DISCUSSION BOARD: Black English’: How AAVE Developed From Slave Resistance & African Dialects | The Breakdown
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Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color | Jamila Lyiscott | TEDxTheBenjaminSchool
Per our conversation about bilingualism, any community can create language. Language is an arbitrary system (signifier and signified) in which communication rests upon agreement among members of the speech community, it follows that the only ‘logic’ of language is to be found in its grammar (i.e., a logic of convention).
Our first video this week gives us even more evidence that AAVE/Black English is not connected to intelligence or education level. Instead, it’s a dialect of English like any other governed by rules–like copula deletion and use of the indefinite continual or occasional tense — developed for a specific purpose by its users. Speakers of the dialect follow the grammatical rules of the dialect perfectly as native speakers almost always do. The language is expressive, communicative, and serves as an effective communication tool for the speech community that uses it.
So what’s the problem? Well…we could relate this to the question that the lion in Jamila Lyiscott’s TED Talk asks: who drew the picture?
If the picture is drawn by a different language community, a community that had, has, and intends to keep an outsized share of the power, then — of course — the language of the Black community will be disrespected and its users marginalized. Not because it is incorrect or bad or illogical, but because it has power that’s very dangerous to the status quo.
For this discussion board, let’s focus on that power. The agency and access the dialect provides (or has provided) for the speech community. We know that institutions and governmental organizations deny the efficacy of the dialect, and suppress it as often as possible. But, we still hear it, right? Institutions aren’t everything…..
Where do we hear is and why it it used in that context? Why is it the only language that could be used in that context? Why is it good and beautiful and correct?
Where is it powerful? Celebrated? A money-maker? A means of conducting business? A way to bond with a cultural group? A means of connecting to the spiritual realm? An effective weapon in a cultural struggle?
Try to give a specific example….a song, a spoken word poem (like Jamila Lyiscott’s “three ways to speak english“), a company, a business, an educational movement, a political movement, a story, an industry….you get the picture, right?
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Since we are talking about power, the ted talk “why English class Silencing Students of Color” Dr. Jamila made so many powerful word choices to talk about. Like she states in just the beginning of the video language is saturated with history, culture and memory (0:32). Which to me I think is very true because the way we commuate with each other holds dear to someone. Even when we don’t want to, we remember the converstation we have with people. An example of this would be in the other video Robin Alva Marcus says ” I’m not speaking improper anything, I’m speaking proper spoken soul” (8:49), with the video speaks on Black English being a private coded langauge that slaves would have in order to have a bit of control in their life. It’s something that we learn through home when we connected to our history, of our ancestors. It’s something that’s just passed down without being meant to, because it’s riched with generational life. It gives us power witin our communities to feel safe with our coded langauge. It’s not life we wouldn’t want others to learn it but it’s harder when you’re an outsider looking in because you don’t understand the main three like Dr.Jamila stated History, Culture and Memory.
Back to the ted talk, Dr.Lyiscott also states that langauge is policed within our classroom and communities,it’s deeply connected to racism and colonialism (0:40). Which like I just mentioned it was a language used 400 years ago so slaves can communate and have privacy. We still see that today in the white systems, the teacher wants the student to speak english when they’re talking in their mother tounge so that the teacher can reinsure that they aren’t being talked about but also claiming that authority role. When first hearing Dr. Lyiscott say that I was taken back and felt that sentance because she chose policed over any other word. It resonated with me more in the climate that the world is in right now. There’s so much going on with the police system in this country and it’s beyond be that people think police brutality and racism has a place here. We are supposed to be the land where all men are created equal but that’s far from the truth.
Hi Asanti. I love the response. It’s a very astute portrayal of the material posted for this week. But….what about my question about the power of the vernacular? I wanted to focus less on subordination, and more on agency here. How is AAVE an expression of the power and beauty of its users? Not what doors it closes…what doors does it open?
