Selected Comments From A 2012 Online Discussion About Young White Londoners "Talking Black"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases selected comments from a 2012 online discussion thread entitled "Why Do Young White Londoners Talk Black Style?".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, linguistics, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are participated in this discussion and all those who are quoted in this post. YouTube.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on "African American Vernacular English", "code switching" and other related linguistics customs.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/selected-youtube-discussion-thread.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Selected YouTube Discussion Sub-Thread About Whether Black People From Britain "Talk White".

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

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DISCUSSION EXCERPT
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
The full discussion is seven pages (169 comments).

I recognize that other people compiling excerpts of these comments might choose to highlight some other comments than the ones that I chose.

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style
radyag
28/05/12 #1
"I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London."

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ladymoanalot
28/05/12 11:45
#2
"When I was in London working I hardly heard anyone talk like that. Well apart from a gang of rough looking ones, in their early teens.."

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flagpole
28/05/12 11:51
#6
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.

"if you stop calling it black style and refer to it as something like urban youth culture then the question of why the urban youth do it becomes more apparent."

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Talullahmay
28/05/12 11:52
#8
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.

"I don't think it's just london though tbh, I live in manchester & it's the same with some white guys & girls here!"

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alisonrose3764
28/05/12 12:15
#20
"Cos they think its SO cool - shame they don't know they look totally stupid!
Its the jeans halfway down their bum that makes me laugh - what a pathetic look!
I'm so glad I am a grown-up!"

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stoatie
28/05/12 12:25
#25
"I think I must have missed the meeting where all the rules changed and adults were supposed to be able to understand why teenagers do stuff."

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p2

skp20040
28/05/12 13:08
#31
"Its a faux Jamaican patois, and it sounds ridiculous in white people ( I actually have a white Jamaican friend and it still sounds odd ) , especially young ladies ( and I use the word ladies in the loosest possible of terms ) .

But we can all speak in a Jamaican accent if we want, try saying Beer Can and you will find it sounds like Bacon in a Jamaican accent."
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Pancocojams Editor: The bold font was included in this comment

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pickwick
28/05/12 13:10
#32
flagpole wrote:
if you stop calling it black style and refer to it as something like urban youth culture then the question of why the urban youth do it becomes more apparent.
Heh, yes, this :D

"Anyone who actually thinks accent is tied to race is hilariously ignorant about language. (Not that being ignorant is hilarious in itself, just when they're trying to look down on other people from their lofty perches of ignorance.)"

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whydoiwatch
28/05/12 13:10
#33
stoatie wrote:
I think I must have missed the meeting where all the rules changed and adults were supposed to be able to understand why teenagers do stuff.

"Same here. You think I would've been issued a manual since I have kids. I guess I'm still waiting on "The Black Person's Guide to Being Black: How You Are All The Same Regardless of Ethnicity, Nationality, Class, Culture or Religion." I've been doing this black thing for almost 35 years but according to DS,I'm doing it wrong."

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Ber
28/05/12 13:27
#38
"All the white kids round here sound just like they were born and raised in Lagos :rolleyes:

(Saying that, I do love the Nigerian / Ghanaian accent)"

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Bex7t6
28/05/12 13:32
#41
"I heard this accent being discussed on the radio recently. Seems more of an influence of environment rather than white kids trying to talk 'black', whatever the f**k that is. I know a fair few black people who don't talk in the way being descibed.

From Wikepedia- http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicultural_London_English
Although the street name, "Jafaican", implies that it is "fake" Jamaican, researchers indicate that it is not the language of white kids trying to "play cool" but rather that "[it is] more likely that young people have been growing up in London exposed to a mixture of second-language English and local London English and that this new variety has emerged from that mix"."
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Pancocojams Editor: That word was written with asterisks in that discussion thread.

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lala
28/05/12 13:53
#49
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.
" "black style"? Surely you mean AMERICAN street talk?

