are on the job. Using formal, standard English is easier for more people to understand and shows professionalism by demonstrating that you can apply knowledge of the standard rules of the English language that you were taught in school. How is that racism? Saying it's racist acts as if all black people speak AAVE and are incapable of speaking standard English. You want blacks to be treated equally then hold them to the same standards as everyone else. If everyone is expected to speak standard English on the job we shouldn't start making exceptions as if certain people cannot be expected to act professionally in professional settings.
Your right
2:40 I thought about Bundy. Guess profiling and prejudice goes both ways, huh?
Huh, funnily enough, I thought Dahmer.
I think the verbiage also has something to do with it. When I hear criminal, I think burglary, arson, theft, and mafia stereotypes. When I hear serial killer, I think of Bundy and Dahmer.
The first person I though of was Al Capone, John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson. No one really knows the names of small time criminals so I think that specific point he made was flawed.
Hypnotica I thought about breaking bad
Might be the superhero nerd in me but I instantly thought of Joker and Jonathan Crane.
Associating standard accent with white is a load of BS. While accents are influenced by a specific community often time based on race, the advantage of speaking a standard accent is less about race and more about class and education. You know the white folks from the bible belt? Do you ever hear their accent spoken by any of the news anchors? No because that accent is not the standard. It is actually looked down upon. There are plenty of other white people accents that are not acceptable either so this speaking white notion is BULL SHIT.
In the UK, Received Pronunciation is the accent that is well regarded and there too its advantage is not necessarily about race. The Cockney accent is spoken by mostly white people but you'll never hear that accent at the BBC.
When someone speak a standard accent, there's a good chance that person is more educated and that gives a better impression than someone with a strong regional accent.
Plus it's the most easily understandable accent, because almost everyone's been taught to understand that one the most. So of course people would want to hire a person with the clearer accent to speak to the customers over the phone, given the choice among all the competition. Bah! (Not saying the lady's study is wrong, of course, but the video guy's interpretations are messed up to heck)
canuck21 The "standard accent" of any country still comes from the most highest performing group in said country being historically associated with the national identity of said country (often due to education standards, classism, segregation, historical events, racism, privileges, govt policy etc).
General American, often considered the "accentless" American accent (and also dialect) and accent of choice by newscasters throughout the United States, rose from the Midwestern accents belonging to mostly white upper middle class people living in the Midwest (however the current accent has since slightly changed from back when it was popularized but that hasn't stopped it from being recognized by most as the "correct and proper" American accent).
The old Midwestern accent was always seen as different (and "incorrect") compared to Southern accents and New England accents.
You brought up Received Pronunciation, an accent that saw it's original definition as the accent of the social elite of England, which happens to be white. It's most iconic usage was when it was adopted as the standard voice of the BBC, as to not alienate certain regions in the UK by using any regional accenta. However, the accent was still spoken by an extremely small number of people until post-world war 2 UK saw educational and social advancement that allowed most of society, regardless of race, to attend the schools that taught English in the accent into the decades onward.
RP is almost dead in the UK, being spoken by some in England still, although still being the definitive accent for the English language throughout the world.
But the point is that regardless of who actually speaks the accent (or if the accent even exist anymore), how people recognize it is different. People will always recognize General English as a very "white" accent (in America at least. Everywhere else, its just seen as the "normal" American accent, unlike the "cowboy accent" that is the Southern accent for instance). You can't help but imagine a white man in a dapper suit talking an oversized microphone in black and white (or at least a white British person) when listening to someone speak RP. Instead of it being less about race and more about education and opportunity, how we perceive accents and dialects are more on the other way around. Education and opportunity comes with the race, or at least that's the broad assumption made by almost everyone. Of course, for good reason.
That’s not how I interpreted the video. It is agreed there are dialects that are favored but I think the video speaks specifically to minorities imitating the majority white dialect in America.
It makes little mention of white people impersonating white people. There are other regional dialects in America, particularly in the Southeastern US, that are frowned upon. Even if you account for foreign dialects, American English is looked down upon in the UK. All of that is beyond the scope.
Furthermore, it’s disappointing that you think the “standard” accent is typically more educated. That showcases the exact bias this video mentions.
+ceasetheday No, I don't think you get it at all, neither the video nor my point.
+Will P What a load of BS.
Maybe coz black and white had many mixes so DNA had split up everything,singing,the way of talk, the voice type and appearances but you know what I love the way that black people talk originally their accent it's so cool.
Christian Israel Olmos Martinez
I disagree. You could take any black ,white, or any type of American person as a baby and put him/she in Japan and they’d know only Japanese because that’s all they’d know. However, I do appreciate your respect for our dialects.
When he said criminal I thought of lucky Luciano haha.
I'm giving this clip a thumbs down for several reasons. "Talking White" is an American neologism. It's a term, much like "the N-Word" or the actual epithet itself that exists sheerly through a U.S. consciousness. White Europeans don't peg someone as "talking white" in the UK, Norway, France, etc.
I am a black gay American. Once I started traveling throughout Europe, Brazil and other places, people in foreign countries didn't peg me as "talking white" they heard my voice and instantly thought "American," which itself brings its own privileges as a traveler.
