Slang. From "jive turkey" to "fo shizzle," white people have been struggling to comprehend what Black people are saying to each other for decades. Why do we continue to use slang, at the risk of ostracizing our white friends? Well, first of all, it should be noted that we don't really have white friends. Unless we're in a work/school environment where there's nothing but white people around, in which case we make friends for networking/career-advancing purposes only. We can only take so many "Friends"/"Seinfeld" references infused into daily conversation, or people asking to touch our hair. So this begs the question...
Why Do Black People Use Slang?
Unlike our colored brethren (Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, people from South America, etc.) we lack a true language barrier to shield us, and allow us to say whatever we want about white people without them knowing. So to put us on an even playing field, we developed slang. It was our way of introducing a language barrier between us and white people so we can talk about them, unbeknown to them.
Have you ever been on a bus and heard the following?
"Yo, real talk, that dude up there is trippin. Casper bout to get murked if he look at me funny one more time"
Essentially, he is saying he will inflict pain upon you if you give him a suspicious look one more time, real talk. It should also be noted that he is making fun of your pasty, sun-reflecting complexion.
[note: I know that the above scenario isn't very realistic, as white people don't ride public transportation buses. It scares them. (It should also be noted that your college shuttle system doesn't count as public transportation.) Furthermore, any white person that actually rides the bus has probably lived around Black people long enough to understand what was just said. However, I hope you were able to get past the obvious limitations of my example and understand the main point.]
Here's a fun quiz to see how well you know slang. See if you can understand these phrases...
1) Yo I keeps it 100, all day err day.
2) Did you see the white boy wearin flip-flops in the middle of winter? Dude is wildin!
3) Oooo you see the jawn in the mini skirt, she got a donk!
If you understood...
3/3 phrases: Are you sure you're white? You may want to get a DNA test; it's possible you're just real light skinned.
2/3: You're one of those white people that actually rides public transportation buses aren't you?
1/3: Not bad! I bet your one Black friend taught you that one didn't he?
0/3: It's ok, that's what Urban Dictionary is for.
More on Urban Dictionary in a future post. Til next time, check out this video. I think it's quite informative.
