FROM AAVE TO INTERNET SLANG: How Black Culture Has Become Gen Z Culture

African American Vernacular English is a variety of English spoken by the Black community, mainly in the United States. It originated from earlier rural dialects of the Southern United States and is also believed to have been influenced by West African languages and Creole English varieties. It differs from Standard American English because of its linguistic features regarding phonetics, grammatical structures, and vocabulary. Nevertheless, it has consistently been deemed improper English in many social situations, prompting most speakers to engage in code-switching. This thesis will explore the recent rise in popularity of a dialect that, while being so poorly perceived – when used by its rightful speakers – is now taking over Internet slang, not only beyond the bounds of Black online communities but at a greater level, even in American online communities. Thanks to social media, it has de facto become the standard method of communication for younger users, regardless of their ethnicity. Moreover, several words and typical expressions of African American Vernacular English have been adopted by non-native English speakers in their online and offline slang. In this regard, an overview specific to Italian online communities will be provided, including the words and expressions utilized by Italian users, and the potential differences compared to native English speakers. Despite its increased use, the original connection to Black culture is progressively less noticeable, if not unknown, to most users. Therefore, this thesis will also attempt to analyze the concept of cultural appropriation, focusing on applying the concept to languages and dialects.