The English that they speak is more sophisticated than the speech of the rest of the “Younger family”. Beneatha’s English is formal, conditioned by her education though she occasionally uses slang words like “Brother is a flip” (33). Beneatha’s correct use of Standard English is revealed when she tells her boyfriend, Asagai: “Oh, Asagai! . . . You got them for me! How beautiful…and the records too!” (45). Though Asagai’s English is similar to that of Beneatha’s, it incorporates a wider range of vocabulary, with words like “retrogression”. He at times exhibits signs of his heritage when he speaks. When Beneatha shows her happiness on receiving the robe and the records, Asagai tells her “I shall have to teach you how to drape it properly. (He flings the material about her for the moment and stands back to look at her) Ah – Oh – Pay – gay – day, oh – gbah – mu – shay. (A Yoruba exclamation for admiration). You wear it well…very well…mutilated hair and all” (45). Asagai does not have colloquial expressions when he speaks but his speech is real, has pauses, emphasis, and sounds exactly like conversational English.
Hansberry tries to show how the “Younger family” is struggling to educate Beneatha and Travis but when the cheque finally arrives, Mama asks Travis “Travis! (she is counting off with doubt)