Nigger: The Most Controversial Words In African American Culture

Is the n-word an acceptable word? Few might say yes, but the vast majority would say no. The origin and meaning of the n-word should be unacceptable to all African Americans. The word was meant to be used in a harmful way and will always be seen as offensive. No matter how the slang word is used as a term of endearment, the true meaning will be permanently there. The n-word should never be used in any manner towards anyone due to its origin of creation.

The oxford dictionary had much to say about the word “nigger.” The oxford dictionary said, slave masters got the name “nigger” from the Latin word “Niger” meaning black. They also got the word “Negro” from the meaning of the Spanish diction meaning “black” also. They used the word “black” to describe African American’s instead of letting them have their names or giving them an actual name. It wouldn’t be so bad but, they used the word in offensive ways that gave the word a bad meaning. The word wasn’t bad but the meaning behind it became bad which smeared onto the word which made it a horribly offensive

A path to embrace difficulties Even when we do not notice, words have a huge impact in the culture that’s speaks the language and the culture has an impact in the meaning of the language. Given this, there is certainly a relationship between a word’s intention and the reaction it gets, instead of the actual meaning, we create words and give them the meaning (Rahman ). The n word is one of the most controversial words nowadays, if not the most. These is because of the loaded historical background that it carries with it, this word is seen to be completely ligated to violence and intimidation that happened during the 19th century to the African-American race.

Throughout the history of the United States, many derogatory and hurtful terms have been created to refer to individuals or a collective group of minority people with the goal of undermining them. Some examples of these words are ‘Nigger’, ‘Faggot’, ‘Beaner’ among countless other harmful labels. These terms are problematic, as they dehumanize the race in which they target, as reminders of the oppression experienced by these groups, giving the terms power. Among these hateful words, ‘nigger’ remains the oldest term and is the most racially charged and hurtful to the minority group that it intends to harm which are blacks. Only blacks should be able to use the word ‘nigger’ in America, because it was created with the intentions to dehumanize blacks, carrying all of the racist and discriminatory history experienced by blacks in the

Why is being called a “Nigger” so hurtful for African Americans currently to date? Being called a, “Nigger” means to be called ignorant, dark-skinned, or of African descent. To this day, we’re still being called that awful word although it is not to be used anymore. It is a racial slur that should never be used and if it is used should be high consequences. This is the biggest insult to Black people everywhere.

Would slavery throw you back to the popular N-word? The word “ nigger” is one of the huge controversial factors in Blacks and White community. Nigger is an infamous term in American culture. Many people like to be polite, and they prefer to discuss call it as “the N- word” (Nigger, 2018). In entomologists, the dictionary shows the readers that “nigger” is originated from an English word “neger” later reform to “Negro,” the Spanish term for blacks (Kenny, 2004). In the early 1780’s, the phrase “nigger” has created criticism and disrespect which whites have an unwelcome rejection of blacks. The term has spread widely over many decades; the meaning of nigger is extended to “an ignorant person” (Nigger, 2018). In English-speaking land, this word in some cases can be misunderstood as an insult without people consent especially in today’s society. Nigger is commonly used in young generations because there are many jokes into the word. It depends on how people use the term in a positive or negative in black culture (Nigger, 2004). To further investigation, I will be focusing on a clear understanding of “nigger” is used, and people should not be using it as a stereotype toward other ethnic groups.

To discuss the N-word its needs to be said. The word nigger is a when word, not a who word. Meaning that anyone can say it, the most important thing about the n-word is the context it is used in. It can be used in an extremely positive context or a highly racist or oppressive context.

Alan Gribben, the editor of the new edition, asserts, “Seems to me I'm doing something constructive by simply eliminating a word that's a clear barrier for many people”. However, the word ‘nigger’ itself does not cause any problems; it’s the intolerance of people exposed to it that makes the word secluded from society. The setting where this issue is most prominent is in high school classrooms. While the use of ‘nigger’ may cause inappropriate behavior by mischievous students, the censorship does more harm than good. It would prevent readers from understanding the word’s prior applications.

According to Matt Seitz, the word “Negro” started to fall out forty years ago. He mentions that “the word negro was easier for people

The words, “nigger” and “faggot,” I feel are being used more often as a counter to the malediction that was placed on this words; either it be during the civil war in the nineteenth century or the modern day. George Carlin said that there are only bad thoughts and intentions that turn the words that we use into ones that may inflict pain: Both nigger and faggot are degrading terms that by themselves have no power, but when there is a meaning behind them that is intended to inflict agony upon the receiver of the word, only then does the word take on its true form. Nigger, was used commonly in the South part of America during the Civil War, where black people were kept as slaves. The word derives from many languages spelling of the word black,

“A Word’s Meaning” was written by author and professor Gloria Naylor to educate others about how and why a word can come to have different interpretations. Naylor gives examples of the various spoken meanings of the word “nigger” to support her claim. She describes different situations in her life where the word was spoken by different people in different situations in different ways, and she delineates how all these shape the meaning of a word that is seen as taboo in the English language. She uses these examples to prove her point that a word does not have any concrete meaning. Naylor explains - in a very intellectual way - the meaning of the word, as if it were a dictionary definition.

However, people who hasn’t grew up in that time frame such as myself doesn’t necessarily relate the “nigger” to those understandings. Not all, but a lot of people in today’s society use the term “nigger” loosely. We use it on a daily in a friendly manner and not all blacks that offense when someone of the Caucasian race refer to them as a “nigger” or even use “nigger” to refer to themselves. This generation has also changed the term to “nigga” and although the “er” is taking off some people still gets offended by it. For me personally it depends in what content the word is used.

It has been around for a Many can observe one thing from our modern day society, and it is that celebrities and powerful companies influence everyone. Therefore, when famous rappers say the n-word in their songs, there is not a large problem. However, just because these words

The Disease of Being Colored Colored, nigger, African American, black, coon, and Negro are all the words that describe my race. These are the words that helped mold me into the woman that I am today. Not all of the words that I have listed are in a respectful manner, but they all mean one thing; A black person. Although all of those names can be thrown towards anyone of the African decedent, often times people do not care to see behind the skin of an individual. In hindsight everyone looks alike when the lights are off, and when we are even dead and buried in the ground.

The n-word might be offensive to some people, but if that word is changed with other words or the book is banned because of that word, the issue of censorship raises. Any type of art is about expressing ideas without boundaries, and censorship might take away the opportunity of reading a great piece of literature in schools. If an author wants to reveal racism in society, “[he has to] show racists as they are, speaking as they would speak” (Fishkin). Mark Twain had to use the n-word and show the conditions as they are to reveal the true racism. As Fishkin says, “the difference between the almost right word a[n]d the right word is really a large matter”, and changing the word still creates censorship.