What People Get Wrong About African-American English | Otherwords

[@Quintinia]

Fun fact, AAE even extends to American Sign Languge! Black Deaf people signing to each other often use slightly different mannerisms and word order compared to standard ASL. There hasn't been a ton of research done on this dialect but it's fascinating.

[@imaginaryenemy2565]

Yes that is true it was mostly born out of segregation and how deaf black children weren't allowed into deaf schools so they learned what they could and created their own signs as well

[@simplegirlsolutions8296]

Wow didn’t know that

[@ninamo3523]

Check out BASL (Black American Sign Language) videos for history and examples.

[@sandra-jones]

Interesting.

[@geeninallcaps4678]

Interesting 🤔

[@koirasikin]

For me, a non-native non-American English speaker, I thought a lot of the words from AAE was just "internet slang" or "internet language" and had no idea about the history or cultural significance behind it. Happy to learn something new :)

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

Me too. Still immensely fascinating as I’m learning English as my second language

[@Setsunako6587]

Good for you 👍🏾 Tell your friends!

[@tastynuggets.]

Me too, especially because I'm in the lgbtq+ community, where aave is widely spread and misused most of the time.

[@bravenburris1235]

Probably because black culture has always been popular but nobody wants to knowledge that black people are great the driving force of pop-culture. For the last hundred years.

[@TheBiggestMoronYouKnow]

@@bravenburris1235 since day 1

[@oruguita.lylita78]

Growing up in NYC I hate getting comments on how well I speak but how “my ghetto comes out” when I’m with family and friends… and then with family and friends they say I “talk white”!! it’s literally just code switching that doesn’t mean one way Is lesser than the other. And tbh being able to speak in flow using both is fun as hell. I can express myself fully and most comfortably when I’m allowed to use both and just speak how I want.

[@LochNessy13]

Yes me too! And especially when I throw spanglish into the mix, man some people hate it 😂

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

A trilingual kid open herself up to variations of English trying to rock code switching, I feel you 😂✌️

[@chuitoperez8318]

I completely understand..lol

[@chuitoperez8318]

@@LochNessy13 😂😂😂 you not lying😂😂

[@macphallic]

Absolutely

[@robk7266]

What's interesting is when it spreads to other countries, it gets called "American slang." It's just associated with the country as a whole.

[@tashied422]

Thats because America likes to be a part of things that make them look good and separate things that make them look bad. Black American culture gets called American culture. That's why many believe we dont have a culture. When something bad gets attached to us, now it's back to Black American

[@robk7266]

@@tashied422 but, how are people in other countries supposed to know that? Someone in Japan is expected to understand the difference between Black American culture and White American culture. It's all the same looking from the outside.

[@unm0vedm0ver]

As it should be. AAVE only came about due to the almost 100 years of segregation unique to the US. It's predicted, and I agree, that AAVE and "Standard American English" *SAE, will eventually fuse into the same dialect(s).

[@rebbyy95]

@@unm0vedm0ver idk the gatekeeping is strong with aave

[@unm0vedm0ver]

@@rebbyy95 an unfortunate circumstances that should right itself eventually

[@kristianwilliams441]

This is the sort of content that I wish was around in broader culture when I was much younger. I bought into the idea that AAE was inferior wholesale, worked HARD as a child to scrub any and all traces of it from my speech, and thought myself superior to my peers for it - and now, as a result, I can understand AAE just fine but am barely able to speak it. It feels like I've lost access to a major part of my culture.

[@ArnisKaye]

SAME!! I drank the kool-aid. I started when my family moved and I attended a predominantly white junior high where I was looked down on. Even though we moved again, this time ending up at a more diverse high school, the damage was done. I also listened to other AA who looked down on AAV. I saw AAV and people who spoke it as inferior. I saw my own people, culture and history as inferior. It wasn't until I was an adult and understood white supremacy that I realized the truth. By then I'd wiped it from myself. When I try to speak AAV now, I feel like a foreigner to something I used to flow in. Like you, I can understand it and can tell the difference between a "native" speaker and one who isn't. It's just speaking it that's difficult now.

[@oliviapowell4840]

My AA family just doesn't speak this dialect at all. They lost it I'm going to say at least three or four generations back on one side and maybe two on the other. I like you can understand it easily but can barely speak it. Sometimes I wish I could. It does feel strange not to be able to.

[@ertfgghhhh]

If u speak any slang at all, u are speaking aae

[@FlorenceFox]

I know it's not the same, but this reminds me of a (white) friend of mine, who felt the same way about her accent. She's from the South and because of the reputation the South has for ignorance and prejudice, and because she didn't want to be seen that way, she basically erased her own accent. She's since grown to regret that, since she can barely speak with it anymore, and wishes she'd just owned it. Like I said, I know it's not the same thing, but I couldn't help but be reminded of her when I read this. Speaking as someone who just happened to be born not only white, but into a community that speaks the "acceptable" form of English, it really sucks to know some people feel pressured into changing the way they talk like that.

[@griffenspellblade3563]

@@FlorenceFox I think this happens with a lot of more rural accents. My family used to live in a very rural part of Virginia. There is a large generational divide where accent and dialect changes. I thought my great grand nanny and great aunts were just weird until I attended a school where the accent was common. It also explained a lot of weird family sayings. There is a long tradition of learning to pass for a higher class by changing your dialect.

[@neosaneo2]

i'm a cahsier and the amount of white guys that will come up to me and clumsily use AAE just because i'm black is tooo many

[@k.c1126]

They are trying ... SMH

[@ejakaegypt]

Yikes

[@amannamesolo]

To me that’s offensive and annoying. I can see if they grew up around blk ppl and learned to talk that way but if it force then it’s offensive.

[@k.c1126]

@@amannamesolo I have a feeling that a lot of them mean well ... Like going to a foreign country and trying to speak your 7 words of Spanish and putting -o and -a on the ends of words to try sounding more spanish. Quite offensive, agreed, but often from ignorance rather than malice. I bet an special effort is made if the cashier is a pretty woman ...

[@amannamesolo]

@@k.c1126 you comparing a language to a dialect. Especially, when it seems like mocking one group of ppl. Learning a language is one thing but a dialect that was seem “unintelligent” from their point of view and trying to sound blk is picking with the speaker. Since you on that comparison, I’ve learned Spanish and it was my major in college. If I try to speak it to a Spanish speaker then they will talk to me in English because they felt like I wasnt a part of their community. They even do the same thing to other Spanish speakers who ain’t from their neighbor or group.

[@swordfish1929]

I once went out to dinner after a guest lecture at my tiny Welsh university with a group of lecturers and students. In the group most of us were English, a couple were Welsh, one was German, and there were two Americans. We were talking about accents and how we all speaking the same language but how different it sounded, I think the topic came up in relation to ancient dialects of Greek and the intelligibility between them. One of the Americans was a student from Florida who was black and she was telling us how around us she would use her "whiter" voice which we hadn't really experienced before. Although one of the older lecturers talked about how when he was younger he got sent to elocution lessons in order to sound less "Northern" because received pronunciation or "RP" English with little regional colloquialisms was considered correct. It was a very interesting conversation.

[@mollymcdade4031]

I actually would love to hear more about British dialects and if they’re effected in a similar way with code switching. We were obsessed (and still are in ways) with non-RP dialects sounding improper or less intelligent. I’m only in my 20’s (and white) but even I experienced being corrected to speak ‘properly’ growing up (‘something’ rather than ‘somefing’ or ‘anything’ instead of ‘anyfink’)

[@julietfischer5056]

@@mollymcdade4031 - Every nation has dialects/accents associated with various regions or social classes. There are people in the United States who work at losing rural accents (or learning to switch appropriately) and I don't see why it would be different in Britain.

[@jcwight9976]

@@mollymcdade4031 “working class” accents throughout the UK are still looked down on in general & seen as being a sign of less intelligence, less professional etc. Then you have the issues in countries like Scotland - where I’m from - where this prejudice gets mixed with prejudice against Scots (which is its own, Germanic language with various dialects, not just “wrong” English) so you end up with people feeling like they have to speak “properly” to get ahead ie speak as close to “standard English” as possible with a Scottish accent...

[@JNArnold]

I could add to that. I grew up as an American military child, my father in the air force. He grew up most of his life in Georgia, but my brother and I had been born after his enlisting and moved away from GA. We grew up in other countries and US states. It was always kind of funny for us hearing our father get on the phone with his family and go from a very standard/mid-western or lack of American English accent while at work and home to a drawling southern accent with his family. Then years later having settled in Georgia myself I'd catch myself doing the same with family, co workers, and friends from the area. Also living in GA and the greater Atlanta area for the first time I'd actually hear people speaking AAE, something that was rarely(tho growing) done in my experience as a military dependent among kids of my age at that time. IDK that this contributes much, I just love the nuance and depth and history that dialects and accent give to understanding of what is essentially the same language but can have totally different origins.

