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Eloquent words to use instead of nigger9/20/2023 ![]() But these terms are worse because while they are “less” offensive” than nigger, the ‘less offensiveness” of these terms serves to imply that they are okay. Nigga, niggra, the N-word or any other such term are words that are less inflammatory than nigger. But a conversation SHOULD be initiated about what the term means and why using it is so self-destructive. If a black person calls me a nigger, there won’t be a fight. No matter its usage.Ī white person calls me a nigger/ nigga/ niggra, there’s gonna be a fight and someone is not walking away afterwards. And usage by a white person, further strengthens that dichotomy. The author explains this dicotomy, but he does not state that usage of the word, by black people causes the dichotomy in the first place. Why Nick Minucci would think that using such a derogatory term was acceptable, only shows the dicotomy of the term. Forced to come here, forced to abandon the cultural ties to their homelands, recast as property and stripped of every aspect of self worth that extends into today. The black american is truly a mongrel in a country of mongrels. Those ties between black Americans & Africa were stripped away starting 400 years ago. A black person in America is not of Africa origin. This is the abstract BS that for some reason, justifies the use of derogatory terms about black people through cultural changes.Īnd I do mean, black people, not African Americans. Wake up black people – stop using a word that for so many years was used to hurt and disrespect our race. I stopped using it because both n words mean the same thing. There are currently 5 comments on this story:īeing black myself and using the word much too often I have come to realize as long as blacks use the word the rest of the world is going to look at it as a word that is ok to use. He is most recently the co-editor of Black Linguistics: Language, Society, and Politics in Africa and the Americas. Spears, professor and chair at The City University of New York, specializes in Black languages of the Western Hemisphere, controversial expressions and race. Among them: What is the language use in the peer group of the accused, or what can be inferred based on the neighborhood or race/ethnicity of the peer group? What was the context of the use of the word? What actions and in what sequence co-occurred with the use of what kind of language? What is the racial/ethnic identity of those involved? What is their age? What is the personal history of the accused? It was reported that Minucci had been charged previously with two bias crimes.ĭr. As an expert witness in other legal cases involving the N-word (both of them), I have had to seek answers to a number of questions. Manucci commit a bias crime, based on his use of some N-word? Sociolinguistic analysis is required to answer such a difficult question. If completely generalized, it would refer to Whites, too. For example, in some parts of the English-speaking world, B lack has been generalized to refer to anyone non-White. Generalization, though, is not always complete. It has gone from being race/ethnicity specific to being race/ethnicity neutral. This brings up the second point: Nigga has been generalized. “My nigga,” for many African-Americans, refers to a boyfriend or girlfriend or someone dear in other ways. Nigga, spelled thus, to distinguish it, is highly versatile in terms of use, ranging from invective to term of endearment. It carries great psychological baggage, and its use can cause serious bodily harm. The first one nowadays (the historical period and communities one speaks of are always important) is primarily a term of abuse leveled at those of African descent. The first can sound just like the second, especially in the South. Nigger and nigga, however, both have more than one pronunciation, and, in some cases, their pronunciations converge. Consider glamour and grammar, which both come from the same word. This is not unusual with languages around the world. Those with delicate sensibilities should not read further.įirst, there are indeed two N-words, with separate though closely related histories: nigger and nigga. This said, I’ll enter some basic points about the N-word, which I’ll henceforth use in its full form. ![]() And some words have amazingly complex histories and patterns of use. I would like to report that language study is simple - it is sometimes, but not always.
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