# It is not 'ax' its 'ask' **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931 "2004-07-13T18:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/61 "2004-07-14T02:48:15Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > How about those damn Canadians and their _aboots_. > > "_I want to ax you aboot that Mooshead I had in the fridge, eh?_ 😛 and those Americans and their _ruffs_. “_I need to fix the leak in the ruff_.” ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/62 "2004-07-14T02:52:21Z")
Note: “es…” is not the same as “ex…” Some local sports radio doofballs say “expresso” and “expecially.” Not that it matters. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/63 "2004-07-14T03:13:10Z")
> [@rexnervous](#): > > It may be a regional thing to say ‘ax’, but count me in the “it sounds lazy and/or less intelligent” crowd. > > I didn’t see anyone address what **John Mace** posted way back on page 1, but all of you who say ‘ax’ for ‘ask’, do you repeat that for words like ‘task’ and ‘mask’. Do you say “I’ve got to go get a Halloween max for that party” or “I hate it when my boss gives me that tax”? From what I’ve noticed, no. No one pronounces “task” as “tax,” and “mask” as “max.” The pronunciation only applies to “ask.” I’m not sure what the point is. It’s not that people who use this pronunciation aren’t capable of saying the word “ask,” just like Bush can say “nuclear” instead of “nucular” if he tried. It’s just that where they grew up, they learned that particular pronunciation, and it’s become engrained. I don’t understand why get so up in arms about it. As to why only “ask” developed this alternate pronunciation, one can speculate. Perhaps because “ask” has a long history of being rendered as “aks,” going back to its roots from the OE verb ascian, which became acsian through metathesis. As has been mentioned, even Chaucer used “axe” for “ask.” What’s the big fucking deal? “Bird” came from “Brid.” Furthermore > [@](#): > > In American English, the /aks/ pronunciation was originally dominant in New England. The popularity of this pronunciation faded in the North early in the 19th century as it became more common in the South. Today the pronunciation is perceived in the US as either Southern or African-American. Both of these perceptions underestimate the popularity of the form. > > /aks/ is still found frequently in the South, and is a characteristic of some speech communities as far North as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Iowa. It is one of the shared characteristics between African-American English and Southern dialects of American English. The wide distribution of speakers from these two groups accounts for the presence of the /aks/ pronunciation in Northern urban communities. from [The Mavens’ Word of the Day.](http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19991216) ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/64 "2004-07-14T05:56:04Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > How about those damn Canadians and their _aboots_. I grew up in British Columbia and have lived in Alberta since I was 18 and had never heard this until that damn South Park movie. So, now I’m thinking about it and everytime I try to say ‘abowt’, I find myself saying ‘aboot’! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/65 "2004-07-14T07:57:42Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > Might work in the year 3k. > > (not too obscure pop culture reference) When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought of Leela in Futurama. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Turk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dan\_Turk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Turk)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/66 "2004-07-14T08:02:50Z")
I thought the proper usage was… “Hol’ up fo’ I kin ax you sumpin’… y’all gots wangs and natty lite?” ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/67 "2004-07-14T10:47:21Z")
> [@rexnervous](#): > > Also, how do you speak the second person present tense of ‘ask’? The sentence “He asks me that all the time!”. Do you really say “He axes me that all the time!”? I have a good friend, who uses “aks.” Her pronunciation of the present tense is somewhere between “axes” and “akkez.” But she clearly stumbles over it. But then, she has no southern roots, and isn’t African American, so the origins of her pronunciation may be different from those of the more common regional dialect - she may in fact have a difficulty pronouncing the word. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/68 "2004-07-14T12:31:02Z")
semi-related anecdote A co-worker was once telling me a story about a friend of his who “had a problem with peels.” Here I am, imagining a guy addicted to putting chemicals on his face, or a guy who just gobbles up unprepared bananas. I finally was able to put two and two together and realized I was hearing a story about a guy who took too many pills! and I hate aks. ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/69 "2004-07-14T12:40:56Z")
Has any other dopers taken linguistics? I took it and seem to remember my prof saying that “aks” rather than “ask” was the initial pronounciation and that over time it shifted to ask. So going with that theory, no one is wrong. 😃 \*\*\*Warsh \*\* \* really grates on my nerves. It’s very common around here. But I’d never dream of telling people they don’t speak properly. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/70 "2004-07-14T12:47:21Z")