Hi, yes i am now aware i missed the prompt and just foucsed on the subordination as i answered it right after i watched the videos. What I mean, is that AAVE is a expression of power and beauty of it users. It’s a soul connection between users. It closes “professional” doors as white people don’t find it professional in the work place like offices. I would say it’s an expansion of communication in communities predominantly black and brown. In another context that I’m looking at it, in retail; towards the customers in order to persuade them to sign up for whatever that company has as a reward or just make basic conversation we use AAVE or some sort of the customers native tongue in order to communicate with them. So in that aspected it opens more forms of communtiation.
Like I’ve said in class, I think as time progresses we as the minority, will be the majority in the work place. Although there will still be that barrior, the communitation and doors will open professionally allowing us to move up more in society ranks.
Hi Asanti, I agree with your response about AAVE not being accepted in a professional setting, for example, job interviews. I would also like to add that it is a shame that society dismisses people who talk a certain way, especially in the education system. Students are deemed less intelligent because they do not speak or use standard American English. AAVE to some, may be seen as improper, lazy, or even disrespectful; which is untrue because AAVE has rules, structure, and is able to get the point across.
I completely agree with what you’ve said. People in this nation make assumptions about others based on their speech patterns. For example, the accent or the language they employ. People are also treated differently as a result of this. When students utilize their native language to converse with their peers, they tend to come to a halt which is not considerable.
This is a great response and I agree with everything you said. AAVE or “Black English” is a way many people feel comfortable speaking and it is offensive when it is deemed as improper and uneducated. It connects many people to their history and ancestors.
Hi Asanti, I like how you analyzed both videos, LOVE ITTTTT, and most I like when you said and I quote “It’s something that’s just passed down without being meant to because it’s riched with generational life”. This really hit me because I believe the same, the form of language and traditions are passed down by our ancestors and we sometimes modified but it still has that ancestral touch that will follow us always.
I agree with what you said about this discrimination being linked to racism. It goes back to the fact that they want to control African American people by telling them that their form of communicating is not acceptable in professional settings. Basically saying conform to the standard or get deprived of a good job and education. It’s just another way of securing their power and influence on society.
I totally agree with you, our language does give us power to be and feel safe within our communities. Great tie in with how police brutality tries to put an end to that power or pride within us and our communities. It will always go back to that authority role and what can and can’t be done and you did an amazing job showcasing that.
We are perpetuated to believe that AAVE/Slang/ or Black English isn’t the “correct” way to speak because society wouldn’t allow it in certain spaces such as school, work, or any place where Standard English is commendable. It shapes the perspective that there is no in between in society. You’re forced to believe that there is only right or wrong to keep the power structure in place to keep anyone who uses any other English other than Standard English at the bottom. Jamila Lyiscott explains it best with how a million dollar corporation like mcdonalds can drop the “G” in “I’m lovin’ it”, but if we use terms like lovin’ in school, we get in trouble. It becomes a form of discrimination because we use these different forms of English to have that pride for ourselves and acknowledge our ancestors struggles. It is the determination of our communities to finally have something such as the use of these different languages often forming relationships because speaking AAVE or any other form of English other than the Standard, communicates love and integrity. This becomes the reason why there isn’t more representation in our society because then white communities with power (or of high social status) would try to take the love and integrity we uphold, wether its with language, the way we greet other, or anything else, and push it into their own communities without acknowledging or respecting the history it came from or the message we are trying to display to the world.
I agree with you because yes in the video it mentioned that it is cool to use AAVE company like Mcdonald using that as their slogan. I think not only African American use consonant variation or copula absence but this is now popular for all the teenagers. The reason behind it can be to take less time to speak and fast as well.
I agree with you, We are perpetuated to believe AAVE is improper yet Mc. Donald’s slogan “I’m lovin’ it’ ‘ is not deemed as incorrect. And if we used that same term in school it would be deemed as improper. Also about how this is a form of discrimination against people that speak AAVE.
I agree with the fact of the white community are culture vouchers because although they will except aspects of how we’ve been oppressed they still don’t understand the full capacity of our history, which leaves room for mockery when they take the culture without acknowledging the history and the memory. I didn’t even acknowledge the fact that McDonald’s uses AAVE to appeal to it’s audience, I’m just always saw their slogan as a slogan. So saying it is used often by companies to appeal to its consumers but won’t allow the employees to speak that same dialect.
