you don't sound Archives - The Race Card Project

My Speech Doesn’t Define My Skin

January 23, 2025January 23, 2025 adopted, Ari Wiggins, Des Moines, Des Moines (DMACC), Des Moines Area Community College, DMACC, educated, IA, stereotyoe, talk white, white sound white, you don't sound

Ari Wiggins,
Des Moines (DMACC), IA

I chose this phrase because throughout my childhood and adulthood I am asked often about the way I talk. Most common questions are… “Why you talk so proper?” , “Why do you speak like a white person,” “Were you adopted by a white family or are you half white?”. I would like to express to society that not all African-Americans talk with slang or have an ignorant speech. I as an African-American young woman can have an proper and educated speech and be a stereotype.

Stop talking like a white girl

September 9, 2024September 9, 2024 East Lansing, Jasmine Baker, Michigan, Michigan State University, proper english, stereotpe, USA, White girl, you don't sound

Jasmine Baker
East Lansing, MI

Growing up I was placed in the gifted and talented program in my elementary school. I learned to speak what this society refers to as “proper English.” Because of that, many Black students would tease me and tell me that I’m black, stop talking like a white girl. What does that even mean? I laugh about it now 🙂

Description: This is me in Ephesus, Turkey on a Study Abroad trip to Green and Turkey Summer 2014

I am not defined by society

March 22, 2024March 21, 2024 Christchurch, define, identity, Justina Adarkwah, problem, skin, society, stereotype, VA, you don't sound, you talk like

Justina Adarkwah
Christchurch, VA

I’ve always had a problem with identity, but ironically I realized it was me that thought I had a problem, it was society, my community, everyone else who had an opinion about ‘what’ I was and who I should be. I’m not sorry to let everyone one know that its not their decision to make, the colour of my skin has almost nothing to do with who I am, I didn’t ask to be born to my parents, born in my country, speak the way I do, look the way I do so why is it an issue? I can look ‘black’, talk ‘white’, act ‘latino’, study like an ‘asian’. It’s no one’s business but mine. These are all stereotypes and they are named as such for a reason. We are who say we are, I choose to be just human, what about you?

I’m surprised you speak so well.

January 19, 2024January 19, 2024 articulate, black girl, Canton, debate team, E.C. Boyd, neighborhood, OH, Perry Township, proper english, school, stereotype, white, you don't sound

E.C. Boyd,
Canton, OH.

I was not born, but I was raised in a predominantly white neighborhood because the school system was better in Perry Township than the low-income, mostly black Canton City Schools. As the only black person on my school’s debate team, I dealt with a lot of people surprised that I could speak as well as them, despite the obvious difference in our physical appearance, One debate alumni during a practice round said with the best of intentions, “You speak really well for a black girl.” When she saw the look on my face, she followed up with “Trust me–that’s a good thing.”

Wow, you don’t have an accent!

April 26, 2022April 26, 2022 accent, Allentown, Angelina A., Chile, Chilean, culture, Dominican, Hispanic, PA, Spanish, you don't sound

Angelina A.,
Allentown, PA.

I myself always get asked about questions about my racial and ethnic background and it never has bothered me. I usually always say I am half Dominican and half Chilean, then I go on to explaining that my dad is from Chile and my mom is from The Dominican Republic. Although I was born in New Jersey, I do not identify myself as being an American even though I know I am. This may be because my Hispanic culture is deeply rooted within my family and household, Spanish is my first language and I did not learn English until I went to school. Now it does bother me when people are amazed by that and say that I don’t have an accent or that I speak well. As if just because I spoke Spanish first they would EXPECT me to have an accent or not speak English correctly. That to me is actually insulting.

Wow, you speak English really well!

April 11, 2022April 11, 2022 CA, India, Oakland, Philippines, Sharmila Guha, Speak English, you don't sound

Sharmila Guha,
Oakland, CA.

It was my first summer job after high school. A man in the lunch room one day tried to ask shy me this odd questions… which just left me stunned. I was born and raised in Los Angeles; why wouldn’t I speak English well? I guess the “dad from India and mom from Philippines” thing really confuses people.

No, I’m not faking my accent!

January 2, 2022January 2, 2022 accent, fake, household, immigrant, latina, NY, Panamanian, Rachel James, Syracuse, you don't sound

Rachel James,
Syracuse, NY.

Growing up in a Latina household I learned the English that my mother spoke as a Panamanian immigrant. Therefore, I learned to say certain words while rolling my r’s or with an accent and I don’t notice it because that’s how I learned to pronounce them. But because I look more African than Latina people always think I’m “faking it”, “trying to be something I’m not”, or “trying to show off”. Seriously!? No, I’m not faking my accent!

Colombian? Where is your accent?

October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 accent, Boston, Colombian, MA, Spanish, Yessica Guarin Arias, you don't sound

Yessica Guarin Arias,
Boston, MA.

Yes, I don’t have the same accent as the actors and actresses on TV. The reason to why is because they were born in a specific part of the country in which I am not from. However, people only hear these people speaking “Colombian Spanish”. When in reality Colombia has many different accents depending on the area that you live in.

Why do you talk so proper?

July 5, 2020July 5, 2020 African American, educated, ghetto, male, proper, school, talk, you don't sound

Cameron McCall,
Fontana, CA.

