Let’s Settle The ‘Ask’ vs. ‘Ax’ Debate Right Now
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 15 June 2025
⏱️ 2 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Has someone ever corrected you for ‘axing’ instead of ‘asking’? Well, history shows that both are right. Here’s why we should keep speaking like we do.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Has someone ever corrected you for axing instead of asking? Well, history shows that both are right. Here's why we should keep speaking like we do. I'm Len, and this is Two-Minute Black History, what you didn't learn in school. |
| 0:26.4 | Do you say ask or ask? |
| 0:32.3 | Those who use the latter may have been corrected or shamed out of using it by an elder or a teacher, but linguistic history shows there's nothing wrong with acts. |
| 0:38.3 | When the S and K are switched in ask and pronounced as acts or acts, it is a normal process |
| 0:46.3 | that linguistics call metathesis. |
| 0:50.3 | Language changes over time and many of today's words were pronounced differently in the past. |
| 0:55.5 | A few centuries ago, for instance, WASP sounded more like Watts. |
| 1:01.2 | For decades, the Axe pronunciation was wildly used in New England, in Middle States and the South. |
| 1:07.7 | Many enslaved people assorb their speech patterns from white indentured |
| 1:12.5 | servants who often heavily used acts. It wasn't until the late 19th century that it became a |
| 1:19.1 | stereotype attached to black English speakers. Some linguists consider acts or acts an integral |
| 1:26.7 | part of black American culture. |
| 1:29.2 | Anti-black folks seek to correct our speech to make us feel uneducated and inferior. |
| 1:35.1 | But we speak a dialect different from standard English speakers and it's never been inherently wrong. |
| 1:40.8 | We don't have to hide who we are to please anyone. |
| 1:43.9 | Let's let go of that idea completely. |
| 1:46.7 | Keep on asking or asking as you please. |
| 2:00.2 | In order to move towards the future, you've got to look to the past. |
| 2:04.3 | This has been Two-Minute Black History, a podcast by Push Black. |
| 2:08.1 | If you enjoyed this episode and want to show your support, please rate and subscribe to our podcast. |
| 2:14.0 | Together, let's celebrate and honor the legacy of black history. |
| 0:00.0 | Thank you. Together, let's celebrate and honor the legacy of Black history. |
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