[@momof3plusdsg]

Thanks for your comment, that was a really fascinating read. I only recently read about "code switching" in the context of western Danes moving to Eastern Denmark, to blend in, be accepted, not be seen as stupid AND increase job opportunities. I'm an easterner (Sjællænder) who adopted the west (Jylland) over 22 years ago and I haven't code switched or changed my accent to any of the western accents. I feel kind of ashamed of not having known about this before. My accent is "rigsdansk" and usually considered upper class, despite being from a working class background - and before that farming background, because my adoptive family have worked for higher class families, for generations and I'm from "the right" part of Denmark - well, I was adopted to that part. I'd heard about code switching in the context of black people in the U.S. when talking to white people and in some professional settings. I'd also read about South Asians in the UK who code switch in the work place. I'm just so ashamed that I didn't know that there are native Danes who do that when they move to other parts of Denmark.😳

[@sadistyk_1671]

One thing that I would like to emphasize. For those who use AAE, our parents often warn us against it. They fear that others will in fact prejudge us and regard us as unintelligent and uncivilized. But shoutout to PBS (another adopted AAE phrase). I've never heard or (have) seen a comprehensive explanation of AAVE in a positive manner. I feel a lil more comfortably with my speech now.

[@jusletursoulglobaby]

@YouStink wrong.

[@sagefeather3405]

@YouStink Then why do different countries use different dialects? If your comment is correct, then Canadians, Australians and British are inherently inferior to Americans (which is assuming for a moment that would be the "correct" dialect, but let's not get into that. I'm just using that because I'm presuming that you're American due to your mention of the SAT). Obviously, that's not how it works. Dialects of languages aren't tied to intelligence, they're tied to culture. Your statement is not only wildly incorrect, but also discriminatory and harmful.

[@ems3832]

@YouStink Correct

[@CuantumQ]

@La dolce Vita There's a difference between being formal and saying that using heavy amounts of slang appears unintelligent. Research papers tend toward a very formalized English, but that's not due to intelligence. It's due to the community trying to ensure that one piece of research can be shared anywhere in English without having to worry about linguistic differences causing potential confusion and to avoid people looking down at works from other places. Plus, you are arguing 'appears to be' while they were appearing 'are', which are two very different things. There are definitely types of slang that people associate with lower intelligence, but that doesn't actually have anything to do with the slang user's intelligence. It should generally be the goal to help promote other dialects, as it enriches the language as a whole and doesn't demonize communities just because they tend to use different dialects.

[@AlphaNumeric123]

Crazy they got the history wrong. Africans enslaved other black people and sold the slaves to Muslims Arabs mostly and then later to Europeans. Europeans definitely weren’t their captures though, Africans have been doing that themselves for a millennium

[@dnd161991]

I really appreciate that the narrator ties together modern AAE with how language naturally evolves. It's like saying 'If you don't think that AAE is legitimate, you're delegitimizing your own dialect.' In reference to how English evolved from Anglo-Saxon and European languages.

[@eattheinvaders.3037]

@@alejandromoreno5056 AAE is an evolving dialect. It isn't SAE, but a dialect with differences from SAE. In fairness, most white folks from the Southern US have been considered ignorant for similar speech patterns. A crucial fact that this video is woefully negligent is presenting is that standard American English is standard school curriculum in the USA, whereas AAE is not. That crap about stress of having to switch between dialects is nonsense. "A voice I use around white people" really means "The way I speak around everyone else that isn't black unless there are enough other black people around." Therefore the AAE dialect is a cultural convenience for communicating within the black subculture, whereas SAE is a necessity for communicating in overall society.

[@kaleahcollins4567]

@@eattheinvaders.3037 actually it does come from SAE. Let's not forget these people introduced enslaved blacks to English as well as their ways of speaking. Cockey English Irish and scots

[@mrwintry1]

@@eattheinvaders.3037 Exactly. Code switching is a natural thing that occurs at the community or relationship level. SAE with the overall society. Then your AAE may vary depending on when speaking to your family vs your friends. Language and dialect is beautiful.

[@Ptitnain2]

@@eattheinvaders.3037 The big deal of having to code switch like almost everybody does. Wow. 😒

[@MikeyLikesIt89]

@@Ptitnain2 of course you think everyone has to code switch. SMH your ignorance of your own privilege is exhausting.

[@JaylukKhan]

The AAE to white people slang pipeline: black people-white homosexuals-drunk white girls-mainstream white vocabulary. Or an increasingly common alternative: black twitter-internet memes-mainstream white vocabulary.

[@ChrisDixon__]

This!! 💯💯💯

[@yesterdaydream]

Am a drunk white girl, and there were definitely some terms here which I associated exclusively with the queer community rather than AAE. (But I'm also trying not to drunk-white-girlishly co-opt those terms and push them down that pipeline.)

[@jenb.9454]

Dear God...the accuracy!

[@samuri2011]

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

[@sandra-jones]

You need to put black LGBTQIA+ 2nd.

[@13579hee]

The problem is anti-Black American ethnophobic sentiment. In America (and beyond) hate of Black American descendants of American chattel slavery is woven into the fabric of our culture. A KZbinr (I forget his name) who makes videos about language has a video about Black American English where he explains the rules of how to speak this dialectal form of English while also explaining that English (like many other languages) has a multitude of different dialectal versions. Yet, the comment section of tht video is flooded with horrible remarks towards Black American English. People of all racial groups & ethnic backgrounds disagreed with everything he said and reduced Black American English down to simply sounding "stupid" or "uneducated". Some people even went on to say that it was "impossible" for Black American English to be an altar dialectical form of English in America and that thing lile that could only exist in places like Haiti & Brazil (with French in Portuguese respectively). The KZbinr then went to explain in the comments section (as he did in the video) that many countries like Norway, Germany & Japan have varying dialectal versions of a single language and that no one perceives speakers of those different dialects to be "unintelligent "the way we all do with Black Americans.....I think he even pointed out the fact that there are varying dialectical forms of English spoken through England.Im Black American and I have noticed many English celebrities like Adele structure sentences in ways that are similar to Black Americans, yet they don't receive the same backlash. I've noticed Adele use the word "was" in place of "were" and I've heard her use double negatives...... but I've never heard anyone refer to her as an "stupid" for doing so. The problem is simply anti-Black American ethnophobic sentiment.

[@Tessier9999]

Yes, I've notice the same thing. People steal from us and love to hate us at the same time.

[@PHlophe]

@@Tessier9999 they were mocking the word ^woke^ just 2 years ago. and in 2021 the word has gone global. i was in Hong kong i heard people use it. now they've created a variant the wokerati . just like the word COOL black people rejuvenated it , now its as american as apple pie.

[@emperater]

To be fair places like England (cities like London to be precise) have a very rigid class structure and class is signified by how you speak. Someone like Adele originates from a working class background which is why she speaks the way she does and working class white people like her are widely considered as less intelligent or refined and their form of English which includes cockney style slang is considered crude and unsophisticated. You're right when you say it's a race thing when it comes to how black English is perceived but it's definitely about class too. In the UK they have a very derogatory word for a white working class person who speaks in a particular way with a particular slang and that's the word Chav. In the UK a Chav is seen as one of the lowest forms of people.

[@13579hee]

@@emperater I was talking specifically about here in America. Americans will have no problem with Adeles way of speaking but will judge a Black American

[@erickamorillo7164]

Paul from Langfocus made a video about AAVE. I don’t remember the comments section being generally negative (I watched the video when it came out, so a while ago) but I wonder if that’s who you are talking about.

[@sadistyk_1671]

One more comment. Classism is very much the reason behind the stigma of a "broken language". Villagers or the local people develop a dialect to shorten and share common language. Those who speak the most formal and proper consider themselves superior, especially when they don't understand another do dialect and distance themselves.

[@KasumiRINA]

In London they have completely separate dialects for working class, cockney, and another one, posh, for the inbreds. SAME CITY! Funnily nobody learns either academically, it's either fake BBC nasal pronounciation people never use IRL or American English... shame mid-Atlantic accent isn't popular, it was fake AF but sounded classy in movies.

[@Dragoncam13]

Pretty much,it was especially common in France where the french government forced most of the population to speak the standard parisian dialect of french instead of local dialects or closely related minority languages

[@lazairance]

@@Dragoncam13that’s still going on with that président macaron trying to errase de southern accent.

[@lazairance]

The*

[@mariahc.crawley884]

​Glotophobie (Glotophobia) IS STILL ALIVE & WELL IN FRANCE TOO 2 THIS DAY. PEOPLE R ENCOURAGED 2 ERASE THEIR REGIONAL SOUND (GOMMER= "ERASER"-ING) IN ORDER TO B SOCIALLY ACCEPTED & MAINTAIN UPWARD MOBILITY. UGGGGGG.

[@trishmalone5639]

I had a college English professor who said it best. He said "when it comes to communication, the best communication is that spoken in a way that you subject or audience Understands you. THAT is communication! Otherwise you are just tattling off words". I took that to heart! He went on to say that if you are speaking your best, most correct formal English and the person you are saying it to doesn't understand you, you ain't Said nothing! 😂

[@etf42]

agreed. thats why i dont understand why code switching is such a burden. its a sign of intelligence.

[@PauloPereira-jj4jv]

Depending on the context, yes...

[@tianoninanana]

Love this quote. Thanx for sharing.

[@Donkor640]

⁠​⁠I started code switching when I transferred to a private high school in Canada. I made a subconscious adjustment because I disliked how the emphasis on the delivery overshadowed the actual message I wanted to convey. I didn't realize how easily I could switch between speech styles until my cousins visited during spring break. While we were joking around in the basement, my white adopted grandfather came down to ask us what we wanted to eat. As he returned upstairs, I noticed my cousins staring wide-eyed in disbelief. They were like, “how do you do that?”. I didn’t even know what to say because I didn’t hear the difference in my mind, I just understood subconsciously that this was the most effective way to communicate with people from different backgrounds.

