The Meaning Of The Word Nigger

Giving unbridled permission to those who wish to use this term in ways of demeaning the African-American culture! Wise up and see that by referring to yourself, and others as ‘Nigga’, you are simply placing those chains of slavery back upon your neck and wrists, this time they just happen to be invisible!

The n-word is considered one of the most vicious racial slurs in the English language today. True that the n-word is closely associated with slavery and the oppression of blacks. Even after the abolition of slavery the word still haunted African Americans, especially in more segregated areas; where blacks were viewed as inferior to whites. In recent years the n-word has become less of a malicious slur in parts of our country. Public figures who use the n-word run the risk of losing their jobs. However, since the 1960s African Americans have coined the term “nigga”, when addressing one another. The rise of hip hop culture also enhanced the use of the word-they felt as though they are using the word as a term of endearment. Critics of the

In the essay “Nigger: the meaning of a word” Gloria Naylor discusses the essence of a word and how it can mean different things to different people in a myriad of situations. Depending on race, gender, societal status and age Naylor outlines how a word like ‘nigger’ can have different meanings within one’s own environment. Naylor discusses how a word can go from having a positive to a negative connotation merely due to how it is spoken and by whom. Naylor shares a personal experience with her audience as she describes the first time she really “heard” the word ‘nigger’. A young white boy in her third grade class spit it in her

When some think about the word nigger they immediately think about negativity and some might even venture to say that it is a "bad" word. It takes you back to a time when blacks were oppressed and demoralized. When blacks were looked at as inferior and not worthy to obtain equal rights in America. But that was decades ago and it is now the 21st century. Not only have we changed the spelling of the word, by dropping the er and adding a, but the definition has changed also. According to Gloria Naylor, we have took our "past history of struggle and present survival against the odds" and transcended the word nigger into a "victorious statement of being". So a word that was used to depict

In the English language, the word "nigger" is an ethnic slur, usually directed at black people. The word originated as a neutral term referring to people with black skin, as a variation of the Spanish and Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger . It was often used disparagingly, and by the mid-twentieth century, particularly in the United States, its usage became unambiguously pejorative, a racist insult. Accordingly, it began to disappear from popular culture, and its continued inclusion in classic works of literature has sparked controversy. In the contemporary United States and United Kingdom, using the word is taboo, and it is often replaced with the euphemism "the N-word". "Nigga" is sometimes used among African Americans in a non-derogatory sense or as a term of endearment. Etymology and history

The use of the term nigger can be used as a amicable greeting between two blacks, or as a “hideous pejorative” (Marriott 94) towards blacks. Marriott notes that the use of nigger is usually condoned and used by younger blacks as a “term of endearment” (98), in hopes to gradually alter the meaning of the word. Their goal is to normalize the usage of nigger between blacks to “dull its edge whenever whites use it” (Marriott 95). This has been proved somewhat efficient, as most whites dread the word and express feelings of disgust whenever it is heard from the mouth of whites. Many younger blacks believe their efforts are stimulating a progression in society, but older blacks and the majority of whites assert just the opposite- it illustrates “anything

It was a the main word back in the 1800’s and up till the civil rights movement. The N word is a very strong word, with repercussions coming for whoever speaks it. The N word is used in many black neighborhoods and ghettos, as the N word is slung to one another constantly. Racism will continue to be prevalent if the N word is still used in predominantly black communities. The N word has racism written all over it, and societies will not make progress towards eliminating racism if the N word is still used, Kevin says, “I am never again going to utter the word “nigger” to describe myself, to describe Black people, to paint a picture of a certain type of mentality born of racial oppression, self-hatred, confusion, of ignorance…”(45). Societies that use the N word to describe one another, is destroying progress made to ending racism. The word is commonplace in rap and inner city cultures, making the word seem acceptable to say in society. Using the n word is not acceptable in any culture in the United States. The amount of hatred towards Black people the word expresses is sickening, and we must make advances in society to eliminate the word from our

The word "nigger" has become a popular saying amongst our current population. The word appears to be used more each day by an assorted group of people. I've conducted a research in order to gather a better understanding as of to why the word "nigger" is so commonly used. I've collected responses from my fellow class mates and read a book called nigger to acquire addition information about the different opinions brought on by its usage. In these responses were patterns that helped me to get better acquainted with this idea. Most writes provided me with the same answer, that the reason why people call each other "nigger" is because it is used in a positive way. With this information given, the next question that came to mind was is it

