Why Do People Say “AX” Instead of “ASK”? | Decoded | MTV

Let me ax you something you might not have thought about before... Why do some people use the word “Ax” in place of the word “Ask”? Well while “AX” might be seen as lower class, it actually has a long tradition in the English language that goes back over a thousand years. So why are people who say “Ax” instead of “Ask” frequently stigmatized as unintelligent and unsophisticated? Watch the episode to find out.

#Decoded #MTV

Directed by: Andrew Kornhaber
GFX By: Matthew Rainkin & Sarah Van Hoove
Editing By: Linda Huang

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[horseradish]

Right, when American inner city youth say "aks" they're totally just quoting 14th century English poets.
Claiming that it's anything else, like those low standards of education we also keep complaining about, is completely racist.

[roughwoof]

*"I'm gonna to have to AX you to leave."*
*"What?"*
*"I'll have to AX you-"*
*"Ma'am, did you just threaten to AX me?"*
*"No, I'm just AXING you-"*
*"THE HELL YOU ARE! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO AX ME! I'M OUT OF HERE!"*

[slutscammer]

Did you notice I said “ax” instead of “ask”. Yes, yes I did. Does it even matter? Yes, yes it does.thats all, end of video.

[SmartSand]

While we're on the subject of mispronunciation, it's "Canterbury Tales", not _Cadbury Tales_ (1:01). Cadbury is a candy maker, established in Birmingham, England in 1824, Canterbury is a city in Kent, England.

[kingleonidas]

2:37 It’s not a stereotype, it’s the past. It’s something that actually happened. Black people WERE ignorant and lower class. But that’s the past. Black people worked hard to get out of that state of living, so we need to stop going back to it. You hear about poor little kids who grew up to be famous. So there’s no excuse to not work hard and making sure the “stereotype” stays fiction.

[JC-shvx]

I can't wait for the video explaining how "liberry" is actually correct.

[Dumah]

Are the "Cadbury Tales" supposed to be some chocolate based revisionism? I see what you did there.

[mase]

Yes, using ax instead of ask DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

[rhythmdroid]

There’s no stigma about saying “ax”. There’s a stigma around mispronouncing a 3 letter word.

[davidbernardi]

She asks if we know about Chaucer as if she's familiar with his works, then refers to "The Cadbury Tales." Lol, can't make this stuff up.

[djp]

I speak 3 languages. I had to learn English when I moved to the US when i was around 16. My Parents who are in their 70-80s also had to learn late in life. We speak as proper as we can. Just because something dates back to 17th century doesn't mean its OK to use now. Women were 2nd class citizens and weren't allowed to vote either. Should we bring that back too? If I were interviewing someone for a job and kept saying things like, Ax, Mines and Not no More I wouldn't hire them. It's sad when native speaker can't speak proper English.

[oldmandan]

No, ax is a low class way of saying ask. It's a lack of articulation not some cultural thing we need to embrace.
This is low expectation racism

[rosegreen]

I've never read the CADBURY TALES 1:02. The canterbury tales however I have. If you're going to make an argument that you speak the language correctly you should at least say the word of a well known book properly and not a candy company.

[Maviel]

Well then, let us simply butcher and water down every single word and make it mean everything and nothing, then simply blame it on "omg racism".

This video is peak ignorance and LITERALLY manages to make the stereotype worse.

[Reofive]

2:34 Actually, French no longer uses the double negative.
4:49 There are tons of languages where singular and plural have the same form.
4:57 American English is not a dialect of British English. American and British are BOTH dialects of English. By essence, a dialect is NOT necessarily a "low-class" version of a language, but is simply any version of the language, period. Thus, even standard American English is a dialect of English. Isn't that the very point you've been trying to make?

[originalm]

They don't study "Old English", they drink "Olde English".

[americanvikinggirl]

I can't believe this garbage was advertised to me

[DriZ]

2:36 "But because it is associated with black people.."
I disagree. People who are taught the standardized language think someone is making a mistake when they hear words or grammar that deviates from it. Making mistakes is associated with being stupid or dumb.

[speeddude]

I came to the comment section to trash on this video but I’m so glad there were plenty of other people with a brain that already took the initiative.

I salute you all!

[patchworkundead]

It doesn't change the way I feel about anyone when someone says "ax, " it's just a pet peeve, like when people say "irregardless." I'm not being racist, just nitpicky.