[@lexg5317]

It gives me such a smug satisfaction when actual linguists reinforce the idea that "Proper English" is a fluid concept. English is such a versatile language and that's super cool and interesting! It's spoken differently depending on the country (America, UK, Australia, New Zealand etc) but even in those countries, region, class and race might mean you speak in a different dialect and/or accent. I think in the end, we gain more when we try and learn more about those differences than if we just dismiss them.

[@quidam_surprise]

'America' is not a country though.

[@drachir7146]

The US doesnt exist? America is used as shorthand my dude

[@quidam_surprise]

@@drachir7146 『 The official U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual prescribes specific usages for "U.S." and "United States". In treaties, congressional bills, etc.,[c] "United States" is always used. In a sentence containing the name of another country, "United States" must be used. Otherwise, "U.S." is used preceding a government organization or as an adjective, but "United States" is used as an adjective preceding non-governmental organizations (e.g. United States Steel Corporation).[31]』 I'm tired of having to explain basic concepts related to their own country. They even gave you a how-to guide ffs 🙄, go read instead of spewing whatever wild guesses you lot came up with in your head.

[@drachir7146]

Yea we dont like our Gov at all that might be a foreign concept to you but we really dont care what it says

[@quidam_surprise]

@@drachir7146 well... right back at you

[@pj7309]

I had a fight with a woman over AAE. People really have a strong hate for it...and yet it forms the basis of a great deal of Americanall culture...the flows, patterns, rhythms of our music. Our dance...they are all connected.

[@ToutCQJM]

I think it goes back to the saying that people fear what they don’t understand.

[@johnallenbailey1103]

@@ToutCQJM it's not fear, it's just hate and a need to de-legitimize whatever we do or say.

[@thedestroyasystem]

@@johnallenbailey1103 I would argue that even that boils down to fear. Fear of being wrong, fear of the embarrassment of being proved wrong, fear of having to re-examine one’s own belief system. The need to de-legitimize others often stems from personal insecurities. That doesn’t make it okay, but it’s helpful to recognize the causes of these mindsets to help prevent them.

[@johnallenbailey1103]

@@thedestroyasystem if I'm afraid of something I leave it tf alone. Ijs.

[@thedestroyasystem]

@@johnallenbailey1103 of course. Obviously if somebody’s racist that kind of rational thought isn’t gonna follow in their head

[@neutechnica]

I expected to roll my eyes but I have to say this was quite enlightening. My parents migrated from the Bronx in the early 80's before I was born. My mom drilled into us that AAE was lazy and unprofessional slang that should never be used. However, the illustration about Japanese really highlights the immediate social connection formed about the foundation that AAE is within a group of people. While I would be proud to have my employer overhear me speaking Spanish with a family member, I hesitate to say the same if they heard me speaking AAE. Definitely some food for thought as to why that is.

[@Deedz1924]

You know why it is. It’s because of what your mom made you believe. Now it’s stored in your mind and unconsciously influences your feelings about AAE.

[@EmilReiko]

AAE has become somewhat dominant in European perceptions on how Americans speak.

[@PHlophe]

very much true, i was in germany and i actually heard germans who only know english through IG use AAE because its quick short and to the point.

[@an0nym0us_slash35]

Not just Europe but Asia too, shite got me talking professional English mixed with AAE and UK slang in a thick British accent

[@kaptainzdragon5478]

Be cause women be shopping!

[@IGotNoJam]

@@kaptainzdragon5478 wait huh ?

[@JaiK64]

That's thanks to all the black people on social media sites.

[@mattdeblassmusic]

I remember reading in Kori Stamper's "Word by Word" when she talked about her journey to understanding "irregardless," which seems particularly loathed by internet grammar snobs. She talked about how, as a lexicographer at Merriam Webster, she tracked down the origins and usages for the word and learned how it was sometimes used in AAE to reinforce a negative, and end a discussion (as in "you have a point, but irregardless, the answer is still 'no'"). It was something that definitely made me take a second to reflect on my own snobbery.

[@annieboookhall]

I LOVE THAT BOOK!!!!!

[@mattdeblassmusic]

@@annieboookhall I picked it up after seeing the author talk in Netflix's "History of Swear Words," and ended up really enjoying it

[@JaylukKhan]

Irregardless doesn't make sense though. It means the exact same thing as regardless which actually makes sense.

[@mattdeblassmusic]

@@JaylukKhan I definitely recommend reading Stamper’s book, it’s pretty much a whole chapter

[@JohnDoe-mk5zb]

@@JaylukKhan Same as flammable and inflammable. Languages are a chaotic hodgepodge, yet we depend on their precision to communicate. Life is weird.

[@klzylcy]

This is so good, so concise, a great introduction to the sociolinguistic contexts around Black English!! I also really appreciate how this video outlines some of the key features of our language. I’m going to share this with my students in the fall🖤

[@PHlophe]

I'm finna share it with the snobs that spend their time laughing at our unique features while marveling at canadian lingua Franca. Because it does have similar features also.

[@juicyparsons]

Yeah this is legit they understood the assignment

[@marzouk6270]

AAVE isn't a language. it's a dialect.

[@msruag]

@@marzouk6270 sociolect

[@marijkestoll816]

@@marzouk6270 the only difference between a language and a dialect is an army.

[@John-ci8yk]

I'm a Roman Catholic Italian from Philly who was taught by nuns, that said the coolest word I ever heard was" Sunday-go-meetin clothes ". This word was send by a black guy who I used to work with who originally was brought up in South. He had to attend a viewing after work and I asked" yo what's with the getup?" He said" you mean my Sunday- go--meetin clothes?" Thank you for the time and effort you put into this video ,thumbs-up. Have a nice day.

[@foreverfly3113]

Now we call traditional church clothing, “Sunday’s Best”. Ex.. “I’m about to put on my Sunday’s Best” or “He came through sharp wearing his Sunday’s Best”. 😂

[@guyfaux3978]

Not exclusively a black thing. Much AAVE is just plain southern.

[@foreverfly3113]

@@guyfaux3978 Wrong! There are many dialects within AAVE that you wouldn’t be able to understand unless you grew up in it. Most of what you hear is AAVE light. Go to places like Monks Coner, Sapelo or Saint Helena Islands, rural Alabama, Georgia and Florida or even Louisiana. The Gheece speak in AAVE patois too not just AAVE.

[@guyfaux3978]

@@foreverfly3113 The vocabulary of AAVE is Southern as far as expressions like "go-to-meeting clothes" and that sort of thing. That is, after all, where the dialect developed.

[@Spielorjh]

This was an intensely uncomfortable challenge to prejudices I didn't even know I had. Thank you.

[@moniqueloomis9772]

👍

[@geoff3103]

lol

[@pipitameruje]

Right? English is not my first language. I was taught English at school as a second language, and later at a language school. Mind you, I'm European and I was taught by British English native speakers (3 English, 1 Scottish and 1 Welsh teacher). So, I learnt that "proper" English is British English, and that proper pronunciation usually involves speaking as if one had a hot potato in one's mouth. Not also that, but I picked up on certain prejudices like linking English slang and vernacular to certain demographics. This translated to me judging accents, and judging people for their accents. Now, American English was always "the lesser English" in my ears, more so its dialects. And this video just made me realise that I automatically equate this particular dialect - this being AAE - to a series of prejudices I desperately need to work on.

[@moongirl786]

That's incredibly brave of you to admit. When we feel extreme discomfort like that, its usually an indicator of something we need to work on, whether that be irrational fears, prejudices, a bit of both. I wish more people had your introspective response to that discomfort. I personally like to joke that I am just about the whitest person you can meet, both genetically and linguistically :P

[@LordofFullmetal]

Definitely. I've always had a pet peeve for double negatives - but the comparison to Spanish, which is a language I'm learning, really drove home that that pet peeve might be problematic, and I should examine why I feel that way. Because they're absolutely right - when you translate into Spanish, every word reinforces the message. If it's plural, the entire sentence is plural. If it's negative, the entire sentence is negative. So why can't AAE work the same way?

[@yahwehisontheway5094]

As an African American I used this urban dialect growing up, and my mother tried to correct me all the time, but it was hard to stop talking this way, because she talked this way as well. I do find myself switching up my dialect when talking to people who don't speak this way. I think people find that it makes us sound uneducated, but that's far from the truth.

[@bigdaddy3621]

Codeswitching. And then you get to work and whites wanna sound cool and use slang.

[@guyfaux3978]

How you gon speak with all them people that be comin' into this country an' sheet? If they know English at all (big if) it will be standard English. AAVE will be drawn closer to standard just by virtue of this fact.

[@mollymcdade4031]

Obviously it’s a very different situation than with AAE but the code switching and stigmatisation of slang reminds me of how in Britain a lot of working class dialects are only now becoming more widely accepted in media (it used to be that Received Pronunciation / posh English was the only accent acceptable for television. People are also still stigmatised in the workplace if their dialect is difficult to understand) Northern slang especially is still seen as working class and less intelligent. (And that’s not to mention Welsh, Irish and Scottish dialects and languages) Cockney as well is kind of used worldwide to denote ‘rough’ types of people (or generally to mock the working class) We also have black London slang (I’m unsure if it’s got an official name, it’s especially used among Londoners with variations around the country) that white people have coopted when wanting to seem tough (although it’s not often adopted into common usage as much as AAE is). Obviously it’s a totally different situation but it’s fascinating how lots of countries have this mirrored relationship with language dialects.

