oh please. that is a load of shit. the US is far more diverse than europe. in terms of different races and cultures. most of the people in europe are WHITE and while they speak different languages, they mostly derivefrom the latin alphabet. eastern europe languages are more similar to each other, and then romance languages on the western side of europe are similar to each other. yes there are more languages and people live close together, but the US is far more diverse. only when it comes to different RACES. chinese culture is very different from latino culture, which is very different from creole culture. they are more different from each other than french is to british or german.
at least, germans, french, and british are all "white." that is, the same race. their cultures are different YES, i'm not saying they're not, but the difference is BIGGER when it comes to non white races.
and yes, europe isn't the world. it is the western world. try an underdeveloped country sometime. or come to brooklyn sometime. or harlem. try it out. it'd make a good case study.
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Originally Posted by xlesslikeyou
i think you should step out into the world and see that a lot of people from different cultures do it as well
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completely agree.
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The American obssession with the rap 'culture' has transformed a slang into the 'pinnacle of mainstream society' like someone here said, not being able to make a single correct sentence and departing as far as possible from standard English has become the goal to achieve, ignorance is validated and even glorified.
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that's funny. mainstream American culture doesn't accept rap. the media, of course, loves rap. it is far from the pinnacle of mainstream society when rappers and black people are stereotyped in a negative way. it is all bloody apparent when the style and attitude of being thugged out/urban separates people by a very clear line. that is hardly the pinnacle, of anything. it is NOT the goal to achieve. in the business world, nobody speaks that way. neither do people in any other professional area. it is not what people try to speak in most schools, offices, or anywhere else.
it's not some glorified aspect of american culture. i think one state or a group of people tried to get Eminem censored or banned and many were furious when certain "rap" albums came out. how can it be when most of the people who speak that way, aren't middle class. they're not upper class either so how can that be an ideal? most of america is middle class. both upper and middle class americans look down on that kind of culture, much less way of speaking. let's see. is it not an ideal when most of the people who speak that way come from lower class or poor backgrounds. i think new york city is a great example [and no, this isn't some half assed point of pride. this city is very diverse and that is a fact. it is by no means original insight, before someone out there decides to piss on how much i like it] of this, as it is a very diverse city. the differences in status and culture are glaringly apparent on a day to day basis. on the subway, the people who dress neatly and look professionaly stand apart from those who wear caps, baggy jeans, and timbs. also, nobody talks that way professionally. it is a culture, a street phenomenon, and far from ideal. what you're saying is a complete and utter stretch. not to mention blowing the subject out of context and out of proportion.
most of american is conservative. around 70% of america is white, the rest is minority. and in terms of religion, there is also quite a range.
i think this thread is blowing out of proportion what is simply a culture phenomenon. ebonics is not a language, obviously. it is also not a vulgar butchery of proper english. americans don't speak proper english to begin with so if you're going to piss on one particular group, piss on the bigger group, the group that encompasses what a smaller group does. the one that doesn't speak proper english to begin with. so if americans don't speak proper english, and african americans are american, then ebonics is a specific derivative of non-proper american english. singling out a narrower kind of english and labeling it as slang is not fair and certainly not accurate. it is not slang. it is the way a certain group speaks. and it evolves very rapidly, as does american english. in a non biased perspective, ebonics is an evolutionary occurence, that's all. it is closely tied with culture, as language and culture go hand and hand. black people have been here from nearly the beginning of this country's history and from there, a dialect or manner of speaking evolved over the course of a few hundred years. ebonics didn't appear overnight, and it is not something that americans marvel and idealize when african americans in this country are treated unequally and often treated unfairly, despite how american they are. so to state that ebonics is a vulgar distortion is also implying that african american culture is also something not to look up to. if they speak something that is so vulgar? how can their culture be held up high? makes no sense. and it is untrue.
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