Dez Bryant on NFL Total Access... Vid Post #18

[WoodysGirl]

Link: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-player-interviews/0ap2000000239526/Dez-ready-to-be-a-leader

 

[TwoDeep3]

Tom Jackson is good. Too bad he's a jerk sometimes.

Mamacita, his feelings are still hurt about the Orange Crush defense that got their rears handed to them by Dallas in the Super Bowl.

Dallas was supposed to be a finesse team and Denver was the brutes. Really didn't work that way at all.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

After seeing the video, I see nothing wrong there. Those who don't listen to him because he makes them cringe when he speaks should stop focusing on the past and look at where Dez is now.

 

[Jeffkills]

Dez is genuine, and his answers demonstrate growth and maturity - the substantive takeaway from his attitude is certainly encouraging, given the alternative...

We took a chance on Dez, and it looks like it's paying off, because 88's gonna' blow up for years to come...

 

[The Natural]

Link: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-player-interviews/0ap2000000239526/Dez-ready-to-be-a-leader

This guy's a great kid. I don't think he knows anything other than to just be himself

 

[Manster68]

Mamacita, his feelings are still hurt about the Orange Crush defense that got their rears handed to them by Dallas in the Super Bowl.

Dallas was supposed to be a finesse team and Denver was the brutes. Really didn't work that way at all.

TwoDeep, have you rewatched Super Bowl XII? Tom Jackson, in my mind, was the best player for the Broncos that game.

I can understand his frustration, but give credit where credit is due. Denver was lucky the score wasn't something like 31-0 at the half!
Three missed FGs by Herrera and two others made. Some of those drives could have easily been TDs.
Jackson needs to face this reality.

And just think, in a few weeks, we get to see Jackson spew all over his beloved Broncos again when they come to Dallas.

 

[SHAMSzy]

Can't believe you guys are criticizing his speaking ability.. He grew up in a world where they speak a completely different language. I love listening to Dez speak more than anyone on our team hands down.

Why?

Because he is genuine, humble, and passionate. Never points to himself first and you can tell he looks at Romo like a big brother. I have nothing but respect for him, you can tell he genuinely has a good heart despite all the **** he has had to deal with in his life. Compare him to a punk like DeSean Jackson or Richard Sherman. Sherman went to Stanford and speaks perfect English but is an arrogant punk. Dez treats everyone he speaks about with respect and that's hard to do for a young man his age with his talent.

 

[TimHortons]

It's not even that his speech is that bad, it's just that you can tell he's still uncomfortable in front of the camera, and I don't blame him at all for that, I would just freeze up and stutter like crazy if I was in that situation. He'll get used to it with time. I loved that comment about how it's the receivers and defenses job to help Romo get the MVP, I've never heard a player say that before and I thought it was very insightful.

 

[popp1234]

Dez is refreshingly raw, unfiltered and genuine. He's no geniusSouns and doesn't pretend to be. He speaks pretty well for someone who sought shelter in 8 different houses during high school.

Just throw in "less filling" and it will make a good, quality bootlegged beer ad...lol.

 

[Denim Chicken]

Honestly, I'm really indifferent to most athlete interviews. They all are pretty much the same. The reporter asks questions with obvious answers and then the word execute is thrown around a bunch.

 

[TwoDeep3]

TwoDeep, have you rewatched Super Bowl XII? Tom Jackson, in my mind, was the best player for the Broncos that game.

I can understand his frustration, but give credit where credit is due. Denver was lucky the score wasn't something like 31-0 at the half!
Three missed FGs by Herrera and two others made. Some of those drives could have easily been TDs.
Jackson needs to face this reality.

And just think, in a few weeks, we get to see Jackson spew all over his beloved Broncos again when they come to Dallas.

Other than the occasional Butch Johnson's catch and Newhouse's throw in reruns, I haven't seen it since I watched it live.

I like Jackson, but he is sour on Dallas because of that loss.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Yeah, the "Dez makes me cringe" comments are kind of annoying. I'm a linguist, so maybe I have more emotion about language and dialects than most people. There's nothing "wrong" with speaking a nonstandard dialect. Everybody speaks a dialect of a language. Most of us are probably used to Standard American English. Dez grew up in inner-city African American communities, so he speaks that dialect. I doubt everyone in his community was saying, "Man, that Dez guys makes me cringe when he talks." I think it's wrong that he is expected to "get better" at speaking. He speaks his dialect perfectly fine. For the sake of television interviews, it might be useful to be able to speak for a minute or two and be understood. Lots of athletes don't speak that "great" but they're able to be understood for a 30-second ESPN interview. Dez doesn't owe us anything. He doesn't need to learn Standard American English. Why are people forced to learn "good English?" To get a job. That's why. I don't think Dez has to worry. He has a pretty good job. I don't want to throw around the word racist, but just think about why the speech of someone like Dez makes you cringe. Really think about it. Then get back to the rest of us.

 

[Doomsday]

After seeing the video, I see nothing wrong there. Those who don't listen to him because he makes them cringe when he speaks should stop focusing on the past and look at where Dez is now.

Exactly, the kid may not be the most educated guy in the world, but he is trying to get better on and off the field, how can you not respect that.

 

[dargonking999]

Ok seriously guys? really I just read 30 posts about Dez's "speaking" abilities, and not a single recap or real info on what was freaking said?!? Come on guys, i think we can do better than arguing Dez's ability to give "good" interviews.

