As a pasty, hand-wringing white boy, I find that “folks” is a softer word with basically the same meaning. The phrase “black people” is really easy to infuse with venom - those Ps are easy to spit, accidentally or worse - and is at least one step too far along the euphemism treadmill for me, whereas “black folks” feels a lot softer and kinder.
And as one other commenter says about themselves, I’ve found that I use the word “folks” for other maligned groups too. I think I used it in a thread about furries the other day.
How the targets of the word take it, I couldn’t tell you, but I’d bet I’d find some who’d be fine with it, and others who’d think I’m an idiot. That’s just the way it goes.
Same, it’s a normal word in my vocabulary. It’s a classic word that’s been in English for centuries. I never thought of it as a “lesser” or “simpler” term.
Though I can’t deny that ever since the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, English words have had a split of “class” between words from native English/Germanic origins vs words from French/Latin. It’s why we have multiple terms for so many things, with the ones from the French rulers often being perceived as “fancier” than the ones that the “common” English natives used. Like how a “boutique” is fancier than a “shop,” or how rich people live in “mansions,” not “houses.”
With that being said, I use it for all manner of people, including for “rich folk.” Maybe I’m subconsciously connecting with the common people (in that I’m one of them), or maybe I just like the way it sounds. Either way, I’m not choosing the word based on the subject at hand, I’m choosing it because it’s a perfectly cromulent word and I like it.
I live in the US South and “folks” is a normal word for “people” here. I’m intentional not looking it up and trying to go from memory to get my dialect. I don’t use it for “humanity”, but will for any subset. “The folks who live in that house.” “White folk.” “City folk.” I dunno. There’s a shit ton of dialects in the US South East and they differ by geography and income and race and all kinds of stuff. And maybe they aren’t dialects. I’ve heard “register”. I’m not a language knower.
Should you use the term “black folks”? Ask a couple black folks if it makes em feel bad. Do what they say. Don’t listen to this white boy.
It’s built into my dialect so I’d use it. But if folks told me it made them feel bad if stop.
I have no idea when I pluralize it and when I don’t.
Legitimate question: why can’t black people be people, and must always be “folks”?
As a pasty, hand-wringing white boy, I find that “folks” is a softer word with basically the same meaning. The phrase “black people” is really easy to infuse with venom - those Ps are easy to spit, accidentally or worse - and is at least one step too far along the euphemism treadmill for me, whereas “black folks” feels a lot softer and kinder.
And as one other commenter says about themselves, I’ve found that I use the word “folks” for other maligned groups too. I think I used it in a thread about furries the other day.
How the targets of the word take it, I couldn’t tell you, but I’d bet I’d find some who’d be fine with it, and others who’d think I’m an idiot. That’s just the way it goes.
Okay I use the word folks for everyone. I’ll accidentally sometimes switch back and forth by mistake, but folks, to me, means people.
Same, it’s a normal word in my vocabulary. It’s a classic word that’s been in English for centuries. I never thought of it as a “lesser” or “simpler” term.
Though I can’t deny that ever since the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, English words have had a split of “class” between words from native English/Germanic origins vs words from French/Latin. It’s why we have multiple terms for so many things, with the ones from the French rulers often being perceived as “fancier” than the ones that the “common” English natives used. Like how a “boutique” is fancier than a “shop,” or how rich people live in “mansions,” not “houses.”
With that being said, I use it for all manner of people, including for “rich folk.” Maybe I’m subconsciously connecting with the common people (in that I’m one of them), or maybe I just like the way it sounds. Either way, I’m not choosing the word based on the subject at hand, I’m choosing it because it’s a perfectly cromulent word and I like it.
I thought when addressing a specific subset of a population you could say “folks” ?
You can, maybe its an Americanism and outside of America you’d get weird looks, but folks is a good way to refer to a group of people?
I live in the US South and “folks” is a normal word for “people” here. I’m intentional not looking it up and trying to go from memory to get my dialect. I don’t use it for “humanity”, but will for any subset. “The folks who live in that house.” “White folk.” “City folk.” I dunno. There’s a shit ton of dialects in the US South East and they differ by geography and income and race and all kinds of stuff. And maybe they aren’t dialects. I’ve heard “register”. I’m not a language knower.
Should you use the term “black folks”? Ask a couple black folks if it makes em feel bad. Do what they say. Don’t listen to this white boy.
It’s built into my dialect so I’d use it. But if folks told me it made them feel bad if stop.
I have no idea when I pluralize it and when I don’t.
Yeah, as someone who grew up in Canada, folk doesn’t seem all too bad either. It’s certainly better than “kind.”
you see this with trans and nb people as well, it’s always “folks” all of a sudden. sometimes even “folx”
The old internet was better. You were either a user or a luser.