Why AAVE isn't "internet language" and why it's absolutely ridiculous I have to say this at all.

From the ripe age of eight, I can vividly remember hearing words and expressions such as “chile” and “finna” I hadn't previously been familiar with these words, but I knew that they seemed to be used heavily in the black community. Over the years, I’ve noticed that with the rise of social media these words are growing in popularity… but amongst non-black people. Why?

I was born to a Nigerian mother. Slang and had no place in our home, and absolutely no place in my mouth.  I had no knowledge of AAVE until second grade. Prior to my discovery of the linguistic masterpiece that is AAVE, I had only heard cursing in Igbo and standard American insults coated in a thick African accent. In the second grade, I was faced with the biggest culture shock of my eight-year-old life. In Ms. Sabrina Brown’s second grade class at exactly 9:08 am, I heard the word y’all for the first time.  I wish I was kidding. Allow me to add a little more context. I had attended private schools for my entire life, I was pretty sheltered and of course, I was forbidden to use slang. My mother was an eighth-grade English teacher who was teaching her students SSAT spelling words at the time and she decided that I, an eight-year-old, should definitely learn those words as well. My rigorous training started in the first grade, but it intensified in the second grade. 

Every morning before school, I would sit in this ridiculously uncomfortable wooden chair, and as I ate my cinnamon and blueberry oatmeal my mother would grill me on my spelling words. I was taught ten words a week, I needed to know them all by Friday when she would give a graded quiz on them. If I missed more than two while we practiced, or even worse on the quiz, I would be punished. Oh, the memories of coming to school in a tear-stained uniform. Anyway, when I attempted to make friends, they would often tease me about the way I spoke. I would come home in more tears than the amount I left with, and wonder why they insisted on bullying me. Looking back on it, I must have sounded ridiculous using words like “ostracized” in the second grade. I would’ve bullied me too. 

In an effort to fit in and make new friends, I began to adjust my dialect to match my classmates. Words like “bruh” and “y’all” became parts of my vocabulary and I had mastered the art of code-switching. However, problems began to arise when I used my newfound vocabulary words around my African family members. *In the thickest African Accent, you can imagine* (the spelling matches the pronunciation it’s for authenticity) “Arvard does not want a girl who does *insert some intermittent stuttering” not care about her studies. Growing up in de village, I had no ting. I had to work *insert more vigorous stuttering* for everything I have. And and and here you ah speaking like some hood ting. Sounding like some bush girl. Ah Ah? Stop dis nonsense. OLUWA! (Oh my god/ Jesus Christ in Igbo) *end scene* 

I was conflicted. Do I live a double life? “Hood ting” by day and “future Arvard grad” by night? After a few years, my mother lightened up and I was able to comfortably use slang. Around this time, Vine was in its prime so words like fleek were quite popular amongst black creators. Fast forward a couple years, Vine and Musica.ly have met their tragic ends and we now have the sometimes cool but also a very problematic app, Tik Tok. Home of white girls with box braids, acrylic nails, aggressive tans, and blaccents. *sigh* These girls use AAVE in ways that are so incorrect it’s painful. Ex: “chile sis finna tea on periodt”. I hate it.

“Most linguists refer to the distinctive speech of African Americans as 'Black English' or African American English (AAE) or if they want to emphasize that this doesn't include the standard English usage of African Americans, as 'African American Vernacular English' (AAVE). In theory, scholars who prefer the term Ebonics (or alternatives like African American language) wish to highlight the African roots of African American speech and its connections with languages spoken elsewhere in the Black Diaspora, e.g. Jamaica or Nigeria. But in practice, AAVE and Ebonics essentially refer to the same sets of speech forms.”- Linguistic Society of America

Although AAVE is a central part of American entertainment, African Americans are ridiculed and discriminated against for using it. Teachers would tell us that we sounded “ghetto” and “uneducated” and because of that, I felt uncomfortable using the language that originally made me feel comfortable. AAVE is truly its own language but if I were to put  

Bilingual/ Kinda trilingual:

English

basic/intermediate Spanish speaking ability 

very fluent in AAVE

on a job application, I would be in no position to be considered for the job. America loves AAVE but hates seeing the creators of it use it. While some may argue that “iT’s jUsT a wOrD”, you don't get denied jobs because of “a wOrd”. AAVE is a central part of Black culture, so to watch black people be discriminated against for using it, but then see white girls use our culture for a “trend” is infuriating, to say the least. Not to mention the constant incorrect use of it. It has come to my attention that there is a community of white people who think that the word “chile” is pronounced “chillay” as in the pepper or the country. So y’all thought Black folk were running around calling each other peppers and decided to copy it with no hesitation?  “bUt i gReW uP hEaRiNg iT”. Becky, you grew up in Houston, Texas at 1987, Very nice house my parents paid for lane, so why do you sound like Bonquiesha from 1654, middle of the hood avenue?  The Blaccent? Drop it. “iT’s iNtErNeT tAlK”. So you’re admitting that the way you speak on the internet/ on social media isn't the way you speak in person and in real life? Digital Blaccent? Drop it. “sO aM I rAcIsT iF I uSe iT”. No, just use it correctly and in moderation, credit black people and if you use it, speak like that ALL THE TIME. Our culture is not a costume, don’t speak like us because it’s trendy or when it’s convenient. 

We aren't gatekeeping, just educating. And that’s the tea.  

Periodt.

As always,

Stay funky, spunky, spicy, and hydrated.

-Elliott☆