> [@Sisyphus' Stone](#): > > In most places in the former British Empire, where the Queen’s English was the language spoken, the ess-apostrophe is preferred, if somewhat archaic. Hell, I was taught the ess-apostrophe form in suburban NY, so “former British Empire” goes back about 200 years! Now that we’ve all beaten the living crap out of “aks,” let me add another one: “ek cetera.” Morons who says that are, as you might expect, inclined to abbreviate it “ect.” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/71 "2004-07-14T13:37:45Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It seems that “Woods” might fall under the exception listed in _Fowler’s_. No it doesn’t. Read the quote: > [@](#): > > It is customary, however, to omit the ‘s when the last syllable of the name is pronounced /IZ/, as in Bridges’, Moses’. Jesus’ is an acceptable liturgical archaism. “Woods” does not end in an /IZ/ sound – it’s not “Woodis” – so we write “Woods’s”. If Tiger and his family took their golf clubs on holiday with them, we would talk about “the Woodses’ clubs”. It’s not rocket science. And my obligatory pet peeve is people who say “illuminous” when they mean “luminous”. “Pronounciation” is another. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/72 "2004-07-14T13:53:28Z")
Well, I’m Canadian, and I pronounce aluminum as AL-UM-IN-UM, not AL-OO-MIN-EE-UM. I’ve never heard anyone I know say it as AL-OO-MIN-EE-UM, either. But, lots of us pronounce Newfoundland as NEW-FUN-LAN’ (myself included) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/73 "2004-07-14T14:08:02Z")
Always was amused by “axed a question”. Brings forth a mental image of the question being on a note affixed to your office door with a tomahawk… But then again, being that my English was learned in ESL classes, my big problem developing accent fluency was remembering that no, you don’t need to always pronounce every blessed written character. This is in part why “nukular” “warsh”, etc., though I know them to be accepted regionalisms, never sound right to me. Actually _adding_ more sounds breaks the intuitive pattern (unlike “ax’d”, or “wen’sday”). ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/74 "2004-07-14T14:21:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > From what I’ve noticed, no. No one pronounces “task” as “tax,” and “mask” as “max.” The pronunciation only applies to “ask.” I’m not sure what the point is. > It’s not that people who use this pronunciation aren’t capable of saying the word “ask,” just like Bush can say “nuclear” instead of “nucular” if he tried. It’s just that where they grew up, they learned that particular pronunciation, and it’s become engrained. I don’t understand why get so up in arms about it. > > As to why only “ask” developed this alternate pronunciation, one can speculate. Perhaps because “ask” has a long history of being rendered as “aks,” going back to its roots from the OE verb ascian, which became acsian through metathesis. As has been mentioned, even Chaucer used “axe” for “ask.” What’s the big fucking deal? “Bird” came from “Brid.” It isn’t that big a deal - matter of fact, in the scope of things, it’s infinitessimally small. And now that I think about it, I do understand that just because ‘task’ is spelled like ‘ask’, doesn’t mean they have to rhyme. Otherwise, we’d all pronounce ‘tough’, ‘cough’, and ‘dough’ the same. That being said, I can’t help the fact that it does sound to me less intelligent to say ‘aks’. I am **not** saying people who say ‘aks’ are less intelligent than any other person, not at all. Just that if I hear someone say it that way, my first impression is “Learn some English”. Of course, on the flip side, I imagine if I go down south and say ‘ask’ instead of ‘aks’, their first impression is probably “damn high-fallutin’ northerners and their pompous pronunciation” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/75 "2004-07-14T14:25:51Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I don’t know if you can assume anything about either the education or intelligence of someone who pronounces it “ax”, any more than you can assume anything about the education or intelligence of someone who uses the word “pop” instead of “soda”. It’s just a pronunciation that some dialects have. Big difference…“pop” is not spelled “s-o-d-a” ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/76 "2004-07-14T14:32:00Z")
[QUOTE=cdnguy] > [@](#): > > Wow you do take things rather literal don’t you? Perhaps you meant literally? > [@](#): > > I think it was pretty obvious that I didn’t just mean their fathers. Rather I was using the term in the sense of ‘forefathers’, dumbass. “Father” and “forefather” are two different words that mean two different things. In what sense could a person growing up today have been instructed in pronunciation by his forefather? What in your sentence made it obvious that you were talking about someone’s ancestor? If you meant forefather, why did you write father? > [@](#): > > I agree with you completely, and that was my point, so not sure what you arer arguing here. Unless, of course, your just an ass. These were your words, “If you have to think to speak properly, yes I do think that is a lack of education thing.” Do you see where **you** are