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AAVE is not = Gen Z. AAVE is a cluster of dialects in which there are generational differences, especially in vocabulary, just as there are within any dialect of a language. And most white Gen-Zers are not fluent in AAVE. This sounds like a bunch of people faking French accents. https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1391243431377264641
Whenever I tweet about how white people should not appropriate AAVE, some people ask me about language contact. Isn’t picking up words/phrases just a natural part of languages co-existing?
Yes, language contact is real & it is one reason why we have so many interesting regional dialects in the U.S.. However, the case of most white people trying to speak AAVE is not the same as just regular "language contact," for a lot of reasons.
For one thing, we live in a segregated society & most white people do not come into regular discourse contact with AAVE where white people adapt their speech. Black AAVE do all the adaptation. So, when trying to imitate AAVE, white Americans break grammatical & pragmatic rules
A 2nd factor is that AAVE is discriminated against. It is viewed as “less than” in every domain. I worked in public schools. You know how many 5-year-olds I had tell me that they weren’t allowed to speak their "home language" at school b/c it was “wrong?” Ripped my heart out.
There are cases in which AAVE has been in sustained contact w/ other dialects, for example NY Latino English. These dialects have "mixed" b/c NY Puerto Ricans have lived & worked alongside NY African Americans for generations. This is an example of natural language contact
Now, social media has brought AAVE more into contact with other (white) dialects of English and some of us have subconsciously picked up lexical items, but not so much syntax.
Even though it's on the internet, this is also natural language change through contact. However white people should still be careful given the LONG history of discrimination against AAVE paired w/ white people appropriating (& misusing it) like they were trying on a fun new hat.
Another reason appropriation is obnoxious is that AAVE speakers code-switch to AAVE in situations of within-group solidarity. They also code-switch to sometimes hide meaning from white people, which is a common linguistic phenomenon for groups that have been discriminated against
In this sense, specific code-switching to AAVE is not only highlighting within-community bonds, but also acting as linguistic and cultural empowerment against white oppression.
So, there are a lot of reasons why white people imitating AAVE is not just a product of “natural language contact.” AAVE doesn’t frequently come into sustained language contact w/ white dialects where code-switching & discursive adaptation is symmetrical. Stop using this excuse.
White people also break the grammatical rules of AAVE & therefore sound imitative, not fluent. In the face of linguistic & other discrimination, this comes off as mocking. It is also violating b/c white people are basically invading intra-community/cultural spaces
White Gen-Zers might have more contact w/ AAVE b/c their generation is more diverse & b/c they have grown up on SocialM. But, no, this does mean they are fluent speakers. Perhaps they've picked up a few words. It also doesn't mean they can ignore Black people asking them to stop.
