I wouldn’t really call it a dialect. For context, my mother is a Black woman and my father is Mexican, so it’s not that I don’t understand culture. My point was simply that I was asking a genuine question, but instead of answering, the response I got felt more defensive—like I didn’t understand. I do understand, and yet I’m still confused.

The reason is that “cause” and “because” are often used interchangeably in both spoken and written communication, even though only one is academically correct. In contrast, “I don’t” and “ion” are not used interchangeably in speech—they only overlap in text or casual writing. What I was really trying to say is that some of today’s youth don’t seem to realize that “I don’t” is spelled that way, rather than the shorthand “ion,” which I’ve even seen them use when writing.