Hi Elliot, I agree with your point about how McDonald coined the phrase “i’m lovin’ it”, but if we were to use that phrase in a traditional classroom setting we would often be criticized and corrected. It seems like AAVE is used to other people’s benefit but if an individual were to use it outside of that benefit then they’re wrong.
I agree with you Elliot, we have been forced to believe that Black English isn’t the correct way to speak English, and we can be discriminated against for it because we have our pride, but instead of people focusing on our message, they focus more on how we communicate a said message.
I definitely agree with everything you said. Nuff companies pocket off of black slang because it’s trendy. But as soon as the context switches from trendy and fashionable to professional and etiquette, AAVE is frowned upon. However it’s beautiful how strong and stable the language is considering how many times it’s knocked down. Hate to say it, but its fitting for black people as a whole, considering how strong we are when it comes to obstacles put before us.
Elliot, I agree that we are perpetuated to give AAVE this judgement that it is improper and is something that shouldn’t be used in the workplace, school, etc. I also agree that those who have a higher social status in society do tend to take something like language (AAVE) and utilize it within their own communities without understanding the struggle that goes along with something like that.
I agree with what you said about white people with power/high social status taking from the culture and presenting it as their own. I find it so funny how they would appropriate cultures that they portrayed to be ghetto and unprofessional and use it to benefit themselves when it becomes “trendy” and not realizing that they are disrespecting the community and imposing on their culture.
In both videos, the main focus was Black Language. They discuss the process of inventing the African American Language. AAVE is an African dialect that is distinct from normal English. “Ah ‘on know what homie be doin,” for example, is a phrase used in AAVE. People who speak standard English, on the other hand, usually say, “I don’t know what my friend usually does.” We may deduce from the context that AAVE is a West African pidgin. The videos contain intriguing facts, such as the fact that, when African people were treated as slaves, they established a special linguistic code to speak with their peers so that outsiders could not understand them. During their servitude, it was their sole source of liberation. However, students are not allowed to use that type of English in the classroom since it is casual and goes contrary to the American standard language. But, most African Americans employ that style to maintain a resemblance to their ancestors, who were the reason their nation was formed. They think that many things have been eliminated over history for various causes, and that language is the only thing they have left. People in today’s age have altered it in some way, and this style is particularly popular in New York. Honestly, it is being adopted by individuals from various cultures or nations because it is trendy. People in my culture also employ that tone when speaking. Also, in the ted talk the author mentioned that even though it is not the formal language, many tv shows are using AAVE, also the big company. But in the white system, people regard it as a ghetto and attempt to stay away from it. For African Americans, though, it is a part of their identity. They virtually ever utilize language or stick to any norms when communicating. According to the video, whatever language they use is not regarded as an inappropriate speaking style but rather it originates from their essence.
Do you think big companies or the white system should be allowed to use AAVE to futher their agenda to appeal to black and brown people.
I also want to compliment you on how beautifully structured your response is because as someone who doesn’t understand my own thoughts I was able to understand what your thought is and the evidence supporting your thought.
I found it interesting and never really thought about how African languages had a huge impact on our language. In the first video, it talked about how we use certain words from other countries, for example, hamburger (Germany) and taco (Spain). But I never considered what words we use from Africa. It opened my mind to the subject a little bit more.
Hi J, I like and agree with you when you say “they established a special linguistic code to speak with their peers so that outsiders could not understand them.” I think it is true that slaves at that time used specific ways to communicate, such as braiding their hair, songs, and making their unique language so they could communicate with each other, and the owners didn’t understand what they were saying.
I agree with you 100 percent but do you think the discrimination comes from outside groups not understanding the language or because they don’t want to accept the language?
