Sep 1, 2023 · According to Smithsonian, the ax pronunciation is, in fact, totally valid. You might be wondering how that’s possible. The word is spelled A-S-K, so it’s pronounced ask.

Feb 6, 2014 · NPR's All Things Considered explored the complex social stigma around “ask”. One part jumped out, though: the pronunciation of “ax” has a long—very long—history.

Dec 3, 2013 · Pronounce "ask" as "ax," and immediately many will assume that you're poor, black and uneducated. New York City's first African-American schools chancellor, Dr. Richard R. Green, put it on his...

Jul 2, 2024 · Some linguists consider "ax" (or "aks") an integral part of Black American culture. Anti-Black folks seek to correct our speech to make us feel uneducated and inferior. But we speak a dialect different from standard English speakers, and it's never been inherently wrong.

Mar 11, 2022 · In North America, “aks” (or “ax”) was widely used in New England and the southern and middle states. In the late 19th century, however, it became stereotyped as exclusive to African American...

Jan 19, 2014 · “Ax” is a word indelibly associated not just with asking but with black people asking. That sentiment alone is powerful enough to cut across conscious decisions about what is standard or proper.

Jan 19, 2014 · In the LA Times today, John McWhorter explains why ax is so commonly used by blacks as a nonstandard pronunciation of ask.

Oct 24, 2015 · Recent research by the American Dialect Society claims that using “axe” instead of “ask” is nothing new nor is it a mistake. The word “axe” derives from the Old English verb “ascian”, which means to enquire, and its usage is dated to over …

Feb 12, 2013 · Old English had two verbs, “ascian” and “axian” that equate to “ask” and “ax”. Both forms of the verb evolved according to linguistic norms which parallel to each other. “Ax” is not an inversion of “ask”.

So it is possible that it is actually the standard pronunciation of 'ask' that has undergone metathesis from 'aks', rather than the other way around. Alternatively, the standard pronunciation may have been introduced by the Vikings.