The N Word
The History of a word | The N-word | Martin Coyle Greg Doyle Cultural Studies |
4/15/2013
4/15/2013
The history of the word nigger in England or Britain is not very well documented however in America it is a linguistic hand grenade that is being hurled around a bit too much recently and it is in much debate at present. It is the worst and most offensive word in the English language. It has come a long way from its humble beginnings from Latin “niger” meaning black. In fact it is described as being the worst word used as a racial epithet or even the English language. The word can be used in so many different ways for this reason it has also been described as the most glorious word in the English language. It has been responsible for classic pieces of literature to be removed from schools and condemned as racial trash by some. The influence the word has had in the world of Hip-Hop and trying to reclaim it has been massive. Nigger did not start out as a derogatory term it has taken on a derogatory connotation over time and has unfortunately stuck like this for several hundred years thanks to the horrendous time of slavery.
Why does nigger cause such powerful reactions? Is it more offensive than paki, chink, wop, kike, gook, spic and so on. “To be ignorant of its meaning and its effects is to make oneself vulnerable to all manner of perils, including the loss of a job, a reputation, a friend, even one’s life.” (Kennedy, 2002, pp. 3-4) He goes on to say later in
4/15/2013
4/15/2013
The history of the word nigger in England or Britain is not very well documented however in America it is a linguistic hand grenade that is being hurled around a bit too much recently and it is in much debate at present. It is the worst and most offensive word in the English language. It has come a long way from its humble beginnings from Latin “niger” meaning black. In fact it is described as being the worst word used as a racial epithet or even the English language. The word can be used in so many different ways for this reason it has also been described as the most glorious word in the English language. It has been responsible for classic pieces of literature to be removed from schools and condemned as racial trash by some. The influence the word has had in the world of Hip-Hop and trying to reclaim it has been massive. Nigger did not start out as a derogatory term it has taken on a derogatory connotation over time and has unfortunately stuck like this for several hundred years thanks to the horrendous time of slavery.
Why does nigger cause such powerful reactions? Is it more offensive than paki, chink, wop, kike, gook, spic and so on. “To be ignorant of its meaning and its effects is to make oneself vulnerable to all manner of perils, including the loss of a job, a reputation, a friend, even one’s life.” (Kennedy, 2002, pp. 3-4) He goes on to say later in
Bibliography: Akbar, A. (2013, March 6th). How should we use the 'n ' word? Retrieved April 13th, 2013, from www.theindependent.co.uk: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/how-should-we-use-the-n-word-8521510.html Asim, J. (2007). The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn 't, and why? New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Badenhausen, K. (2012, Febuary 18th). ESPN Uses "Chink in the Armor" Line Twice UPDATE- ESPN Fires One Employee Suspends Another. Retrieved April 13th, 2013, from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2012/02/18/espn-uses-chink-in-the-armor-line-twice-did-linsanity-just-go-racist/ Black, D. P. (1997). Dismantling Black Manhood: An Historical and Literary Analysis of the Legacy of slavery. New York: Routledge. Counter, D. A. (1985). Racial Slurs. The Crises, 37-41. Kennedy, R. (2002). Nigger. New York: Pantheon Books. Mohr, M. (2013). Holy Shit: A Brief History of Swearing. New York: Oxford University Press. Smitherman, G. (2006). Word from the Mother: Language and African Americans. New York: Routledge.