Twitter was ablaze after “Real Housewives of Pretoria” star Melany “Mel” Viljoen was slammed by Twitter users for ‘blackcenting’. Viljoen has denied this and said it’s how she naturally speaks.
“I am Afrikaans, and I was speaking in a non-American (usual self) voice. I was not aware such a “scenting” thing exists. It’s more an Afrikaans-English platteland kind of way. That’s how I talk,” Viljoen told “The South African”.
In February this year, actress and rapper Awkwafina was also accused of using a “blaccent” and other elements of African-American language and mannerisms during her career.
In response, she is reported to have explained that she had to form an identity at an early age and she did this through hip hop.
“My immigrant background allowed me to carve an American identity off the movies and TV shows I watched, the children I went to public school with, and my undying love and respect for hip hop,” she wrote. “I think as a group, Asian-Americans are still trying to figure out what that journey means for them – what is correct and where they don’t belong,” said the entertainer.
But what exactly is blackcenting?
According to everyone’s favourite dictionary for all things slang and colloquial, the Urban Dictionary, blackcenting is the act of a person of another race speaking with an accent they believe a black person speaks with.
Think your racist friend doing “harmless” imitation or almost every Hollywood movie in which a black person from Africa is portrayed (almost as if Africa is a country and not a continent).
Blackcent is also linked to blackface – the imitation of black skin tone, speech and traditional dress by a person who is not black – and occasionally, to AAVE, which is short for African-American Vernacular English.
AAVE is also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, as well as occasionally Ebonics – but that in itself is a controversial term.
It is the variety of English spoken, particularly in urban communities, by most working- and middle-class African-American people. It’s also worth noting that not all African-Americans use AAVE, so using it to imitate is a no-go anyway.
As we all know, blackface is extremely problematic and racist. The usage of AAVE if you are not African-American is best avoided in public and social media.
As a general rule of thumb, try to stay away from the above and any sort of cultural appropriation.
IOL