0

On imgur, there is a post with screenshots of an individual's row of Twitter posts. In them, he is telling a story making use of what I (as a non-native speaker of English). I was originally guessing the writing to be in a form of AAVE, but answer so far convincingly make the argument that it's common slang. At one point the author mentions "the valley", perhaps indicating that he's from Silicon Valley. In one of the replies used to continue the story (second one from the bottom) he writes:

Best believe she was pissed.

  • am I correct in assuming this to be a device of storytelling?
  • if so, is there a technical term for such a device?
  • what other subtext, if any, can you as native speakers extract from that sentence in the context established by the story as the author tells it?
Sixtyfive
  • 255

2 Answers2

4

This discourse does not appear to be conducted in AAVE, but in the ordinary texted vernacular. Best believe she was pissed is conversational deletion, representing

You had best believe she was pissed.

You had best is a common variant of You had better.

StoneyB on hiatus
  • 68,905
1

I don't think this series of Twitter posts is AAVE, because I don't see the characteristic use of "to be", although it may be one variant of AAVE. It is certainly informal.

"Best believe she was pissed" means "you had best believe", "it would be best if you believed", implying it's true. A similar use would be "You best go now", in the sense that it's time for you to leave.

Xanne
  • 14,836
  • Here (12th reply) he says "oh no baby what is you doing". Does this change your opinion on the AAVE part? (Also, later, 6th reply, there's an omission of "to be": "cause cole the shit boi".) – Sixtyfive May 31 '17 at 23:21
  • I think it's "ordinary texted vernacular" as @StoneyB says; and I'd trust his judgment over mine. – Xanne May 31 '17 at 23:28
  • Indeed, there's some strong evidence against AAVE: "ay dios" and "stupid pendeja". Might mean the author is of an Hispanic background. I'm just confused because I've never heard Spanish words mixed with the features described above or contractions like "y'all" (originally AAVE, seems to have found its way into common slang as of late) in any TV series. – Sixtyfive May 31 '17 at 23:33
  • 2
    Y'all is just Southern. "gonna", "trynna", are just abbreviations. The writer seems to be from Texas. – Xanne May 31 '17 at 23:39
  • 1
    @RainerVerteidiger Millennials frequently employ AAVE diction for emphasis, often with carefully measured irony: many of them exhibit extraordinary delicacy in walking the narrow line between expressing their admiration for the artefacts of black culture and appearing to claim membership in that culture. – StoneyB on hiatus Jun 01 '17 at 13:10