This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Alayna Thomas. Find her on Instagram at @ratatoolie. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Unc. On god. Deadass. Yas, queen. There are many words and phrases that are ascribed to Gen Z (and Gen Alpha). These words and phrases are also associated with apps such as TikTok, with some calling this way of speaking ‘TikTok speak’. However, others, such as myself, have taken a bit of an issue with that description.
Many of these phrases that we see and hear on social media are from African American Vernacular English, or AAVE. It’s frustrating seeing terms that are part of your everyday speech be misused. Even more frustrating is that many people don’t know this dialect exists or try to downplay its importance. So, let’s explore AAVE— what it is, why it exists, and if there’s a difference between AAVE and Gen Z slang.
What Is AAVE?
AAVE stands for African American Vernacular English. It’s an ethnolect, meaning that it’s a dialect that is created by, spoken by, or associated with a specific ethnicity. Another example of an ethnolect here in the States is Chicano, or Mexican-American, English.
Many people also refer to AAVE as Ebonics (a play on ebony and phonics), but this can be considered dated or offensive by some. Although you technically have to be Black in order to speak AAVE, there are many people who aren’t Black who speak or understand it, especially if they’re southern or grew up in a Black community. Additionally, not every Black American speaks AAVE. The dialect also varies from region to region; a speaker from Los Angeles won’t sound like a speaker from Atlanta.
Origins of AAVE
AAVE has its origins in slavery. During the transatlantic slave trade, American slavetraders would pick up Black people from different tribes all along the coast of West Africa. These people had different languages and dialects. This affected how they spoke and learned English, as well as how they communicated with each other.
Historians and linguists fall into two camps when it comes to how AAVE came to be. The first theory is that AAVE started off as an English-based creole. Creoles are created when multiple people in a population speak different languages and in order to communicate with each other, a quasi-language forms that is a compilation of all of their languages. Over time, this creole started to resemble Standard English more and more.
The second theory is that AAVE was not a creole and was always a variety of English. However, enslaved people were very isolated and had multilingual backgrounds. Couple that with limited opportunities for formal schooling and not having the ability to read and write, and you have a new dialect of English.
The Problem With Co-Opting
The reason why many Black people get upset when our words go mainstream is because our way of speaking is considered ‘bad English’. Many of us have to code-switch to make sure that others don’t treat us differently. This rings especially true in the workplace, where AAVE is believed to be ‘unprofessional’.
Even more troublesome, many people use words like slay and finna, but don’t know that they come from AAVE. Some don’t even know it exists! They just believe that these words are just slang.
When I meet a non-Black person who does know about AAVE, they usually think that it’s just a funny way of speaking. However, AAVE has rules and restrictions, just like any other dialect or language.
When these words and phrases are removed from their context or from native speakers of AAVE, they can take on meanings of their own. This makes them completely removed from their original meaning. Take the word ‘woke’. If someone was ‘woke’ that means that they were ‘awake’ to injustices impacting the Black community. Nowadays, woke is a buzzword that means you are discriminating against White, straight Christians by supporting the LGBTQ community or Black Lives Matter.
However, when AAVE terms go mainstream, it’s not always a negative thing.
Cultural Diffusion
Cultural diffusion is defined as the adoption of other cultures/aspects of other cultures by one culture. This happens all the time, especially here in the United States. Food staples are a great example of cultural diffusion. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and french fries are all thought of as American food, but were brought over by European immigrants.
This happens in language too. In the United States, a lot of our sayings and words come from other languages. The word ‘glitch’ is rooted in Yiddish. Many of our culinary terms such as beef and veal come from French. So, of course AAVE would see some words become part of our daily vocabulary. Even some AAVE terms are appropriations of words from other languages (boujee/bougie, ghetto).
Some older AAVE words and phrases that we still use today are ‘cool’, ‘chill out’, ‘keep[ing] it real’, and ‘pimp’.
AAVE vs Gen Z Slang
I have seen and heard people argue about whether certain words are AAVE or Gen Z/TikTok slang for the longest time. I think I have come to a conclusion.
I would consider words like ‘unalive’ and ‘pew pew’ to be TikTok words. These words were invented by TikTok users to prevent the algorithm from flagging their video as inappropriate, even if the video wasn’t truly inappropriate. There is even a term for this: algospeak.
Even a word like ‘rizz’ is Gen Z slang. I have seen some people erroneously say that it’s AAVE, which it’s not. Another good one is ‘cheugy’. These words do not have roots in any African American dialect, and are used by young people online.
However, it feels as if almost every other popular word comes from AAVE. Two that are really popular right now are ‘gyatt’ and ‘unc’. ‘Gyatt’ is especially popular, even though the usage is all wrong. Online, people use it to refer to a big butt, but gyatt is just an alternate spelling of the word ‘god’.
It’s also not lost on me that a lot of Black gay terminology is being claimed as Gen Z slang too! ‘Yas’ and ‘slay’ were not made up by a White boy in Ohio, they have roots in NYC’s ballroom scene, which is mostly made of gay Black and Latino people.
So, if you’re wondering how a Gen Z slang term came about, it most likely came from AAVE.
What do you think about AAVE vs Gen Z slang? Is there a difference? Let us know in the comments below!
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