you a bitch
It’s called copula deletion, or zero copula. Many languages and dialects, including Ancient Greek and Russian, delete the copula (the verb to be) when the context is obvious.
So an utterance like “you a bitch” in AAVE is not an example of a misused you, but an example of a sentence that deletes the copular verb (are), which is a perfectly valid thing to do in that dialect, just as deleting an /r/ after a vowel is a perfectly valid thing to do in an upper-class British dialect.
What’s more, it’s been shown that copula deletion occurs in AAVE exactly in those contexts where copula contraction occurs in so-called “Standard American English.” That is, the basic sentence “You are great” can become “You’re great” in SAE and “You great” in AAVE, but “I know who you are” cannot become “I know who you’re” in SAE, and according to reports, neither can you get “I know who you” in AAVE.
In other words, AAVE is a set of grammatical rules just as complex and systematic as SAE, and the widespread belief that it is not is nothing more than yet another manifestation of deeply internalized racism.
This is the most intellectual drag I’ve ever read.
Isnt this just overanylyzing incorrect english?
It’s just saying, “People break rules of grammar in this manner so commonly that there is a name for it.”
Just because you point out that something is called a “dangling participle” or “unclear antecedent” doesn’t make it correct usage.
Except in dialect it is, like “correct” usage changes based on actual usage. Nice used to mean cowardly. Language evolves. Like “you a bitch” is no less clear than “you are a bitch” making it a perfectly valid linguistic construction and a perfectly workable and practical dialect. It’s correct if it’s clear, and it is clear.
It’s not grammatically correct, it’s slang.
There’s nothing wrong with saying, “You ain’t know nothing about grammar.” but it isn’t grammatically correct.
Here’s the thing though, slang and dialect are valid, like saying standard English is more correct than dialect is silly. In British English colour is the correct spelling, in American English it’s color. In AAVE “you a bitch” is grammatically correct, it is correct within the context of the dialect. Linguists have been saying this forever. Like the standard didn’t just appear, it was set by a certain group and privileged as “correct” when really it’s just its own dialect too. Like what you’re saying is equivalent to saying “Latin grammar is wrong because it’s not correct English grammar”
No, what I’m saying is that Latin doesn’t follow the rules of English grammar.
And AAVE doesn’t follow the same rules as UKSE or USSE because it’s a dialect with its own distinct grammar and rules.
Like UKSE has different rules than USSE and both are valid dialects. UKSE uses “maths” USSE uses “math” for example. The rules are different in different dialects, no dialect is more “correct” than any other.
Copula deletion is a form that is correct and standard within many languages and dialects. In AAVE copula deletion is correct. In USSE copula deletion is incorrect.
A dangling participle is a problem because it creates a lack of clarity. Copula deletion is a name for a phenomenon that IS CORRECT in numerous languages and dialects, part of its definition is “when the context is obvious”.
An example of a dangling participle:
“Plunging hundreds of feet into the gorge, we saw Yosemite Falls.”
Now why is that a problematic construction? Because it sounds like you were plunging hundreds of feet into the gorge without context.
Whereas “you a bitch”? That’s a perfectly clear construction. It deletes the verb where a contraction would occur, there are clear rules and places for its appearance and when it appears it makes sense.
It is correct within its own dialect. AAVE is a dialect with its own rules and linguistic conventions separate from USSE or UKSE. Like Scots English works differently from UKSE
“The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
gang aft agley” is Scots English. It’s very different from UKSE but it’s also correct, with its own rules and conventions. Its vocabulary (like AAVE) is somewhat different from USSE or UKSE, and UKSE has slightly different vocabulary from USSE.
THEY ARE DIFFERENT DIALECTS.
What really pisses me off is YOU KNOW THE RULES OF AAVE, you’re not confused, you’re not unclear on what they’re saying. You know that it’s not a chaotic unpredictable mess. You wouldn’t write “I know who you” because you KNOW at least some of the basic rules of AAVE construction and you’re still on your smug USSE high horse.
Thoughts From The Peacock Angel 