the appropriation of AAVE (a thread)

AAVE stands for African American Vernacular English.
It is typically incorrectly perceived as “bad English”, “ghetto language”, and/ or as labeled as “blaccent”.

yet, AAVE is a fully developed dialect of the English language, similar to the various dialects found in the South, Midwest, also Northeast regions of the United States. AAVE, like any other dialect, is bound by its own rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

-Origins of AAVE-
AAVE developed alongside the U.S history of chattel enslavement. when black people were stripped from their home countries in Africa and forcibly taken to the U.S,they were purposely separated from others who spoke their language, in order to prevent uprisings.

AAVE developed as a result of enslaved people acquiring some English from those who enslaved them, as they were not allowed to receive an education. these pieces of British English, coupled with the influence from pan-African languages, converged to create AAVE.

Significance of the Black community
AAVE is an extremely significant aspect of black culture. It’s unique mannerisms and vocabulary is reflected of black history in the U.S.

Stigmatization of AAVE is rooted in racism and classism as it implies that the dialects of English spoken by white majority are the “correct” way of speaking.

Black students are often forced to unlearn AAVE in academic settings, and they are taught that their use of AAVE reflects that they are not smart. this is not true. forcing black individuals to speak in a way that is comfortable for the white majority areas erases their culture.

Dialect Appropriation
AAVE is found to be spoken on a variety of social media platforms. although, there is an issue with non-black people adopting AAVE in order to be “humorous” or imitate black culture.

AAVE is often misrepresented as “just internet slang.” the fact that when black people use AAVE they are often met with stigma and stereotypes of “the ghetto.” but if white people adapt AAVE they are seen as “cool” and humorous.

this shows a pattern of appropriation of black culture while simultaneously “othering” the community that created the culture in the first place. also, white people’s use of AAVE can border the line of mocking black culture, which is why we must be aware of how we speak.

c: diversifyournarrative ☺︎︎