[@julianweir3030]

In the case of British Black English, the origin is actually rather similar, except that the dialect evolved in the Caribbean before transferring to the UK primarily with the immigration of Jamaicans into not just London, but also Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, and some other cities that slip my mind atm in the 1950's; when England was encouraging immigration from former colonies to aid in post war reconstruction and expansion. The dialect then evolved as working class Jamaicans speaking Jamaican Patois interacted with working class Brits speaking cockney and other regional working class dialects, with those dialects 'cross pollinating' to evolve somewhat side by side. My Grandmother was among those who went to England during this period, and my father picked up an uncanny ability to code switch between a number of British and North American accents and dialects because he realized people treated him more fairly when he matched his speech to theirs and learning to mirror them was the only way he'd get anywhere in the business world. But I digress. My point is that black culture began interacting with 'lower class' white culture many decades ago now, so it's not too surprising to me that as the proliferation of Black Culture becomes a global phenomenon, cockney and other urban white slang would also begin to proliferate as, at least in England, the two have had a history of interaction for a while. All that said, I'm not actually an expert on the topic, just an auto-didact with a weird memory for useless facts, so there may be minor inaccuracies with my above statements, and some effects might be over or understated.

[@Cindy99765]

@@julianweir3030 Definitely not useless information my friend, linguistics is a very important field because it studies human communication, and in turn, the human condition in society.

[@PseudoPseudoDionysius]

That distinct modern London dialect/accent found in Afro-Caribbean and South Asian communities is called Multicultural (or sometimes Metropolitan) London English. The Wikipedia article on it is actually really well-sourced and reeeally interesting.

[@amarketing8749]

As an American I watch all my British shows with subtitles. Helps me to catch words and phrases I would otherwise miss.

[@موسى_7]

Yes, in London, many pronounce 'ask' as 'aks'

[@DawlessHouseMusic]

It's funny to hear it mentioned that the rules are codified in a way that new words can be easily understood so long as you know the basic rules and keep context and tone in mind. Whenever a new word appears in the hood, it makes perfect sense to me and that always tickles me as a language geek.

[@babyandy6607]

Wish I would've had this video when I was in middle and high school. I hated that I couldn't explain why I was the way I am now! Education really is power, wow, it would've fostered a lot more confidence in myself than I had.

[@gimmiefriedchicken]

I am obviously white, but I grew up in New Orleans and have always pronounced words like ask as “axe.” It wasn’t until I got to college and all of my peers ridiculed me for pronouncing the word “wrong” that I forced myself to switch. I’m obviously not persecuted, but I’ll never forget that frustration. Learning about this history is very informative to me. Thank you!

[@abbyoverstreet1028]

I have a similar story- West Memphis but all the less- I think it’s important to note that while it has its history and the African American culture that comes with it, the dialect has also developed into regional vernacular as well. This adds to the geographical culture that a person of different race or background can experience as well. While we may not experience the same sort of oppression, it is sad to know that the dialect was washed away from us. Much love

[@KasumiRINA]

It's the other way around, the "ask" is butchering of original word, as Chaucer used "axe a question".

[@slyar]

I'm pretty white but for a while I lived in Mississippi so I picked up some vocabulary and stuff from the people there, lots of whom are black, so I'm kind of scared of at some point getting called racist for using southern or AAE terms

[@foreverfly3113]

@@slyarWhy are you scared when Foundational Black American English is older than the 🇺🇸 it self?

[@kiokya9818]

As a Trinidadian🇹🇹 I never realised how similar the sentence structure and other features of language are between AAE and my dialect. It's amazing how despite being from different countries, both groups still developed similar language patterns. It's probably due to the African slave trade and us mixing african grammar rules with English vocabulary.

[@xtremebk]

We’re the same people. Just got dropped off at different destinations and given different labels as a result. I wished more people would see that. There wasn’t a specific slave ship for West Indies only or America only. Lol

[@AnthonyAllenJr]

Shout out to the TnT group! My wife is from Trinidad, so we've had plenty of realizations on how similar southern black Americans and Trini's can be.

[@littlegothgirl8869]

Accurate.

[@marcuscole1994]

@@AnthonyAllenJr I said the same that black Americans from the south are similar to the carribeans

[@iyaramonk]

According to Thomas Sowell AAE has it's origins in Cornwall, England, not Africa.

[@g.411]

I would love to learn about the way AAE has evolved over time. When you go back and read classics written by Black authors in the dialect, August Wilson's plays for example, you find older AAE that isn't used anymore. I feel like AAE evolves really quickly compared to standard/mainstream American English. Please tell me there's a book on the history of AAE vocabulary out there...

[@geminigirl5400]

WhatsgoodEnglish he has a KZbin channel, sunnmcheaux he’s a linguist at Harvard, he has a KZbin channel as well. I read the book Talking Back, Talking Black, that author has lots of information.

[@mikethebike2456]

🏍️ Why not spend time learning a real language, instead of the ghetto replacement.

[@taliaphlogiston5801]

John McWhorter, Assistant Professor of linguistics at Columbia wrote several books on AAE. They are "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue, The Language Hoax and The Power of Babel.

[@mmz-arts7968]

Thomas Sowell - black rednecks and white liberal

[@ellemueller]

Since the AAE dialects and sociolects weren't reified by being regularly printed in books and those books that didn't exist weren't used to educate people, so, there are fewer checks and balances keeping the dialects heavily rooted in their origin dialects, especially since many new dialect groups have emerged in various locations with varying amounts of dialect levelling between regiolects.

[@davehan241]

I'm definitely guilty of dismissing AAE as just "bad" English...that's kind of what we're taught in a white run education. It was such a hot-button issue back in the 90s along with affirmative action. Now, I see how much of it was vilification and fear mongering. It is the height of irony/hypocrisy to appropriate the culture while dismissing it. My god language would be boring AF without AAE.

[@8thwonder0608]

Just like how america would be boring af without black culture.

[@robertsmall1657]

Ok so I admire your desire to be open minded and fair but unfortunately AAE is factually grammatically incorrect English. And it is derived from white southerners actually. The laws of grammar exist regardless of race or skin color. It’s admirable that many people are trying to be inclusive and warm about this but let’s not delude ourselves. AAE is not derived from African language at all. It is not an original language. It is basically standard English BUT slang that has become popular culturally. It originated in the south with poorly educated whites. I’m all for being inclusive but it worries me when we are claiming that misspoken English is now it’s own language and anyone who thinks this is racist or hateful…

[@Island_Ninja]

@@robertsmall1657 Actually it's still an argument to this day whether Ebonics is it's own language or not, due to it's own grammatical rules and what not

[@davehan241]

@@robertsmall1657 You do realize that language is always changing right? I mean hell...the definition of "Literal" now includes figurative. THAT'S a bigger atrocity of language. You seem to be railing against "misspoken" English because you want to cling to some notion that there's only one "right" way of speaking. Every context has it's own language...business, law, medicine, politics, the funeral industry, etc, etc. If you actually want to have a DISCUSSION about what constitutes a whole new language vs a dialect, sure. Your "I'm all for being inclusive" sentiment has a huge BUT. It's not like I'm a linguist or a historian, so I can't claim expert knowledge on the subject, but are you trying to claim some sort of higher moral/intellectual grounds to justify your OPINION? It's hilarious that you want to claim that the AAE non-language is actually made by WHITE Southerners. And then you want to casual drop "the LAWS of grammar" as if grammar rules are universal or unchanging. Your tragically narrow view seem to be straining to keep your fragile sense of superiority afloat.

[@saintandretheenormous6093]

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@CleverCover05]

This is an interesting topic. Language is as fluid as water, so I have to let go of the notion that there is a right and wrong to these things. Because no matter what, these words I may not like will make it into the dictionary and be around longer than me. That's for sure.

[@thomasfleming8169]

I think it's in Old English.

[@mephi2go]

@@thomasfleming8169 Mostly in the West-Saxon dialect of Old English, but it contains lots of forms from other varieties.

[@Pingwn]

If we want to go to the original we will need to go so back that it would not be English anymore. When is a variant valid? 500 years ago? 2,000 years ago? Because whatever is valid now was not at the past.

[@justme-ew3ri]

What words do you not like? Also it's fluid but it for sure has rules.

[@AlitheaJ]

Yeah! What words don't you like?? and why???

[@suchanhachan]

As an American who's lived in Japan for a long time I'll admit the high-level honorific language is beyond me. (Not that I'm all that good with the basic language to be honest...) Japanese people are usually extremely sensitive to the situations they are in and the language they choose to use in those situations. Even younger students will be very careful about the language they use with older students. Fortunately I never really find myself in situations where I need to use such polite expressions. And I'm very good at showing respect through my body language, which the Japanese also find very important...

[@kyliessave8454]

Exactly. It's not at all weird to read social situations and modify the language used accordingly. Almost all asian languages are like that.

[@romxxii]

Isn't the high-level honorific language required when interacting with corporations there? I remember one of my colleagues working with a big Japanese corp, and when he switched to Japanese to speak with them (I was speaking exclusively in English, but understood _some_ Japanese) he spoke in a very polite manner. No contractions, no dropped subjects, complete sentences.

