Quote:
Originally posted by medlin
Why do people (not just you) use this adjective to describe African-Americans that use proper english?
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Ok, here's my non-smart-@$$ reply: Expectations.
Most of the young African-American men that are on TV are either athletes or rappers. Neither of these groups is particularly reknowned for its keen usage of the English language. That's not to say they're less intelligent; it's just to say that they don't speak proper English much of the time.
So when a college sophmore gets interviewed and actually strings three coherent, grammatically correct sentences together, people are impressed. He has exceeded the audience's expectations. So they say, "Wow, he's talented, and he's pretty well-spoken, too!"
Notice that people generally don't say the same thing for professional Blacks. Nobody makes it a point to say that Bernard Shaw (formerly of CNN), or Clarence Thomas, or Condaleeza Rice is well-spoken. They're expected to be. They wouldn't hold their positions if they weren't.
Just my two cents, as usual.
Chuck