Over the past century Black slang has been referred to as jive talk, nonstandard Negro English and ebonics. These terms, though common, all inadequately described a Black American language variety known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE). It’s a common and ever-evolving way for Black people to communicate and a new book is helping readers understand its nuances.
In Historically Black Phrases, Tre’vell Anderson and jarrett hill use interviews with scholars, creatives and their own relatives to break down the sometimes colourful sayings and metaphors that were created and popularized by Black Americans in a book that is part cultural commentary, part memoir – and all Black. In their book, released earlier this month, Anderson and hill explain the origins and uses of well-known phrases like “yo’ mama” that often accompanies or is used in response to a denigrating joke and others that are less known to communities outside of Black America such as “talkin’ out of the side of your neck” and “boo boo the fool”.
“I’m hopeful that, as we see our phrases and ways of communicating continue to be notable in ‘mainstream culture’ that the originators of these things will get the credit and the attention that they are due,” Anderson said.
“We’ve been able to get a real appreciation for the varied experiences of Black folks, the diasporic experiences,” hill echoed. “The experience of Black folks is something that we can recognize and appreciate through the ways that we speak, in the phrases that we’ve used and heard, over the years.”
Anderson and hill, both journalists, are outspoken advocates through their work in the National Association of Black Journalists and in the Los Angeles journalism chapter. They also keep issues facing LGBTQ+ communities front of mind with their writings and on their co-hosted podcast, Fanti, where they examine the pros and cons of contemporary events and how they intersect with race, class and gender.
The Guardian interviewed the authors about what they learned while writing their book and what this collection and rigorous analysis of Black language can offer the nation.
How do you both feel – before you wrote the book and now – when people refer to African American Vernacular English as ‘gen Z’ or internet slang?
Tre’vell: When I see that happen, I’m always like, ‘Whiteness strikes again.’ The things we create, that we’ve heard our grandparents, our mothers say since the beginning of time gets divorced from who created it and then ascribed to being something superfluous, such as something somebody said on TikTok.
The impact of that is a continual de-legitimization of how we speak as Black folks, and the creativity that we demonstrate via our linguistic practices. It’s often something that is upsetting, though not surprising.
jarrett: As you asked that question I was thinking about the movie Dreamgirls. There’s the scene where the white people are singing, ‘Got me a Cadillac, Cadillac,’ and you’re like, ‘Okay. That’s what they’re doing with this?’ It was so much better when we had it and it was ours.
It makes me think about that in the ways that we have shown up and modelled things for the world then they’re taken to be something else. In this book, we’re having a conversation about the ways that that’s happened with language.
What is the value of putting these phrases that Black people intimately know and formalize them in such an elegant package? What does that offer to Black folks and to the other demographics?
jarrett: Our language is real. It is worthy of respect and appreciation, to receive flowers, and to be put into a beautiful book and celebrated. Doing this book validated me in ways that I didn’t know that I needed. I hope that as Black people read the book and maybe learn a little bit of something, or see themselves reflected. That they will walk away from it feeling empowered, uplifted, seen and celebrated.
I hope that, for people who are not Black that read this book, they’re able to appreciate that our language comes from a real place, has a history, and a real impact and influence on culture.
Tre’vell: I’ve always been told that the way I talk is unprofessional, it is not appropriate, and a sign of a lack of education or ignorance. Many of us, in response to that, learn how to speak the Queen’s English and navigate those more formal spaces and talk as if we have a doctorate in linguistics.
With this book, it’s about letting Black people know that the way you naturally speak, the way you talk to your parents, the way that you talk to your homies and your homettes is legitimate, and it’s valid. Other people should be figuring out how to understand you, as opposed to you having to figure out how to communicate to them.
You two consulted and interviewed several people for this book. Were there any phrases that surprised you, based on their mere existence, origin or the way they’re used?
jarrett: Tre’vell talks about their grandmother using this phrase, ‘Used to the rooster don’t crow no more.’ I’m like, ‘Baby, nobody has ever heard nothing about used to nor the rooster crowing nowhere.’
Then in another interview, the interviewee told us they were familiar with the phrase.
As we talked about it with other people, it’s like there are different things that are popular in different places. We really started discussing the regionality of language, and the ways that things happen in the south happened very differently in the east.
Tre’vell: I’m reminded of an interview that we did with Dr Anne H Charity Hudley at Stanford. The thing that surprised me most wasn’t a phrase or the etymology of something, but how she describes our linguistic toolbox as Black people as more expansive than other cultures and communities.
We’re not just communicating with our words, but also with our hands, our eyes and facial expressions. Sometimes you don’t even need words to get across what you need to get across. We all know that when your mama gives you that one look, she ain’t got to say no words. You know to straighten up.
That was something I always knew internally, especially because I’m from South Carolina – shout out to the Gullah-Geechee folks over there – but hearing this academic say it was really eye opening for me.
Within the book there are complicated topics and phrases that directly impact you two as members of and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. How did you handle some of the phrases that were used by older generations to make queer Black people the butt of the joke or marginalize them?
Tre’vell: There are a few terms in the book that historically are very homophobic ways to talk about queer people. I’m thinking of ‘sugar in the tank’ as one of them. What we decided to do, instead of shying away from the complex reality of some of these phrases, was to lean into it.
We have ‘sugar in the tank’ in the book, and we say, ‘This is a homophobic way to discuss or to describe somebody who you believe is queer.’ Some of us have taken those very phrases and reclaimed them in so many different ways, taking the power or the venom out of them.
jarrett: This book has been a great opportunity for us to highlight the influence of Black queer language specifically. How it has impacted Black folks’ language, and how that has gone out into broader culture. There are various different influences in our community that don’t always get what they’re due, that don’t necessarily always get appreciated for their contributions, but we want to make sure that we celebrate that and highlight that.
