As I child that refrain was so common I often wondered, do white people have a monopoly on Webster’s dictionary? Is using grammatically correct English and extending my extensive vocabulary really the mark of whiteness, or does it simply mean that I’m a fabulous communicator? You decide, but the whole conversation is bo-ring.
The sad thing is you can get this silly comment from all races. Most of the time growing up I got it from black people. It was almost as if they wanted to separate me from them somehow. Like, here we are rockin’ ebonics because – apparently – that’s what being black is – and here she is with her white-ized, suburban speak using words like dude and awesome like it ain’t nothin.’ Sigh.
Dialects do identify cultural differences, but communication is a valuable skill that we ALL need. The power of language is universal, dolls. Use it.
A Life Not Grey 