But hey, let's not blame the other cultures in the west for this now. :rolleyes:"

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p3

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skp20040
28/05/12 14:00
#53
pickwick wrote
Yeah, but you only "know" (or assume) that London kids' Jamaican-style accent is put on because of their race, I guess is what I mean, really. I know quite a few people who have "put on" a false accent, but because it was broad Glaswegians or Cornish people "putting on" an Estuary or Standard English accent, nobody thinks it sounds stupid or they're weird fakers. Largely because they're going from low-status accent to higher-status accent, I think. And conversely that's why people think the Jafaikan sounds "wrong" and "stupid" and "unnatural" - because people are choosing to use a lower status accent, and that's just weird ;)

"It's not that the white kids are choosing to use a Jamaican accent though anyone choosing to use an accent other than their own I find a bit sad , no accent to my mind is low-status , an accent is an accent , but its that they are specifically choosing a gangsta aspect of that which is made up and they do it to come across as hard ."

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Ber
28/05/12 14:13
#55
"Thing is, I know quite a few jamaican people and their accents don't sound anything like "street slang" - so I'm not sure why its called "Jafaican" (unless its just because you can insert the word fake into it)"

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SillyBoyBlue
28/05/12 15:34
#70
"It's funny that black kids aren't accused of 'talking white' when their accent is as far removed from their grandparents' native Jamaican accent as white kids' are from theirs.

"Innit" is a "white" cockney word. Both black and white kids have grown up in a multi-cultural environment where the various accents have blended. I agree though that certain words ("Feds" for example) have been picked up from exposure to American rap culture, but this 'Jafaican' thing was obviously invented by someone whose never heard an authentic Jamaican patois."

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p4
kimotag
28/05/12 16:46
#79
"I think a lot of 'urban' accents have simply evolved out of the 'melting pot' culture that young people in some areas grow up in. Therefore they aren't 'fake' at all for those people. What I do find fake though is the way a lot of young men add extra bass to their voice in order to appear more masculine.

As someone else said, some people do moderate their accents when talking to different people. A guy in my gym speaks to me in standard estuary English, but can switch to Jamaican patois in an instant if a friend of his. who shares this ancestry comes along.

Having been born in Hampshire, but moving to London 30 years ago, my accent has slowly changed to Estuary English, but still with an element of Hampshire in it. I will speak posher (Received Pronunciation) in interview situations, or when giving a presentation, and less-posh when I am talking to people who speak urban English."

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GreenJellyJam
28/05/12 17:12
#81
"How can you talk 'Black'? Skin colour has nothing to do with how you speak.

Language and accents change over time and of course immigration has something to do with it otherwise we would not be speaking this language we are using now, it has nothing to do with the colour of someones skin it's do with kids from different cultures, backgrounds, countries intergrating with each other so the way they speak they develop their own accents and slang. Sure some put it on but most develop naturally, so let's not mock."

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yvier
28/05/12 19:47
#88
:Not sure whether this really is 'black style' way of talking. I was born and raised in London in the Notting Hill area during the 60s and 70s. I went to school and had many friends who were from a West Indian background and was always amazed that when they were all together they spoke with a West Indian accent but when they were with their white friends they spoke a typical London 'cockney' type accent. What I hear now is not a West Indian accent nor an old fashioned 'London' accent but something quite different. I can't really understand a lot of what kids say now but I suppose that's probably how it should be! Even so, I do find it very unattractive to listen to and I'm sure it isn't doing them any favours if they want to get a job. Guess it will change and evolve into something else one day."

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Lain Andrews
28/05/12 20:14
#90
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.

"I have been in a class when a white teacher asked me,"why are you talking black?; Why don't you just be yourself." Should he be fired?

I grew up with black people and I've always like the way they dress,food culture, it's kool. :)

It is called ebonics and it is a recognized linguistic language, such as asian pronunication (hard time with th "r" sound) or spanish pronunciation (ee comes off as i)."

