Classic Black Slang - Definition: to socialize and chat; to converse with another
Black people love to say “conversate”. Black people also love to tell other people that “conversate” is NOT a word. The irony is always that is a word. It’s slang.
langmaker.com defines it as “Slang term used primarily by under-educated sub-cultures.” I wonder what “sub-cultures” the person who submitted this definition is referring to?
9 responses so far ↓
1 Autumn // Mar 4, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I have heard sooo many people use this word and I cringe when I hear it. Beyonce made it even more popular with “Get Me Bodied”…..Tragic!
2 lecya // Mar 7, 2008 at 5:01 am
That’s funny. I first discovered that it isn’t a dictionary word when someone corrected me. How shocked I was to find this out. I think it’s a shame that it took me seventeen years to discover this. This word is so immensely popular and it sounds “right.” I immediately discarded it from my verbal usage. I don’t correct people though. I don’t care how they talk.
3 wynsters the tigress // Mar 8, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I find myself correcting others when they use the word. Unfortunately, it makes me come across as stuck up and arrogant, despite the fact that I’m right in doing so…
4 Alisha // Mar 10, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Yeah, I’m the one who tells people it’s not a word and they’re always like, “YES, it is!” Thanks for this post.
5 Ken // Mar 21, 2008 at 3:00 pm
It’s not a word and letting someone know before they end up in a professional setting where it matters is doing them a favor. Why do people resist things that are for their own good. How in the hell, does one argue it is a word, it’s slang. Well slang are not standard English and if you’re trying to command the language and sound intelligent, it’s ironic and funny to hear someone say conversate — and I caught that Beyonce thing too. Usually when I hear conversate, the person is trying to use their “prestige language.” And that’s just sad. If you’re a friend, you’d want to let ole girl or boy know so they don’t look like a buffoon!
6 Traci // Jul 29, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Oh my goodness, if i had a dime for every black person i had to tell that “conversate” is NOT a word. Usually they try to debate the validity of the word thats when i use the example of “Relaxate”, they usually agree at that point.
7 Rick // Aug 9, 2008 at 9:50 am
yes i’m guilty. it may not be a word but it sounds dam good.give it a couple of years, the way we (Afro Americans)set the cultural trend it will end up being a word
8 Rip // Aug 9, 2008 at 9:04 pm
On point with “conversate”, but I wish someone would give it’s distant cousin “anti-sociable” (antisocial) the spotlight.
9 Camille // Aug 10, 2008 at 11:24 am
Yes, I have a friend that speaks spanish, she says that when she took formal textbook spanish in school, she passed with a “C”. She has been speaking spanish all of her life. She tells me that when she speaks to others who speak spanish, they understand her well. She does not speak the formal way but it is understood by others. The point that I am trying to make is that all cultures have their own manner of speaking and if we as a black people want to use the word Conversate, than we shall.
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