[Ads-l] Antedating of "Blaccent"

[Stephen Goranson]

I also wondered what the word could have meant. If not a typo.
So far, sadly, I could not exclude (having been researching Dixie lately), a black-mocking minstrel-like take, such as a two-person skit with misunderstandings.
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Shapiro, Fred <00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2025 10:33 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Blaccent"

Thanks for the correction, Ben !  My apologies for the obvious antedative over-reach.

I wonder what the Missouri high school girls meant by "blaccent" ?

Fred Shapiro


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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Ben Zimmer <00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, August 5, 2025 11:14 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Blaccent"

It seems highly unlikely that this is the "blaccent" that the OED defines
as "a way of speaking that uses the pronunciation, cadences, or grammatical
features of African American English." The 1959 cite is about Missouri high
school girls in a talent show put on by the Future Homemakers of America.

On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 3:32 PM Shapiro, Fred <
00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> blaccent (OED 1986)
>
> 1959 Carrollton (Mo.) Weekly Democrat 13 Feb.4/7 (Newspapers.com)
>
> Talent night was held Thursday night. ... The following won ... a skit
> "Blaccent."
>
>
>

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