I’m seeing this floating around and ALTHOUGH I’m not 100% sure of the context, I wanna offer some insight because it seems as though people are taking offense to it…
But African-American Vernacular English is a valid dialect and therefore should be recorded/written down. But to see it on paper and especially in comparison to Standard American English (white English) I get how it can MAKE us look uneducated or unable to speak English properly however, that’s just the stigma society put on it and we accepted it.
But African-American English is actually A LOT more grammatically complex than Standard American English in that we have syntactical ways to express the pass in ways white people cannot.
The list was just comparing some features of AAVE to SAE such as:
•Phonetic shifts [th] - [d]
•Copula deletion
•Habitual Be
•Double negation
• other grammatical deletions and so on
And that’s just a few of many linguistic features that seperate African-American English to SAE. This is how we talk, and it’s being recognized as a valid dialect, we should celebrate it!
I think the important thing to remember is, this does not mean we cannot speak and understand proper English cuz we can! Black people are bi-dialectal asf! Ask a West Indian, ask a West African! They all can speak English but can code switch to patois or pidgin at the drop of a hat! AAVE is like that! So don’t be offended.
(Again, it’s still a pretty ambiguous photo, I have no idea of the context)
I disagree with all this. There’s no need for our codes to be written down and observed by non-native speakers. Our dialects do look silly from this angle but there’s really be no need to learn them if you don’t already belong to that speech community. It’s called a code for a reason and languages don’t need to be written to be valid, especially AAVE and other dialects of the African diaspora.
The linguist in me loves to study non-standard dialects of languages. I love dissecting their sentences and looking at its different syntactic and grammatical structures. But understanding the importance of language & identity, these diasporic dialects are more sacred than some people realize and give them credit for. while I think they should always be studied, they do not need to be taught. Especially in the absence of their origin stories. Have some respect.
When studying a language, I truly think if you want to improve your everyday listening and speaking, watching youtubers/content creators is invaluable.
BTW, you can also find me on HelloTalk (@a_lucie_58910) or instagram (@luc_9999)
Why use Youtubers to study Chinese?
1. They are not creating content specifically for learners of the language, hence they will use the most natural, native language (including chengyus etc.)
2. They chengyus they use will be ones that people use in real life (as opposed to a study resource that attempts to teach you chengyus, its not necessarily a bad thing, you should learn chengyus, but how do you know if they are ones that are commonly used spoken? If you here somebody using it in natural speech you will inevitably know it is one used in every speech. Therefore, you should make note of learning such chengyus. This also applies for grammar patterns and phrases as well. Basically, you wont sound like you learned from a textbook if you learn from native speakers in natural settings
3. The content is interesting. I love lifestyle bloggers, from telling you about a life story to helping their listeners by giving the advice, there is a lot of lengthy content to help you with your listening.
Below are 3 of my favourite Up主 because;
1. A lot of the content is in a simple, natural, chatting to the camera sort of format (just like a friend would chat with you)
2. They use chengyus in a natural way
3. They stories are interesting and relatable (i.e. I am a woman in my mid-20s to 30s as these content creators are. So the content is of interest to me. I am sorry I am unable to share content that is male-oriented. There should be an abundance on Bilibili/YT for you to find if lifestyle isn’t your interest.
1. MsLindaY
I have followed Linda since about 2016 actually, at the time I didn’t understand her videos, even after repeatedly watching them. I would download the audios onto my phone and listen on repeat. It definitely helped and now I can watch the videos, understanding the majority of content. She uses chengyus in a natural way and I have learnt many from her channel. I am eternally grateful for her content actually and have kept meaning to send her an email to thank her for these years of helping me in my Chinese learning journey!
She has a Linda讲故事 series and they are all about 40+ minutes long, GREAT LISTENING MATERIAL! as well us chatty GRWM videos etc. and she has videos that present American culture to her viewers (she lived in the US from her late teens if I do believe).
2. Tracey Chang 翠西
Tracey was a TV host on various Chinese news channels and is bilingual (she grew up in US but is from Beijing). She scatters English in her videos (but not in the annoying way that I see some uploaders… I don’t know why, it grates on me hahaha, but anyway :P)
Her videos are also about chatty GRWMs, videos talking about a certain topic (such as her employment history or what its like to work on Wall Street, or her and her husband’s LDR story). She has just given birth so recently has many videos related to pregnancy and being a mum also!
For me Tracey is very inspiring because she not only creates interesting content, she is bilingual and she is very interested in current affairs and business, she epitomises the ‘working woman’ it shows through her videos.
3. 维多 Vittos
Vittos is a blogger that posts her content mainly on bilibili, she has many long videos that talk about topics related to being a better person, self-care from within and loving yourself etc. to be totally honest, I’m not sure its the sort of content I’d watch in English, but in Chinese its great as, again, its natural language and not too difficult, just like a friend chatting with you. Videos are often up to 20 to 30 minutes long.
The below video is her recounting her study abroad experience in Italy (she speaks Italian!)
Sorry for my lack of posts, I have in fact been taking a mental break (i.e. giving my brain a rest so I don’ t burnout before September) as I have been accepted to study a master in business administration at Qingdao University :D :D I am so happy but also crapping it a bit because I think it is going to be quite full on. Best be putting my study tips on this blog to use then!! I am taking the summer to prepare my departure and spend time with family and friends (and catch up on TV/films that I wont have time to come September).
Remember it is always useful to give yourself regulated breaks even when studying for fun so you can give your brain a rest, it may even help your progress by coming back to study refreshed and more motivated :D
