At one time I worked with a large group of blacks, one of whom was an educated black lady who was also a well known local public personality.
She was one of the most well spoken, clearest and precise speakers I have personally known.
In both public speaking and in personal conversations her delivery and use of the language was impressive.
One day I happened to walk in unnoticed on a group of blacks who were having a loud raucous group conversation.
They were speaking in what you might think of as black street idiom or gutter ebonics.
To me most of what I heard was barley understandable gibberish.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that one of the central speakers was the same lady who spoke such precise "white English".
She was holding forth in language that you would usually associate with uneducated black ghetto street people.
As time went by I learned that she and the other blacks could turn their "white" or "black" speech on and off like a faucet depending on the audience.
“As time went by I learned that she and the other blacks could turn their “white” or “black” speech on and off like a faucet depending on the audience”.
I know a couple of examples of this. In my case people are usually surprised to find out I grew up in Brooklyn because I do not have the typical accent. However when I travel to NYC the accent returns, often without my realizing it.
In another case I had a co-worker who gave absolutely no indication of being gay. Then one day after he learned he was being fired for poor performance, he displayed the typical speech pattern and gestures often associated with being gay. I found out some time later his next job was teaching at a local boys Christian academy.
If that was verified by “studies”, researchers would surely conclude blacks were victims of racism for feeling the need to change their speech patterns.
What would be the conclusion if whites were found to need to change theirs when around blacks? Again, that whites are racist.
Well, it’s just an interesting thought experiment on the useless university groupthink we’re living under.
Check out the beginning of Moonlight. If you can understand what those guys are saying, you’re a better man than I.
Don’t stay for the rest, though, unless you are okay with pot promotion and porn.