# Why are reporters pronouncing Fifty Cent's name in ebonics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821 "2005-11-13T04:16:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/1 "2005-11-13T04:16:34Z")
The movie “Get Rich or Die Trying” has been in the news a lot recently, mainly because of fights and shootings that have taken place at theaters. When television and radio news anchors reporters mention the movie, they pronounce the star’s name, “Fifty Cent,” as “Fiddycent.” On the 11:00 news here in Cleveland, the white blonde female anchor said “Fiddycent” as if she was a Compton native. It all reminds me of the trend in the 1980s and 1990s when reporters pronounced Spanish-based words and names as if they were native Spanish speakers, for instance the infamous “Nee-cah-LAH-goo-wah” on NPR. So, is there a style guide that states that “Fifty Cent” must be pronounced as “Fiddycent”, in an AAVE accent, even when the speaker is whiter than a sheet of polar ice? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/2 "2005-11-13T04:25:10Z")
I think his name is officially the numeral “50” rather than “fifty.” Since everyone seems to pronounce it “fiddy,” well, that’s his name. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/3 "2005-11-13T04:54:56Z")
Hell, that’s nothing. Remember the initial coverage of the Iraq war? Blond newsbabe: In other news, we’ve had a report today that Sa-DDAM _Hussein_ has been sighted near Kirkuk. Secretary Rumsfeld refused to corroborate this report, saying that he cannot comments on efforts to capture Sa-DDAM _Hussein_. If they broadcast the news in HDTV, you probably would’ve been able to see the spittle flying out of their mouths. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/4 "2005-11-13T05:28:13Z")
How does this rapper himself pronounce his name? Standard journalist style is to pronounce as the person themself does? And most blacks I have known, even those who grew up in black neighborhoods, would prounounce fifty the standard English way. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/5 "2005-11-13T05:28:25Z")
I was going to say it’s because they’re giving legitamacy to Ebonics, but really, I guess, it’s just because that’s his name as he chooses to pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/6 "2005-11-13T05:49:57Z")
Hmm…curious Google result: [http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-34,GGLG:en&q=fifty+fiddy](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-34,GGLG:en&q=fifty+fiddy) Notice the curiously high percent of hits involving the rapper. Makes me suspect the “fiddy” has more to do with him in specific than AAVE in general. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/7 "2005-11-13T12:08:22Z")
I’ve heard people call him “Ten Bob” over here. . . . ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/8 "2005-11-13T16:13:25Z")
Just don’t call him half a Buck. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/9 "2005-11-13T16:26:23Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess, it’s just because that’s his name as he chooses to pronounce it. It would be insulting not too, if you know how he pronounces it. I’m sure we all ran into this, for example people who spell their name Stephan, might prenounce it as it’s spelled or as Steven. If you don’t know then it would be OK to use either, but once you know, you use the one he uses. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/10 "2005-11-13T16:52:50Z")
Isn’t “fiddy” just “fifty” in an AAVE accent? If you’re all right, and I should be pronouncing people’s names in the accent that they use, would that mean I should pronounce EVERY black person’s name in in AAVE accent? Has Fifty Cent ever said “Man, you crackers are gettin’ it wrong! It’s fiddy, not fifty!” Would this apply to non-AAVE accents, too? Would Bob from Long Island be called “Bo-awb?” Would Fran from Rochester be called “Free-hann?” ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/11 "2005-11-13T19:52:25Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] Isn’t “fiddy” just “fifty” in an AAVE accent? If you’re all right, and I should be pronouncing people’s names in the accent that they use, would that mean I should pronounce EVERY black person’s name in in AAVE accent? [QUOTE] Not all African-Americans speak AAVE. Most I know speak colloquial Midwest American English. And, not all blacks are African-Americans. I know multiple blacks that are Afrricans that are resident aliens living in the US. One Zambian woman I know has an accent closer to that of London, England than the folks who live in the hood downtown. ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/12 "2005-11-13T19:59:24Z")
Cotton Hill killed fiddy men in the war that took his shins. Except for his neck he’s as white as they come. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/13 "2005-11-13T20:03:29Z")
It may be worth noting that Eminem (who, I believe, “discovered” 50 Cent and brought him to the attention of producer Dr. Dre) pretty clearly refers to him as “Fi **f** ty” in his song “Like Toy Soldiers.” I don’t know how he refers to him in everyday speech. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/14 "2005-11-13T21:08:20Z")
[The obligatory GoogleFight](http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=Fifty+Cent&word2=fiddycent) ---
**Author:** ![SimonMoon5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SimonMoon5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SimonMoon5)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/15 "2005-11-13T21:10:46Z")
But does anybody call him fifty cent **s**? I probably would if I ever had any reason to speak his name out loud. But then, I also mentally correct Simon & Garfunkel in the song where they sing “I wish I **was** homeward bound” instead of “I wish I were homeward bound.” ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/16 "2005-11-13T21:24:53Z")
So, would it be insulting to ask him which way he prefers? Not to be cruel, but out of a desire for clarity? ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/17 "2005-11-13T21:31:09Z")
I thought it had something to do with a South Park episode where something cost tree fiddy? and it so fifty became fiddy, whenever referenced in the media? ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/18 "2005-11-13T21:55:46Z")
> [@Love Rhombus](#): > > So, would it be insulting to ask him which way he prefers? Not to be cruel, but out of a desire for clarity? Not only not insulting, but customary amongst journalists. Particularly since standard English would pronounce his name “fifty cent”, if you are going to say it “fiddy”, you’d better have a good explanation why. ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/19 "2005-11-14T01:44:05Z")
What if he changed his stage name to Nuclear but pronounced it Nucular? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821/20 "2005-11-14T01:53:14Z")
If they wanted to do it Buckwheat-style, it should be “Fitty Tent.” O-tay? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-reporters-pronouncing-fifty-cents-name-in-ebonics/330821.md?page=2)