I enjoyed both videos and Jamila Lyiscott demonstrates a beautiful way to embrace all your different language literacies. Although AAVE is an oppressed language in certain contexts, it also serves as a glue for the people it’s spoken by. As we all know, when slaves were brought to the Americas they had to strip everything they once knew of home, but AAVE allows them to keep a piece of their home with them. The copula deletion and different examples of how AAVE connects to other West African languages serves as evidence to this idea. Many African-Americans have a very hard time with self-identity because they don’t know where their ancestors came from. AAVE creates a sense of belonging for them. Only African-Americans, and some other ethnicities, communicate with it; this allows them to be prideful because they have something for themselves. AAVE also creates some slang like “You trippin” or “YASSSS” that companies love to use to reach a younger audience. This being said, AAVE is very trendy and fashionable, because of the group it’s spoken by, Black people. When connecting to American Black struggles, poets and writers may use AAVE to relate to their audience more. For example, in Gwendolyn Brooks poem, “We Real Cool” she uses AAVE to relay the message that fast life can lead to a fast death which warns Black youth. Langston Hughes’s poem, “Mother to Son” uses AAVE to demonstrate hard living and determination which was a major theme in the civil rights era. All in all, AAVE serves as a connector and glue for different groups of people, mainly African-Americans.
I agree with what you said that when slaves were brought here America stripped them of everything and about how AAVE allows them to keep a piece of their home with them. I also wrote something like this, I wrote that out of everything going on in their lives, AAVE was a way they had control of something. A way they still had part of their culture.
I agree with you Kasia, both videos do a great job giving us a better understanding of how and why we should embrace our different language literacies, but at the same time also speak on how language has been an issue that has been tied down to different cultures for many years.
Kasia, I completely agree, companies love to use AAVE as a trend in their advertisements to appeal to a younger audience. AAVE is often used mockingly or in a joking manner. Treating AAVE like a trend further perpetuates the idea that AAVE is just for fun and for right now. Black English isn’t recognized as a communicative device that holds its own level of value.
Kasia, I completely agree with your interpretation of the message being given from these two videos. I too believe that AAVE was a way for slaves to keep a part of their identity with them. During those times when slaves were being exploited, they were stripped of everything that gave them their own identity. Yet AAVE provided a way for them to connect to one another.
I agree with this response 100% especially where you said that it “serves as a glue for the people it’s spoken by”. I think that phrasing really emphasizes how important AAVE is to the black community. I also like that point that you bring up where you talk about AAVE being used by other groups of people and how it has now become a connecting factor between us and them.
Both videos were really enjoyable and Jamila Lyiscott makes great points in her amazing ted talk. We have been raised and taught that AAVE or Black English is not the proper way to talk because it’s “delinquent” and just not proper. Jamila Lyiscott goes into depth about this topic and discusses how Mc. Donalds, a million dollar corporation, has “I’m lovin’ it” in their slogan, dropping the g, yet nobody sees an issue with it. Also how the tv show modern family has an episode named “she crazy”. If we used these terms in school it would be seen as not proper and we would need to correct it. She goes on to explain how in the 17th century African Americans weren’t able to speak their own language which is why they created AAVE, a way they could communicate with each other. A way they had control of something out of everything that was going on in their lives.
It is indeed discrimination when you grow up speaking AAVE and it’s normal for you but you’re not able to speak it or write it when you’re expressing yourself and writing papers in a school environment. You are use to AAVE and is offensive to you when it is deem as improper and uneducated. Lyiscott also mentions how when she was giving a speech and some girl interrupted her saying she was “articulate” which the girl probably meant as a compliment yet Lyiscott was offended which is understandable given that she was a 19 year old black woman and people think all black people use AAVE. It was racist for the girl to think she was “articulate” just because she spoke in standard English.
Question is that do you think people are viewed more articulate when they use standard English not in a setting of school or work? Have you experience that at home? Because I find that happening to me sometimes, my family looks like I have three heads because I’m trying to talk to them in a certain way to get my point across more accurate.
I do agree with you that both videos are amazing and well put together. Am I opinion it really shows the power and the history of AAVE it shows like in the second video was saying the sole connection and how in the first video it’s offensive if someone uses it not realizing the history, the culture and the memory. Just how like you wouldn’t be able to translated joke because it wouldn’t be understandable. You don’t know the context.
I agree that the language that we use outside of certain surroundings may not be seen as proper in a much more inclusive surrounding, and we would be ridiculed and forced to correct ourselves, which in the end strips us of our pride, and makes us lose sight of our identity.