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John Carter
29/05/12 07:56
#99
....�I don't think this is about just an "accent" , for some people it's a way of identifying, for others it may be a way of being "cool". For some it isn't anything conscious it's just the way they and their friends talk. For some teenagers its a way of differentiating themselves in groups and from adults which is nothing new

The majority of teenagers who talk like this will probably talk differently to their parents, and switch their language to match the setting.

The ones who can't switch can go into youth work or TV or radio presenting;)

I also don't think it is ebonics, Lain.

But to go back to the original post it's not "black" style it's a mix found in urban areas and many urban areas will have their version ( as other posters have said)"
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Pancocojams Editor: This is a portion of a longer comment.

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p5
It'saLondonthin
29/05/12 16:15
#107
"Being from London, and being young I can go on record saying that not everyone under the age of 30 speaks black style.
What is black style? Is the the colloquialisms or the way in which these words are pronounced. ANyways this is a joke thread right??"

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Mr.Humphries
29/05/12 17:35
#109
"Most African people in London don't talk with a 'black style'. Most speak with impeccable accents and the rest with their own background patois mixed with a high grasp of English. Education is very important to Africans."

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p6
AssistedAction
#138
flagpole wrote:
if you stop calling it black style and refer to it as something like urban youth culture then the question of why the urban youth do it becomes more apparent.

It's not urban youth culture. Youths have always lived in urban areas but they haven't spoken in anything other than their regional accents or regionally indistinct accents, not something that owes its pronunciation, inflexions and even some of its vocabulary to West Indian patois. Therefore, though "black style" may not be the best choice of words as it suggests that all black people everywhere speak this way, it isn't in any way an inaccurate description of the way many young people speak these days.

It sounds ridiculous on any young person, whatever their colour, brought up in this country and the saddest thing is that it's costing young people job opportunities. Particularly if they are applying for a role where they will be speaking to the public."

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skipjack79
31/05/12 10:24
#145
"It's funny that these London kids use phrases like "keep it real", or "I'm keeping it real", while talking in a hilarious fake accent using fake mannerisms and pretending they're gangsters, but I'm guessing the irony is lost on them. :D"

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ChristmasCake
31/05/12 11:19
#147
"As someone of Jamaican origin, I can say that this way of talking is as far away from Patois as you can get."

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p7
Throgmorton1
31/05/12 17:17
#152
"Every generation desperately tries to define itself by developing (or stealing) a new vocabulary and vocal rhythm.

Depending on your age - you all have some individual language that you embraced as both setting you apart from the older generation and allowing you to identify with your own peer group.

Mine was the hippy vocabulary - no more - nor less cringe-worthy than anything used today - and certainly nothing to be proud of. Surely one of the joys of getting older is the ability to laugh at yourself at exactly the point you took yourself the most seriously."

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Youtoo?
31/05/12 17:36
#154
"Where I live we have Asian kids, white kids and black kids all talking in "urban black" accent (no offense, I can't think of a better phrase) with a Yorkshire twang on top. It's very amusing. :D"

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Imperfect Angel
01/06/12 00:15
#160
"What exactly is a black style? so much ignorance in this thread :sleep:"
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Pancocojams Editor: My guess is that in this comment "sleep" means that the commenter believes that people who use the term �black style� to refer to ways that people talk aren�t socially conscious (i.e. They aren't "woke" (in the contemporary African American originated meaning of that word).

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Prince Monalulu
01/06/12 01:30
#163
ChristmasCake wrote:
As someone of Jamaican origin, I can say that this way of talking is as far away from Patois as you can get.

"You're wasting your time.
Everytime this comes up various FM's point out it's not a (working class) Jamaican patois, nor an attempt to copy it.
If they were attempting to copy it, they'd get closer to it.
They'll just keep banging on about Jafakan (sp)."

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Prince Monalulu
01/06/12 02:41
#166
Mr.Humphries wrote:
I would love to hear standard English come back into vogue. It would be nice to understand what people are saying. It is a pity that no one in power is prepared to do something about the sorry situation that we find ourselves in today. Illiteracy is ruining this country.

