It has been described as being one of the vilest, odious, and nefarious words in the English lexicon. It has been used as a tool to degrade and subjugate individuals to unprecedented amounts of oppression. When the final vowel from this word is uttered, it causes divisiveness and exposes the ever present color line still evident in 21st century America. Yes you guessed right, it’s the N word. For many affluent adults in today’s society there is a tone of disgust for the incessant apathetic use of the word by young people, and for others it is believed that when the letters in the word are twisted it can be used as term of endearment and upliftment. Whether it’s nigga or nigger, both pronunciations of the word have caused tremendous controversy and outrage. Furthermore, in order to have an informed and enlightened opinon on the subject matter we must trace the history of this insidious word.
The history of the word nigger is often traced to the Latin word niger, meaning black. This word can also be traced to a point in history in which the Greeks visited ancient Egypt, and witnessed the practices of the Egyptians as they were worshiping the dead. When they returned home they refered to these Egyptians as the people of necro ( meaning death and darkness.) This word later became the noun negro (black person) in English, and simply the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. In Early Modern French niger became negre, and later the term negress (black woman) unmistakably became a part of lexical history. It is quite easy to compare negre,nigger, and other English variations such as negar, neegar, neger, and niggor that developed into its lexico-semantic true version in English. It is highly probable that nigger is a phonetic spelling of the white Southern mispronunciation of Negro.
Along with the word nigger comes disgusting connotations directed at African- Americans, and Africans alike. It was a term used to exclude and discriminate against blacks, and to create ignorant and derogatory stereotypes to legitimize the discrimination of blacks in America. The following examples are important information on the words use and meaning. Niggerish: Acting in a lazy and irresponsible manner; Niggerlipping: wetting the end of a cigarette while smoking it; Niggerlover: Derogatory term aimed at whites lacking in the necessary loathing of blacks; Nigger luck: Exceptionally good luck, emphasis on undeserved, and Nigger heaven: Designated places, usually the balcony, where blacks were forced to sit, for example, in an integrated movie theater or church. During times of slavery, many ministers preached in their churches the belief that God was a white man and condemned Blacks to be servants. Consequently scientists began to measure Black skulls, brains, faces, and genitalia, trying to find substantial evidence to prove that whites were genetically superior to Blacks. White teachers, teaching only white students, taught that Blacks were inferior, less evolved cognitively, psychologically, and socially.
Nevertheless, given the history of this hideous word, many African- Americans continue to use it amongst each other as a way of showing brotherhood or sisterhood. Not surprisingly though many people feel the word should not be used under any circumstances. The word has picked up more ground as Hip-Hop artist continue to use it as a common word thrown about for “color” in their lyrics as a sign of endearment. It should come as no suprise that older African-Americans are against the word, while the younger generation seems more accepting of the word as it is used to signify unity and friendship. If you ask me this seems more like a generational divide that continues to perpetuate itself in the African-American community. Thus, the big question we should be asking is if the history of the word is the controlling factor in this argument, or is it the context in which word is set ?
In my opinion I feel the word can be used as a term that we as young people can utilize to show brotherhood, sisterhood, and unity. Nevertheless, we should not forget the history of this word, and we should not be insensitive to the disgusting connotations young and old people alike might derive from the utterance of the word. For those who choose not to use it be aware that when someone may say the word in your presence, it is being used to show a form of endearment , love, brotherhood, and sisterhood. Hip-Hop vernacular has always taken negative words and flipped the meaning , for example sick means good and shitty means nicely dressesed. We need to understand these concepts so we do not sacrifice universality at the sake of preserving unity. We can understand the vile undertakings and history of the word, while simultaneously flipping it to fulfill a blossoming new meaning at the same time.
