Black English is being misidentified as Gen Z lingo, speakers say
Samantha Chery, The Philadelphia Tribune, 18 August 2022
As Generation Z influencers and Black entertainers continue to shape the internet landscape, from viral memes to TikTok dances, AAVE has shown up in more online spaces. But some Black AAVE speakers believe that the language has been incorrectly chalked up as new vocabulary started by young people - and they've been calling out non-Black people for glorifying internet stars who butcher the speech and lack understanding of the language's cultural significance.
What do they expect from their reality? -> Optimistic
Randy treats life, high school, and his secret warrior identity as a grand, thrilling adventure full of limitless potential. Even with monsters constantly "stanking" his classmates, he fundamentally believes that his world is a vibrant playground filled with cool opportunities, fun video games, and exciting things to discover.
ROLE
1. Motivation of Actions
Why do they act? -> Altruist
Running on the OAl (Optimistic Altruist) function, Randy believes the world is abundant and worth protecting. While he certainly has typical teenage desires for popularity and slacking off, when people are in danger, he selflessly steps up as the Ninja. He consistently puts his life on the line, even when it means losing out on a few homework or two.
2. Momentum of Actions
Where does their momentum come from? -> Active
Randy is a textbook OAc (Optimistic Active) force. He completely refuses to sit on the sidelines when trouble brews. He takes the initiative, leaping headfirst into battles with smoke bombs, ninja tools, and high-energy momentum because he views his reality as a space where he has the ultimate freedom to make a difference.
3. Mobility of Actions
What fuels and sustains their actions? -> Extrovert
Operating on the OEx (Optimistic Extrovert) function, Randy views his external environment as a welcoming, interactive free for all. He is loud, highly expressive, and loves a crowd. He thrives on social validation, constantly bouncing his energetic ideas off his best friend Howard, and seeking a literal or metaphorical audience to engage with the world.
RESONANCE
1. Preferred Environment
What kind of world do they thrive in? -> Chaotic
Randy completely thrives in fluid, crazy, and highly unpredictable environments. He finds the rigid rules and daily schedules of high school boring or restrictive. When fighting monsters, he uses improvisational combat, quick adaptation, and rapid thinking to turn the absolute chaos of a battle into his personal playground.
2. Preferred Judgement
How do they evaluate situations? -> Emotion
Randy is heavily governed by an affective, impulse-driven filter. He processes situations through immediate feelings, teenage passion, and gut reactions rather than cold, detached logic. This emotional intensity can occasionally get him into messy misunderstandings, but it also fuels his deep, protective empathy for his friends.
3. Preferred Understanding
How does reality become meaningful to them? -> Physical
Randy is a hands-on, improvisational duelist who loves a good fight with whatever monster or robot comes his way. He gets his hands dirty and gets overly excited with each new ninja weapon that gets introduced to him through his suit. He cannot help himself with each new McFist product that comes out.
INTEGRATION
How do they handle perspectives that challenge their natural Resonance? -> Integrated
Randy successfully bridges the gap between his high-octane modern 9th-grade life and the lessons from the Ninja Nomicon. While he initially struggles with or misinterprets the Nomicon’s abstract lessons in favor of quick fixes, by the end of his trials he integrates them perfectly, applying mystical proverbs to solve chaotic, real-world problems.
INVERSE SELF: (P)EPI
(Pessimistic) Egoist-Passive-Introvert
When his confidence is completely shattered, his best friend turns on him, or the Nomicon cuts him off from his powers, Randy flips directly into his shadow self:
He becomes deeply cynical, viewing high school and his duty as a harsh, deterministic drag where failure is inevitable. He drops his loud, performative ninja persona to withdraw entirely from the social grid, locking himself away from Howard and the school crowd to brood alone. His high-energy initiative hits a total brick wall as he completely surrenders to his bad mood and refuses to take action. In this state, his motivation turns entirely self-serving, hyper-focusing purely on protecting his own bruised pride and immediate comfort while ignoring the plight of the town.
OVERVIEW:
Randy Cunningham is a vibrant, active hero who uses chaotic emotional energy, physical acrobatics and weapons to defend his town. By seamlessly integrating the demands of an ancient ninja legacy with the everyday struggles of a freshman, he serves as a brilliant example of how a high-energy extrovert can turn a dangerous world into an fun, exciting place to live in.
Today’s PSA: If you don’t really know AAE, please stop trying to write it into Sam’s dialogue (Spoiler: you don’t really know AAE). You would think it would be impossible to make an African-American sound like someone pretending to be an African-American, but a lot of y’all are doing it effortlessly.
It’s not a “vernacular”, it’s not a “dialect”, it’s not “bad grammar”, it’s a goddamn language. With its own goddamn grammatical rules (not just Standard English with “ain’t” thrown around willy-nilly). So treat it like one, so at least this one ADOS can stop having her brain make the train brake noise when Sam starts talking in your otherwise adorbs story.
