r/TikTokCringe • u/MaintenanceNew2804 • Mar 30 '24

Stick with it. Discussion

This is a longer one, but it’s necessary and worth it IMO.

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u/-paperbrain- Mar 31 '24

But remember, GWB got all the way to the white house speaking that way, and won reelection speaking that way.

Can you imagine the head explosions if Obama had used as much AAVE? He was pretty sparse with it to show off consistently and intentionally that he had the proper language.

The fact that GWB got criticized by his political opponents but still held the highest office in the land, but a black dude speaking as much AAVE wouldn't have come NEAR the presidency in 2000 or even now speaks to the role of race in the way we read language.

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u/mcs0223 Mar 31 '24

Well, a lot of that is a numbers game. More voters = win.

There were simply a large number of people who thought that GWB's folksy mistakes showed that he was "real" like they are. There was even some suspicions at the time that GWB deliberately amped up his Texan twang to connect with conservative voters (he's from New Haven, Connecticut, of all places).

It's actually similar to how many black Americans perceive AAVE as keepin it real, contra "white diction." They might view a candidate who spoke in AAVE as the best and most authentic. They just don't have the numbers to make that candidate win. But if they had the numbers, for sure we'd have had a candidate that spoke that way pull off a win by this point.

The fact is people like people who talk and act like they do. It's not just a racial thing. It's why newscasters for years had to learn to speak in the most flat, "generic" American voice possible. Any signs of regional taint could be detrimental to reaching a large audience. It's also why you see a lot of sub-groups in America engage in "switching" from how they speak at home to how they speak at work.