Stereotypes about AAVE speakers (for example, that it is primarily the
language of the poor who live in large cities) originate primarily through
the information and entertainment industries which have “conveyed the
impression that Black speech was the lingo of criminals, dope pushers,
teenage hoodlums, and various and sundry hustlers, who spoke in
‘muthafuckas’ and ‘pussy-copping raps’” (Smitherman 1988: 84).
There are dozens of websites that exist only to mock African American
English (often referred to as Ebonics).^7 On some of these sites, classic
literature has been translated into what is supposed to be Ebonics; on
others you will find quizzes to test how Black you are or how well you
“speak Ebonics,” as seen in Figure 10.2
Figure 10.2 How black are you?
Source: Adapted from an on-line poll