"Good luck removing all slang and accents.
What's standard english?
What are 'those in power' supposed to do about it?
Might be my ignorance here, but I thought literacy related to the written word."

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Mr.Humphries
01/06/12 13:39
#168
Prince Monalulu wrote:
Love to know where you've met all these Africans with impeccable accents.
Do you mean impeccable english accents?
What countries do you mean, Africa's a big place.

"I meant most Africans from most of the nations that make up the continent. They make an effort to speak standard English and it is most pleasing to hear it rather than provincial garble. It would be nice if the natives could do the same too."

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pugamo
01/06/12 13:47
#169
"Because they are young and young people are silly. They'll soon drop the pretend accents when they have to do grown up things like go for an interview with the bank manager to arrange a mortgage."

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Categories: "talking white or talking black" African American Vernacular English code switching race and racism United Kingdom

Read More

Selected YouTube Discussion Sub-Thread About Whether Black People From Britain "Talk White"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases selected comments from a YouTube video's discussion thread. Those selected comments are part of a sub-thread in which people discuss whether Black people from Britain speak the same as White people from that country. That topic grew out of larger discussion prompted by the theme of the spoke word composition which addressed the idea of Black people "talking like they are White".

The African American spoken word video that led to this discussion is also featured in this post.

The Addendum to this post quotes two comments from a hyperlinked article entitled "In the U.K., do black people have a distinct dialect in the same way that there is a black dialect in the U.S.?"

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, linguistics, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ernestine Johnson for her spoken word composition and thanks to Arsenio Hall for featuring that spoken word performance on his television show. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on "African American Vernacular English", "code switching" and other related linguistics customs.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/selected-comments-from-2012-online.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Selected Comments From A 2012 Online Discussion About Young White Londoners "Talking Black" "

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Ernestine Johnson Performs 'The Average Black Girl' on Arsenio Hall Show



Ernestine Johnson, Published on Apr 14, 2014

Ernestine Johnson kicks off the show with an amazing and moving performance of "The Average Black Girl." You will get chills from this performance.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT ABOUT THE TERM "EBONICS"
The term "Ebonics" is frequently used in these featured comments to basically mean the same thing as "African American Vernacular English". However, the term "Ebonics" has its own history in the United States and isn't formally used by American linguists and/or American professionals. Furthermore, few African Americans formally or informally use the term "Ebonics" to refer to the ways that individual Black Americans speak or write some of the time or all of the time.

Click http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/AAVE/ebonics/ for information about "Ebonics".

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SELECTED COMMENTS
These comments are part of the sub-thread that is described above. Comments that were posted to date (July 26, 2017 5:54 PM) that aren't quoted in this post were either entirely made up of profanity abbreviations or were exchanges about religion that have nothing to do with this specific topic.

Numbers are assigned to these comments for referencing purposes only.
1. Qopel, 2015
"How come in England, the blacks talk just the same as the whites? No Ebonics, no accent. I couldn't tell a white from a black British person over the phone. Go figure."

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Reply
2.Thabiso Mhlaba, 2015
"Most British people have much crazier accents than most American ones as far as deciphering the meaning of a sentence."

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Reply
3. tatyee, 2015
"they actually do. You don't live in Britain so i'm not surprised you can't tell the difference. I have black british friends that make fun of black britains that "talk white." britain has plenty different accents. it's just racial divide isn't as severe or outright in britain. less morons there"

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Reply
4. ellensarah, 2015
"I'm from England and I was kind of wondering if the accents differ as much in the UK as they apparently do in the US. I actually grew up around a lot of black people because my school was international but they mostly had Nigerian accents (with some English mixed in depending on how long they'd been at the school). Now I'm in university all the black friends I have seem to speak with the same accent I do, and in the case of the one northern girl she sounds the same as the other white northern girls. We definitely discriminate based on accents but I think it's usually based on a colourless class discrimination, rather than race."

