Aks is a common way to pronounce "ask."
Etymologically, the word ask is derived from the Old English word for "ask". The Old English term had two forms, acsian and
ascian, the former being the literary standard until about
1600 when the
latter gained the imprimatur of being the high style variant. The /
aks/ variant was and still is utilized in several dialects of United Kingdom and is particularly associated with the West Country dialect of England.
In the United States, the /aks/ variant is a particular feature of African American Vernacular English (
AAVE). It is possible that /aks/ variant was also the form most commonly used in the dialect of English to which the slaves were originally exposed, and has persisted in AAVE for the same sociolinguistic reasons that other features
persist. The /aks/
variable in AAVE is unique in that it is the only example of such a
phonetic shift, and thus is unique to the word "ask."
The /aks/ variant is an example of the natural switching of sounds called metathesis. This occurs usually because in the speech sound patterns of that language or dialect that pronunciation may be easier. This is not a degenerate way of speaking. All languages and dialects are linguistically equal as they are all
systematic and rule
governed.
Racist motherfuckers.
Stating that
aks is ignorant or lazy is just an example of
imposing a value system by treating one variety as
privileged.
