That’s a fair question. My most honest answer isn’t a very good one: I can’t stand it.
Linguistically, I don’t get it. “Fixing to” doesn’t seem to offer any benefit over “about to” or “going to” and as far as I can tell it doesn’t have any logical meaning at all.
it’s AAVE, not made up, and there’s literally no reason why “gonna” should be more legit. it’s the exact same construction.
I mean it’s as made up as any other slang
why do i never hear someone bitch about “gonna” then
Because “gonna” is centuries old, while “finna” only started getting popular around 2010.
Not exactly an apples to apples comparison, ‘younger’ slang is always going to be less ‘familiar’/‘normal’-sounding.
You’re not old enough. Teachers bitched about ‘gonna’ when I was a kid, it’s old hat now.
you got me there; i was born a century too late in the 1900s.
“Going to” is far superior to “fixing to,” so I don’t know what you are talking about.
Why do you think it’s superior?
That’s a fair question. My most honest answer isn’t a very good one: I can’t stand it.
Linguistically, I don’t get it. “Fixing to” doesn’t seem to offer any benefit over “about to” or “going to” and as far as I can tell it doesn’t have any logical meaning at all.
but that’s not how language works. if you’re gonna dissect parts of phrases like this, “about to” makes even less sense.