Myabe I'm mean but the pharse "well spoken" ires me.

[Shadowpawn]

It's just that everytime I hear this pharse uttered I think "Is this person trying to insult me or compliment my speech?" I guess since I'm a young male I must speak in slang every moment in order to be considered within the realms of normalcy. Is it really that strange that I don't go "yeah dawg" when speaking for longer than 10 seconds?

Maybe I'm just being anal but it just bothers me for some reason.

[Solstis]

Backhanded compliments are generally pretty hard to accept.

Depends on the person, really, and the context. Might be a genuine compliment.

[Sord]

key to life: ignore people. If they have some deluded version of you in their mind, it's not going to mean a thing unless your around them a significant amount of time. Chances are they aren't going to make any change in your life, they will influence very little if anything at all (especially on a grand scale,) and within a year of not knowing them have no bearing on you (the one major exception to this being your boss.) If you know you speak well, then that's all that matters. Eventually the smarter people will pick up that you speak in a normal adult manner.

[Reipard]

Any phrase can be used in a sarcastic manner, but I have to admit I don't see 'well spoken' used like that very often. People usually use it when you say something in a way much more eloquently than they could have put it.

I don't see anything wrong with it by itself.

[CelestialBlade]

Foo don't be steppin. Done been trippin ovah that white boi language, shawty. Fo shizzle.

"Well spoken" isn't so bad compared to those sentences above.

[DizzyDi]

On 2008-01-10 05:39, Typheros wrote:
Foo don't be steppin. Done been trippin ovah that white boi language, shawty. Fo shizzle.

"Well spoken" isn't so bad compared to those sentences above.



True, but the thing is that slang isn't spoken like that at all. :\
I don't even understand what you said just now.

[Sir_Satyr]

Personally, I just don't understand when and how talking like you came from the inner city ghetto became cool.

[Eihwaz]

When someone says "Well spoken!", you should look at their facial expression, body language, and any other non-verbal clues if you're having trouble determining whether or not they're being sarcastic.

I have the exact opposite problem that you have. I tend to get very wordy when I'm being particularly sincere, which makes me sound incredibly sarcastic. It's very unfortunate.

[CelestialBlade]

On 2008-01-10 05:55, DizzyDi wrote:

On 2008-01-10 05:39, Typheros wrote:
Foo don't be steppin. Done been trippin ovah that white boi language, shawty. Fo shizzle.

"Well spoken" isn't so bad compared to those sentences above.

True, but the thing is that slang isn't spoken like that at all. :
I don't even understand what you said just now.

I don't understand what I said either.

[DizzyDi]

Thats because it wasn't slang at all.
But anyways, slang in general seems to have a negative connotation with many people but I really don't see the problem with it. There are just certain places and occasions when slang shouldn't be spoken. But everyone has their own personal slang amongst their friends. Its just that black people AND teens are slapped with the stereotype that we do nothing but speak slang and ruin America.

[Shadow_Wing]

On 2008-01-10 11:43, Typheros wrote:

On 2008-01-10 05:55, DizzyDi wrote:

On 2008-01-10 05:39, Typheros wrote:
Foo don't be steppin. Done been trippin ovah that white boi language, shawty. Fo shizzle.

"Well spoken" isn't so bad compared to those sentences above.

True, but the thing is that slang isn't spoken like that at all. :
I don't even understand what you said just now.

I don't understand what I said either.

Steppin and Trippin should have been switched, would have been like this if so, "Don't be over reacting. I'm done with (Talking I guess in this context) with that white boy language dude. Definately."

lol? Eh spend quite a bit of time with some ghetto black guys and you get the feel for w/e the hell they're saying I guess <<; Never been called "well spoken" then again I'm a bit Asian and my spoken English is kinda bad with my accent.

[Shadowpawn]

Maybe I should clarify myself, it's not just the fact that this phrase could be used in a sarcastic tone or not. It's the very that it needs to be uttered in the first place. As if it were amazing that a young person could speak in proper dialect. It's like Dizzy said; minorities and youth are labeled as slang ritten. It really shouldn't be much a shock if you do in fact find a "well spoken" individual. The chances that you'll find a much older individual that does or does not speak "well" are just as high.

Though I have to admit I am a bit picky when it comes to the intended meaning of words. I have the same problem when people describe others as intelligent when the word itself used by itself doesn't have a real meaning. Think about it, intelligence can apply to many different things.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Shadowpawn on 2008-01-11 08:43 ]</font>

[ShinMaruku]

On 2008-01-10 13:21, DizzyDi wrote:
Thats because it wasn't slang at all.
But anyways, slang in general seems to have a negative connotation with many people but I really don't see the problem with it. There are just certain places and occasions when slang shouldn't be spoken. But everyone has their own personal slang amongst their friends. Its just that black people AND teens are slapped with the stereotype that we do nothing but speak slang and ruin America.


Now while they don all speak slang, they have the tendacy to follow others and follow others into ruin. But it's more pride and stupidity ruining America. :E

[Garroway]

I suppose you should consider what was meant by the term "well spoken". I would argue that if your message was understood by the receiving party then communication was successful. So if the term is used as a congratulatory remark referring to your ability to communicate then it's reasonable to say that slang used appropriately could also be considered as "well spoken". Likewise, speaking beyond your audience or "over their heads" so to speak, could be considered poor communication if your message was not understood.

[Ithildin]

As long as I can understand what is being said and you are not putting it on it's ok with me. Tbh, I love accents and for someone to be "well spoken" you have to speak the Queen's English, that is generally someone who is middle class or went to public school. I speak in an English accent, more common say than tyhe Queen's English, a dialect of a part of my country. Yet I still try to speak my language properly so that others understand and so that I am not spoiling the language for foreigners.

[Sharkyland]

I try to avoid slang as much as possible. It's already hard enough to learn another language. :/