Questions tagged [african-american-vernacular-english]
African American Vernacular English or Black American English.
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Afro American specific slang [duplicate]
I'm from South America and I've been fluent (at least in my opinion) in English for several years as of now. With this in mind it has really called my attention lately that I've heard Afro-American ...
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What might the term "B-I-T-sweetie" mean in the context of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes's play "The Mule-Bone"?
I am currently reading through Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes's 1931 play, The Mule-Bone, and I am rather puzzled by the term "B-I-T-sweetie," which shows up in this exchange in Act ...
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What's the meaning of "legit" in this sentence?
I've playing a game called GTA san andreas and at the beginning there's a specific part of the first scene that the police ask to character if he's doing something wrong
basically the police says:
So ...
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does anyone know what's the meaning of "busta straight busta"? [duplicate]
I've playing a game called gta san andreas and in the second mission the character of the game says this sentence
busta straight busta
according to the urban dictionary:
A busta is somebody who ...
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There's a double negative in this sentence? [duplicate]
sentence:
I'm living in los angeles now. I'm clean. legit
No you ain't never been clean. dude
is this part → "ain't never" is this a case of double negative?
i was in doubt because i see ...
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4
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Is saying " you know what I mean" and " you know what I am saying" rude in a formal setting?
I lived in an Asian country and I recently moved to Europe. English was very popular in my country.
I have seen african -american people and British people on youtube ( Mostly african -american) ...
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4
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Verb aspect for "be" preceding participle in AAVE
In many dialects of African-American Vernacular English, I understand the following two constructions to carry different aspects:
Mama doing laundry.
Mama be doing laundry.
What is the change ...
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"Work for the man" as Black English
Is the phrase
"work for the man"
considered to be African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) (also Ebonics)?
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What is the origin of the phrase "to not give two f***s"? [closed]
I was curious about the origin of the phrase "to give two fucks". When did the English language first feature counting to a number to express a level of vulgarity? And why two specifically?
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2
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Distribution of "yelp" for "yes"
I've recently come across two people online who consistently write "yelp" meaning "yes" or "yep" in chat. Due to anonymity and privacy, I don't know much about them. From ...
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Where does the phrase "Ain't no thang but a chicken wang" come from?
Where does the phrase "Ain't no thang but a chicken wang" come from?
Per Online Slang Dictionary, it's an interjection used to indicate that something is "okay; not a big concern." ...
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He had his ears bored
I’m reading The Underground Railroad by Coleson Whitehead. Early in the first chapter he writes:
“Her last husband had his ears bored for stealing honey. The wounds gave up pus until he wasted away.”
...
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Why do Christians in American deep south say "whenever" when they mean "when"?
As a midwestern American (Iowa), I want to understand the history, reason, and mechanics of why southern Americans say "whenever" when the word "when" would suffice.
For instance:
...
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Why do southern evangelical Christians in American churches say "how that" instead of how? [duplicate]
Why do evangelical Christians in American churches say "how that" instead of how?
Ex. 1:
Let me tell you a story about Billy Beaumont and how that, for our sakes, he joined the war to fight ...
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What's the origin of this expression recorded in Louisiana, 1867?
From Freedmen's Bureau records as excerpted in Sterling's brilliant We Are Your Sisters:
Emmeline Ellaby jumped out of the cotton and called them damned bitches and said that everyone of them damned ...
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