Dictionary

blaccent en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /-sɛnt/ (Ireland, Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈblak.sənt/ (Ireland, Received-Pronunciation)
• blăkʹsĕnt (Canada, US)
• /ˈblæk.sɛnt/ (Canada, US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *blakaz Proto-West Germanic *blak Old English blæc Middle English blak English black Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- Proto-Indo-European *kh₂néti Proto-Italic *kanō Latin canō Latin accinō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus ▲ Ancient Greek προσῳδῐ́ᾱ (prosōidĭ́ā)calq. Medieval Latin accentusbor. Middle French accentbor. Anglo-Norman accentbor. Middle English accent English accent blend English blaccent Blend of black + accent.

Meanings

1. (US) An accent characteristic of African-Americans (black Americans).
   • The term is making headlines this week after comedian, actress and rapper Awkwafina addressed criticism that she’s used a “blaccent,” or Black accent, and other elements of African American language and mannerisms during her career. 2022 February 8, “What a ‘blaccent’ is, and why it's wrong”, in CNN:
   • Black earnings decrease to the extent that one has a perceptible “blaccent.” 2020 July 21, John McWhorter, “The Biases We Hold Against the Way People Speak”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • He's black, but doesn't have a trace of a blaccent. 2003 January 5, Eric Stewart, “the people's kitchen”, in misc.activism.progressive (Usenet):
   • (Mr. McClelland notes the existence of various Midwestern “blaccents,” though he doesn’t explore them.) 2016 December 4, Jennifer Schuessler, quoting Edward McClelland, “‘How to Speak Midwestern,’ a Heartland Dialect Guide”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • 2006 February 8, “Drew” of Philadelphia, “The moral's I'm immortal ”, Trapper Juan, at trapperjuan.blogspot.com https://web.archive.org/web/20061027173921/http://trapperjuan.blogspot.com/2006/02/morals-im-immortal_08.html Rothlisberger...speaks with a blaccent, which in reality is not that uncommon. The problem is his inconsistency. Sometimes, he lays it on thicker than J. Will haggling at a swap meet
   • Timberlake has long sought to overcome his whiteness to perfect a "blaccent", as the kids call it these days, and the McDonald's ad campaign explicitly relies on a hiphop idiom. 2004 February 19, Ben Zimmer, “Is the slogan grammatical?”, in sci.lang (Usenet):
   • The sad thing is that for many people, the blaccent connotes lack of intelligence. 2009, John McWhorter quoted on, The World:
   • 2005 November 15, “Eli” of Michigan, “Lord of The Dance”, The Life of a Swordfish, at swordfish22.spaces.live.com http://swordfish22.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!3E0970E9C37CD8E0!497.entry She spoke with a very thick blaccent...as she screamed "C'mon B!, C'mon B! C'mon B!" (she was quite persistent with this phrase, and used the actual word) "I betta neva see yo A out eating sub sammiches eva again!".

Forms

Coordinates

African-American Vernacular English · Ebonics · African-American English