Verbal expression is different in American Black English (BE) from the conventions of Standard American English (SAE). BE has its own lexicon and grammar. While the lexicon in particular may differ from one location to another, and is continually being updated to match current trends and events (just as with any other language), the underlying rules of BE are both systematic and functional for BE speakers.

Many speakers of BE may be unaware of the rules of standard English. Conversely, many speakers of SAE are often unaware of the differences between the language they speak and BE. They are not aware that BE has a phonology (speech sounds and pronunciation patterns), lexicon (vocabulary, terms, codes and wordsets), grammar (inflections, syntax and rules) and other features which differ from SAE. Misunderstanding thus frequently occurs.

The following examples of lexical differences between BE and SAE were produced for schoolteachers in North Carolina who were experiencing difficulty communicating with pupils or students who spoke BE. Even if the teachers and students were from the same region and community, the different lexica they used resulted in frequent misunderstanding.

However, this was not a result of the BE speakers' 'deficiency' in language as such; rather, it was that they were speaking a different language. While BE speakers may sometimes lack standard English words, they will always have a rich repertoire of BE words which can be used.

A Sample BE Dialogue Between Three Young African-American Women

As an example of the difficulty SAE speakers may have in understanding BE discourse, consider the following dialogue at a social gathering, where three young African-American women are talking about the men in the room. The conversation proceeds as follows:

• S'up Girl?
• 'Sap ‘nin?
• Dis Party Be Krunk.
• Check Out Homes!
• Yo, Bling Bling?
• Iced Out For Days!
• Gimmie The 411. He Thuggin?
• Naw, He Cool!
• Yeah, He Packin'
• Word! Steppin' Crip,Def
• An' He Heavy In Class
• Off The Damn Chain (Laughter)
• Who Dat Brutha? (Looking At Another Man)
• A Scrub; He Nuttin'
• Word?
• He Be Doin' Wet.
• Tha's Wack!
• An' He All-Uh-Time Be Blowin' Yo' Spot.
• I Hear That.
• Word!

A 'translation' into standard English might be as follows:

Black English (BE) S'up Girl? 'Sap ‘nin? Dis Party Be Krunk. Check Out Homes! Yo, Bling Bling? Iced Out For Days! Gimmie The 411. He Thuggin'? Naw, He Cool! Yeah, He Packin' Word! Steppin' Crip, Def! An' He Heavy In Class Off The Damn Chain! (Laughter) Who Dat Brutha? (Looking At Another Man) A Scrub; He Nuttin' Word? He Be Doin' Wet. Tha's Wack! An' He All-Uh-Time Be Blowin' Yo' Spot. I Hear That. Word!

Standard American English (SAE) What's Up, Girlfriend? What's Happening? This Party Is Exciting, “up”! Hot! Look, A Local Guy Hey, You Mean The Guy Wearing Shining Jewelry? He Wears A Lot Of Diamond Jewelry Tell Me About Him. Is He A Thug? No, He Looks 'together' Yes, He Is Well-Endowed Good! He Sure Can Dance The 'crip.' And He's Smart In School Amazing! Breathtaking! Who's That Guy? A Bum; He's A Good-For-Nothing Why? He Smokes Marijuana Laced With PCP And Embalming Fluid That's Not Good; That's Out Of It And He's Always Revealing Your Personal Business In Public. He Can't Keep A Secret. Oh, Yes Really! Forget About Him!

Other Examples From Martinez of Black English Vernacular

How many of the other examples below of lexical differences between BE and SAE are familiar to you from MTV, rap music, or other media? Which terms are identified below as BE which may be equally understood by those who keep up with popular youth culture in general, or by other speakers of the same age group (as opposed to, possibly, the older teachers Martinez was addressing)?

Black English (BE) Krunk Bling Bling Sick Wid [With] It Dis Roll Through 411 Crip, C-Step Shine Ice Iced Out Jigged, Jigged Out Wack Word!?. `Tude Tight Phat Wildin' [While-Lin] Rollin' Hypnotic Beastin' Rap Mad; Cool Dig Smoove Whip Shoes; Dubs Hip Dumb Shortie Wifey The Truth Daddy Grub Gear Kicks, Bunnies G-Nikes Air Jordan 18s Soldiers Crib The Hood Cop Weak 5-0; Po-Po Blitzed Scred Bagged Bob; Gat; Heat Bodied Celly O.G. The Can Smoke Blunt Jack Chill Out Homes; Home Dog; God Homeboy, Homie Homeslice Sportin' Front Or Frontin' Book; Scrilla; Cake Bounce We Out-Tee Jettin'; Dippin' Scrub Step Off Yo Fresh A'ight Or I-Ght Sick Type

Standard American English (SAE) Hyper, Exciting, Energetic, "Up" Time, Hot Bejeweled; Gold Chains; Sparkling Impassioned With Something Good To Insult, Put Down Someone Passing Through; Short Visit Details; Give Me The Details Or Facts A Dance Jewelry Diamonds Wearing A Lot Of Diamond Jewelry Looking Good Something Crazy; Out Of It; Normless Really! What? Agreement; Yes. A Poor Or Bad Attitude Upset, Angry Fine, Good, Beautiful Acting Crazy; Bragging; Lost Control High On Ecstasy (Drugs) Alcohol [Blue Drink] Yelling At Someone (such as a strict teacher who is making a student work) Talk; Rhymes-To-A-Musical-Rhythm-Pattern Good; The Best To Understand Calm, Mellow, Nice Person Car Rims On A Car Smart, Aware, "With It" Excellent; Very Satisfying A Good Looking Girl Main Girlfriend The Real Deal, Best Thing Going Main Boyfriend Food Clothes Sneakers Gangster Nike Sneakers Sneakers Worn By Michael Jordan Reebok Sneaker Classics Home The (Housing) Project Buy Or Get A Sucker Cops, Police, Authority All Partied Out, Stoned Scared Arrested Gun Killed Cell Phone Original Gangster [Leader] Jail Weed (Marijuana) Getting High Phone To Stop Action Or Hang Out A Person From The Same Town Friend A Good Friend Best Friend To Wear A New Style; Show Off Turning On A Friend; Backstabbing Money Leave ["Let's Bounce"] We Are Leaving Leaving Quickly (Scrub) A Bum; Not Good In Sports Or Anything Back Off; Beat It; Lay Off; Croke A Call To Somebody New Ok, All Right Good Looking Sneakers Very ["I'm Type Hungry!"]

Lexical items such as the above are also combined into standard expressions. To avoid misunderstanding and possible conflict, non-blacks who work with BE speakers should be aware of expressions like:

Black English (BE) Why You Always Grillin' Me? Why You Trippin' Why You Always In My Grill? None Of Yo' Beeswack? [Beeswax] See Me Five A'ight, I'm Down. Talk To The Hand! I Don't Want To Hear It! Shut Up 'Fo I Spaz On You!

Standard American English (SAE) Why Are You Staring At Me? Why Are You Getting Upset? Why Are You In My Business? None Of Your Business Take It Outside; Later On, After School, We're Going To Fight. All Right, I'll Be There. [A woman waves her hand in the face of another woman] I'm Not Listening. Shut Up Before I Beat You Up!