You're question is quite a generalization in my opinion. I myself know black people who say "axe", and I also know white people, brown people, and asian people who say "axe" - but I know most people, of whatever color say "ask" correctly. . It has nothing to do with race, it's more a matter of ones' vernacular. The majority of people in certain areas may say "axe", while the majority of people in other areas will say "ask"

There are plenty of white people who say "axe" instead of "ask". One notable example off the top of my head is the fantastic Dr. John, he has a very heavy Cajun accent.

Doesn't bother me so much, but I do find it silly sounding. It automatically makes one sound uneducated.

I've never met an African American who can't say "ask". In my experience people from China and Hong Kong have a hard time with that word.

Yes, it bothers me. And when people say "brefakst" instead of breakfast

I used to have a coworker who is now Retired. She was a white lady and she would say aks. That doesn't bother me as much as some other things do. In working with the public, I can hear all kinds of things.

it doesnt bother me its just the way some people talk others say things diffrent also you could say the same things for mexicans or others like for example mexicans say chair like shair but it doesnt bother me i know what they are saying and i just go on with it what i cant stand is when a white person (and i am half white) are around black people and they try to talk like them like saying axe instead of ask or hey girl yo yo yo i hate that just be yourself

It's a regional thing, not a race thing. That's akin to me asking "why do Irish people have ridiculous Boston accents"

Don't blame the race or any people but the schools for not correcting them.

i've lived in quite a few states and i'd say it's more a regional thing than a racial thing. actually, most blacks i've met DON'T say it that way, but i've heard it from more blacks than whites. ;)

If I had a dollar for every word allegedly well educated white Americans habitually mispronounce, I'd be very wealthy indeed. And W would be my retirement fund.

It bothers me whenever anyone doesn't speak correctly. My grammar was constantly corrected as I was growing up, and I find myself doing the same with my children. In my opinion, intelligence is portrayed best by speaking correctly. I don't think it's a race thing or even a regional thing. I think it's more of a product of one's own environment.

ok I'm gonna be the devils advocate here and say that to everyone comparing blacks' pronunciation of a word to asians and spanish I think that's just b.s. Firstly asians and spanish mispronounce words because they have an accent from their native tongue. Blacks don't speak their "native tongue" in this country they speak english, grew up speaking english. I know asians born and raised in america and they speak english perfectly well with no accent but I know blacks born and raised in america and they do not speak proper english such as words like aks or compruter. BUT I have also seen plenty of whites that say fanger, youins and upnunder and things like that. I think it's a shame schools don't do a better job at undoing regional dialects, which is what I believe they are. I notice in larger urban cities blacks tend to use more slang and mispronounciation than whites and whites in less urban more rural settings tend to slaughter the language more than they do in larger cities. I think it has nothing to do with color so much as location and level of education. It's also a cultural thing, who hasn't heard of a black friend or even a few well known comedians mentioning blacks putting on their "white voice" for a job interview. But in the end I guess the Brits could chime in on this and say we all (Americans) speak english incorrectly.

Can anyone actually answer this question, rather than just criticise it? And yes, the question is a Generalisation -but I agree with it. In general, I've found that it is mostly black people, & very few white (or other race) that have trouble with the word "ask". I have always wondered why this is -especially when the black people have been brought up in a country such as the UK or USA.

No it doesn't bother me - why does it bother you?

It's not a "regional" thing, nor is it a a sterotype. It's a fact, and yes it's annoying when people are too lazy to speak proper English. I've lived all over the U.S. and the vast majority of blacks say "axe". There's no shortage of white trash from the cities who are ignorant enough to want to copy this by the way and adopt anything and everything that is hip-hop culture, so they do the same s**t. Just listen to an Eminem interview. And I STILL haven't heard anyone give an answer to the original question. Next up...why do people start sentences with "I mean"? Hey...there's someone with a command of the language....idiots.

I am a very well educated "African-American". Everyone who speaks with me is impressed by my supposed eloquence. I find it difficult to pronounce the word “ask” and have to consciously avoid mispronouncing the word. Different ethnic groups enunciate language differently. There is an instance in the Bible where one tribe utilized an opposing tribes inability to pronounce certain words to discover their spies, and kill them.