Dialects and Slang by Choice versus By Up-bringing

[Clearly Opaque]

How many times have you heard someone on this group b***h about "Ghetto" slang? Well, this isn't the ONLY slang out there that is messing with the literacy rate!

I am curious what others think, opinions of religion, race, creed, and etc aside please, of these and others:

"Wiccan/Witch" dialects
"Gamer" dialects
"Midieval" dialects
"Goth" dialects
"Christian" dialects
"Middle Eastern" dialects
"Asian" dialects

*** vague groupings here for lack of 12 hours to type out every single sub-group. And take into consideration I am NOT pointing to races or people here, or religious opinion, but those who use these slang dialects, for whatever reason. (aka, those born Asian, and raised in a place or family with such dialects, aside)  

[Clearly Opaque]

Before anyone gets up in arms here, relax. I'm not racist or picking fights here, I am just tired of hearing people try to be something they are not outside of "context".

Aka, people who watch alot of Anime will many times try to "look Asian" and "sound Asian" to be "cool".

Or people who play alot of World of Warcrack, as an example, who go about referring to people as "Orcs" and "Elves" to try and sound cute.

Or the people who believe because they are Wiccan or into Witchcraft that they need to change their accent to sound more "witchy". Satanists often do this too to sound more "evil". And don't rule out Christians who try to sound more "god-loving" or whatever with their little made up accents.

Or the newest trend now being to try and sound "Middle Eastern" for shock value.

At the end of the day, I believe this is all KIDDY GRADE BS. Why can't people just be THEMSELVES?!? Why do they have to change their clothing style, their accent, their names to things like "Water Raven Wind Sky Dancer" or "Joseph Mary Jones" or you name it to "fit in"? Aren't we all the same under these shows of bravado? But yet we see it from the rich trying to seem more rich, to suburanites trying to seem more something else.

In my none too humble opinion, I believe it is the biggest load of BULLSHIT to try and talk with ghetto-ized accents, or midieval accents, or grunt like orgres, or try to sound more like "fairies" for any reason outside of ROLE PLAYING. Cause honestly, that is all this all is: role playing.  

[Clearly Opaque]

It is, again in my none too humble opinion, this very roleplaying that is making people less literate in many respects. They are so busy being something else that they rarely take the time to do something for themselves, or others. How many times have I heard "I don't need no better Education, cause I'm a Redneck Mutha F**kr!" or "They didn't have those things in the Middle Ages.....so I don't need them either!" TOO MANY. People are so busy playing when they could just sit down and read a book, or stop worrying about their fanciful language and style to sit down and LIVE IN THE NOW.  

[Kitten_Ember]

*laughs hysterically* Ok I wish someone could demonstrate. I've been a practicing Wiccan for over 20 years and have yet to hear a "Wiccan accent". Can someone enlighten me?  

[Clearly Opaque]

KittenEmber

*laughs hysterically* Ok I wish someone could demonstrate. I've been a practicing Wiccan for over 20 years and have yet to hear a "Wiccan accent". Can someone enlighten me?

I have been in and out of the "community" for "paganism" for over a decade now, and I've heard it used so many times I can't count! Bear with me here, I am going to try and do this without making direct insult to those who practice it as a religion (which isn't my gripe at all here)

- You can call me "Shadow Raven Wind Dancer", as this be my true soul's name given unto me many centuries ago. I was born into the birth name of Mary Beth Jones. I must now go to the market to get the fairies some bird seed lest they begin haunting my furred children betwixt the shadows again. -

I know plenty of people into paganism, and pagan religions, and most would not know their choice unless they asked about the more obvious things like occasional jewelry, or a t-shirt, or etc. They act and sound just like everyone else, with perfect English skills. But I also know more people than I can count that talk with fictional accents to sound more medieval usually, or who dress completely in some "more witchy looking manner" or who feel a desire to talk in "medieval sounding tongues" or etc. Religious choice aside, this, in my opinion, is just as bad as someone dressing in sagging jeans that show their a** crack and talking in ghetto talk just to look and sound "cool".  

[The MoUsY spell-checker]

I think that the worst thing about people using group slang on purpose is that people outside of the groups probably won't understand it, therefore to use dialects on purpose often defeat the purpose of actually saying something because it won't be understood anyway.  

[Clearly Opaque]

I think most people who use mock-dialects do it for attention. I believe it gives them a sense of empowerment when people look at them funny, or stare, or ask them why they do it. Personally, I believe that whomever they are, or however they believe is their right within reason, but should not be forced upon others. If they want to act some way and talk and write differently, fine, be creative, but be reasonable, English papers and homework and job applications etc are NOT places to do it. And the constant use of these things brings down and degrades the English language literacy skills, then in turn also makes them look silly.  

[Arkly]

I don't mean to use slang. I act alot at my local theatre, and sometimes my character stays with me outside, so it's kind of a habit, hehe.  

[Requiem Dare]

I don't see too many people with fake accents. sweatdrop Only when I role play. As long as I can understand what people say though, it doesn't bother me too much. If they want to act like rednecks, why should I care?  

[Yavie Feels Pretty]

While I would probably impale myself on a 'kebab skewer before attempting any such hero-worship as extreme as that, I do understand them.

After all, is imitation not the sincerest form of flattery?

...As annoying as it is.

 

[Kisu Midori]

Well, yes, it's very annoying, but don't you think that we, with our English, bother people of different racial orientations that speak their dialet perfectly. neutral  

[+.Dreaming.of.a.Place.+]

KittenEmber

*laughs hysterically* Ok I wish someone could demonstrate. I've been a practicing Wiccan for over 20 years and have yet to hear a "Wiccan accent". Can someone enlighten me?

I'm one to, haven't heard any! 4laugh

Hmmm... I dunno about religious people talking different. But I hate when peopel are like (for example): "You sounds like a black person!" Or something like that. rolleyes