Nigger (word)

The word nigger is a highly controversial term still used in many countries to refer to people with dark skin, particularly those of African origin. It was once used freely in standard English. It carries a strong connotation of personal inferiority and even unpleasant exoticism which makes it so highly pejorative that most people no longer use it, particularly in public. See the Wiktionary entry Nigger for more relating to this.

Table of contents

1 Origins 2 Modern meanings 3 Uses of word 3.1 Usage 3.2 Literary uses 3.3 Nigger in popular culture 3.4 Place names 4 Avoiding offense 5 Wigger and chigger 6 Related terms 7 Sources 8 Further reading 9 See also 10 External links

Origins

One theory of its origin (or etymology) is that it came into English via French from the Spanish negro (meaning "black"), and it is therefore related to, but not derived from, the English word Negro (ultimately from Latin niger, also meaning "black"). Both most agree that it came via Portuguese

Modern meanings

Nigger is almost always pejorative when used by non-blacks or those without dark skin, particularly white Europeans. In such a pejorative use, it is not only offensive and disparaging, but often considered vulgar as well. Several American English dictionaries have labeled it as a vulgarism, including a 1913 Webster's dictionary, which defined nigger as "A negro; — in vulgar derision or depreciation". In its pejorative sense, it packs more firepower than other North American ethnic epithets such as spic (for a Latino/Latina), wop (for one of Italian origin), polack (for one of Polish origin), and kike (for a Jew), as offensive as some of these terms can be. The only American English terms that come relatively close to nigger in terms of their pejorative punch are some other antiblack epithets such as coon and jigaboo. However, some African Americans regularly use it almost as a term of endearment, as in "What's up, my nigger (or nigga)?" Nigger is widely understood by African Americans to also mean, an ignorant (socially, or practically unknowledgeable) person, regardless of race. Nigga as a term of endearment is even sometimes evident among the younger generations of whites, and other non-white minorities. It is worth noting that while the word has been partly "reclaimed" by some young African Americans, others consider the term offensive in all contexts and do not agree that it is ever appropriate to use it. Nigga, as opposed to nigger, tends to be more gender specific amongst African American youth, where nigga is used when referring to a male. Females are rarely, if ever, referred to as "nigga". The term is increasingly being used within the "wigger" community, sometimes with one young white person describing another by the term. Some have attempted to explain this usage as a different, and non-offensive word, "nigga"[1]. Problems with this use of the word are illustrated in the comedy-drama film Gridlock'd (1997), which features the use of the word in its affectionate sense by a white character (played by Tim Roth). He is close enough to his black friend (played by Tupac Shakur) for it to go unremarked. But later he uses it when there are others around who he does not know so well, causing a dramatic reaction.

Uses of word

Usage

In the United States, nigger was freely used as a racist insult until the civil rights era of the 1960s, when it became unacceptable to most people. Today, unless it is used very cautiously, its implications of racism are so strong that use of it is a social taboo in English-speaking countries. Many American magazines and newspapers will not even print nigger in full, instead using n*gg*r, n——, or simply "the N-word". A Washington Post article on Strom Thurmond's 1948 candidacy for President of the United States went so far as to replace nigger with the periphrasis "the less-refined word for black people". In Australia, the word is very rarely used in any context. It has seen occasional use in the past, and did not evoke the visceral reactions it did and continues to do elsewhere, though it was sometimes directed at Aboriginal Australians in a derogatory way. Current awareness of its pejorative use elsewhere has led to controversy when particular occurrences have been maintained, usually for historical reasons: see below under Place names.

Literary uses

Nigger has a long history of causing controversy in literature. Carl Van Vechten, a white photographer and writer famous as a promoter of the Harlem Renaissance, caused a great controversy by titling his novel Nigger Heaven, in 1926. The controversy largely centered on the use of the word nigger in the title and fueled the sales of the hit novel. Of the controversy, Langston Hughes wrote:\n:No book could possibly be as bad as Nigger Heaven has been painted. And no book has ever been better advertised by those who wished to damn it. Because it was declared obscene everybody wanted to read it and I'll venture to say that more Negroes bought it than ever purchased a book by a Negro author.\nThen, as now, the use of the word nigger by a white was a flashpoint for debates about the relationship between African-American culture and its white patrons. The famous controversy over Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), a classic frequently taught in American schools, revolves largely around the novel's 215 uses of the word nigger. One interesting example of its historical use in American English and of the prejudiced attitudes that surrounded it occurs in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Gold Bug" (1843). The narrator and a white character in the story use negro to refer to a black servant, Jupiter, while Jupiter himself uses nigger:\n:"De bug, Massa Will! --de goole bug!" cried the negro, drawing back in dismay --"what for mus tote de bug way up de tree? --d--n if I do!"