[@prapanthebachelorette6803]

@@kyliessave8454 I’m Asian and trilingual and I confirm that. Respect is important in our culture that we have, for some categories of stuff, about ten variations of how to say something that means the same thing but with different level of politeness and formality 😂

[@AllTheArtsy]

This is why Japan (or France as another example) will never be truly open to non-natives. To have lived in a country "for a very long time" but not even be confident in the basic language and social systems is ridiculous.

[@RenegadeShepard69]

@@AllTheArtsy France is not comparable to Japan in that regard at all. But I can see your point.

[@zerjiozerjio]

Growing up in South Central as an immigrant kid learning English, it’s always been an interesting perspective to grow up surrounded and influenced fundamentally by AAVE.

[@alishafrazier1936]

This show and the explanations of how English dialects develop and evolve has greatly helped me to become less judgemental of people who speak differently than I do, and more aware of the world as a diverse collection of equal valid styles of expression. Thank you.

[@sallyhazy]

I'm not american and I had just thought that words and expressions shown in 0:14 were slangs and colloquial English, I had no idea they were part of AAE. I think that as non-native english speakers, it is hard to not use those many words originating in AAE, as I part of my English learning was through using social media and by watching tv shows and movies that often employ AAE (although it seems they don't recognize their usage of the language).

[@saffodils]

in my experience as a US american, a lot of americans use AAE expressions without knowing where they come from, just having a general sense that they are trendy. but once you ask people, "what kinds of people would be more likely to use that word?" they usually have some sense that it comes from Black culture. i'm white, and i don't want to speak over Black people, but in my understanding we shouldn't seek to avoid using AAE words entirely. it's more about recognizing where those words come from and what stereotypes we might be attaching to them, so we don't perpetuate those stereotypes in our own speech.

[@sergeantsonso3490]

because they're NOT.

[@RarelyAChump]

This is exactly why it should be recognised and taught! It makes me so angry that the "English" taught in schools, etc. almost always excludes a lot of the English language because of prejudice

[@ryanscottmccormick191]

AAE is intrinsic to colloquial English. These folks are just trying to make a point, and rightly so. We don’t fund our public education system, and we’re in the midst of a brain drain not seen since Thatcher. 30 years of neo liberal policies have spread this division. A great exercise is to type in AAE with proper accent marks and punctuation, if can.

[@TheJrockfreak]

Because they are just Slang words

[@rolgirremoreas1909]

When I saw AAE in the thumbnail I initially thought of Australian Aboriginal English, because living in Australia that’s the only way I’ve seen the acronym used before. I would be curious to see a video on the topic, especially given Australia’s own dodgy past with how white people have treated The Traditional Owners of The Land - and perhaps how the Stolen Generations impacted the development of Australian Aboriginal English.

[@aphr0d]

Oh i would love a video on this too! Erased stories need all the limelight they can get

[@Cindy99765]

@@JTScott1988 The struggles of black Americans and the struggles of indigenous Australians are very similar. Did you not hear that the Australian government forced them to attend boarding schools to become "civilized"? Also thousands of aboriginal/indigenous children were taken from their families and adopted by white families up until the 80s so that they'd be raised in a "proper" household. We can discuss multiple issues at once.

[@chasesigler9885]

@@JTScott1988 do you not realize it is about yall colonization is the root of black and indigenous oppression and understanding that only creates global solidarity to combat colonization and reach a state past colonization

[@StrokedGT]

i'm just here to watch all the SJW's fight, with the never satisfied black guy going toe to toe with the over apologetic white people.

[@ericthompson3982]

I'd be interested in videos of all sorts of aboriginal dialects of the various languages forced on them by colonization (South Africa, Canada, the US, etc.)

[@SadhviJenn]

I speak Spanish where we have many verb conjugation forms, and I find that AAE gives me the ability to use those conjugation forms more that mainstream English. 7:18

[@BlueEditz0]

Estoy aprendiendo español y tengo el dialecto de AAE e MAE, ahora que estoy aprendiendo español lo aprendí que AAE es más simplista de MAE y tienes es original slang y dialecto en éntrelo. (Discúlpame pa’ mi español, estoy todavía en un A2 nivel.)

[@march0202]

It’s been amazing to watch when people or bots try to use AAVE to impersonate but don’t get it right and are easily discovered.

[@asat103]

Just like seeing people impersonate accents, if you haven't lived alongside it, it's a really really hard skill to master

[@maurreese]

This was amazing as a black man thank you guys so much for educating me and confronting a lot of toxic police I had about African-American English.

[@EdKolis]

Yeah, I'm a white guy who married into a black family and while I haven't done anything so silly as to adopt my wife's dialect, it's fascinating to learn about that dialect's origins and how it works. The verb conjugation thing made me think, gee, it took the creation of a whole new dialect just to simplify that one weird thing with the third person singular? Lol! But yeah, this was a really cool video!

[@wespeakdocuseries]

So proud of Dr. Weissler!! We had the honor of interviewing her for We Are What We Speak. Cheers to you and job well done on Otherwords.

[@fjtalleyauthor2242]

Yes. From what I've read about her, she is really making an impact. We used to call that "tearing it up" when I was a kid.

[@SkyeID]

They like our language, our music, our hairstyles...but they don't like us.

[@asiyahad-deenislam5289]

Straight like that.

[@mybestnugget7514]

Should be the top comment with 10k likes

[@SkyeID]

@@mybestnugget7514 I completely agree!

[@Thewritingelf]

SAY IT FOR THOSE IN THE BACK

[@kenmore01]

Hey, don't feel too bad, we like Mexican food too! LOL just messing with you. I like you just fine!

[@themightyfp]

Special Ed said it best “I'm outspoken My language is broken into a slang But it's just a dialect that i select when i hang”

[@shinbakihanma2749]

Hip hop head. I grew up listening to Special Ed. The 1980s in NYC were crazy.

[@swash-oh4xo]

I Got It Made duh dunna...dunna

[@NIN10DOXD]

As a white southerner I remember being told that some of the shared terms we use that still remain in AAE were incorrect and now those same people are coopting the very same words while still complaining about how certain dialects aren't proper or sound uneducated.

[@EdKolis]

I remember a sketch on SNL or somesuch where a black guy and a redneck compete on Jeopardy and find they have a lot in common. I guess there's some truth to that? And why isn't "redneck" considered to be offensive, anyway?

[@Basstroutfishing]

They’re being ignorant of regional disparities and being patronizing to everyone but this is probably dated or some rich people art film .

[@deda9829]

Can I just say this is probably one of the best researched and factual shows out there? I love that you even talk about other theories we have for AAE, instead of only stating the most common one.

[@ibrahimA8496]

It is crazy that next year, 2025, the ODAAE, the Oxford Dictionary of African American English, is going to be released. I am extremely excited, I have been waiting for it for too long.

[@brutusmagnuson315]

A lot of American culture is the result of Black culture. I’ve used a lot of “Black” words, not know they originated in the Black community Also, Scandinavians and Americans in the Midwest descended from Scandinavians also replace “Th”s with “D”s, or sometimes “T”s, such as “Tat dere’s a garbage brand of snowmobile fer duh early winter”

[@saffodils]

from what i gather, "th" is a really difficult sound to make! or at least uncommon in world languages. nearly every foreign accent i can think of puts another sound in place of it!

[@brutusmagnuson315]

@@saffodils A lot of Germanic language use “Th” to indicate a soft “t” sound, so I think that’s largely where it comes from with Scandinavians. Similar to Spaniards and Central Americans occasionally using a “yh” sound for a “J,” or Arab pronouncing the same letter with a “zh”

[@skybluskyblueify]

Yes the channel WIRED has a short series on American dialects where they go over and pronounce [or attempt to] the exact difference you are referring to: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmKugWewqbB-ZqM There is more than one episode so be sure to watch them all.

[@josephr.a.d.4560]

This show is dope

[@Einherjer895]

Word

[@elihyland4781]

Straight up

[@mnance]

Dis show dope

[@johannlindstrom5948]

Fo real.

[@sandra-jones]

Yet, not one lesson was applied.

[@senormoll]

It's such a shame when good words go bad. "Ebonics" remains one of the best words ever coined in our language, in my opinion. Maybe one day it can be reclaimed with pride

[@MsDStreet]

It really was. Ebony = Ebony Sound / Black Phonics and actually is beautiful when you think about it. When I actually learned what the phrase mean, I no longer felt offended by it.

[@citizencoy4393]

To many of our ppl center yt ppl where they should not be centered! Saddest part is those most proud of the culture that create the culture have mommy voice or large platform in the culture! Frauds selling OUR culture for a like and a penny.

[@citizencoy4393]

Too

[@franticranter]

It's co-option is a complicated pheonomena. I'm White British for example, but due to the nature of globalisation and the internet, many terms that have been co-opted by White Americans end up coming to Britain as well, and become part of our speech. But by the time it gets to us, it's no longer co-opted AAE, but instead "young people speech"

[@vaszgul736]

It's very strange how the language is so co-opted in inner cities, but I've noticed it even more in Southern states. Sooo many similarities between the examples of AAE shown here and southern dialects. But they are distinctly different as well. I think maybe they get conflated more than they need to because southern dialects are also grouped together as "inferior" or "wrong" due to classism. But I also think that their similarities are contributed to the fact there is such a large community of AAE speakers in the south. I'm very interested in this topic, thank you for this video.