I like how you describe both of the videos and establish connections. I agree that people have been treated unfairly due to their language. They are accustomed to speaking in their mother tongue throughout their lives, but they are required to speak in other languages at school. Not only is this disrespectful, but when people observe an African American speaking standard English, they are taken aback, as though only white people are capable of doing so. They occasionally inquire of any of their parents of different ethnicities about the origins of their accents or tones.
I agree with what you said about AAVE being deemed as improper and uneducated. People are so into the idea that when you use AAVE or any other dialect of English you are uneducated and I think that part of that stems from racism. Even if someone doesn’t speak standard English it doesn’t mean that they are not knowledgeable and I hate that society is deeming it as such.
African American language is beautiful because it shows how culture influences different languages. Despite being forced to speak a different language, some of the culture and language was still preserved and mixed into the English they spoke. It’s powerful because it represents the experiences and lives of slaves that came to America. The language is shared in businesses and families in neighborhoods where it is spoken abundantly. People with this dialect can come together and relate to each other. It is a weapon in the cultural struggle because it displays the power the people had and kept with them.
I love the word abundance! The simplicity of the language allows for it to be so immersive and quick to understand. AAVE is brimming with life; it captivates you with the tone of voice, speed of the sentence, and warmth. Ebonics is overlooked to be this imperfect thing but in reality, AAVE is layered with enough credibility to supply years of research in just the communicative strategies alone.
Jamila provides her TED Talk in rhyming verse. So, her whole presentation is a spoken word poem to catch the audience’s attention and I find that very effective for the topic that she brings to light. It is unique and ear-catching that people are almost forced to pay attention because humans love patterns and rhymes. She speaks about the three types of English that come with being a woman of color in America. She speaks about the fact that she has been told by what the audience can assume by a white person that she is ‘articulate.’ She talks about the fact that she speaks three languages. One language with her parents, one with her school and one with her friends. She knows that all of these dialects that she speaks are valid, and they all make her ‘articulate.’ Just because she may talk in ‘broken’ English to some of the people she knows, it does not affect her intelligence or her character. I find this to be so true and such a powerful statement in today’s day and age. We live in a country that believes that people of color who do not speak English are somehow stupid or uneducated. When in reality they may be eloquent and geniuses in their native tongue. In our country, people are deemed untrustworthy when they speak their native tongue to each other because they fear what they cannot understand. What Jamila points out specifically is the prejudice against women, or even all people of color, that their English isn’t perfect. She talks about how people don’t say “Hello.” They say, “What’s good?” Some people would say that is “hood,” but it is merely another dialect that many people in America speak and it is correct for them. Linguistically, all dialects are valid regardless of their grammatical qualities. Linguists mainly focus on how people talk in the real world. Lyiscott makes the audience understand her pain of being judged despite the fact that she is “tri-lingual.” Americans have this idea that there is one type of English that is correct. However, English is a fascinating language with many dialects and accents that make it beautiful and unique. We all speak differently and we are all articulate in our own way.
I think that both videos do a great job giving us a better understanding of how and why we should embrace our different language literacies, but at the same time also speak on how language has been an issue that has been tied down to different cultures for many years. Jamila makes some interesting points in her TED talk, she goes into depth about this topic and discusses how McDonalds, a million-dollar corporation, has “I’m lovin’ it” in their slogan, dropping the g, yet nobody sees an issue with it. Also, how the tv show modern family has an episode named “she crazy”. We have been forced to believe that Black English isn’t the correct way to speak English, and we can be discriminated against for it because we have our pride, but instead of people focusing on our message, they focus more on how we communicate a said message. I also feel that the language that we use outside of certain surroundings may not be seen as proper in a much more inclusive surrounding, and we would be ridiculed and forced to correct ourselves, which in the end strips us of our pride, and makes us lose sight of our identity. However, what most people fail to realize is that language is meant to be unique, there is no right way to speak it, and no accent or dialect can’t make someone’s message different from what it is just based on the way that they speak English, we are supposed to embrace our language not exclude it.
