Source: Westend61 / Getty
AAVE, also known as African-American Vernacular English, is an often controversial discussion not so much due to its usage but how AAVE is properly applied. As the English language in America is replete with regional influences, AAVE falls under that distinction and a discussion on the style of speaking is currently trending on Twitter.
Twitter user @IvoryTheJunior posted an interesting thought regarding AAVE On Monday (April 11) and the discussion that was sparked from the tweet is still bubbling today (April 12).
“Watching non-black people “adopt” (*kidnap) AAVE is so funny to me because there are legit some AAVE terms/phrases that I, a Black person, just don’t use because they don’t sound right coming from me. Y’all mouths be in Miami, Memphis, NYC, church, at the balls, on Good Times…,” @IvoryTheJunior wrote.
To @IvoryTheJunior’s point, AAVE will differ from region to region. How AAVE is used in Washington, D.C. proper is different from how folks use certain terms in Baltimore. The same goes for Philadelphia and New York, despite their close proximity. In California, the way some might speak in Los Angeles will come off audibly varied in comparison to Black people raised in the Bay Area.
Further, AAVE could best be simplified as slang with dialectical influences. The range of words used among Black people across the diaspora that have resonance and meaning to the group is vast. Still, non-Black influencers and media personalities have famously butchered the way Black people use language that fits their unique communication needs at times.
Adding to this is that many of the popular phrases used across social media and news outlets such as “serve,” “work,” “slay,” “shade,” and the like are derived from Ball culture and the LGBTQ+, yet few pay their respects to that scene for inventing generation-defining slang terms.
On Twitter, folks are chiming in with their thoughts along with sharing examples of AAVE done wrong. We’ve got the reactions below.
Watching non-black people “adopt” (*kidnap) AAVE is so funny to me because there are legit some AAVE terms/phrases that I, a Black person, just don’t use because they don’t sound right coming from me. Y’all mouths be in Miami, Memphis, NYC, church, at the balls, on Good Times…
— ennyweigh (@IvoryTheJunior) April 11, 2022
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Photo:
1.
Everyone with a blaccent sounds exactly the same, but AAVE from different regions and the accents that actually correspond with those regions all sound different. That’s the thing about being an unoriginal caricature — they’re all doing the same shit.
https://t.co/HQcw2tc783
— Krystyna.
(@xsailortina) April 12, 2022
2.
If you hate that black people are making black only spaces then stop saying nigga, stop using aave, stop having black friends, and most important stop having black kids!!!
— Dulce
Sia shooter
star/moon/she/they (@DulceAphroian) April 11, 2022
3.
The incorrect usage of this term is just anti-Black racism and tired. Stop using AAVE you are clueless about. https://t.co/pblqEsxISv
— Jason (Recast T'Challa) (@EscaflowneClown) April 11, 2022
4.
its so funny bc yall dont realize aave has regional variations. “jawn” is aave. will you ever hear me say jawn? no. im from texas. never heard that word until like three years ago. but somehow white texans “grew up hearing aave” and thats why they say it? yeah now ur just lying. https://t.co/zegKgzQmSW
— f: cynic / nyx + cherry 𖤐 (@vadacult) April 12, 2022
5.
reminding y’all about this video and the horrible misuse of aave you just continue to ignore
https://t.co/N4BqkdFsmg
— storm (@laheyscowgirl) April 11, 2022
6.
interesting how black people get so much hate in this community, yet people love appropriating their culture, talking in a “blaccent,” using aave, etc. some of u r disgusting
— kaiyo
ENVtuber | logo comms open (@ohaiyokaiyo) April 11, 2022
(@chavrashe) 8.
Facts. Because even within AAVE, there's dialectical context. A black person from New Orleans isn't going to have the same mode of AAVE speech as one from NY, or St. Louis. Some things we don't have a connection to thru culture/experience and we respect that amongst ourselves.
— I'll Say It With You… (@tlofton0231) April 12, 2022
9.
AAVE fails are so funny let’s start a thread pic.twitter.com/AOusZk5CeL
— ENNY
(@FinesseEness) April 10, 2022
10.
Good morning everyone and especially my Black folks.
Let have a good day & continue to mock people that like to use AAVE like the seasoning on food.
— Jeffrey Rousseau (@JRpotential) April 12, 2022
11.
This is why yt ppl shouldn’t use AAVE. You didn’t even use they saying right. https://t.co/wEgqL4UybD
— .𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀♡ (@dewpitou) April 12, 2022
12.
Exactly. Like, I know “jawn” & “glizzy” are AAVE.
But I don’t know what the hell they mean, so you won’t hear my Texas ass say them.
Just like I don’t expect many Black folks outside of Texas to say “mane” or use “alll-ready” the way we do.
We respect regional AAVE dialects. https://t.co/IFjNhNVRsX
— Adrian C. Jackson (@AdrianCJax) April 12, 2022
13.
They replied in a thread about AAVE being misused by white people… with a YT video by a white person “explaining AAVE. I… pic.twitter.com/CVxt9gX95L
— Cypher, now with additional feats (@cypheroftyr) April 12, 2022
LOL!
14.
Yeah it is and also Frankensteining generations bc me at 40, my mom, and my niece, who is 20, definitely use different AAVE but we all know the things we all say and the things an auntie or mamma says. Like you’re a 52 yr old ww saying it’s lit at the crib … like um what ma’am.
— Yourfavoriteauntie,esq. (@daniell0930) April 12, 2022
15.
I’ve never in my life said mane, jawn, jit, B, shawty/shorty, bussin, but yet they use all of them in the same sentence
https://t.co/1vs3ymEDHn
— she-wolf of wall street (@queend236) April 12, 2022