BLACKS SHOULD AVOID: BUTCHERING THE "QUEENS ENGLISH"
Do not try to impress White coworkers and managers with your mastery of the English language, as a way to prove your worthiness. This is especially true for anyone who has a poor vocabulary. It is way too easy to become the laughingstock of your office by misusing and mispronouncing words, as well as committing other acts of barbarism on the “Queen’s English.”
It’s all well and good to want to improve your language skills, but you don’t gain any cool points by butchering the English language. Your clients don’t want to hear you using proper diction as you mispronounce words like “specifically.” How many of us know someone who pronounces the word “pacifically”?
And, while some people mispronounce certain words, other people misuse words like “plethora” and “extrapolate."
You don’t have to sit down with a thesaurus every night, so you can drop $10 word bombs on your White coworkers the next day. Impress people with basic and properly used English. In many cases, it’s best to keep language simple to understand. This is even true for writing, depending on your audience.
I’ve overhead Whites in my office snickering behind the backs of Black folks who misused a word or two or mispronounced words in common usage. Don’t set yourself up to be a joke. Work what you have, while you work to improve all of your skills.
I shouldn't have to remind anyone of this, but STAY AWAY FROM EBONICS AT WORK!!
It’s all well and good to want to improve your language skills, but you don’t gain any cool points by butchering the English language. Your clients don’t want to hear you using proper diction as you mispronounce words like “specifically.” How many of us know someone who pronounces the word “pacifically”?
And, while some people mispronounce certain words, other people misuse words like “plethora” and “extrapolate."
You don’t have to sit down with a thesaurus every night, so you can drop $10 word bombs on your White coworkers the next day. Impress people with basic and properly used English. In many cases, it’s best to keep language simple to understand. This is even true for writing, depending on your audience.
I’ve overhead Whites in my office snickering behind the backs of Black folks who misused a word or two or mispronounced words in common usage. Don’t set yourself up to be a joke. Work what you have, while you work to improve all of your skills.
I shouldn't have to remind anyone of this, but STAY AWAY FROM EBONICS AT WORK!!
posted by S. Mary Wills at 5:26 PM
3 Comments:
Thanks, Spiderwoman. Your feedback is really important and definitely makes me feel inspired to keep plugging along with the blog. Our people need a reality check. In the overall scope of history, the Civil Rights Movement happened yesterday. There are still significant inequities that need to be addressed. I am writing a book that will go even deeper into the workplace issues facing Blacks. This topic is very important to me, having faced some significant racial issues at previous jobs.
Hi Mary
I just want to say that I read all the new articles that I receive in my inbox. Also I read the archive articles because I only recently discovered your blog. Yes, I’ve been fighting racism in the workplace since I started working. This is daily occurrence at work. Reading your blog helps me understanding I am not the problem.
Black people don't do this at work anyway.
They do this when they are being interviewed by the local news.
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