hoobity goobity

A term used to describe the African-American accent. It is derived from the southern accent of the United States of America. It originated from the 16th through the 19th centuries as Africans were transported to the colonies in North and South America to be sold as slaves. In North America, the sounds of the original African languages merged with the sounds of the southerners who taught the Africans to speak English. The result was an African-American accent which survives to this day. "HOO-bit-y GOO-bit-y" is primarily spoken when African-Americans gather together informally, but it is avoided by African-Americans when speaking as a news anchor or in other professional situations.

"Hoobity goobity" includes the following words and phrases. . . . . . . WORDS: (still = STEAL; will = WHEEL; bed = BAY-id; red = RAY-id; edge = AGE; boil = BALL; tripping = TRIPPIN'; ask = AXE; on = AWN; toll = TOE; police = PO-lease; fifty = FITty; poor = PO) . . . . . . . PHRASES: (Hell no! = HAIL no!; My baby's mother = My BABY momma; He does = He DO; She has been running = She BEEN RUNNIN'; He often works on Tuesdays = He BE WORKIN' Tuesdays; I didn't go anywhere = I didn't go NOWHERE; You're crazy = YOU crazy; She's my sister = SHE my SISTA; She writes poetry = She WRITE poetry; Why aren't they going? = Why THEY AIN'T GOIN'?; You all = Y'ALL; I can't do that = I can't do DAT.)

by Linguistics-man June 1, 2011

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