this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
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"Proper spelling and grammar" according to whom? Is the example you gave incorrect, or just a different dialect of English? AAVE, for example, often gets delegitimized because black people are supposedly less educated, can't speak "properly", whatever. But the thing about that is AAVE has its own unique grammar quirks, like habitual "be" as in "I be working".
As well, my own dialect has quirks that sound wrong to American ears, (such as the very start of this sentence) but if you try and correct me on them I will politely tell you to fuck an icicle.
From how it's used and understood, it's a lot closer to, "I am in a situation where I find myself working from time to time". "I am working" suggests you're doing it right now, "I be working" does not. This example is a unique, condensed way to convey a very specific idea that your idea of "proper English" cannot convey without a boatload of extra words.
If that's still bothersome to you, well, I guess have fun kicking that proverbial land-crawling fish back into the sea if that's where you get your jollies. IMO some prescriptivism is okay to get people on the same page, but the moment you use it as a cudgel to beat people who are very clearly already being understood, you're being a prude.
The fact that dialects of AAVE can convey meaning in a more complex manner than other dialects of English would never cross this genius' mind.
No, any differences exhibited in AAVE must be incorrect and spoken by the daft /s
"I be working" sounds better though. :p
You're ascribing traits common to AAVE as being associated with lesser intelligence. Think about what that says about you. And that's not even my dialect, dipshit.