The reason I choose these six words is because I don’t like how I am stereotyped to be un-educated and ghetto. I am a proud African American male in college and I am proud of the proper english that I use.

Over the phone, I’m just American.

June 18, 2019June 18, 2019 New York, NY, phone, presume, Reginald Daniel, you don't sound

Reginald Daniel
New York, NY

It’s amazing what one hears when the other presumes they are speaking with someone of the same race.

You don’t talk with an accent.

March 8, 2019March 8, 2019 accent, CA, Grace Marie Sanchez, Scotts Valley, talk, you don't sound

Grace Marie Sanchez,
Scotts Valley, CA.

When I took a room mate to my house after graduating from college this is what she said to my Mother. I was completely embarrassed that she said this to my Mom but she did not seem to realize this was a faux pas. I remember my Mom doing a double take and just giving her a wan smile. My Mother was third generation Mexican-American and spoke both Spanish and English beautifully.

You don’t look or sound Cuban.

February 14, 2018February 14, 2018 brothers, check the box, Colonial, Cuban, label, Latino, Lowell, MA, other, Roots, Sergio R Velazquez, you don't sound

Sergio R Velazquez,
Lowell, MA.

The label Latino bothers me, same as Hispanic. Both have colonial roots and do not properly represent any specific group or culture. This is why I always select OTHER and fill in Cuban. Just my five cents worth.

You sound White on the phone…

January 1, 2018January 1, 2018 KY, Louisville, phone, white, you don't sound, you sound

Kim F.,
Louisville, KY.

This is cool!

I speak proper so I’m whitewashed

November 17, 2015November 17, 2015 Chesapeake, Jewell Barnes, N word, proper, speak, talk black, talk white, VA, whitewashed, you don't sound

Jewell Barnes,
Chesapeake, VA.

I can’t even keep track of the amount of times I was called whitewashed….. I’m sorry, I went to school and learned how to speak without saying N***** every other word.

Didn’t know/you don’t sound black.

September 30, 2015September 30, 2015 AK, Anchorage, Charity Son, Color, skin, Sound black, stereotype, you don't sound

Charity Son
Anchorage, AK

I was disappointed that this seems to even surprise a congenitally blind white woman I work with–“I didn’t know you were black!.” Happens on the phone as well. In person, black people, white people, all kinds of people seem to resent the way I speak. What does it even mean, to sound like your skin is a certain color? The way I speak doesn’t make me trying to sound white, or trying to sound smart, or trying to spund rich, and shouldn’t even be associated with those things exclusively. It’s just the way I was raised to talk. It’s not actually connected to anything and yet socially and culturely we’ve made sure that it is. We’ve made sure that depending on the audience, one way of speaking is more beneficial or more limiting than another. Dialects become colored and tinted by association.

“Well you’re not like super Hispanic”

March 20, 2015 Bethesda, but you don't look, Christina Aviles, College, college roomate, freshmen, Hispanic, MD, music, pick-up truck, stereotype, super, you don't sound

Christina Aviles,
Bethesda, MD.

“You don’t talk like most Hispanic girls do, you don’t wear your hair like them, you don’t listen to the same music as them, you’re just not, well you’re not like super Hispanic”. This is what my white college roommate said to me during our first semester of freshman year when I asked her about her first impression of me. I said to her “well my mom cleans houses for a living and my dad is a maintenance worker and drives a pickup truck, does that help me qualify as super Hispanic?

I thought you’d have an accent!

March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 accent, Boston, Colombia, El Salvador, MA, online dating, Sonia Paz, the King's English, you don't sound

Sonia Paz,
Boston, MA.

Would it make you more comfortable if I did? I was born in Boston. Raised in Boston. Educated in Boston. Did I mention that I was born here?

My mom is from Colombia, my father from El Salvador. When I look in the mirror, my facial features (along with my lack of height) scream Latina. This is what my features say to those who meet me. But for many who meet me, the assumption is that I couldn’t possibly have been born here. It’s automatically assumed that I either don’t speak English or that I don’t speak it well. I cannot tell you how many times in formal work settings people have started their conversations with me speaking slowly and loud. I can see them trying to hide their surprise when I respond in what I jokingly refer to as “the kings English.”

This sometimes makes online dating a little uncomfortable. You meet someone online, you text and you e-mail. You share your life stories, where you’re from, what you do, your goals. And then comes the first meeting. I’ve seen dates try to hide their surprise when I open my mouth and not only do I speak English, I speak it perfectly and I don’t have an accent. Some have even been disappointed, “I thought you’d have an accent!” Why? Because accents are genetic? Then I spend the evening correcting their grammar. Not a lot of second dates after that.

Highly educated black woman. …so what

October 14, 2014October 14, 2014 American Dream, black women, educated, education, Grand Blanc, Levaughn, master, MI, MSU, social worker, stereotype, you don't sound

Levaughn,
Grand Blanc, MI.

I’m a master social worker and received my accelerated advanced degree from a top ten university…MSU… I am an outpatient therapist and attained this job in less than a year from graduating. Which in my field is highly unlikely. I have worked very hard to go from poverty to the “American dream” by pulling myself up from my own bootstraps….but truth is…my educational and professional attainment means nothing. I am still viewed as a young educated black woman…..How did she make it this far? You must not be from this area? You speak so well?

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