Wikipedia defines Ebonics or "African American Vernacular English" as "an African American variety (dialect, ethnolect, and sociolect) of American English."
Urban Dictionary had many different definitions for the word (some a little racist.)
My definition for the word is simply: Black people talk.
Yes, it originated from the way the uneducated, black slaves in America spoke, but it just stuck with us.
It's not lazy talk as some might call it.
It's just part of our culture now.
It was even going to be taught as a school subject at one point here in the U.S.
Most slang terms in American English come from Ebonics.
A lot of people try (key word: try) to speak ebonics.
What I've noticed after watching many attempts over the years is that some people have it down, some people somewhat have it down (they have potential,) and some people fail miserably.
What I've noticed the most is that a lot of people misuse the word, "be" when speaking Ebonics.
I'm going to teach you how to properly use the word whilst speaking the sub-language.
For example:
"Hey what's up?"
"Whattup? I be chillin' wit Kyle, and we be eatin' at Mimi's Cafe."
WRONG!!
It should be:
"Whattup? I'm wit Kyle. We eatin' at Mimi's Cafe."
The word, "be" in Ebonics is used to describe what one is doing presently, yes, but not at that exact moment.
It's used to describe what someone does presently, on a constant basis.
For example:
"Why you don't kick it wit Sally no more?"
"Because she be trippin' when we go over there!!"
Which is translated to:
"Because she's always tripping whenever we go over there."
("Trippin'" is one of the many American slang term that has been made popular outside of the Black community.)
Another example:
Let's say a your feet are hurting.
You wouldn't say, "Dang, my feet be hurtin'."
That wouldn't make sense.
If you said that, someone would ask, "When?" or "What you mean?"
Because that's what you say if your feet are hurting constantly because of something else.
Like, "My feet be hurtin' when we play basketball."
If you want to say your feet hurt at the moment, you would simply say, "My feet hurt."
Another example:
Let's say a your feet are hurting.
You wouldn't say, "Dang, my feet be hurtin'."
That wouldn't make sense.
If you said that, someone would ask, "When?" or "What you mean?"
Because that's what you say if your feet are hurting constantly because of something else.
Like, "My feet be hurtin' when we play basketball."
If you want to say your feet hurt at the moment, you would simply say, "My feet hurt."
Do not unnecessarily use the word "be" when engaging in conversation in Ebonics.
You never know if your black friends are rolling their eyes behind your back.
No comments:
Post a Comment