[Ads-l] bad

[Z Sohna]

I propose that the adjectives (and verbs) *bad*, *evil*, and *mean* – as
they occur among Native Black Americans – are calques of the Wolof
*aay*  /ʔaːj/
‘bad’, ‘evil’, ‘mean’, ‘stingy’; ‘talented’, ‘skillful’, ‘skilled’,
‘effective’, ‘brilliant’, ‘good (in a domain)’, ‘good at what one is
doing’; and the inflected form Wolof *aayal /ʔaːjal/* ‘talented’, ‘brave’,
‘sulky (said of an infant)’, ‘dynamic (said of a person)’ (also *aaytal*).



I drew the following citations from Diouf and Gaye which demonstrate the
use of *aay* ‘bad’ in Wolof:

*Dafa aay ci ñaw* [Gloss: She is good at sewing; literally “She/he is bad
at sewing” ]

*Dafa aay ci Aawsa* [Gloss: He is an expert on Hausa; literally “He/she is
bad at Hausa”]

*Futbalkat bu aay la* [Gloss: It’s a talented/skillful football player]

*Xalamkat bu aaytal la* [Gloss: It’s a talented/skillful guitarist]

*Xarekat bu aaytal la woon* [Gloss: It was a brave combatant]



(Diouf also indicates its use in Wolof proverbs.)



I’ve collected the following meanings among Native Black Americans (and
included a couple of citations as I’ve encountered literature limiting its
use to the 1970s despite its continued currency among the relevant
population):



*bad* *adj*

1: Talented, skilled, skillful, great at (what one is doing), good at (what
one is doing); working it

2: Adroit, clever, ingenious

3: Expertly executed, performed, or crafted; great

4: Brave, fearless, courageous

5: Sulky (can be said of persons of any age, including infants – the latter
for which is always playful in tone)



*1987* Martin Scorsese (director) *Bad *Optimum Productions [Darryl
(Michael Jackson):] Move it, run! Move! Run! Go!! [Mini Max (Wesley
Snipes):] What are you doing, huh?? [Cowboy (Gregory Holtz Sr.):] You
soft!! [Mini Max (Wesley Snipes):] You ain’t down wit us no more. You ain’t
down. You ain’t *bad*. You ain’t *bad*! [Darryl (Michael Jackson):] You
ain't *bad*! You ain't nothing. You ain't nothing!
https://youtu.be/Sd4SJVsTulc?t=523

*1991* Ethel Footman Smothers *Down in the Piney Woods* 128 “If you so big
and *bad*, come across this line.” I start drawing a line in the dirt, but
before I'm done, Maybaby over on my side. “Now whatcha gon’ do?” I lays a
stick on my shoulder. “Knock it off. I double dare ya.”


*2014* KCamp “She Bad” *K.I.S.S* [Download] (
https://youtu.be/s9AgkPU8MxE?t=14) She *bad*, she *bad*, she *bad* / She a
*bad* muhfuck / She *bad*, she *bad*, she *bad* / She a *bad* muhfuck / She
a girl come from the hood / But she made it to the ‘burbs / And she did it
by herself / Little mamma be puttin in work

*mean* *adj *

1: Talented, skilled, skillful, great at (what one is doing), good at (what
one is doing); working it

2: Adroit, clever, ingenious

3: Expertly executed, performed, or crafted; great

4: Fussing, bickering

5: Ungenerous, unwilling to share, withholding or refusing to share
(something tangible or intangible)

6: Sulky (can be said of persons of any age, including infants – the latter
for which it is always playful in tone)

7: Brave, fearless, courageous



*1985* Berry Gordy (producer) *The Last Dragon *TriStar Pictures [Sho'nuff,
The Shogun of Harlem (Julius Carry):] Am I the *meanest*? Am I the
prettiest? Am I the *baddest* mofo low-down around this towwwnn??


*2020* Dec 16 Randy Mac *@RandyNBCLA* Twitter https://archive.is/yt2Pz JSU
Band, just know Shilo *mean* on that Piano too!  A true dual threat
athlete/musician.



*evil* *adj, v*

1: Mean

2: Talented, skilled, skillful, great at (what one is doing), good at (what
one is doing); working it

3: Adroit, clever, ingenious

4: Expertly executed, performed, or crafted; great

5: Fussing, bickering.

6: Ungenerous, unwilling to share, withholding or refusing to share
(something tangible or intangible)

7: Sulky (can be said of persons of any age, including infants – the latter
for which it is always playful in tone)

8: Brave, fearless, courageous



There is little published native speaker research on the topics *bad*,
*evil*, and *mean* in Native Black American Language. Searching the
conventional dictionaries lead to the usual dead ends (definitions are
lacking or incorrect; vague explanation of usage or relevant population;
dismissed as “slang” or “informal”, etc.).



Both Merriam Webster and Oxford claim that “baddest” and “badder” mean
“good”, “great”, “tough”, or “mean” but do not attribute the same (albeit
limited) meaning to “bad”. Since both the usage and meaning can be
researched with minimal effort, this seems rather strange. Consider the
following readily available citation:



*2011* Jay-Z & Kanye West “Illest Motherfucker Alive” *Watch the Throne*
Michael Jordan swag / Y'all think Michael Jordan *bad* / Nigga, I got five
more rings than Michael Jordan had



Interestingly, Merriam Webster does not refer to *mean* ‘effective’ as
“slang”, while Oxford offers the definition ‘excellent; very skillful or
effective’ for the same word, refers to this usage as “informal”, and
refers to *mean* ‘greedy’ as “mainly British”. The Online Etym Dictionary
refers to the Native Black American *bad* as “ironic use as a word of
approval” despite its usage not being ironic to the population in question.



While there is some preexisting literature on the topic, the bulk of it
seems to point to the Manding *jugu* (Bamanakan) and *jaw* (Mandinka), both
of which mean ‘bad’ and are the radicals/roots for ‘very’ in their
respective languages. I believe Dalby was the first to point to a Manding
origin for the Native Black American *bad* – he specifically pointed to
*jugu* – which was later posited as a putative point of origin by
Smitherman and Major. As it pertains to the Native Black American
adjectives, I do not believe Manding *jugu* / *jaw* is the source in this
case, and point to the Wolof *aay* 'bad', 'mean', 'evil' as the source of
the Native Black American adjectives/verbs *bad*, *mean*, *evil *(they also
occur as verbs among the Native Black American population).


Best,

Z. Sohna

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