Is language a valid assessment tool? What happens if a job candidate uses words such as "Aks" and "Wiff" in the interview? Should you take it upon yourself to "show people the way?" Why does this subject strike such a nerve with DiversityInc readers?

Besides "Aks" and "Wiff," what other vernacular do you hear business people use? Click here to respond. Read past comments from DiversityInc readers or other Ask the White Guy articles.

(See also: What Do 'Aks' and 'Wiff' Say About You? and What Slang Irritates the Most at Work? Is It 'Aks,' 'Wiff,' 'Bidness' or 'Youze'?)

Here's more of what you said about the slang you hear at work:

I am an African-American female who grew up in the Northeast. If someone in our group said, "Aks him," our response was, "Why do you want to hurt him?" Do you carry an ax? Then we laughed about it. The perpetrator was embarrassed and corrected himself. It was wrong then, and wrong now; teachers please do your job!

--Patricia Alston-Tyson

"Alls" I want to do is let everyone know that there is no "S" in the word "All"--EVER! It is either simply "All..." or "All that..."

--Louise Howe

When I read this article I wasn't any more shocked at your frustration than at your slanderous remarks. May I be first to address you in a very positive manner: Our people clearly need a leader, and someone to sharpen the dull pencils that haven't gotten it down packed [sic] yet. I think that either yourself or Bill Cosby should hand our people a ladder, or give them a shovel. I myself have had plenty of doors slammed in my face by representatives of our own community. I think that all of our leaders who make it to a wonderful position in society should also work just as hard to sharpen the individuals that they encounter so that WE as a WHOLE can begin to see another side of America. I have so much that I would love to add, but I would also hope that my letter to you could portray a black man who cannot find comfort with any other black man or woman who refuses to help their own kind. I know that on your way to the top, many blacks may have turned their backs on you … Have you ever been turned down for a job because of racial discrimination? I bet you have and didn't know it. I don't know why our race is the only race that does NOT practice self-preservation techniques, nor do we try and help our fellow man. How quick we are to embrace the other race who has clearly been sharpened by their own kind. I truly hope that someday you can write article about the ONE person you have helped or shown the light to, and watched them grow into a positive representation of OUR community … Please do your research and see how our creative minds have contributed so much to our society. I personally won't allow anyone to come into our business and misrepresent our race either. I also wont let any man walk away mad at me for NOT showing them the way.

--Donnie Reid

We have to move beyond the use of language with inflection to assess people. Talking white may be a key to getting some jobs, but not in my business. I want a competent employee and have worked with very talented people who spoke in the "vernacular" or with a foreign accent. My assessment of them involved their work, not their speech. Many office jobs with strict dress codes and a more formal exterior might be more superficial in their evaluation of talent, but I think employers who limit job access to white talkers are limiting their access to a great talent pool.

--Bonnie Duncan

The whole objective of language is so one can convey a message to another. With all the remarks of what was not liked about a certain vernacular, it was still my understanding all of you knew what message was being conveyed. So, if a person says, "wiff" or "aks" and you understand him or her, they are speaking perfect English. And the bottom line still remains, no matter how "white" you may sound or what you've achieved, mainstream America will ALWAYS see you as black. So, get over yourself and start taking up for your African-American brothers and sisters instead of assisting mainstream America with further dehumanizing them.

--Tamara Carter

I have heard "bout to go" from mostly people of color, including highly educated individuals. It is right up there with "aks" and "wiff" as sources of irritation. Many years ago, while interviewing for a position in a different job market, I made the following comment: "where I'm coming from." It was a phrase used often in the job that I had at that time. However, the interviewer had a problem with the phrase. I did not get the job. The person that had assisted me in getting the interview really chewed me out for using "where I'm coming from." I appreciated the feedback, though I believe that was not the reason I was not hired. Since then, I have learned the secrets of interviewing.

--Gloria Sellers

If you understand the message, communication complete. We all need to get real and search for the meaning.