equating thinking before speaking with a \*\*lack \*\* of education? Now do you see where \*\*I \*\* am equating \*\*having \*\* an education with thinking before speaking? In what universe are we making the same point? And why do you say someone who speaks differently from you is lazy, when you are too lazy to proofread even after being called on it numerous times? ( **arer**? **your** just an ass?) > [@](#): > > Not it seems I’ve really riled you up here, which I find very amusing. Basically saying I’m racist because it bothers me when people say ‘ax’ rather then ‘ask’ astounds me. It seems like a giant leap in logic. Other people have actually posted intelligent respones to my pitting. They don’t agree with me, which is fine, but they haven’t said I’m racist because of it. It is the pit though, so I can’t say as I care .I never remotely suggested that you are a racist. Prove otherwise or quit whining. > [@](#): > > If this is a regional dialect, which I may be willing to say could be the answer, how come, as **John Mace** pointed out, they don’t say ‘tax’ for ‘task’ or ‘bax’ for ‘bask’. One more time, read the link that discusses the etymology of the word. It is all explained there. > [@](#): > > In short, fuck you and the giant shoulderchip you rode in on **trandalt** You started this thread compaining that a particular pronunciation “bothers you no end”. You have been shown over and over why that particular word is pronounced that way, yet you persist in calling those who say it “lazy” and “uneducated”. You have shown in your responses that you can also be lazy, and perhaps your education could stand a little brushing up. You hace resorted to name-calling and strawmen to deflect attention from your obvious lack of debating skills. And as for the “fuck you”, I think I’ll pass, but gee thanks awfully it was such a pretty invitation. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/77 "2004-07-14T15:24:33Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > If Tiger and his family took their golf clubs on holiday with them, we would talk about “the Woodses’ clubs”. Of course you woould. But that’s a possessive attached to a plural, and is not what was being discussed. We were talking about a possessive attached to a singular, in this case “Woods.” I agree that the _Fowler’s_ exception probably doesn’t apply to Woods, and i always add -'s to a singular, even if it ends with s. But the very fact that the rules are rather arbitrary for this practice suggests that it’s not exactly a big deal. Is it really the end of the world if someone writes “Tiger Woods’ golf clubs” instead of “Tiger Woods’s golf clubs”? The former is particularly common usage among journalists. In fact, the _Associated Press Stylebook_ specifically recommends adding only an apostrophe if the word (any word) ends in s. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/78 "2004-07-14T15:30:19Z")
How about people saying “pacific” instead of “specific”? That drives me nuts, too. It is funny how language can evolve, though. I’ve always noticed that the Jamaican accent sounds like it is twanged with Irish or Scottish elements. Sometimes I’ll hear an English accent and think of Southern black dialects. I have had conversations with Yankees and European foreigners and they will laugh at my particular pronounciation of words, when my ears are not even aware of how “different” I sound. Likewise, I will crack up listening to a Brit pronounce “raccoon” (they say RUH-coon), “trachea” (TRUH-kia), and “herb” (HERB). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/79 "2004-07-14T15:46:15Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The former is particularly common usage among journalists. In fact, the _Associated Press Stylebook_ specifically recommends adding only an apostrophe if the word (any word) ends in s. No, no it doesn’t. Here’s the AP rules regarding apostrophes. I’m lazy, so I’ve quoted my own post from years back: > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **pulykamell** > > Oh, AP is the king of weirdness when it comes to the possessive apostrophe. > > For example, in singular common nouns ending in “s,” you normally form the possessive by adding an apostrophe-s. To wit “The waitress’s table.” However, in the case that the next word starts with “s,” use a single apostrophe. “The waitress’ seat.” I can sorta understand, but still odd. > > Then comes an addendum to this rule. If a word that ends with an “s” sound is followed by a word which begins with the letter “s,” also use the simple apostrophe. Hence, “appearance’ sake” and “conscience’ sake,” but “my conscience’s voice.” > > Then, of course, there’s proper nouns ending with “s,” and biblical names like “Jesus” and “Moses.” It’s enough to give me a headache. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931/80 "2004-07-14T16:19:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Then comes an addendum to this rule. If a word that ends with an “s” sound is followed by a word which begins with the letter “s,” also use the simple apostrophe. Hence, “appearance’ sake” and “conscience’ sake,” but “my conscience’s voice.” Fuck, that’s a new one on me. Does AP stand for “Apostrophisation Putzes” these days, or wot? 😉 (Lemme, see now… “the putz’ strange rules are astounding” - is that right?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-not-ax-its-ask/254931.md?page=5)