"If you are afraid, Jup, a great big negro like you, to take hold of a harmless little dead beetle, why you can carry it up by this string --but, if you do not take it up with you in some way, I shall be under the necessity of breaking your head with this shovel."

"What de matter now, massa?" said Jup, evidently shamed into compliance; "always want for to raise fuss wid old nigger. Was only funnin' anyhow. Me feered de bug! what I keer for de bug?" Here he took cautiously hold of the extreme end of the string, and, maintaining the insect as far from his person as circumstances would permit, prepared to ascend the tree.

A popular children's rhyme once contained the word nigger for tiger See Eenie Meenie. Among the classic novels of Joseph Conrad is The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' (1897).

Nigger in popular culture

The comedian and activist Dick Gregory used the word as the title of his best-selling autobiography in 1964. In 1967, Muhammad Ali explained his refusal to be drafted to serve in the Vietnam War by saying, "I got nothing against no Viet Cong. No Vietnamese ever called me nigger", implying that white Americans had, and that he was offended by the racist use of the word, as well as the racial oppression associated with it. In 1972, John Lennon released a song, "Woman is the Nigger of the World", implying that as black people were discriminated against in some countries so were women globally. Pierre Vallières wrote a book in 1968 called Les Nègres blancs de l'Amérique comparing the oppression of French-Canadians to that of blacks in the southern United States. When it was translated into English it was published under the title The White Niggers of North America. Comedian Richard Pryor, whose albums included That Nigger's Crazy and Bicentennial Nigger,\nvowed to never use the word again after a trip to Africa in the 1980s. In 1988, the album Straight Outta Compton was released by the hip hop group N.W.A ("Niggaz With Attitude"). Although they abbreviated it in all official contexts, their positive self-referential use of the word caused a great deal of controversy in America over the language and lyrics of hip hop. Many rappers now use the word with a positive meaning. Comedian Chris Rock's 1996 television special Bring the Pain and 1997 album Roll with the New included a segment known as "Niggas vs. Black People", which used the former word to describe a detrimental segment within the black community. In contrast with productive "black people", Rock cast "niggas" as "low-expectation-havin'" individuals -- proud to be ignorant, violent, and on welfare. [1] The controversy of this piece, which played upon racist stereotypes of black people, was such that it led Rock to cease performing it.

Place names

Because the word was freely used for many years, the United States has many official place-names containing the word nigger. Examples include Nigger Bill Canyon, Nigger Hollow, and Niggertown Marsh. In 1967, the United States Board on Geographic Names changed the word nigger to Negro in 143 specific place names, but use of the word has not been completely eliminated. In April 2003 there was a stir in Australia over the naming of part of a stadium in Toowoomba "E. S. Nigger Brown Stand". "Nigger Brown" was the nickname of Toowoomba's first international rugby player. Edward Stanley Brown had a particularly fair complexion and hence was given the nickname "Nigger", in a similar way that a tall person might be called "Shorty". He also used the shoe polish brand "Nigger Brown". The stand was named in the 1960s. As noted above, the word has very little offensive character in Australia. Brown himself was happy with the nickname; in fact it is written on his tombstone. Most local Aboriginal members condone its use in this context. This didn't stop civil rights activist Stephen Hagan taking the local council responsible to court over the issue. Hagan lost the court case at the district and state level, and the High Court ruled that the matter was not of federal jurisdiction. The Federal Government cited the High Court ruling on a lack of federal jurisdiction as its legal justification for continued inaction. (Hagan has also tried changing other "racial names" such as the Coon brand of cheese.)