[@sarajones7372]

I am a white woman born and raised in the south. I grew up in a town that was about 60/40 black to white. I definitely grew up hearing and using language identified in this video as AAE. As a southerner I also learned to code switch in professional settings. As an adult I have encountered other white southerners who do not understand some of the phrases I use in casual conversation and now I’m wondering if I was using AAE they were never exposed to.

[@WerazotheLankster]

There's a lot of shared features because they're closely related. AAE mostly developed in the South and then spread. There are a lot of shared features that have existed so long we don't know which dialect they started in

[@taylorgresham8799]

The vast majority of African Americans were enslaved in the south and still live in the south. Even tho many of us have migrated out of it. Thats why their similar and also we were the ones raising white children. Many times they'd sound just like our moms/aunts until their parents sent them to school to learn how to speak "correctly (white)".

[@DeidresStuff]

I grew up in California, around every kind of person you can think of. I moved to the South and didn't know wtf most of the White people were saying. I could understand the Black people just fine.

[@jalaarts]

southern culture definitely contributed to they way aae is spoken that’s why when i hear a country white person speaking it i don’t get mad 😭

[@SanicTheHidgehag]

3:13 - props to this channel for promoting a descriptivist view of language when grade schoolers are indoctrinated into a prescriptivist view

[@RarelyAChump]

What an amazing video! Following this, I would love to see a video about "textbook" vs. "real/authentic" English, and how ESL institutions attempt to gatekeep English at the expense of students' comprehension of the language ultimately

[@danielaayers3449]

I second this!!

[@fiaTheFae]

I was just thinking during the video how wrong it is that we don't see phrases like "she be working" taught in English classes--or at the very least in the textbooks

[@pia_mater]

From my experience this happens with ALL languages. They always teach the formal, standard version of that language (for example, what you'd hear in a news report) and never how the language is actually spoken

[@Sir_Zombie1ted]

@@pia_mater I think... not really. Case in point, chinese. HSK 1-4 prep course be formal, and then HSK 5 and 6 kick in and ... boy oh boy, you will see the 15 patterns of tonal difference like never before.

[@Dancin9lady]

I'm mixed black and white, but was raised by white parents. My mom was an English major, and comes from a part of the country that prides itself on speaking the "purest form of English" or I guess what you'd call the MOST standard of Standardized American English. So of course I spoke very "white" English, and didn't have much exposure to AAE, until I went to college. What a culture shock! Black people would talk to me in class or something, and I couldn't understand what they were saying. And they talked to me with the expectation (just by looking at me) that I should understand, so when I responded with my "proper white girl" English, trying to apologize and clarify, many of them reacted as if I had personally offended and betrayed them. It didn't help that, at the time, I still thought of AAE as broken English, and may have corrected a few classmates on their grammar here and there....sorry. I'm slowly but surely unlearning what my mom and white suburban education taught me, and loving how fascinating and sophisticated this dialect is.

[@Ligaya1980]

This episode gets an A+ from me. Hooray for understanding, respecting differences that make us, 'us.'

[@snazzydrew]

This was honestly a suprisingly good, well thoughtout, and well-intentioned video. Thank you for covering this topic.

[@lpfbjorge]

How about an episode on the history of grammatization of languages? There must have be an interesting discussion around the need or lack of need for a unified grammar for a people when these were first developed.

[@16poetisa]

I think you mean standardization; from a linguistic standpoint all languages have grammar. Historically, writing systems often necessitate some sort of standardization. Education is also a bit part of it, sadly it's often used to denigrate children whose first language is not considered "standard".

[@BonaparteBardithion]

There two different major factors in standardization: cultural shift and technological. There were several changes in the standard spelling of English (amongst other languages) after the printing press was invented because it was expensive to keep a bunch of different characters on hand. This impacted the use of special grammatical characters as well. And now we're seeing significant changes based on the availability of characters in computer typing systems. Entire languages are being standardized all over again for compatibility with QWERTY-based systems. Meanwhile, grammatical features like word order and tense are impacted more by cultural shift. (Which I'm not remotely educated on enough to talk about.)

[@jumpingjoy20]

Has more to do with the development of the printing press and writing things down in general.

[@Erudito_Ra]

I been black for a while never knew about African American English !?

[@nolajets6382]

Bro I'm dying 😂

[@moniquewrites9046]

Lol 😂😂😂😂 this is news to me

[@moniquewrites9046]

It’s like they really trying to say this is who you are even though I’ve never lived as you.

[@blaster2000]

for a while?

[@YellowSubCaptain]

It’s because we’ve used it our whole life, but we never had it broken down and explained like this. I didn’t even know people acknowledged our way of speaking as a dialect.

[@Peecamarke]

SO many people co-opting the word "Woke" nowadays, and not even using it right smh 🙄

[@ItsNish101]

Truuue. I hate it so much.

[@brutusmagnuson315]

I mostly hear “woke” as a pejorative

[@golson3705]

That's what the right does. They take a word or phrase, change the meaning of it to a pejorative and then use it non-stop. It's a deliberate strategy and they're doing it with CRT right now. All the rubes are convinced that it's anti-white racism and that the evil teachers and school boards are instilling it in their children because reasons.

[@moniqueloomis9772]

Irritating af.

[@amaan6845]

@@golson3705 that's cause it is, singling down the prejudices of society and the economic and societal disadvantages some people have is absurd, though race does play a factor, it's not the only one, many white people in America did face prejudice too and are in ways still held down from that experience, like the Irish, the Jews and even non-white people like the Asians. This is being taught at "schools" mind you, I would be fine with it at colleges, etc. But they are teaching children that just because you are white you are gonna succeed, and just because you are black you are gonna fail, I don't see how it isn't racist.

[@bridgetlabella732]

I'm a black woman born and raised in Denver Colorado with parents from Louisiana and Alabama... My code switch is truly superior 🤷🏾‍♀️🤣🤣🤣

[@adrs1380]

As an ESL teacher I found this very interesting. We of course teach only "standard" English, which is what you get on textbooks. Anything else is considered "wrong".

[@amaan6845]

Well that's cause it's in the name " STANDARD American language" it's the widest spoken dialect and is generally understood by everyone regardless of race, AAE on the other hand might not be to non-black students, not at first at least, cause black people have developed this dialect amongst themselves, a space outside of white people, so it's not shocking that white people can't really comprehend AAE firsthand.

[@Martel4]

@@amaan6845 I know its am old comment but are you saying there is just black and white in America? We have more than 2 cultures.

[@JiveCinema]

@@Martel4 not at all, it's a big country. Yet AAE has such an outsized influence on our national language that they have to make videos about it. And also AAE is what this entire comment thread is about. So if you want to talk about other cultures then go start a comment on those video threads.

[@robertwilliams9935]

There is no right and wrong when it comes to US English. It is all inherently wrong when compared to old world English.

[@allthemoneyintheworl]

If you are white, I understand your opinio . In your viewpoint only white is right. This video gave a broader historical and cultural context and all you get was its “wrong”

[@brotherx6205]

The research on this was excellent. Some of the ways we speak and differentiate things with our word choice and word order were highlighted here and I was amazed at how accurate it was. All of it comes naturally during speech so I’ve never thought about it. Thank you for putting this out and showing that it isn’t less-than, it’s just different!

[@Shay45]

Lol You can always tell when someone is not a natural AAVE speaker.

[@LiraeNoir]

As someone who isn't a native English speaker, and on top of that coming from a much more rigid background linguistically (I'm French, and the Académie française and the customs put French on the opposite spectrum compared to English in regards to evolution of language and dialects), that was very interesting and informative! And it certainly challenged my perception and bias on the topic. Thanks.

[@PHlophe]

The features found in AAE are similar in the other realm in French throughout Martinique , and even many of french speaking nations in the african continent. the same insults Black people hear about AAE here are the same Black people would be accustomed to in France.

[@mlroeder]

I'm Canadian, and it's always fascinated me how much Quebeçois differs from the French spoken in France. I was in a French immersion program where most of my teachers were from Quebec, whereas my husband, who also grew up in Canada, spent two years in France and mostly speaks the French from France. For instance in Quebeçois shoe is translated as 'soulier', which is no longer used in France. Or using 'tu' more frequently than 'vous', except in very formal occasions. My understanding is that it's because the Quebeçois fought so strongly against being absorbed into the larger English speaking Canadian society that their French changed even less than France's did. I can't think of other examples right now, but I'm going to blame that on having covid. 🙂 My husband and I had a lot of these conversations when our kids were little, because he spoke French exclusively at home while I spoke English exclusively, at least until our oldest started elementary school, when all of their classes and homework was in English. They've grown up in the US, so haven't learned it in school like they would have if we lived in Canada, but they still have some of the vowel sounds.

[@ConvincingPeople]

I've always loved the "she working"/"she be working"/"she been working" distinction. It's really useful and I kind of wish that were a feature of my own native dialect.

[@brandenicole7]

Black people dont say that though

[@Adronitis]

@@brandenicole7 yeah they do!

[@johnminehan1148]

I have always thought this is where American grammar is going because it is more regular but in no way less nuanced.

[@TheIcemanthomas]

@@Adronitis who is they? Black people aren’t a monolith.

[@Adronitis]

@@TheIcemanthomas Didn't say they were a monolith. Just said this is part of AAVE, so it's something black people say. Not all black people, of course, but it's a common dialectical feature

[@buckeye5088]

AAE is so expressive, it has a way of cutting through the weight of the language and effortlessly delivering meaning.

