nigger

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Nigger (in African American English also nigga , niggar , Niggah or Nigguh ; in Southern -Aussprache also Niggra , Nigra and nighe ) is a racist and extremely derogatory term for blacks . It serves to carry out a social degradation and to express a hierarchical relationship.

Origin and use

The expression developed in the United States when black people who had been abducted from Africa had to do slave labor, from the Spanish word negro ("black", from the Latin niger with the same meaning) to English. negro to negar and finally nigger . The German word negro , the Italian word negro ("black") and the French word nègre (also: "black", from Latin niger ) probably played a role in the development.

The word was used by whites in the United States for their black slaves . The use by the British colonial rulers in their Indian and other colonies is also documented. In a list of almost 20 examples, Spears shows that placing nigger in front of common everyday names changes their meaning in an insulting or derogatory way (example: nigger steak for a slice of liver ).

It is not only a polluted word in English, but is also sometimes used as a swear word in German. In general German-language dictionaries it is known as a derogatory expression. By the beginning of the 20th century at the latest, the expression was understood in Germany as a "contemptible designation in America".

Slang in American hip hop culture

As with some rough words and original insults, these find a certain acceptance as long as they are used in groups of friends or among those affected. This is also the case with the term nigger, which Afro-Americans use in a friendly and friendly way. However, all major lexicons continue to identify it as a highly insulting swear word when used by whites. Occasionally the term is paraphrased in the US as N-word ("N-word"). In particular, wealthy young white people who only make use of the black subculture are often referred to in the hip-hop scene as wigger (or whigger ) ( suitcase word from wh ite and nigger ).

literature

  • Susan Arndt (Ed.): AfrikaBilder. Studies on racism in Germany. Münster 2006, ISBN 3-89771-028-5
  • Randall Kennedy: Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word. Random House USA 2003. ISBN 978-0-375-71371-2 . (engl.)

Web links

Wiktionary: Nigger  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Randall Kennedy: Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word .
  2. ^ A b R. A. Spears: Slang and Euphemism Signet Book, New American Library 1981, pages 282-283. ISBN 0-451-11889-8 . (engl.)
  3. ↑ Ulrike Kramer: From negro kisses and moor heads. Terms like Neger and Mohr in the mirror of political correctness. A vocabulary analysis , diploma thesis, University of Vienna 2006, p. 82.
  4. ↑ Ulrike Kramer: From negro kisses and moor heads. Terms like Neger and Mohr in the mirror of political correctness. A vocabulary analysis , diploma thesis, University of Vienna 2006, p. 83.
  5. ↑ Nigger . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . 6th edition. Volume 14, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1908, p.  689 .
  6. ↑ " Nigger is a common expression among the ordinary Negroes and is used frequently in conversations between them. It carries no sting when used by themselves, but the object keenly to thites using it, because it conserves the spirit of hate. From Flexner and Wendworth: Dictionary of American Slang. New York 1967, p. 354.
  7. ↑ Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor: The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English , Taylor & Francis, 2005, p. 1369
  8. ↑ LESSON 25 BBC World Service, Learning English