and that's on period

it's the for me

not me acting right now

in the last decade or so AAVE has been weaved and intertwined with internet culture

which has erased the unique history and representation of the original speakers black americans

trust me this dialect is far more than just viral videos and sassy tweets

before we get started make sure to subscribe to our channel

black american english

African-American Vernacular English

internet slang

i'm sierra and today i'll break down everything about African-American Vernacular English

its rich history

grammatical structure

and cultural impact

i grew up in Michigan the Detroit area where 79% of the residents are black because of this i've been surrounded by and using AAVE my entire life

whether it was with classmates or family members speaking AAVE was a tool that amplified and influenced my social interactions it was our way of speaking

it was a part of who we are who i am

so what exactly is AAVE in the most simple terms it's the way that many black americans communicate with one another that has evolved and continues to evolve over the last few centuries

please note that AAVE differs between states and regions so this is simply a general overview of the dialect

there's not a single origin story when it comes to the history of AAVE we can make a linguistic connection back to the many enslaved black americans brought over to north america over 400 years ago

the ongoing argument is whether AAVE is simply a variant adapted from the germanic american english overheard on plantations

or if it's an entirely separate creole that evolved from contact between english and several west african languages

the creole theory still holds up because AAVE shares many pronunciation and structural similarities with other african-based creoles around the globe

at the same time AAVE is a lot closer structurally and pronunciation-wise to standard american english compared to gullah or louisiana creole

much of AAVE's grammar and phonology are heavily comparable to rural dialects across the american south

so the debate around AAVE's origins continues in the era of jim crow and rampant deadly attacks from the ku klux klan many black people relocated from the south

with this migration millions of african americans brought their culture and AAVE dialect with them to their new homes

so New York's AAVE doesn't sound exactly the same as Detroit's

this long storied history that dates back over a hundred years can't be reduced to internet slang

so what are some of the features that many of the forms of AAVE share one distinctive feature of the dialect is its grammar specifically verb conjugations

let's take a look at the present tense in standard american english you would say she doesn't like whereas in AAVE you would say she don't like

so we can see that in AAVE the verb to do is conjugated in the third person plural rather than the third person singular

next up is the present progressive tense which is used to explain something that is happening in real time

for example nadine is going shopping but in AAVE you would drop the is and just say nadine going shopping

parts of the verb like is and are are often dropped in AAVE because the meaning is already implied

now if someone said Nadine be going shopping this has an entirely different meaning and brings us into the territory of the habitual be the habitual be signifies that something is often or usually done

so from our example sentence of nadine be gone shopping the listener understands that dang nadine really loves to shop and does it frequently and depending on the tone in which this is said it could imply that Nadine is a shopaholic

but like in most languages context and tone can have a huge impact on meaning in AAVE you might hear someone say x instead of the traditional ask or library instead of library

this is called metathesis which involves switching around sounds and words

although metathesis is a part of the dialect non-AAVE speakers often make fun of it and or discredit it unfortunately it's not uncommon for this metathesis to be corrected in schools

this is particularly common when black children are in predominantly white school districts

although this is valuable knowledge when speaking and learning standard american english

it's important for educators to realize that AAVE is its own dialect

once this is acknowledged educators can explain to students that their dialect at home is super rich and important but there are certain rules to follow when speaking standard american english it's important to note that one dialect is not more correct than another

however people who dismiss AAVE as an internet phenomenon for young people are actually erasing over 400 years of culture heritage and linguistic development

AAVE speakers have been historically discriminated against and left out of many educational social and political spaces because of the way we speak

whether intentionally or not how we describe AAVE can influence how its heritage lives on shade vibe check as shade okay girl and other historically black and queer expressions take over the internet let's take a moment to recognize that these communities have been at the forefront of linguistic innovation for decades

trust me i get it AAVE is cool but like all great things we need to credit the creators now when you're scrolling your feed you'll know which community to thank for the terms you're hearing and probably using it's clear that AAVE has influenced english as a whole and social media has accelerated this change including who is using the language even though this dialect is rich vibrant and continues to inspire generations

it's important that we do not forget the historic mistreatment of people who speak this dialect

from slavery to the civil war to the reconstruction era to jim crow to the war on drugs to modern day issues

let's not forget about how this dialect grew out of resilience it's up to all of us to educate ourselves so we can collectively understand respect appreciate and give credit to AAVE speakers

and that's on period

thank you for tuning in to this babel explains

we'll see you next time