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Reply
5. Javan uHnah, 2015
"Black londoners have created their own ebonics actually. Ignorant."

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Reply
6. Qopel, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
..and they sound American when they sing."

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Reply
7. tatyee, 2015
"+Qopel I've noticed that too. that could be for commercial appeal though. like Iggy Azalea tryna sound like she's from the South when she raps." ?

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Reply
8. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+Qopel Who are you referring to?...."?

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Reply
9. Qopel, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and all other British bands?"

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Reply
10. Javan uHnah, 2015
"The beatles and rolling stones do not have american accents (when they sing) liar.?"

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Reply
11. Qopel, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
Oh, right...they have Chinese accents...my bad.?"

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Reply
12. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+Qopel The beatles are all Liverpudlian. And yes, although that may have similarities to an American accent. It's still a british accent. The Rolling Stones did sing in american accents quite a lot tho. Thats true. Apologies.

However what does this have to do with black londoners? Who yes, have their own unique idiolect separate from of british people? Just like African Americans have ebonics."

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Reply
13. ellensarah, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
I have plenty of black friends who are from london and they all sound indistinguishable from white londeners."

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Reply
14. pikanoob, 2015
"because its entirely cultural"

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Reply
15. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+ellensarah Listen to grime artist and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Are watch kidulthood. That type of idiolect was pioneered by black brits. Only in recent years, more white londoners have started to speak this way, because just like in America everyone wants to black nowadays."

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Reply
16. ellensarah, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
I listened to some now but it all just kind of sounded like a typical working-class London accent to me, did you have a particular artist in mind?
In fact one video was a list of the best grime artists which included a white artist and a black artist and they both sounded like normal working-class Londoners."

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Reply
17. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+ellensarah There is a difference between cockney and the idiolect used by grime artists. I suppose it might seem similar to an outsider, but the vocabulary gives it away. For example, black people have come up with this phrase "mans just in ends", meaning "I'm at home".
In black londoner idiolect, people refer themselves in the 3rd person time, "mans", which means "I". That's something you wouldn't hear in a cockney accent.

Makes me wonder tho, why they haven't given this language an official name yet."

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Reply
18. GuYAh Berry, 2015
"+Javan uHnah You can identify me as a black Londoner but I don't speak like the Grime artists. I understand the point you are trying to make that but you are stereotypying in a way that Ernestine Johnson touches on. I think it would be better if you say most black Londoners speak like the Grime artists. However, maybe you haven't met many who don't :-)"

Also, in most Northern England dialects, they refer to themselves in 3rd person too, "Give us that " would be give me that", and they use the phrase "Me mam said you can take us there" meaning "My mum said you can take me there" So not just a black Londoner thing but actually it's colour and geographically-independent.

If you listen to the white Londoners, in East London or South, North or West they all have different accents- especially East London. This has nothing to do with Grime and has been like so for many decades.

"mans just in ends" actually means "I'm in my neighbourhood", "mans at yard" would be "I'm at home"
This just slang picked up over the years by people and it is definitely not limited to black people and I doubt it was solely created by them. Language changes very much over the years and it had done when black people did not live in the UK.

I don't mean any offense but your comments make it sound like you are a Londoner and every black person there speaks in the manner you describe: It is not specific to black people nor is it all black people XD.
Sorry for the long text Javan"

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Reply
19. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+Geraldine Abbey I'm a black londoner too, I don't speak like a grime artist either. This is getting tiresome
Do you know what a "road man" is? That's literally the kind of idiolect I'm talking about.
No any of that "me mam" liverpoolian stuff."

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Reply
20. ellensarah, 2015
"+Steven JG
Britain isn't big enough for different accents??"

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Reply
21. Chloe Calvin, 2015
"+Steven JG Yes they do, funny enough you brought up Jamaica because my parents are from there and Jamaica is Out of Many One People with different backgrounds and have different accents (thanks to SLAVERY). It is hard enough when the mainstream Kingston (the capital of Jamaica) street ghetto slang takes over the country's patios as the "national" language and Jamaica is only recognised for this dialect when the majority of the country speaks plain simple English.

