Which one is correct?
"Kids is mean" or "kids are mean"?
I saw the first one in Ghostbuster's subtitle on netflix, and was wondering why would it be correct if Kids is plural.
Asked
Active
Viewed 80 times
1 Answers
1
The character that speaks that line, Patty Tolan, is speaking African American Vernacular English (AAVE), not Standard American English.
One notable feature of AAVE is:
The verb be has two forms in the singular: first person am (reducible to 'm), and non-first person is (reducible to nothing with subjects other than it; reducible to 's with it).
In plainer language, in AAVE, to be is conjugated like this:
I am
You is
He/she/it is (or nothing, e.g. "He fast")
We is
You is
They is
So, "kids is mean" looks like very typical AAVE.
Juhasz
- 7,503
-
I is also exists in AAVE, though contracted I’m is definitely more common. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 22 '19 at 23:59
-
Of course, it's a mistake to presume that AAVE is a single dialect. It encompasses a range of possibilities. – Hot Licks Jan 23 '19 at 00:59
-
Thanks for the research @Juhasz. However, I'm wondering why they would use AAVE in a new American movie. Is this normal in America? – Ricardo Martins Jan 24 '19 at 23:55
-
1@RicardoMartins, AAVE is not an old dialect. It's the way English is spoken today by large numbers of black people in America. – Juhasz Jan 25 '19 at 14:03