Hi Jeremy, I agree with you when you say that the language we use in different places/people may not be seen as standard or proper. Also, I noticed when she said the MacDonald’s thing, a lot of people don’t pay attention to it but McDonald’s is using AAVE, I think they use it in a positive way even though it can be offensive for certain people.
AAVE is commonly heard in urban communities where most African workers and middle-class African Americans reside, but other people use it sometimes too. In my opinion in the context that African American uses AAVE is as a form to show white people that they actually have their own language in the United States. A language that not everybody understands, something unique of them, and they not letting White people take that away. A lot of times White people, not all of them, think that all African Americans always speak “ghetto” and/or bad English, that’s why when a white person listens to a black person speaking Standard English they get surprised. One example of this is when Jamila Lyiscott says and I quote “ and I was offended and most people can understand that” (TED), Lyiscott says that she felt offended because her teacher told her that she sound “articulate” in other words standard or professional. Lyiscott wasn’t offended because of what the teacher said, she was offended because of why she said it. She’s a black young girl talking perfect English and that’s a WOWWW for a white person. AAVE is a way to bond with different cultural groups, is commonly used in African Americans groups but also other groups like Black- Caribbeans, etc, use it too. That way AAVE bonds cultures/cultural groups. AAVE is powerful in Black Communities mostly in family houses since they use it as an intimate language.
I love how you mention geography and urban spaces. Although many different types of people live in big cities like Los Angelos and New York City, there always seems to be a large demographic of AAVE users. Why?! History… The Great Migration of newly freed- enslaved people lead to the Black diaspora. Many enslaved people moved to more progressive cities and started a new life where, to some capacity, were allowed to express themselves freely.
Odilenia, I really appreciate how you pointed out how sometimes when a white person hears a black person speak Standard American English, they may be subtly shocked. This idea goes hand in hand with how harmful it can be to stereotype someone without knowing them. Like the saying goes “never judge a book by its cover”.
Adding the communities where you see AAVE being commonly used was an interesting point that I didn’t think about. This kinda ties into my point where I was saying that AAVE is seen as a sense of power when black people are amongst other black people.
African American Vernacular English or Ebonics is linked to the Black community, more specifically Black spaces in America. AAVE is a language that itself has a range between cities and different mixes of people. AAVE is a language and should be recognized as such because of the many rules millions of AAVE users have to follow in their day-to-day life. Speaking AAVE is beautiful because although some words may escape the sentence said, there will be a whole mental production set to that sentence.
I believe AAVE can be very powerful in connecting masses of people from the Black community to fight as one. Black people are heavily discriminated against resulting in fear, trauma, and death (for way too many cases). All across the Black community, there are shared experiences and elements of Black Culture that are unique. Words like “chile” and “ion” or phrases like “the gag is…” or “go off”.
Is Black English celebrated? No, not widely. Primary and Secondary schooling don’t showcase any form of AAVE in the school curriculum; there are schools that are fortunate enough to have teachers that choose to educate their students and invite books like The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou into their classrooms.
A poem called, We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks. It is short and sweet but it doesn’t shy away from the blaccent and is beautifully linked to not following the norm.
I really loved the specific sources you gave of books and poems that teachers choose to teach their students about AAVE. It’s a nice added touch that anyone reading this can use to learn more about AAVE themselves. Your response is well written and the way you described AAVE and it’s uses felt very heartfelt and passionate.
Wow you read the bluest eye too!!! I agree with everything you said, but just to put it into perspective on your point that AAVE isn’t widely celebrated, its still widely spread because of the internet, and I only bring up this point because my little sister who is like 5 years old, was talking to her friend and was speaking in AAVE even though we had never spoke to her that way. But the next day I saw her watching youtube and it was like jojo seewa speaking in slang and thats where she picked up from. Not that I’m disagreeing with you, just sharing a thought.
Wow you read the bluest eye too!!! I agree with everything you said, but just to put it into perspective on your point that AAVE isn’t widely celebrated, its still widely spread because of the internet, and I only bring up this point because my little sister who is like 5 years old, was talking to her friend and was speaking in AAVE even though we had never spoke to her that way. But the next day I saw her watching youtube and it was like jojo seewa speaking in slang and thats where she picked up from. Not that I’m disagreeing with you, just sharing a thought.