--Tim Northquist

I'm overwhelmed with the ignorance that has been posted on this topic. Most African Americans speak African American English (a dialect of American English, which is NOT a standardized oral variety). All Americans speak varieties of English with differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence structure and use. However, there are different levels of prestige for different varieties, based on who is speaking. Many African Americans can code-switch to more mainstream varieties of English, but even so, more subtle (less stigmatized) dialect differences can be noted by a trained ear. As a professor of Communication Differences and Disorders, I find that I can usually identify several features of African American English in "middle-class" black folks who are often the most opposed to the idea of a dialect spoken by "us"!

--Shurita Thomas-Tate

I don't hear business/professional people use terms like "aks" and "wiff." I also don't hear those same people use "birfday." Reading between the lines, am I to assume that somehow "Ebonics" is trying to resurrect itself? If so, I will be among the first to fight it to the death. Neither blacks nor any other readily identifiable ethnic/racial group will be able to go to France, Germany, Japan, China or anywhere else in the world where there is an established language, and corrupt it because one is too lazy to learn the language. Of course, languages evolve over time to include new words and phrases. That's how the Spanish, French and Portugese languages came from the original Latin. I fully realize that "rip-off," for example, originally used by American blacks, has now become a part of standard English.

--Noah Holcomb

It is entirely appropriate to expect concise, articulate, as well as "polite" communication in my business, especially in an interview. What I most look for is subject-matter knowledge and one's ability to communicate about it in a comprehensive and almost instructional way. This allows two things to happen. I get an accurate measure of experience and communication skills. If the individual meets both of these criteria, nine out of 10 times he gets a thumbs-up from me, "aks," "wiffs" or "whatevers" notwithstanding.

--Christopher Zwick

I agree that some of the language issues "could be explained away … if one were inclined to practice tolerance." But that--as the saying goes--is "a big 'IF.'"  Employees qualify for positions not just because of their education and experience, but for other reasons as well. Personal appearance, body language and other nonverbal communication cues all send implied (rightly or wrongly) messages about candidates. Even IF a hiring manager practices tolerance for non-standard English, it does not mean that coworkers, customers and clients will, and employers have to take that into consideration. 

I can handle "tolerance." I am an English teacher who's married to a man whose dialect includes things like "I seen" and "he don't." This bothers me, but it is a miniscule flaw in comparison to his other personal qualities. However, when I sit in on interviews, where I know candidates much less personally, these things bother me very much, and given two otherwise equally (truly equally) qualified candidates, I would say that the one who had the additional assets of the ability to speak standard English and the awareness of when it is needed is thereby already more qualified. 

If you were to interview a person who came from a culture where a strong natural body odor is acceptable and you found her odor offensive, would it be fair for you to turn her down in favor of an equally qualified but fairer-smelling candidate?

--S. N.

I believe many African American as well as others learn how to mimic English syntax.  Mimicry skills are required if one wants to be successful in the world of business.  However, it should be established that the behaviors of many such as the HR professional comes from a negative self-image and a general lack of knowledge of self.

--Roy Dingler

I am a white woman, and I have some observations about some of the comments that have been posted. One person refers to the fact that African languages have no diphthongs such those that occur in the words "ask" or "with." Diphthongs are made up of vowels. The words cited above contain consonant blends. Another person refers to "playing an intricate role" when I am fairly certain she meant "intrinsic." Someone else cited "the King's English." It hasn't been the King's English since 1953. It is properly referred to now as "the Queen's English." My point? Everyone makes mistakes. I would not hire an applicant who demonstrated consistently bad grammar during an interview whether that person was black, white or green. On the other hand, a dangling preposition or a minor quirk of speech like "y'all" or "aks" would certainly not disqualify an otherwise qualified applicant.

--Robyn Kemp

I am an African American from the West Coast, but I have lived in the Washington area for many years. I think these terms are regional and should not be used to discredit an individual in the job-selection process. However, I agree with the writer that all Americans should strive to learn to speak and write the English language and save vernacular for use outside the business arena. I think it is time for life coaching at the middle- and high-school levels to address issues such as these that may not be available to some at home. My mother grew up in Harlem during the Depression and my father in Denver. We dared not bring the vernacular of the streets home. The tongue lashing was severe! Moreover, it was not permitted in school. Today, I don't see this type of teaching and mentoring occurring. 

--LaJuana Caldwell