The Black British English Podcast

Ife
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  • LANGUAGE LEARNING

A podcast by your favourite Creole Polyglot Ife Thompson talking all things Black British English, Language justice & joy and Black Language practices.

  1. JAN 18

    Why Gatekeeping the AAVE Term “Fed” Is Counter-Revolutionary

    In this episode, we unpack why gatekeeping the AAVE term “fed” when used between Black people across the diaspora is not revolutionary, but counter-revolutionary. For many Black people outside the United States, Black Americanness is often the most visible, and sometimes the only, representation of Blackness we encounter on television, in music, and across global media. That visibility has shaped shared political language, cultural reference points, and ways of understanding power, surveillance, and state violence. The term “fed” emerges from those realities which are not uniquely American, but deeply familiar to Black communities in the UK and beyond. This episode argues that being on code should never mean excluding other Black people from language born of collective struggle. The conditions that produced these terms like over-policing, monitoring, infiltration, and criminalisation are experienced across borders. When we fragment our language along national lines, we weaken our ability to recognise threats, build trust, and organise effectively. Liberation requires a shared political language. Not one that erases local specificity, but one that allows Black people globally to communicate risk, strategy, and solidarity with clarity. Rather than gatekeeping each other, the revolutionary work is building diasporic fluency and learning together, correcting with care, and moving with collective intention. Our freedom depends on shared understanding. And shared understanding begins with shared language.

    14 min

  2. 12/14/2025

    🎙️ Clock It 🤏🏾🤏🏾🤏🏾: Black/Ballroom Expression in Sign Language 🖐🏾

    From ballroom culture to Yoruba sign language, Black expression is all about movement, rhythm, and style. In this episode, we explore how Clock It and finger-tapping gestures from ballroom culture have influenced Black sign language, and how Black people naturally use gestures to communicate every day. We dive into the history, the cultural connections, and the creativity behind these movements, showing that Black communication is as expressive as it is powerful. Get ready to see how hands, rhythm, and culture come together in ways you’ve never noticed before.

    8 min

  3. 12/02/2025

    Code-Switching Is Political

    Code-switching isn’t just a habit; it’s a response to racial power. In this episode, we call out the denial of the “white voice,” explore how Black folks are pushed to alter their language for safety and survival, and argue that fighting for linguistic freedom is fighting for liberation itself. . This episode argues that language is not neutral—it’s a battleground. And choosing to speak in your own voice is a revolutionary stance.

    14 min

  4. 11/24/2025

    White People Don’t Get to Police Our Languages! ✋🏾🗣️🔥

    Black language, Black rules. 🖤🔥💬 In this episode, I call out white commentary policing our words, dismantle the idea that the academy gets to decide what counts as ‘proper’ language, and reclaim our voices on our own terms. From AAVE to Black British English, this is a bold reminder that our speech belongs to us and us alone. I’m encouraging every Black person to speak freely, unapologetically, and without seeking approval from those who have no claim to our culture, our history, or our tongues. It’s time to take back our words, our narratives, and our power.

    13 min

  5. 11/11/2025

    What Makes Black British Words So Popular in South Africa? 🔥🇿🇦

    What happens when South Africans start dropping “Mandem” and “calm” the moment they find out you’re from London? Join me as I recount my experiences navigating South African social scenes and how the rhythm, swagger, and vocabulary of Black British English have found a home far from the UK. More than just slang, BBE stands as a vibrant marker of Black Britishness, a language born of diaspora and now embraced, learned, and loved across the Black world. Through shared linguistic learning and deep cultural connection, we explore how BBE has become a powerful site of global production, shaping identity, belonging, and solidarity within the wider Black diaspora.

    11 min

  6. 10/09/2025

    🎭📱 “Digital Blackface 2.0: Stop Sharing Those AI ‘Roadman in Parliament’ Videos”

    Black British English is a language full of cultural rhythm shaped by generations of Caribbean and African influence. Yet on TikTok, it’s being copied, filtered and remixed into something hollow. White content creators are using AI, especially tools like Sora 2, to generate videos that mimic the sound and swagger of “roadman” speech, the same language they still mocked yet these audiences are eating it up. The humour of “roadman in Parliament” clips might feel harmless, but each share fuels an algorithm that rewards imitation while erasing the people who built the language in the first place. 
 As I record this from Abuja, the contrast is striking. The city hums with real multilingual energy: Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, English, Pidgin and dozens of other tongues intersect in everyday life. Here, language isn’t just a tool for clicks, it’s identity, connection and cultural memory. Watching how fluidly people code-switch reminds me how unnatural it feels to see AI flatten an entire linguistic tradition into an aesthetic trend. 
 This episode digs into how digital platforms are turning living languages into viral content, how AI amplifies appropriation at lightning speed, and why we need to stop sharing and engaging with these “roadman in Parliament” videos. If we don’t, the voices that gave Black British English its power risk being drowned out by the very systems built to mimic them.

    18 min

  7. 10/01/2025

    Assata Shakur’s Rejection of Her European Name & Language Justice

    By rejecting her Eurocentric name, Assata reclaimed the right to self-definition on her own terms and in ancestral languages. • “Assata” (Swahili: she who struggles), “Olugbala” (Yoruba: savior), and “Shakur” (Arabic: thankful) each root her in African and diasporic linguistic traditions. • This is language justice in action: choosing names that restore cultural dignity and affirm African linguistic heritage. This episode examines Assata Shakur’s life and writing through the lens of linguistic justice. We explore how her choice of names, her use of African and diasporic languages, and her embrace of AAVE challenge colonial Language superiority and reclaim linguistic power. By centering language in the Black liberation struggle, Shakur reminds us that words, names, and voices are not just communication — they are acts of defiance.

    17 min

  8. 09/22/2025

    🇳🇬 Pidgin Na Full Language & Owambe vs Owanbe 🎉🍾”

    🎙️ Episode Explainer (English): In this episode, we dive deep to show that Pidgin English isn’t “half a language” at all, it stands strong 💪🏽 as a complete language spoken by millions. Then we shift to Yoruba culture 🎶🥁, breaking down why both Owambe and Owanbe are correct when it comes to party talk 🍾💃. Expect laughter, good vibes, and some spicy debates on language and culture! 🎙️ Episode Explainer: (Pidgin) Na full gist for this episode! We go show say Pidgin no be “half language” at all, e dey stand strong 💪🏽 as one complete language wey millions sabi. Then we waka go Yoruba culture side 🎶🥁, break down why Owambe AND Owanbe fit both correct when e reach party talk 🍾💃. Expect laughter, vibes, and small gbas-gbos on language and culture!

    18 min
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A podcast by your favourite Creole Polyglot Ife Thompson talking all things Black British English, Language justice & joy and Black Language practices.

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