[@mikethebike2456]

🏍️ It's a great shortcut for those too stupid to learn proper English.

[@TheWorldsStage]

fo' sho

[@ATthemusician]

LMAO

[@lilydi7302]

This is so interesting! As a French and Spanish speaker, this language can be very difficult to understand, and it's a bit tempting to think it's just "bad" English. (Mostly because this is not the language I was taught at school.) But once you understand the logic and the rules of it, it makes a lot of sense! So thank you for sharing this!

[@daradiant1]

Nawwww, not really. See how I said, 'Nawwww, not really, instead of ' No, not really '?

[@maximumweb5655]

It really isn't language, but lack thereof.

[@brieb402]

This video was on point. Absolutely phenomenal👏🏽💯 AAE is apart of almost every black person out here, whether in small amounts or large. But what sad is I've never truely considered it as an american dialect. Now, I'm reminded what ive learn from friends about Jamacian Patois, and how that was a way of speaking that was deeply frowned upon. Yet, it is own dialect with cultural weight and genuine charm. Shame that even as a black person, who's grown up with as much AAE as the next, I still carry that stigma in my head.

[@alfiobarbagallo9282]

in Italian young people often "localize" terms that come from the internet, so you can often hear the declension of flex used as the verb "Flexare" (to flex). and then also other terms.

[@akeem2752]

that's hilarious

[@g.411]

Wait, but the etymology behind "finna" is so cool! I always thought it was a variation on "gonna," but the "fixing to" --> "finna" makes more sense.

[@BambieLashay]

the funniest part about aave is we continue to create and change things literally every day so the day you watched this video it was already dated 😩😭

[@tashied422]

Thats Black Americans for you. We continue to evolve

[@MogamiKyoko13]

Absolutely fascinating! We had an extremely short unit on AAE in one of my college linguistics classes and I wish that we had covered even half of what you did here.

[@reneezancewoman]

I'm an AA woman who grew up in a household with a dad who had a master's in english, so we were expected to speak proper english. AAE was a "second language" for me. For the sake of social acceptance amongst my AA peers at school, I picked up vernacular. And code switching became second nature. This was refreshingly accurate and insightful. But then, it's PBS, soooo...

[@gregorjack9008]

So your father was an educated man who wanted you to do better, but you clung to a dialect of English cause yiu somehow believe its part of your culture

[@Deedz1924]

I work in IT. I code-switch a little but I do not change my AAE morphology like dropping the TH sound & reducing clusters. I find that it helps people feel more comfortable with me when I'm talking about technology they may not understand fully. I love my culture

[@cube_cup]

Hros! Ros is a poetic word for horse in Dutch! So that's how we got 'horse'! And I always though prescription and perscription were different words

[@Arc125]

Yep, it was Hrossit in old Norse

[@kalamir93]

We have "Ross" in german as a poetic version of "Pferd" for horse. But it's not used only for poesy. A horse bred for battle is a "Schlachtross", not a "Schlachtpferd" (Schlacht meaning battle). I really love these parallels between Standard German and Dutch. Even more so between Dutch and Plattdüütsch! :D

[@mephi2go]

@@kalamir93 And thet's why the singular form of "walrus" is "walrusses" and not "walri". It's a whale horse, a "Walross".

[@tompatterson1548]

What's the difference between prescription and perscription? Is one the thing you get from the doctor?

[@kalamir93]

@@mephi2go Dis is not tru. Plural from "walrus" is "walrussians". Everyone saying otherwise is western spy!

[@nariu7times328]

Question: Will you teach us about other countries who have similar dialectical differences, and even the tensions they create? Comment: I work in education with various developmental disabilities. We recognize and teach "code switching" as a social skill, something that everyone needs to do in one way or another. Yes, it takes mental effort and some students never quite master it, and they face social censure. What I didn't know about is potential AAE community blow back when code switching to MAE. Thanks for teaching me.

[@saffodils]

i only have experience from a few linguistics classes, but from what i learned there tends to be blowback from a lot of non-standard dialect communities when their members speak with more standard dialects. so everyone who's born into a community with a non-standard dialect faces the choice of how to present themselves, both inside and outside the community. there's research about patterns that emerge along gender lines and other social factors that play into dialect decisions-i'd highly recommend reading more if your library gives you online access to linguistics journals!

[@EmilReiko]

Almost all countries have Code switching, if not along ethnic divides - it is often along the rural / urban divide. I'm Danish, i speak and think in a rural/provinsial dialect (or whats left of it) - when i'm in the capital - my languange switches to more clean danish.. Because i will be treated like a simpleton otherwise

[@bravenburris1235]

Being from Texas I personally know that Mexico is one of them is a big difference between how somebody who's from the country speaks versus somebody who's like from Mexico City speaks. And sometimes it's a big cultural difference between being European Mexican versus being a indigenous Mexican. How they speak Spanish is kind of different. We're one word could actually mean a sea creature where's the same word could me some woman's lady part in mexico.

[@Aaron-from-BroTrio]

I learned a lot on this video! I never thought about AAE speakers being effectively bilingual within the English language. I do slightly understand the struggle. Growing up in Arizona and moving to Louisiana, I still have to decide whether or not to "blend in" with my peers. I've lived here for over 30 years, but I still default back to my childhood slang words. The difference is that I just get made fun of a little. Nobody gets mad at me for asking for a "soda" or saying "you guys" instead of "y'all".

[@80sabrosa]

More like diglossic rather than bilingual. In a bilingual setting, two languages have equal importance. In a diglossic situation, one language is held to a higher esteem than the other for reasons such as class, race, education, etc.

[@Aaron-from-BroTrio]

@@80sabrosa Oh nice, learned a little bit more. Thanks

[@thedorsinator]

Historical correction - they were not kidnapped and forced into slavery. They were already enslaved in their homelands and sold to merchant slave traders to continue that slavery in another country. The white man is not the only brutal one in the story. It’s all horror. However this is an enlightening look at AAE because I know that I walked around with common misconceptions about it and never really thought about how it could originate all the way back with slavery. Although I was aware that it actually has rules of grammar just as complex as mainstream English which is pretty cool.

[@seopark7467]

Good god that final clip was hard to watch

[@LeNomEstYves]

This whole fuckin video is hard to watch.

[@thegirlinthefireplace]

I almost thought during the interview at the end, that the host was joking when he said that. Until I realized he was serious, I almost laughed!

[@WerazotheLankster]

@@LeNomEstYves I guess so, she used a lotta big words you've probably never heard before. Study some linguistics and rewatch the video, it'll be a lot easier!

[@LeNomEstYves]

@@WerazotheLankster Lol thanks for the 3rd grade comeback. Needed your input, I'll be sure to go take care of that right now.

[@WerazotheLankster]

@@LeNomEstYves what are you talking about? Is there another reason it would be hard to watch?

[@alexixeno4223]

As someone who has mental issues with language... I hate Metathesis. Thank you for giving me a word for why I have so much trouble with those words.

[@AlyssLysie]

Thank you for making this video. It made me realize that AAE is a dialect. I guess I didn't recognize that before which is ignorance on my part. I wish a lot of people would watch this video so they could understand this better.

[@theblurryblackcat]

I'm so glad someone is finally talking about this. I've always wanted to learn more about it, but people are too scared of ridicule to actually try to teach others about this.

[@okcflamez7309]

It's a language for and by black people who are descendants of slaves. Its not for everyone but as usual white folks don't know how to not steal things from other cultures. Nothing new.

[@laiainautumn-1252]

It kinda makes me happy seeing this video. Me and my sister tended to speak like this and still do now around each other. We can’t really speak that way around my mom though without getting corrected. I know she’s just trying to protect us as we’ll be seen as illiterate or dumb but it honestly just feels more natural and is so fun. This just makes me more proud of it :p

[@nevaehlheaven]

I remember recently Dr. Fauci said, "It don't do that." And I was like 🤣. He still has credibility but society makes you think that Ebonics(never thought of it with any negativity or negative meaning) is bad and ignorant. And it is not.

[@beatrixthemax6584]

I disagree. You can use AAE slang and still speak properly. Ebonics is completely different and shouldn't be supported. It is ignorant speech. Using improper grammar should not be tolerated. That seeps into handwriting as well.

[@GoodnightIrieMon]

Dr Fauci is from Brooklyn, so he was likely exposed to AAVE growing up.

[@andreabrown4541]

@@beatrixthemax6584 Ebonics is AAVE. The term originated primarily with a black psychologist and a black linguist. You can find it primarily in the literature and writings of the Harlem Renaissance. Though, like blackface, it was mimicked by some white writers even before then. Sometime later, the name for the same dialect was changed to Black Vernacular English and then African American Vernacular English.

[@thejasminediaz]

@@beatrixthemax6584 this comment is ignorant and factually inaccurate

[@JEEDUHCHRI]

Early Ebonics was actually picked up from poor southern whites, who were originally poor Brittish immigrants. Axe/ask He/is He/be

[@corimyers4985]

I have to say great video, but hearing words used by non-people of color, that are part of my cultural identity, is sometimes infuriating. Especially when I see the person using it incorrectly and especially when America is so against accepting people of color. So you can even accept our words…but not us. EDIT *I am not responding to questions about my comment or comments about my comment here because I KNOW they are not being asked out of genuine curiosity. It’s an attempt to bait an argument that has already been happening for hundreds of years by both white people in and out of the US. If you don’t get it, continue not getting it. Want to argue about it, do what you would normally do. Go find people who agree with you so you can continue to feel “right”. But I’m not going to argue. I know what I meant and exactly what I’m saying. I feel no need to justify my comment any further. Good day to you all. I said good day!*

[@patrickcash864]

Who isn’t accepting you…..

