Answering My Subscriber's Questions Volume 1

Today I'm answering questions from my subscribers and followers from all my social media accounts. This video is a bit long because the first question (about gatekeeping AAVE) was a bit difficult. I intended to make a video of the subject back in December and failed so I thought I'd talk through the issue some here while I'm still figuring out a way to make that video. I also answer a few other questions. Please comment away and I could be answering one of your questions next time!

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Welcome to What's Good English! On this channel we explore the slang, common phrases, idioms, and AAVE. My goal is to help English learners learn the meanings behind some of our harder to understand vocabular and phrases that are in our common speech in context. I try demonstrate as much as I can acted out in humorous (ok well sometimes humorous) sketches so they can be learned with real context because that helps us remember far better than a simple explanation. I'm a language learner myself and occasionally I upload a bonus episode about language learning tips and things I learned through my trials and errors trying to learn languages. If you like what you've read, please subscribe and share my videos around. My goal really is to help as many people as I can understand these fun curiosities of the English Language.

Thank you so very much for watching!

E.K. Powell

#AAVE #LearnEnglishFast

[ashleym]

Next time you answer questions, I have a weird one! I'm learning Brazilian Portugues and was struck when I learned that Black Brazilians tell me they can't tell the difference when Black and White Brazilians speak, but here (in the US) I can 85% tell immediately based on someone's voice if they're black, even if they just say "Welcome to Wegmans"... 1. What is it about black speech patterns here that allow me to tell (regardless of state)??? AND 2. How can two places with similar interactions with enslaved Africans have developed speech patterns so differently? Thanks for your videos... I always feel seen when I watch em

I feel so appreciated to have you answering one of my questions. You're the best. Thank you. ❤

[CJLloyd]

Great video. I wonder if it might be easier to handle the gatekeeping video if you compare it to other dialects/languages that are in a similar situation around the world. An obvious comparison for me would be Scots (not Scottish English, but the actual Scots language), but that's yet another case an standardised variety of English dominating over a closely related language. It might be more interesting to find a more diverse example, involving French or Spanish or perhaps even a much more distant case like local Chinese languages being influenced by the spread of Mandarin. How those cases have played out/are playing out, and how those people think about their situation might give some insight into how to articulate the AAVE case.

[erickcorreia]

I've been told AAVEE tends to be R-less meaning that its speakers tend not to pronounce the R in words like door, sure, etc. Could you talk about that?

[Sandalwoodrk]

I think the "pronouncing the idea of L" is cause american Ls have an Alveol-Velar pronunciation, like it raises the back of the tongue
And in some southeastern US dialects you see this especially strongly in word-final Ls, similar to the Dark L in British English
And in AAVE you are basically losing the Alveolar articulation but keep the Velar articulation if that makes sense

[Sandalwoodrk]

There's no problem with wanting to learn a second language
The problem is that people dont Treat it like a language. dont Call it a language. and dont understand or respect the people who speak the language.
And we can either gatekeep or we can raise these awareness of these 3 things
Because if people just did these things, like they did any other language, then AAVE could be taught as widely as spanish

[jesavius]

Can't wait for your Gatekeeping AAVE video! Going to check out Dr.Lauren Michele Jackson's book White Negroes. Your AAVE awareness and education make me proud to speak AAVE. I shouldn't be ashamed of it because it's just a dialect.

[erickcorreia]

Hey, brother! Sorry for coming up with more questions, but this is also a good one: how common (is it true that) is it for AAVEE speakers to say "it's a" instead of "there's a"? I've seen someone say that but I've never heard it before, so I guess it may not be that common. Also, if it is the case, how would someone say "there are (...)"? I guess that what I've heard is "ain't no" when standard English says "there is no".

Again, amazing channel.

[BrooksMoses]

I found that ramble about gatekeeping and cultural appropriation and all that to be usefully thought-provoking. It's a complicated thing, anything that boils it down to a minute of clarity has to be missing stuff. On the other questions, I think you might have missed what the "simular" question was asking about -- I think the questions was about pronunciation, why you say it like "sim-you-ler" whereas the more-common pronunciation is "sim-uh-ler". I noticed that because it sometimes comes out sim-you-ler when I say it too.

[erickcorreia]

I have another question about the pronunciation in -ing endings in AAVE. Maybe it's not only a thing AAVE speakers do but if my ears ain't fooling me, I actually hear those with a /eɪŋ/ sound. For example: the word "thing" sounds more like /teɪŋ/ or /θeɪŋ/. Sometimes I even hear "think" being pronounced like /θeɪŋk/. Am I right?

[chukwuamirariamakirisilas]

I love ❤️ your videos I'm a Nigerian but have the American accent. One thing that makes the American English so special to me is AAVE. I love ❤️ AAVE if I have $25000 to support your channel I will.