If you are living in the U.S., you might have more chances (than outside of the country) to be exposed to a variety of English dialects or vernacular English. Have you heard of “What up?”, “Ya dig?”, or “I finna go grab something to eat now.” These expressions originally came from AAVE, which stands for African American Vernacular English. It is also known as Ebonics or Black English Vernacular (BEV), which is a dialect of Standard American English that has been primarily spoken by the African American community of the States. AAVE is not a broken English, bur rather encompasses a bunch of sub-sub-sets which can vary from region to region. Since AAVE has consistent grammar, phonetics, and vocabulary, it is a legitimate/ alternate form of dialect, NOT a slang or broken English.
Today, let us go over some expressions from AAVE.
1.
Dig – to understand or appreciate
E.g., Ya dig? (meaning “Do you understand?”)
2.
Bad – good or really good
E.g., The Motown 25 show back in 1983 was
so bad! Just can’t forget MJ’s first Moonwalk on TV!
3.
Be – used to describe a habitual action
E.g., She be watching horror flicks
every Friday night.
4.
Was – used to express “be-verb” in the past
regardless of the subject
E.g. I was happy./ We was heading to the
nearby trail./ They was nothing but lazy bums.
5.
Got – used to mean “have” (both in present
and past tense)
E.g., You got ten bucks I can
borrow? How much you got?
6.
Blade – knife
E.g., He got a blade in his hands! Let
us get outta here!
7.
Strap – gun, usually a pistol
E.g., 'In my hood (meaning neighborhood
where they grew up), niggaz got love for me, but I go no where without ma
strap'
8. Paper – money
E.g., I found some paper in my old
jacket! I’m in luck!
9.
Whip – expensive/ flashy sports car or sedan
e.g., DAMN! That's a pretty whip you got
there, bro!
10. Fed(s) – federal government or an agent from
the FBI.
E.g., Harry was caught by the feds on
Saturday.
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