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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.
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 (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,
- "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."
Then, 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 the novel 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":
- "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).
Sources
"Nigger Heaven and the Harlem Renaissance." Robert F. Worth, African American Review. Fall 1995. 29(3):461-473.
'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.
In 1988, the album Straight Outta Compton was released by the hip hop group Niggaz With Attitude, (more commonly known as N.W.A.). 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.
In 1997, comedian Chris Rock's album
Roll With the New included a track entitled "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. [2] 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.
That 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
un-censored 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
Nigra 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, spook, sambo, ted, gollywog or simply 'black bastard'. Each of these
words is generally considered to be utterly unacceptable today.
See also: Pickanniny
Further reading
- Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, by Randall Kennedy (ISBN 0375421726)
See also
- Racism
- Taboo
- Profanity -- with a discussion of how words can differ in meaning and
offensiveness depending on who is using them.
- Wog
External links
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