 

[Lonestar94]

Dez is a country boy and grew up in Lufkin, TX so what is this "inner-city African American communities" you speak of?

I think Dez will be the first to tell you he wants to speak better and to be more understood, that's why he has gotten better at speaking to the media every year since being here. Some people might think his voice makes him look stupid, but when I read his twitter I see a very smart Intelligent man that wants to be the best.

Anyone remember some of those Michael Irvin interviews back in the day, his voice was so damn high and squeeky, I think Dez is in the same boat in that as he keeps maturing into a man he will have a better hold on his voice.

 

[Oh_Canada]

oh lord..Not much of master of english yourself yet you're "aposed" to hearing someone speak

Not to mention a grammatical wizard.

I wish people would stop finding things to criticize about Dez and appreciate just how far he's come as a player and more importantly a person. His story is nothing short of incredible.

 

[DogFace]

Dez is a country boy and grew up in Lufkin, TX so what is this "inner-city African American communities" you speak of?

I think Dez will be the first to tell you he wants to speak better and to be more understood, that's why he has gotten better at speaking to the media every year since being here. Some people might think his voice makes him look stupid, but when I read his twitter I see a very smart Intelligent man that wants to be the best.

Anyone remember some of those Michael Irvin interviews back in the day, his voice was so damn high and squeeky, I think Dez is in the same boat in that as he keeps maturing into a man he will have a better hold on his voice.

Correct.

 

[cannonball44]

Yeah, the "Dez makes me cringe" comments are kind of annoying. I'm a linguist, so maybe I have more emotion about language and dialects than most people. There's nothing "wrong" with speaking a nonstandard dialect. Everybody speaks a dialect of a language. Most of us are probably used to Standard American English. Dez grew up in inner-city African American communities, so he speaks that dialect. I doubt everyone in his community was saying, "Man, that Dez guys makes me cringe when he talks." I think it's wrong that he is expected to "get better" at speaking. He speaks his dialect perfectly fine. For the sake of television interviews, it might be useful to be able to speak for a minute or two and be understood. Lots of athletes don't speak that "great" but they're able to be understood for a 30-second ESPN interview. Dez doesn't owe us anything. He doesn't need to learn Standard American English. Why are people forced to learn "good English?" To get a job. That's why. I don't think Dez has to worry. He has a pretty good job. I don't want to throw around the word racist, but just think about why the speech of someone like Dez makes you cringe. Really think about it. Then get back to the rest of us.

Excellent post. Culture bias is strong.

 

[cowboys2233]

Yeah, the "Dez makes me cringe" comments are kind of annoying. I'm a linguist, so maybe I have more emotion about language and dialects than most people. There's nothing "wrong" with speaking a nonstandard dialect. Everybody speaks a dialect of a language. Most of us are probably used to Standard American English. Dez grew up in inner-city African American communities, so he speaks that dialect. I doubt everyone in his community was saying, "Man, that Dez guys makes me cringe when he talks." I think it's wrong that he is expected to "get better" at speaking. He speaks his dialect perfectly fine. For the sake of television interviews, it might be useful to be able to speak for a minute or two and be understood. Lots of athletes don't speak that "great" but they're able to be understood for a 30-second ESPN interview. Dez doesn't owe us anything. He doesn't need to learn Standard American English. Why are people forced to learn "good English?" To get a job. That's why. I don't think Dez has to worry. He has a pretty good job. I don't want to throw around the word racist, but just think about why the speech of someone like Dez makes you cringe. Really think about it. Then get back to the rest of us.

It's not a nonstandard dialect, it's poor grammar. Yeah, it sucks that I was "forced" to read at an early age. As a linguist, you should be ashamed.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

It's not a nonstandard dialect, it's poor grammar. Yeah, it sucks that I was "forced" to read at an early age. As a linguist, you should be ashamed.

You really need to read a book on sociolinguistics. I have a linguistics degree from a top university and I work as a computational linguist.

A nonstandard dialect is not the same thing as poor grammar. Poor grammar is an educated American accidentally saying, "I sleeped good." A nonstandard dialect is something like African American Vernacular English, also known as Ebonics. Ebonics (or AAVE) has its own grammatical and phonological rules. These "bad speaking" black guys in the NFL speak Ebonics just fine. That means they speak their dialect perfectly.

A term you should look up is descriptivism vs. prescriptivism. Linguists are descriptivists. We passively observe the way language is actually used (not the way it should be used), and we describe our observations. Grammarians (a.k.a. high school English teachers) are prescriptivists. They try to force "good English" on people.

The purpose of language is to communicate with other people within your linguistics community. You can't expect to communicate with everyone perfectly. I can't speak Japanese, so I'd have a tough time in Japan, but I can get by fine in America. Dez comes from black communities dominated by Ebonics. He's doing fine in life. Lots of other players in the NFL speak his dialect. Lots of his friends and family members speak his dialect. He'll do fine if life speaking Ebonics. He already has an amazing job. Unless he wants to become an analyst or go back to college, he doesn't "need" to learn anything. I know it frustrates people when someone chooses not to assimilate to the masses.

My bottom line: every language has its standard and nonstandard dialects. One is not grammatically better than the other. However, standard is sociologically better than nonstandard, because the people in power are the people who choose what is standard and what is not. If you want to get ahead in life, you have to "learn" the standard. But Dez is already ahead in life. He can try to "speak better", but he doesn't owe any of us anything.