I don't know why I bothered to answer your rhetorical question when clearly the answer is yes the "other small islands" you mean the rest of the WEST INDIES, YES they do have they're own accents as the British, French and the Spanish sold and trade slaves throughout Caribbean, so to answer your question the whole of the Caribbean has many different accents, some may sound the same but they're all different. I can tell difference with a person who speaks in Bajan Creole from a person from Trinidad right back down to Grenada to St Kitts.

Answering your previous comment Steven "Britain isn't large enough for people to for different accents" this statement makes you sound very stupid as Britain has the largest multicultural society in the world here in London where I live. The whole of the UK and Ireland have many different accents nationally and regionally. For an island the UK is a small world.

Ain't America unpopulated for it's size?

I had to educate your small mind and please enlighten me with your next reply I'll be looking forward to reading."
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: Apparently, a question had been posted in this sub-thread about whether everyone in the West Indies has the same accent. It's likely that that comment was voted down and therefore is no longer part of that sub-thread.

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Reply
22. tatyee, 20155
"It's like me saying there is no difference between the Canadian and American accent, which I'm sure there is but I just don't hear it because I'm not from America. Or saying someone from Boston sounds like someone from New York or New Orleans or Miami. same way there are differences in the accents in America there are differences in the accents in the UK(Yes, even among the whites there)"

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Reply
23. ellensarah, 2015
"+tatyee
&, in my opinion, in most cities, there really isn't that much of a difference between black & white accents, a girl from liverpool tends to have the same accent, black or white. It's social class that tends to affect accents within the same city or town.
I know you have a different opinion, it's just my experience of all the black people I've met at Uni from different parts of the country, I don't hear a difference."

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Reply
24. Banshee Eighty, 2015
"In America, a certain idea of blacks was pushed. You either embraced this fractured culture or you attempted to assimilate. I don't think in England they had an all out campaign to segregate blacks and whites, but I could be wrong."

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Reply
25. I love nature, 2015
"England have several accents..not everyone speak "posh"."

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Reply
26. Marcus Thompson, 2016
"+Beleza Africana ???? a lot more than several....."
-snip-
This is the end of this discussion sub-thread as of July 26, 2017.

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ADDENDUM
From https://www.quora.com/In-the-U-K-do-black-people-have-a-distinct-dialect-in-the-same-way-that-there-is-a-black-dialect-in-the-U-S
"In the U.K., do black people have a distinct dialect in the same way that there is a black dialect in the U.S.?
Even though there are different regional accents, is there a distinct dialect that is common among black people regardless of region (such as how black people in the south US have a different accent than in California but share a common dialect regardless of region)?"

5 Answers
Ernest W. Adams, lives in The United Kingdom
Answered May 30, 2015
"I would be careful about generalizing about a common black dialect in the United States; there are many black people in the US whose speech is indistinguishable from that of their white neighbors.

That said, the answer is no, and the reason is that black people in Britain are much more ethnically diverse. Some are recent immigrants from Africa, particularly West African nations like Nigeria and Ghana, while others are Afro-Caribbean descendants of people who came to the UK a long time ago and they sound exactly like the white people among whom they live. There was also a big influx of West Indians in the years immediately after the Second World War. The West Indian population has a dialect and an accent, but it's not shared at all with the African immigrants or with the native black British people."

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Angela Mackie-Rutledge, Black British & American expatriot
Answered Jun 2, 2015
"When speaking to people on the phone here in the UK, I cannot discern their race, but I can more easily tell their class.

I talk to a lot of black people both here and in the USA. The only thing with some commonality is a young (under 25), urban, London accent - but I've heard Asians, whites and blacks speak this way, so it's not distinctly black.

The answer provided by Ernest W. Adams seems to be pretty right on."

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Categories: "talking white or talking black" African American spoken word African American Vernacular English code switching race and racism United Kingdom YouTube viewer comment threads

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