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i've wanted to post something for awhile about AAVE because it was something i didn't know about and i think a lot of others don't either. i waited until i was more educated. it's still not something i should be fully speaking on. it is up to individuals to educate themselves. 1/
(this thread is gonna be super long-skip to 13 to learn more if you don't care about the personal part)quick def: AAVE stands for African American Vernacular English. It is a legitimate dialect of the english language (like british english)
pls try to read it all
sources @ end 2/
pls try to read it all
sources @ end 2/
before i continue, the most important part of this thread for me is apologizing. i know i don't have many active followers and even fewer followers that are black/POC. but i recognize that in the past, especially as i become more and more active on twitter, i have used terms...3/
that are AAVE. so i apologize. and as soon as i saw and learned about it i started to police myself more about what i was saying and how things i say could be received. i have done some research as to what kinds of language and even inflections, are considered to be AAVE. 4/
i work really hard to try and catch myself or fix what i am about to say to get out of the habits of using those words/sayings (as well as some hand motions). i must say it is easier to do on the internet than in person. 5/
like i said i am aware that like, 11 people will see this. but i feel it important to share with anyone that admitting you've made mistakes is easy and so very important. it is a path to being better. and allies can always be better. 6/
when i first started seeing aave tweets on my timeline i learned what it was but i, as well as im sure some others, brushed it aside. a lot of the terms i was seeing thrown around as aave were all "internet terms" and they were really big in stan culture. so i paid no mind. 7/
but i kept seeing it and learned that these terms weren't just stan culture. aave is the language black people use and have been using in their communities for a long time. and they were, to say it lightly, taken (appropriated) by the white LGBTQ+ community and by influencers..8/
then they land on the timeline and take off as twitter language. but that is not it at all. black people speak like this in their real lives. i saw that and in the spirit of full honesty. i got kind of upset. black creators i followed were taking a huge part of the internet...9/
and i wasn't really grasping the full concept of it. i know now that even if it feels like the language is a huge part of society, the black community should not have to share something that is theirs simply because they have already been made to. 10/
editing note: i am also in no place to be upset about this. they are taking nothing from me. they are reclaiming what is theirs.
i was also confused bc i felt there were bigger issues to tackle. but now i recognize that that shouldn't matter. this is a time to listen to black people and do whatever i/we can, as allies, to make even small steps easier. as that will make the bigger steps simpler, as well.11/
i still have a lot to learn and i know that more than ever now. so again, for anyone still reading. i apologize. i am sorry. i am growing and i am changing. 12/
terms that i know of to be aave:
period,periodt,purr, any other variation
y'all (this is the hard for me, i'm trying)
tea
popped off
girl...
chile
it's the _____ for me
the way... (the way i just fell asleep at work)
not... (not me crying rn)
no but... (no but why am i mad)
13/
period,periodt,purr, any other variation
y'all (this is the hard for me, i'm trying)
tea
popped off
girl...
chile
it's the _____ for me
the way... (the way i just fell asleep at work)
not... (not me crying rn)
no but... (no but why am i mad)
13/
other things that were copied from black communities:
long acrylic nails
a lot of popular hand motions were created/popularized by black creators (the finger gun thing for sure)
there's a lot more but these are what i see a lot on my timeline used by non black ppl 14/
long acrylic nails
a lot of popular hand motions were created/popularized by black creators (the finger gun thing for sure)
there's a lot more but these are what i see a lot on my timeline used by non black ppl 14/
also like, i don't want to say broken english but like, displacing "be"/"been" (ex: he do be round/he been trying), taking out is/are (ex: he workin), double negative (i think that's what it's called) (ex: don't nobody tell me different), blaccents (google it), etc 15/
so this was one of the first tweets i saw about aave. it sort of explained in short how aave evolved into stan twitter language n then gets at one of the controversies of why non black people shouldn't use aave. 16/
as a white person i think i have reached the limit as to what i can say. all i can do is continue to learn and help those around me learn about it themselves. remember, if a black person (or anyone rly) says they're offended by something. don't tell them they're not :) 17/
if you feel called out, that is your problem and your problem only. admit your mistakes. don't get defensive cause you'll just look silly. don't message me and ask me more. DON'T message the black people in your life and ask them more. take accountability and educate yourself.18/
sorry this was so long, here are my links. also it's super easy to just search aave in google (for modern articles) and google scholar(for historical info): https://www.languagejones.com/blog-1/2014/6/8/what-is-aave#:~:text=AAVE%20is%20an%20acronym%20for,English%20Vernacular%20(BEV).%20%5B
there's a lot more out there, too.
thank you, if you read this far. i really have been wanting to share because, like i said it's important to always be learning. call me out, call out your friends, call yourself out.and more so, listen to black people. #BlackLivesMatter
thank you, if you read this far. i really have been wanting to share because, like i said it's important to always be learning. call me out, call out your friends, call yourself out.and more so, listen to black people. #BlackLivesMatter
