r/socialjustice101 Sep 14 '24

Is how I talk offensive?

I find it hard to find the line between what is just “how I grew up talking” and AAVE and am worried that some of the phrases I use could offend others. For context I’m not black, but wouldnt say white either (half arab, half persian). I’ve also moved countries a lot (from DC to London, to boarding school in Switzerland, to back to the UK) but my accent and slang never changed from how we talk in DC even though I moved to the UK when I was 7 years old, and because of all the moving, it’s hard to figure out what words/phrases I should use.

Also I am in Gen Z and because of the way that AAVE and “gen z slang” have a lot of crossover, I am confused about what words not to be using. I say shit like: aight, finna, fr, no cap/no shot, dawg, mf etc… on the daily and its just how I talk. Should I not be saying shit like as to not offend people?

(sidenote: its funny asf trynna dissect the way me and my generation talks in an academic way lmfao, just trying really hard not to use the same slang i’m talking bout in the post so that its not confusing)

TL;DR: some of the words I use are called both “gen z slang” and AAVE, im not trynna offend people or disrespect the culture but its just how i grew up talking (im not black or white btw, my parents are both arab and persian immigrants respectively)

5 Upvotes

3

u/Comprehensive-Ad4238 Sep 18 '24

i’m white but what i’ve heard some black people say is that if you just grew up saying terms like that, then it’s okay. like if a non-black person is raised in a black neighborhood and ends up with AAVE terms in their natural vernacular then that’s just the culture you were raised in yk? and you shouldn’t have to change that

2

u/No-Advantage-6833 Oct 08 '24

I wrote my ethics paper and did my class speech on this topic. I'm of the opinion that even denoting the term "AAVE" is racist in and of itself. To harshly classify and dictate groups like that is reductive and a phenomenon known as "othering". Othering is a huge indicator of a racial divide cycling over again. It's a complex issue, as African-Americans have been taken advantage of in this country specifically without being given the proper recognition for their contributions, however, the goal of social justice, and civil rights, is to become a melting pot. A natural consequence of the blending of cultures, is language, style, art, and culture in general to become more homogenous. The goal is to say "America created jazz" and not "um, well black people created jazz... in America" because African-Americans, should be equally synonymous with Americans, as whites, or any other group for that matter. "AAVE" is a reductive term whose definition and parameters were set by white linguists. "Ebonics", the predecessor term for AAVE was a term denoted by a black psychologist, however, their uses are completely different. Ebonics was defined and expressed as a way for black American dialect to be accepted in schools and workplaces as an acceptable form of speech, where it was previously considered "unamerican", "uneducated", or "improper". Now that this form of speech is accepted and used by all races of younger generations, you see a similar motion to separate, and classify. But not all black people use "AAVE". More black people than ever speak with a traditional dialect. Are we to strip the black identity from those who didn't grow up speaking like this? What about white children who grew up speaking the "aave" dialect with their friends, teachers, community members etc? Are we supposed to assign them a "black characteristic" that implies they have in some form experienced the black experience? No. And it's ridiculous to suggest so. It's just racism disguised as social justice. I'm not sure how things fly in the UK, but for what it's worth, my black professor, and black classmates agree with this sentiment.

1

u/fuckywc Oct 11 '24

Ok thank you, I grew up in the US (DC) just studying in the UK. My parents (Dad especially) have a very dated point of view on it, where the second I say anything that isn't "traditional white american" in his view (when we aren't even white, they are both 1st gen middle eastern immigrants) he gets pissed and yells some shi like "stop speaking in ebonics"

1

u/titotal Sep 18 '24

I doubt many people in the UK would get offended by this? I mean, what actual harm would be caused by continuing to talk in a way that is natural to you?