"The ones who grow up in the ghetto and don't speak properly" comes off as an aggressive implication of ignorance, with 'ghetto' and 'properly' being the trigger words in this instance. Then you go on to say that not all black people have 'poor speech' and that not all of them 'don't know how to talk'.
What I am saying to you is that the mentality that AAVE is wrong is racist. AAVE is not poor speech and it doesn't mean people aren't speaking correctly. It is a dialect. It is illegal to discriminate against people for speaking in AAVE in America, just like it's illegal to discriminate against people for having a Japanese accent or a Southern accent.
I can understand if your character is dealing with pressures in society pertaining to her race, or if you're working through something like that with your writing because the subject is interesting to you, but the way you are presenting yourself shows no inkling of that kind of intent. It just seems very insensitive. Do you understand what I mean?
What I am saying to you is that the mentality that AAVE is wrong is racist. AAVE is not poor speech and it doesn't mean people aren't speaking correctly. It is a dialect. It is illegal to discriminate against people for speaking in AAVE in America, just like it's illegal to discriminate against people for having a Japanese accent or a Southern accent.
If you don't know what I mean, here is the wiki article on African American Vernacular English. Please read it.
I can understand if your character is dealing with pressures in society pertaining to her race, or if you're working through something like that with your writing because the subject is interesting to you, but the way you are presenting yourself shows no inkling of that kind of intent. It just seems very insensitive. Do you understand what I mean?
Reply
Leave a comment