# Why do some people pronounce "ask" as "aks"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177 "2010-11-19T02:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/1 "2010-11-19T02:25:00Z")
I can think of two reasons someone would say “aks” instead of “ask.” 1. He doesn’t know that the word is pronounced as “ask.” 2. He knows the proper pronunciation but chooses not to use it. Regarding #1, how can anyone possibly not know how to pronounce this word (aside from deafness)? He must have heard it properly a million times on TV and radio. This leaves #2. Why then would someone who otherwise pronounces words properly deliberately mispronounce this one? In brief, WTF? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/2 "2010-11-19T02:29:32Z")
It’s properly pronounced “axe”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/3 "2010-11-19T02:31:56Z")
> [@jebert](#): > > I can think of two reasons someone would say “aks” instead of “ask.” > > 1. He doesn’t know that the word is pronounced as “ask.” > > 2. He knows the proper pronunciation but chooses not to use it. > > Regarding #1, how can anyone possibly not know how to pronounce this word (aside from deafness)? He must have heard it properly a million times on TV and radio. > > This leaves #2. Why then would someone who otherwise pronounces words properly deliberately mispronounce this one? > > In brief, WTF? 1. He is speaking correctly, but he is using [African American Vernacular English](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_English), a variety of English in which ask is pronounced aks (see the Phonology section of the article). ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/4 "2010-11-19T02:38:14Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > 1. He is speaking correctly, but he is using [African American Vernacular English](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_English), a variety of English in which ask is pronounced aks (see the Phonology section of the article). I have heard people using more or less standard English except for this one word. What’s up? ---
**Author:** ![Pseudocode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/59ef9b/32.png) [@Pseudocode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pseudocode)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/5 "2010-11-19T02:40:24Z")
1. He is a fan of [Futurama](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurama#Language). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/6 "2010-11-19T02:40:55Z")
“Axe” is slightly easier to say. Pronunciations change for various reasons or style or no reason at all. Say this word: “Zebra.” I guarantee the way you said it isn’t at all the way anyone in the world said it 150 years ago. “Axe” is also, by the way, the original pronunciation. “Ask” is a change. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/7 "2010-11-19T02:43:57Z")
> [@jebert](#): > > I have heard people using more or less standard English except for this one word. What’s up? What do you mean? My grandmother, an ex-English teacher, pronounced “water” as “worter,” “house” as “hoose,” and “coupon” as “koo-pon”. She was intelligent and literate. But her old-money-South dialect had these peculiarities. So the third option is almost certainly the one: 3) He knows how some other folks pronounce it, but in his dialect, “ask” is pronounced “ax.” In other words, it’s the proper pronunciation in his dialect. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/8 "2010-11-19T02:47:32Z")
Around 1995 lots of people suddenly lost the ability to pronounce the letter “R”, The gansta wappa effewt for that and the pwarty cwowd help that along. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/9 "2010-11-19T03:05:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My grandmother, an ex-English teacher, pronounced…“coupon” as “koo-pon”. That would be correct. Do you say cue-pon? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/10 "2010-11-19T03:12:03Z")
1. That’s how the people around him pronounced it when he was growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/11 "2010-11-19T04:02:30Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > 1. He is speaking correctly, but he is using [African American Vernacular English](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_English), a variety of English in which ask is pronounced aks (see the Phonology section of the article). Or is from New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/12 "2010-11-19T04:06:18Z")
Around NE Ohio, it is the quintessential Ebonics phrase: “I’m gonna axe my sister if she wants to see a movie Friday.” I hear it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/13 "2010-11-19T04:11:47Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > and “coupon” as “koo-pon” > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > That would be correct. > > Do you say cue-pon? Yeah, since you brought it up: There is no Q in “coupon,” so why do some people pronounce it that way? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/14 "2010-11-19T04:21:04Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yeah, since you brought it up: There is no Q in “coupon,” so why do some people pronounce it that way? How do you pronounce curious? ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/15 "2010-11-19T04:28:21Z")
[http://linguistlist.org/issues/7/7-1048.html](http://linguistlist.org/issues/7/7-1048.html) > [@](#): > > Some further comments came from Raj Mesthrie at the University of Cape > Town: > Aks is I believe alive and well in parts of Britain and > elsewhere in the world (e.g. my native dialect of South > African Indian English, where it co-exists with the > standard form ask). The Old English form is acsian > (suggesting an antecedent of aks); Middle English had > axian and I believe at least in the midlands of England > aks is a variant. > Apparently, then, both ask and aks have been around for a long > time. Why did one rather than the other turn up in Black English, and > why is aks stigmatized? Mary Niepokuj at Purdue commented: > I’m not absolutely sure how the word entered African > American English as /aks/; my guess (but it’s just a > guess) might be that the form /aks/ was the form most > commonly used in the dialect of English to which the > slaves were originally exposed, and it’s persisted in > African American English for the same sociolinguistic > reasons that other features persist. I’d be inclined to > treat it as a retention rather than as an innovation in > African American English. > [@](#): > > I’d like to close this discussion with what seems to be an > apropos maxim from Christ’s sermon on the Mount in Miles Coverdale’s > Bible, 1535 (supplied to me by Alain Thomas): “Axe and it shal be > giuen you.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/16 "2010-11-19T05:22:23Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How do you pronounce curious? Qhy is how I pronounce “cu” relevant to how I pronounce “cou”? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/17 "2010-11-19T05:25:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > How do you pronounce curious? But it’s not _cu-_, it’s _cou-_. Cough, council, count, counter, coup, coupe, couple, couplet, coupon, courage, court, course, cousin . . . A _cue-_ pronunciation for _coupon_ would definitely be anomalous. And, in fact, I’ve never heard it, or been aware of its existence, until I read this thread. ---
**Author:** ![mil0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mil0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mil0)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/18 "2010-11-19T05:36:09Z")
I occasionally have a lapse in judgment and will pronounce “ask” as “aks,” and “water” as “warter.” I’d imagine it’s mostly due to people around me pronouncing it that way when I was growing up. I’m from Rockland, NY, if you’re curious. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/19 "2010-11-19T05:42:25Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > But it’s not _cu-_, it’s _cou-_. > > Cough, council, count, counter, coup, coupe, couple, couplet, coupon, courage, court, course, cousin . . . A _cue-_ pronunciation for _coupon_ would definitely be anomalous. And, in fact, I’ve never heard it, or been aware of its existence, until I read this thread. How strange, as it’s the opposite situation for me. I grew up with “cue-pon”. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177/20 "2010-11-19T08:48:44Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Qhy is how I pronounce “cu” relevant to how I pronounce “cou”? It is relevant because it addresses a point you yourself made, namely, that the absence of a Q gives you a hint about the pronunciation of _coupon_. There is evidently no Q in _curious_ either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-people-pronounce-ask-as-aks/561177.md?page=2)