The N-word is an insult to our ancestors; the content in which you use the word doesn’t deny it’s derogatory meaning. What’s the point of bringing back and using a word that white people used to use to degrade people of color? It’s so much more than just a word, there’s a sad and depressing history associated with this word. A professor once said, “ The poison is still there. The word is inextricably linked with violence and brutality on black psyches and derogatory aspersions cast on black bodies..a word that has tormented generations of African-Americans...Among many young people today-black and white-the N-word can mean friend”. We live in a society where the word is so common; it’s often used by the descendants of the people who had to

Many individuals believe that the use of the N-word shouldn’t be used in public because it can cause many others to get offended by it in many ways. Apparently, using the N-word can often offend people even if it’s not directed towards them or is even a risk to mention it (ThoughtCo.). This basically describes how the word is still seen as being offensive throughout these years in America. Also, how many people still see it how it was being used back in the old times like in the novel. That would describe how there should be a change in the novel with replacing all of those 219 words with the word “slave” to make it a cleaner version of the story and that way it would not offend anyone in any matter. In this society, the N-word is mostly used

However, the historical significance of the word nigger is deeply rooted in American History. For example, Kennedy’s book presents historical examples of nigger in its most pejorative context: “Michael Jordan was suspended from school for hitting a white girl who called him a nigger” and “Tiger Woods was tied up in kindergarten by his older schoolmates who called him nigger” (Kennedy 22). It is precisely because of this history that many African Americans are in favor of banning the word from the English language. Although the historical significance of the word nigger often triggers deep-rooted hostility in the African Americans, it has also progressively evolved into a term of endearment in the modern day African American culture. Consequently, a fine line exists between past and present definitions of the word nigger that opens up the possibility of misinterpretation and the potential of further damage.

In addition, the article “The Word “Nigga” Is Only for Slaves and Sambos” also has a strong intrinsic ethos itself based on the quality of his writing. The argument was organized in a logical way and easy to follow. The article started from introducing the word “Nigger” and the history of it, then a specific story from his own experience, then arguments about the “affectionate term” and its negative effects, and finally with a metaphor illustration to end his article. He

This act comes from different types of attacks upon black people because it is an encounter to a discouragement jokes reflect toward blacks. It is completely a signature term of racial racism. For instance, I had taken African-American study in my senior year of high school, and I remembered reading many poetries on African-American slavery. There were inappropriate phrases such as “nigger of colored people or colored slavery” that several writers had indicated in the African-America poetry. It not acceptable for black people were being treated likes a human with any soul. It was commonly for people to use N-word in the past and future. However many young teens and adults in the Blacks community seemed to forget about the freedom rights for black slavery, they simply used the N-word casually in everyday speaking and cursing as well. Over decades, the Blacks ancestors were fighting for their freedom of slavery. Any ethic groups should not forget about a human right and a human dignity. Again, Nigger is a strong word that it can make a bad impact in the social. Since stereotype will continue to growth unless people are willing to slowly prevent the term is being

With this book being presented to students all over the schools, it seems to me that throughout the years it has been very debated whether schools should allow the students to read the “N” word. There is a reason why we do not allow the use of the “N” in the United States. It is prohibited to ever discriminate someone using that type of vocabulary. The “N” word is an offensive, disparaging, and hateful word. I think that using that word in a community that has the majority African American students would make them feel uncomfortable and hurt. There are 219 instances of the word being used throughout the book. If students or teachers are not comfortable with reading the “N” word or talking about racial problems, the new edited book would allow

The controversy over the roots of racism lead back before the Civil War and have aroused speculation within society to this present day. The role of racism in American society has caused a wide mass of people to question whether society has even bothered to change the perspective in regards to the issue. Everyone defines the “n-word” in different ways due to the way they have been raised to know it, deriving it back to racism. The controversy over banning Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has challenged the perspective over whether racism is diminishing or continuing to expand. Twain’s novel has caused disputes among society on whether it should be allowed to teach at schools due to the mentioning of the word “n-word” more than 200 times, not to forget the fact that it was published in 1885, a time where the Civil War ended and slavery was declared gone, although not racism itself. To fix this, there has recently been a new edition of the novel by replacing the “n-word” with the word “slave” although some people may argue that it makes no effect to the meaning of the novel. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the title being the name of one of the protagonists of the novel escapes the abuse of his father and re-encounters an African American slave named Jim who has runaway from his owner. Throughout the novel, it endeavors on the issue of racism by the whole idea centralising itself on it along with the effect the “n-word” has within the novel. The “n-word”