[@flxgld7096]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@patrickcash864]

@@themightyfp then keep singing the boohoo blues aka the victim card

[@patrickcash864]

@@themightyfp worthless

[@Ballinbmac]

@@patrickcash864 why are trying to antagonize people? You know wassup go have a child with a black women to find out since you wanna act like you dumb

[@rithimreidh2899]

The she working/be workong dichotomy also appears in Irish! The verb Tá is used to describe something happening right now, but bíonn describes something happening habitually. A lot of people in Ireland have a variation of this in hiberno english. If you work habitually, you might say, “I be’s working”

[@poissonpuerile8897]

This is the most enlightening comment here! And it also goes to show that everything "surprising" or "unique" about AAE comes not from Africa, but from Irish, Scottish or Scots-Irish English.

[@rithimreidh2899]

@ I mean, it’s a construction that exists in a number of languages, including some in West Africa I’d imagine! I only compare it to Irish because I can speak it, so I noticed the similarity. Some variations of AAVE can feel somewhat goidelic like that, but some are more related to Romance languages like French or Indigenous languages like Cherokee. On the Barrier islands, it’s very akin to the West African languages it descended from! It depends heavily on who lived in the area it developed in.

[@sudonim7552]

Standard English has another "double negative." Like: - "You haven't eaten?" - "No, I haven't." In my first language, if I haven't eaten, "you haven't eaten?" Would naturally be answered with "yes" as an affirmation of the asker's assumption.

[@rachaelbao]

When my LIN department had a class, it was called AAVE. It was the LIN version of study, where we acknowledge it as a comprehensive system, and LINs don't really learn to speak the languages they study. I prefer AAE as a better system, but I don't use it because it's someone else's home and I don't want them to feel evicted for me to vacation there.

[@QuintessentialQs]

I am unsurprised, but disappointed by the number of uneducated, ignorant, arrogant people in this comment section who clearly don't know that grammar and syntax are DESCRIPTIVE processes for codifying the way humans communicate, and not PRESCRIPTIVE sets of rules that somehow exist outside or above the actual use of language. If you don't think AAE is "real English" or a "real language", then you're going to have to explain to me what a "real language" is. Because (spoilers) the answer is a "real language" is whichever one people speak and use to make themselves intelligible to others. The only fake languages are "conlangs" (constructed languages), like Sindarin or Klingon.

[@QuintessentialQs]

And, it should be noted, the Venn diagram depicting those with ignorant, prescriptive views on "proper language" and those with fascist (nationalist, traditionalist, social-darwinist) politics is damn near a circle.

[@patrickcash864]

It’s piggy backing off another language… English, you’re welcome

[@QuintessentialQs]

@@patrickcash864 Yeah that's how dialects work, you donut.

[@patrickcash864]

@Kandra Arends lol they didn’t create anything… they made a remix and y’all call it the original

[@QuintessentialQs]

@@patrickcash864 THAT'S HOW DIALECTS HAPPEN. ALL OF THEM. EVERY SINGLE ONE. AND THAT'S HOW NEW LANGUAGES HAPPEN, WHEN A DIALECT LOSES ALL MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY WITH THE LANGUAGE IT CAME FROM. NOT ONE SINGLE LANGUAGE IN EXISTENCE DIDN'T EVOLVE FROM A LANGUAGE BEFORE IT. READ A BOOK!

[@darrelllancaster9554]

Dr. B., You always do such a great job. Bien hecho. 🎯

[@GoodnightIrieMon]

The fact that the global mainstream loves appropriating Black slang and vernacular, while hating Black people -extends way beyond language. The same could be said about Black music, dance, fashion, hairstyles, etc. Black women have been mocked for their large lips and posteriors for millenia. Now it’s “the Kardashian look.” Sociologists really should do a study on this phenomenon.

[@patrickcash864]

Ah yes you must love people if you use their words - said no one ever

[@etf42]

the same can be said about people hating men yet love using everything that men built should also be studied

[@GoodnightIrieMon]

Actually the same can’t be said. Using a car to get to work isn’t the same as using AAVE to get a job.

[@GoodnightIrieMon]

No, but appropriating people you deem inferior is about as ironic as it gets.

[@etf42]

@@GoodnightIrieMon its not identical but its analogous

[@CTidda23]

Always thought it was dope how we remixed the English language... Cool to see people accepting it instead of bashing it.

[@myragroenewegen5426]

The difficulty I see here is the need to balance absolutely respecting all the diverse forms of English that are out there and yet teaching a form of English which allows people a full range in who they can understand.

[@nw6866]

That sounds tough to do because there are so many different dialects. There is a standard version for the sake of communication etc., but I don't think anyone will ever please everyone.

[@myragroenewegen5426]

@@nw6866 Yeah. Teachers need to be clear about what's conventional, so students can prepare themselves to navigate a world where lingual privilege exists and must be gained and leveraged. That's an almighty task, so it's all-too-easy to undervalue kinds of language use that aren't being taught. Nobody speaks textbook English and whatever isn't conventional English can carry more weight, context and story than speakers realize. That leads neatly into understanding how dialects become an extreme of that -- a whole other skill set that matters. But you just hope teacher find the energy and time to go into it, so student don't devalue what they've got.

[@Cagon415]

I literally had an argument with a guy who had the nerve to tell me black people didn't contribute anything to slang, while using the word "legit". The ignorance is palpable.

[@friend_trilobot]

Awesome discussion of AAE! I want to add that based on what isaw and learned in grad school aks and ask both go back really far ("acsion" and "ascion" in old English) and it's unclear which was older, but I've heard experts argue that "aks" was historically more common

[@LordofFullmetal]

This was illuminating. I had always heard that it was heavily stereotyped and misused, but I didn't quite understand HOW. To know that it actually functions as a completely separate language, and especially the comparisons to other languages that white people tend to learn more commonly, like Spanish; that's really helpful in understanding how it works and exactly how it gets so often misused by white culture. Since it's basically impossible to separate AAE from white culture and mainstream English, at this point, I definitely think it's important to at least do the work to UNDERSTAND it properly. If we're going to use the words, we should at least understand where they came from, why they were used, and what they were supposed to mean.

[@citizencoy4393]

It’s separate from yt society. You guys do not use it properly at ALL! Not even a little bit lmao. We laugh in ur face literally and the only ppl that take u seriously while using it is other ignorant yt ppl or blk immigrants that also don’t know better.

[@JerseyDevilJerseyGirl]

I will never forget being at a bbq & I saw a bunch of white women go “raise the roof!!” & someone shouted “We all that & a bag of chips, yo” I wanted to throw soda on them. If you’re White & you’re reading this, don’t ever be those people. 😂

[@nw6866]

So, if a white person grew up in a black neighborhood and AAE was the dialect they grew up with and learned, are you saying they shouldn't speak it just because they are white? People move overseas that are American and because they may be around a certain accent or dialect find themself unconsciously mimicking that because that is what they hear all the time. Is that wrong or is it only wrong if it's AAE? There's music and tv shows and people speaking in slang and sometimes AAE and then people expect no one to mimick it? Really?

[@patrickcash864]

Cry harder

[@godofthisshit]

@@nw6866 It's a BBQ, what roof is being raised? You that guy right?

[@Gearsturfs]

It’s popular culture We’ll say it if we want Get over it You should be more concerned about whether we’re actually bigots or not Because god knows most black people I know absolutely hate having white people around their events, tbh there’s usually not even a good reason. People pretend there is but get to know a black person they’ll be honest with you about it

[@godofthisshit]

@@Gearsturfs Yea, that "we say it if we want" talk doesn't go well in person. Black people love showing wanna be tough guys that they aint really tough. 👊🏿

[@rsilvers129]

You made a good case that it isn’t just improper English but is a dialect. That being said, all dialects - even for white Bostonians or southerners, are going to sound provincial.

[@Jawz366]

I love videos like this! This needs to be mandatory training for English teachers, because I’ve literally had to argue with some over something “not being a word”

[@ems3832]

Wrong about "mandatory training for English teachers." That's nuts.

[@onullo]

@@ems3832 im pretty sure english teachers get mandatory training in general thoo

[@EdKolis]

Oh my God. A schoolyard chant I remember (or maybe it came from my mom's school days) was "ain't ain't a word so I ain't gonna say it no more". You don't think...

[@BryanLeeWilliams]

Thank you so much. I'm white and I've often wondered about these things. You made a very good explanation of this topic. I often wondered why we were taught "formal" English when hardly anyone talks that way.

[@patrickcash864]

Maybe you should study law then you would understand why we can’t just speak slang all the time

[@reizayin]

Everyone uses formal language sometime lmao

[@LaughterOnWater]

This is why I love @Storied. How about a Desi impact vid along the same lines?

[@LaughterOnWater]

Code switching also happens with people who are extreme church goers (regardless of race) fitting into more secular social systems.

[@ram-my6fl]

AAE is the simplest and easiest dialect of english. All americans must adopt this