AAVE: STOP APPROPRIATING IT
What you as a non-black person shouldnât be saying (this includes non-black poc):
killin it
-game too strong (i.e. eyebrow game too strong, etc.)
-ass (i.e. Thatâs some ignorant-ass shit.)
hella
turnt/turnt up/turn up/turn down for what
shade/throwinâ shade
ratchet (donât be a smartass, the adjective not the object)
werk
yas
habitual âbeâ (i.e. they be killin it, he be walkin, bitches be like, etc.)
the thirst/thirsty
anything being ârealâ (i.e. the struggle is real, the thirst is real, etc.)
the struggle
on point (i.e. outfit is on point)
chill (as in got no chill)
side-eye
stank face
cray cray
-had me like
trippinâ
boo/bae
imma be
do/dough/dat
gurl/boi
basic (as in basic bitch)
holla
finna (i.e. Iâm finna do xyz)
tho/doe
reading/read
school/schooling
dope
fo sho/fo real
yâall
dig/dig it/ya dig/you dig
respect (i.e. respect man)
about that/here for that (i.e. Iâm not about that life, Iâm here for this)
tight (i.e. this shit got me tight)
giving life (i.e. Beyonce gives me life, black tumblr giving me life)
swag
goinâ through it
Things to avoid in general because they are offensive and/or mock black culture:
Sassy (NO YOU DO NOT HAVE A SASSY BLACK WOMAN LIVING INSIDE OF YOU. STOP. LOOKIN AT YOU WHITE GAY COMMUNITY).
Do not call black hair kinky or nappy. (Donât touch it either).
Do not call things ghetto. Just donât.
Donât use the word thug in relation to black men.
Do not assume black people are ignorant just because they donât speak the same dialect of English as you do.
Donât make fun of black names.
If you use the n-word, I have no sympathy for you. Good fucking luck.
If youâre non-Black, you should reblog this.
And if youâre non-Black and this bothers you? Unfollow me right now.
manâŚlets talk abt this shit rq
using AAVE is not the problem. Iâm not bout to get mad at some hispanic kid from nyc for sayin deadass. Iâm not gonna get mad at some white girl for using âbae.â
The problem isnât people using AAVE full stop, its people using it incorrectly, getting clout for using AAVE, and/or turning around and saying black folks who use AAVE sound uneducated. THATS the problem. The problem isnât that Bethany is saying âfinna.â (tho that do be sounding wack asl coming outta yalls mouths so maybe Stop w dat one)
Black people have shaped modern culture, and will continue to. Modern culture influences many, many things, including language. If youâre educated on why the double standards are a problem, understand that as a white person or a non-black POC youâre not gonna get as much shit for using AAVE, and arenât just fucking ur posts up with bastardized AAVE, thereâs no damn problem with using âon pointâ, or âhellaâ (yall mfs deadass abt this one?). Not a damn thing.
This doesnât extend to blaccents and digital blackface, ofc, but Iâd hope yall have some sort of grasp on nuance to know thatâs not what Iâm talking abt. gn
If you started reading this post and assumed I was reblogging to tell non-black people to stop using AAVE and didnât finish reading the post, please go and read the last part. Thank you.