AAVE has influenced the English language that we speak today, whether it be subtly or not. We use different aspects of this way of speaking in our everyday speech whether we like it our not with out “informal” speaking. It’s something that’s frowned upon when it’s just as proper as what everyone else views as “proper”. Using this view that society has on AAVE, the people whose ancestors invented this language can use this to empower themselves and embrace where they came from. In spite of AAVE being seen as “improper” English, it’s still used in popular marketing and media platforms. One example of this can be seen in KFC’s catchphrase “Finger Lickin’ Good”. The way that they removed the “g” in licking is a way of using AAVE. This brings up the point that using AAVE makes people feel more cozy and it’s a more welcome form of speaking which is why companies might want to use it over a more “proper” manner of speaking. It wouldn’t be too appealing if the slogan was “Makes you want to lick your fingers”, or something along that line. In my personal opinion, being a younger person growing up mainly in the Bronx, speaking in AAVE is the main way that I speak and I absolutely love it. It’s just something about it that makes me feel so much more connected to the people around me whereas if we all spoke “properly” then everything would seem so robotic and textbook, AAVE leaves the option for change in the form of speaking and different manners of saying phrases or terms. An example of this could be substitutes for the word “very”. Off the top of my head there are two manners of saying very where instead of saying”that car’s very far”, you can either say “that car’s dumb far” or “that car’s mad far”. Along with this those two substitutions have their own separate meaning with “dumb” being a more exaggerated form of saying “very” when compared to “mad”. This is just one of the many interchangeable ways that AAVE is used and I find it beautiful and shows one of the reasons I feel it should be more accepted around the world as a standard form of speaking.
AAVE is a dialect of the English language that is often frowned upon for the associated stereotype that it is an unprofessional way to speak. Whether it be in school, the workplace, or in just the common society, this way of speaking has been given the generalized description of being “ghetto” or “improper”. Many may see this as a cause for the language
dialect to be threatened, in the sense that because so many look down upon it, it would eventually succumb to dying out. Instead this is what makes AAVE the most powerful. As mentioned within both videos, this dialect is a way for the black community to connect with one another. It’s a way for this community to connect closely with their ancestors, for it was due to their struggles that this language form was born. Those within this community have found a way to connect to one another in a way that may not be understood by the majority of society. This way to connect was through language. One thing I particularly appreciated from Jamila Lyiscott’s Ted Talk, was how she briefly touched upon the topic of how Mcdonalds uses a phrase like “Im Lovin it” to capitalize off their brand. Meanwhile if a student of color were to say that, they would be corrected in the classroom. This example touches base with the issue of how major corporations will use something like AAVE to capitalize and market their companies. Essentially profiting off the minority community, while they continue to struggle to validate their place in society. The bottom line is that AAVE is a powerful and undying language dialect. It’s a form of the English language that should in no way be shamed. For one thing is certain, it’s that nobody can be judged by their linguistic identity.
I agree with how you said AAVE words are used to make money for large corporations. And I also like how you said it’s undying and powerful because that really is the beauty of the language. No matter how much it’s subordinated or discriminated against, it still stands still. Yes a few words may change here and there but that’s every language because language is always evolving.
I like the point that you make in explaining how the perseverance of AAVE through all of its adversaries is what gives it a sense of power. Hence, it is because of this very reason that it is more meaningful than ever that the utilization of this dialect is still used within the Black community today. In this way, not only are they paying respect to their past, but they can also use this as a vehicle to continue to educate future generations of the value of their language.
I know this will probably sound cliché or obvious but I think its powerful in the black community. When you think about all of the things that black people had to face from back when they were slaves and all the discriminations that they had to face because of their skin color, you can see a couple similarities, with one being that most black people found/find comfort in the presence of other black people. This was because that’s when they didn’t have to put on a fake persona or constantly watch out for their safety. While they were amongst other black people that’s when they felt the safest and the freest to express themselves how they wanted to. One of the ways they did this was through their “language” or AAVE as we know it. I think one example of this “power” being displayed is in black owned food businesses. When you enter the store, depending on what cultural food they serve, you could already feel that vibe. When you’re ordering from the people, depending on their accent, you could already tell what country or state they’re from. When you look at the menu, you might see things like “Lil’ ” instead of “Little” and “N’ ” instead of “And”. It’s little things like those that make that small encounter more meaningful and valuable, and for me that could be considered a form of power. Small things like this and many other examples are the reason why I think that AAVE is the most powerful in the black community.