Once I left America, my voice was "American" not "talking white" or "black." You have to leave the United States and all of its mental fuckery (same with gender issues here) to even understand how eye-opening that is. Also this video is intrinsically flawed and shortsighted, the part where the narrator inferred that the "black voice" is "Criminal" is highly subjective.
This clip, being snackable content, doesn't bother to go into context about the African American voice HISTORICALLY, which at the turn of the 20th century, when the first phonograph recordings were being introduced technologically, Thomas Edison and different sound designers of the time used black American speaking and singing voices to exhibit the technology, because at that time, black voices sounded "BETTER" and "CLEARER" and "RICHER" on the phonograph record than white American voices. THAT IS HISTORY THAT IS SADLY UNDERREPORTED because it doesn't fit in this OVERSIMPLIFIED NARRATIVE that Business Insider wants to create for a social media Millennial audience with a low attention span.
The black voice being viewed as "RICH" and "TEXTURED" is historical FACT that gets lost in pithy clips like these which are too busy defining "blackness" through RECENT pop culture and trying to make snackable, clickbait content to appeal to a certain advertising demographic. People in general need to learn to think critically, especially in a social media "sound bite" era, and not just work off of a 1 or 2 minute video from advertiser-driven media voices like Business Insider to define your "worth" or explain YOUR existence.
M j G Talking white is true you need to talk to more people of color
lol “talking white” is something talked about in the U.K. some people will assume your race based on how you sound it’s just facts
talking white is not something talked about in the UK, though London does have a problem with young uneducated people talking complete shite, living inside a ignorant bubble. Race issues are Bizzare however in the USA. Cultural appropriation, identity politics and other such nonsense you hear about are arguments built on sand from a view point of idiots whom should educate themselves.
I really enjoyed reading your post. Good to know you had experienced living abroad. This kind of experience should be required for every American. No offense, but as a European, I have the impression that Americans are too US-centric or have a limited view of the world.
You forgot to mention your gluten allergy and that you’re vegan.
I thought you were white...........whoops
lol sounds about white... amirite?!?!
This has happened to me at work.... there's a guy who has the same last name as me and a someone called our supervisor requesting to speak with that guy and only knew his last name so my supervisor assumed it was me and gave me her number and told me to call her back and assist her with what she needed... so the guy she spoke with is white and I'm black... barely a minute after talking we both realized I wasn't the person she was looking for since one I didn't remember the situation she was calling about... also she realized it too and asked if I was black bc the guy she was looking to speak with was white.... and the only reason she was able to assume I was black was based simply off of my voice since we were talking on the phone
“Socially advantaged” 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🔥👌🏻
I'm a black guy from Philly. In the suburb I grew up in, we ALL sounded like off-brand New Yorkers. It had nothing to do with race, it was just where we grew up. My mother was in a well-off, middle class household and she went to a good school and did some college. She doesn't "talk white," she just uses correct pronunciation and grammar. I grew up around black and white kids, but we generally sounded the same because of oyr communities and upbringings.
Exactly I’m black and I have lived in the hood but for some reason my voice sounds like it not necessarily white but just a general kind of like Kyrie Irving but may be a little bit more blacker you could say
It's rather perplexing all these dislikes. This phenomenon is not new and widely accepted in linguistics it's a basic concept of linguistic prestige that requires code-switching. General American English ,as such, has the overt prestige that is far more likely to be acceptable than rural southern accent or any variation of ebonics. William Labov discovered this in the 60's. Is being ignorant to basic scientific and social phenomenon that far out in the general public?
Colloquially, "talking white" refers to this specific phenomenon. It's an old established concept in linguistics across the board.
It's one thing to call it code switching or that it's "speaking general", and another is bringing race into it and treating black people as victims when they have to speak in a non-accented manner in a professional setting, since, you know, it's a professional setting and not talking to your mates in the backyard over the BBQ or something.
I just never agreed with telling black people that they sound white. Just because someone speaks clearly it does not mean they are sounding white. Good lord. So sorry that many people disagree with calling it "Sounding White" I always thought that term was ignorant. When someone tells a black person they are sounding white even though they were raise that way, it is considered a insult. It's like saying "We're not black enough." "We're not cool enough." We're a sell out." Just because we speak properly and clearly because we are considerate to the fact that other folks won't understand us. Puh.
@@rubbers3 the situation you described is literally what code switching is lol, if your default way of speaking isn't accepted by people in a professional setting and you have to modify your voice to be accepted
@@MrAlexanderrangel I was referring to the fact that it applies to everybody, every race, gender, sexuality. And if it applies to every race, then it's not racist. If it requires even white people to "switch code" then it's not "talking white".
@@rubbers3 I don't understand your point, yes, discrimination based on accent and dialect happens in all countries and for many reasons but that doesn't exclude the racial component when it comes to Black Americans. If whites discriminate against rural white based on their accent then it is a class reason. I mean immigrants from London are not told to use a different accent while in America because it is perceived as higher. However, with blacks whether speaking their own colloquial speech or professional speech still face discrimination and the original reasons this happened were racial, so it's not a stretch to assume they continue due to those reasons
I could tell he had beautiful brown eyes, a dark person, by his soft melodic gentle sympathetic warm poetic voice,.
Good video