Avoiding offense

The words niggardly and snigger do not refer either to black people or to characteristics or behavior attributed to black people, nor do they have any etymological connection with the word nigger. Many people are ignorant of this, however, and so refuse to use these words and take offense to their usage. David Howard, a mayoral aide in the city government of Washington, D.C, was briefly driven from his job in January 1999 when he was overheard using niggardly (an unrelated word which means "miserly"), in reference to a fund he was administering. Many people outside the US are aware of the offensiveness of the word in the US, but they are often more concerned about pejorative words for minorities used in their own countries. For example, in Australia the words boong and coon are derogatory terms for Aborigines and are widely regarded as offensive. In South Africa, kaffir is similarly pejorative when it is used to refer to local blacks. In the United Kingdom the word was in common use throughout the first half of the twentieth century to denote a shade of dark brown. "Nigger" was famously the name of a Black Labrador belonging to the RAF Second World War hero Wing Commander Guy Gibson. The dog died before the 617 Squadron's 1943 raid on the Ruhr dams (the "Dam Busters raid"), and "Nigger" was adopted as the radio code word signalling the destruction of the Möhne dam. Because of the modern connotations of the name, the British television broadcaster ITV now tries to reduce offence by cutting some scenes including the dog when it broadcasts the film Dam Busters. This has been condemned by some as "revisionist", although the edited version apparently produced fewer complaints than a previous uncensored broadcast. However, this scene has probably been viewed more times than any other part of the movie. It was worked into the background of the infamous hotel-room sequence in the Pink Floyd movie The Wall, during which the word nigger can be plainly heard coming from the television. Rudyard Kipling's Just So Story "How the Leopard Got His Spots" tells of how an Ethiopian and a leopard, who are originally white, decide to paint themselves for camouflage. The story originally included a scene in which the leopard, who now has spots, asks the Ethiopian why he doesn't want spots as well. The Ethiopian's original reply, "Oh, plain black's best for a nigger," has been changed in many modern editions to read, "Oh, plain black's best for me."

Wigger and chigger

The term wigger or whigger is used to describe a Caucasian who emulates urban-African American culture. The word "wigger" is usually offensive. It is a portmanteau word combining white and nigger. Similarly, a chigger is used to describe a Mongoloid who emulates urban-African American culture. It is usually considered to be offensive. It is a portmanteau word combining Chinese and nigger.

Related terms

\nNigra was once considered a more polite form of nigger. Coon was also once used in the United States as a word for black people, but it and other offensive slang terms, such as dinge, smoke, spade, and darky, are no longer in general use. In some white ethnic subcultures, other terms are used, the origins of which are not directly based on the word nigger. For example, Italian-Americans often use the word moolie, which is a shortened form of mulignane, a dialectical variant of melanzano, the Italian word for eggplant (presumably because the eggplant has a dark "skin" surrounding it). Jews sometimes use the Yiddish word schvartze when referring to African-Americans, although whether the intent is derogatory or not has been a subject of lively and contentious debate (comedian Jackie Mason once referred to then-New York City mayor David Dinkins as "a fancy schvartze with a moustache," creating much controversy at the time; however, many Jews have insisted that the word schvartze simply means "black" in any context and is not intended as a racial slur). Consider that the German word for "black" is schwarz, or indeed Schwarze/Schwarzer for "a black person" (roughly pronounced the same as the Yiddish word), and that Yiddish is very closely related to German. The current usage of the word amongst English and Yiddish-speakers is, however, more likely a matter of individual intent and context. Related to the Yiddish and German words is a Jewish surname, Schwartz. Other alternatives that have been used are jiggerboo, pickaninny, spook, sambo, ted, golliwog or simply black bastard. Each of these words is generally considered to be utterly unacceptable today.

Sources

\n"Nigger Heaven and the Harlem Renaissance." Robert F. Worth, African American Review. Fall 1995. 29(3):461-473.

Further reading

\n* Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, by Randall Kennedy (ISBN 0375421726)

See also

• Racism\n*Taboo\n*Profanity -- with a discussion of how words can differ in meaning and offensiveness depending on who is using them.\n*Wog

External links

• "Nigga or Nigger" Davey D's Hip Hop World long discussion of use of the term in rap and hip-hop.\n*CNN story on Washington bureaucrat\n*South African Slang