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TikTok users call AAVE 'Internet stan culture', sparks war as some say White people shouldn't be using terms

AAVE or more popularly known as Black English (BE), is a variant of English spoken mostly by African Americans and a few Black Canadians

If you're a regular user of any social media platform or the Internet, you might have seen words like 'chile', 'stan', 'snatched', etc doing rounds. Not just youngsters, but people of all ages seem to use this slang and there are countless gifs and memes showing some person using these words. Before you write off these words as just another trendy slang language, you might be interested in knowing that these words fall under the umbrella of African-American Vernacular English  (AAVE).

AAVE or more popularly known as Black English (BE), is a variant of English spoken mostly by African Americans and a few Black Canadians. AAVE has become a hot topic on the Internet after a TikToker (Brittany) made a video talking about how AAVE is just 'stan culture'. She explained in her video that it is how people of the current generation speak and that it is how people talk on online communities. 

Brittany's since deleted video garnered a lot of backlash for simply categorizing AAVE as just another "internet stan" culture. Several people took to Twitter to explain to Brittany that AAVE is a lot more than just "internet stan" language, but has a rich historical connection. 

A user tweeted, "AAVE is related to Appalachian English and both descend from the language Southern whites spoke in the 1800s. Compared the features of the two dialects. It's pretty interesting. I just wish there was more scholarly research on the two."

Another user wrote, ".@brittany_broski aave is not stan culture or stan twitter language. it’s aave. real black people talk like this in their real lives. it is not a persona for some white teens to put on on the internet. stop speaking on topics you know shit all about."

Many users also expressed that White people shouldn't be using AAVE for appearing trendy or cool. A user expressed, "We have this aave discourse every week when will white folk learn to just type on twitter like a normal person instead of trying to sound ‘cool’ and ‘hip’ like an old a** rich white mom."

Another user commented, "Another thing i read in the same article is that aave words are up for huge debate bc when white people use aave it’s “cool” but when black people use aave it’s drawing attention to “the negative part of society and poverty” but also it’s so popular so does it actually matter?"

"Wouldn't you directly be able to relate AAVE to braids and such. black people were called "ghetto" for it but when white ppl pick up on it, it's "cool" now?? like the whole "kylie jenner lips" that irked me so much, i can't begin to imagine that feeling," pointed out a user.

"AAVE comes from a collective ancestral experience. We were and still are made fun of when we use it and are labeled as "uneducated" but when white people use it then it becomes trendy and cool and "gen z language" we're the only ones that suffer from the use of it," observed a user.

Brittany herself tweeted an apology tweet for the ignorant statements she made in her video. She wrote, "Hey y’all I made some videos speaking my mind on something I wasn’t properly educated on (AAVE) and I’ve since taken all the videos down. I appreciate y’all being constructive w me. I didn’t mean any harm by the vids, and I’m sorry! was just having an open dialogue on tiktok."