You make an interesting point describing how AAVE is often used among the Black community as a form of casual language when their guard is down. This demonstrates how the historical context of this dialect is still prevalent in our modern day due to its strong influence of when it is and isn’t used.
These videos focused on AAVE/black language. We have been strongly influenced to believe that speaking AAVE is unprofessional and “ghetto” and that we should be speaking “standard English”, but other people fail to realize or accept that speaking AAVE is a part of our culture and identity. We are being told that using AAVE is not acceptable yet we see AAVE being used frequently in mainstream media and even these big companies. Jamila Lyiscott discusses and describes this perfectly. One of the examples that she gave was about Mcdonald’s famous phrase “I’m Lovin it”. Nobody seems to have a problem with them using AAVE and they are portrayed to be cool while African Americans use this language everyday and they are seen as “ghetto”. They are appropriating black culture and using it to benefit themselves. This goes to show the double standard that society has. To African Americans AAVE is a way of connecting to their roots and each other and feeling like they belong because society is constantly telling them that they do not belong and should not be treated equally.
Going back to the power dynamic, you can see how English is viewed as the superior language. This goes back to slavery. The slaves had to develop their own form of communication and this was threatening for slave masters because they could not understand what was being said. Standard English is just another way of controlling the people by taking away opportunities or depriving them of jobs if they don’t conform. There is this demand to speak standard English in the workplace, schools and other professional settings and as soon as a person uses AAVE they are quickly told that they are being unprofessional.
This is why it’s so important to African Americans when they see other people of color succeeding or when they see certain places becoming more accepting. This is why they are so passionate about their history and about getting justice when there is an injustice done to one one of their people. This is why these protests and movements are important because society needs to see that it’s not okay to pick and chose what is acceptable and what is not and that there should not be discrimination against others because they speak a dialect that is not standard English.
I agree with everything you said here Ashley and I wanna add on to the part where you said AAVE was threatening to white people. Money makes this country run and I believe that white people that if AAVE became official, black people will start to gain more power. More power equals more money. In 1921, Tulsa, a city that was only circulating black money, was burned down by a mob of white people.
You bring up a strong point of how Black language is often appropriated by large companies with the intention of being used as something that is marketable. This demonstrates an interesting double standard in terms of answering the question, “who drew the picture?” With controversy of Black language in terms of how it really relates back to the speaker, when it can be utilized by those outside of the Black community, this diminishes the value of the dialect, in the way that this power is once again stolen.
AAVE, or Black English, is an intimate language, used amongst the Black community as a way for them to distinguish themselves. Lyiscott explains how it suffers so much discrimination in terms of appropriateness in formal settings, which often links its usage to a downplay of a speaker’s intelligence. The reason it gets praised in contexts in which it can be successfully used in the means of marketing and making a profit, while being shut down in others (notably, institutions), is that society holds a bias towards the speaker. We see parallels of this from years of historical discrimination that is reflected in the institutionalization of a standard of form of English, making any other languages seem relatively inferior.
The Breakdown’s video gives us more insight to the important historical context of this dialect and its relevance in our daily lives. Tracing back to its historical roots, the creation of Black English was a necessity in order to communicate among other fellow slaves during the 17th century. Utilization of this dialect in our modern day pays homage to its very origin. The Black community is able to reclaim this aspect of their identity in the way that it indirectly goes against the language of their former oppressors. It is their act of rebellion, as a way to interact with others in their own community, from which they were banished from doing during the time period of slavery. AAVE is now a language used within the local community as the means to connect with one another, unifying the speakers of this dialect. It is a tool that allows them to have better insight on their heritage, hence being able to celebrate it and come to understand that their history and contribution is valued. It ties back to their roots on their identity, culture, and history.