History of the word niger

That was the view of prosecutor Christopher Darden when the issue of saying the N-word came up in the murder trial of US football star OJ Simpson.

Now where in tarnation did this monstrosity of a word come from? Well of course we look to Latin American Language as the culprit. Which coincidently enough is the word for the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. The word carries with it a privilege also, a privilege that only certain people are allowed to use this word. And it is what African descendants call each other as a way of connecting in a brotherhood type of fashion. Now imagine the same scenario but with two Caucasian males saying the exact same.

History of the word niger

Jeffreys M. Niger : Origins of the Word. Nigritia : Nigeria. While it is clear that there should be some common denominator for the names of an African territory that appear to derive from common root it does not appear possible to nnd this common denominator Thus Nigritia is defined according to the Century Dictionary of as region in central Africa nearly equivalent to Sudan and the home of the most pronounced types of the Negro race.. The name Nigeria first appeared in print according to Dr Meek on January It was the title of an article in our leading newspaper written by Miss Flora Shaw who at that time did the colonies for The Times as Cecil Rhodes expressed it. The Oxford English Dictionary has as its date for Nigerian but Cole writes This is the general mode in which the Nigerians make known their loses. Here one realises that words Nigeria and Nigerian derive from the name Niger. The stem Gir is part of the word Niger and Crone editing the voyages of Ca da Mosto has some remarks on the two main river systems of the Sahara He writes geography of the interior of northern Africa is characterised by two hydrographical systems one formed by the Chelonidas Paludes and the river Gir with an independent Nuba Palus the other and more westerly by the river Nigir the Liby ae Palus and the Nigritis Palus These are said to flow in the middle of the land. It is improbable that either represent the Niger- Senegal or Gambia as Barros supposed Dr John Ball has agreed that the Chelonidas Paludes are to be identined with the Kufara depression and the Gir with wadi to the west Colonel Tuho thinks that the former was the lowland north and east of lake Chad The Nigir was probably one of the wadis on the south eastern slopes of the Atlas mountains and some have identified it with the Wadi Gir. With this uncertainty as to what river the Niger is one may point out that the derivation of the names of two of greatest rivers the Niger and the Nile are tentatively unknown. Various etymologies for Niger. Though Yaouri form found above is the name of tribe and could be traced to this Persian root am not prepared to derive the name Yoruba1 from it This Persian root g- is clearly applicable to strangers foreigners and such like e.

The Seattle Republican. And Other Considerations".

Nigger is a racial slur in American English used against Black Americans. Starting in the s, [1] references to nigger have been increasingly replaced by the euphemism " the N-word " , notably in cases where nigger is mentioned but not directly used. Rather than demonstrating a hostile meaning of the word itself, early attested uses during the Atlantic slave trade 16th—19th century often conveyed a patronizing tone that reflects the underlying attitudes held towards black people by their white authors. Building up on these mildly disparaging social meanings, the word took on a derogatory connotation from the midth century onward, to the extent that it had "degenerated into an overt slur" by the middle of the 19th century. Some authors kept on using the term in a neutral sense up until the later part of the 20th century, at which point the use of nigger became increasingly seen as controversial regardless of its context or intent.

Nigger is an infamous word in current English, so much so that when people are called upon to discuss it, they more often than not refer to it euphemistically as "the N-word. Sense 3 is also now rarely used and is often considered offensive. The word's self-referential uses by and among Black people are not always intended or taken as offensive although many object to those uses as well , but its use by a person who is not Black to refer to a Black person can only be regarded as a deliberate expression of contemptuous racism. Did the definition of nigger change? There is a widespread belief that the original meaning of nigger , as defined in dictionaries, was "an ignorant person," and a related belief that current dictionary definitions describing its use as a hateful, racist epithet are a recent change.

History of the word niger

Nigger is a racial slur in American English used against Black Americans. Starting in the s, [1] references to nigger have been increasingly replaced by the euphemism " the N-word " , notably in cases where nigger is mentioned but not directly used. Rather than demonstrating a hostile meaning of the word itself, early attested uses during the Atlantic slave trade 16th—19th century often conveyed a patronizing tone that reflects the underlying attitudes held towards black people by their white authors. Building up on these mildly disparaging social meanings, the word took on a derogatory connotation from the midth century onward, to the extent that it had "degenerated into an overt slur" by the middle of the 19th century. Some authors kept on using the term in a neutral sense up until the later part of the 20th century, at which point the use of nigger became increasingly seen as controversial regardless of its context or intent.

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Retrieved May 27, Howard refused reinstatement but took a job elsewhere in the mayor's government. In , a Radio 1 Newsbeat survey of 3, to year-olds suggested more than a quarter of people thought it was acceptable to be used in some circumstances. Now imagine the same scenario but with two Caucasian males saying the exact same. For instance, a show on Black Entertainment Television , a cable network aimed at a Black audience, described the word nigger as a " term of endearment ". She used it as a "term of endearment" and he used it "playfully to suggest that the status of a husband was that of a slave", according to the Darwin correspondence project. Here one realises that words Nigeria and Nigerian derive from the name Niger JEFFREYS What then is the origin of the word Niger Because it flows through the land of the Negroes which for the Arabs was the Sudan Nigey was at first erroneously derived from the Latin world niger meaning black Gir The stem Gir is part of the word Niger and Crone editing the voyages of Ca da Mosto has some remarks on the two main river systems of the Sahara He writes geography of the interior of northern Africa is characterised by two hydrographical systems one formed by the Chelonidas Paludes and the river Gir with an independent Nuba Palus the other and more westerly by the river Nigir the Liby ae Palus and the Nigritis Palus These are said to flow in the middle of the land. While defending Laurie Sheck, a professor who was cleared of ethical violations for quoting I Am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin , John McWhorter wrote that efforts to condemn racist language by white Americans had undergone mission creep. Caller Shaun said the word has been "demonised", adding: "If you walked up and slapped me in the face I'd be offended, if you call me any name under the sun I'd just rise above it and walk on. Archived from the original on September 9,

From the earliest usage it was "the term that carries with it all the obloquy and contempt and rejection which whites have inflicted on blacks" [cited in Gowers, , probably Harold R. But as black African inferiority was at one time a near universal assumption in English-speaking lands, the word in some cases could be used without deliberate insult. More sympathetic writers late 18c.

New York City. Retrieved December 14, It initially defended the decision but the then-director general Tony Hall later issued an apology , saying it was a "mistake". It felt good to all of us to not be as bad as the hopeless people in D Street or, God forbid, the ones in Columbia Point, who were both black and niggers. Archived from the original on June 20, When I hear the word I shudder. By Cherry Wilson. It is used in the beginning of a slaves name to indicate that this person is a slave. Howard refused reinstatement but took a job elsewhere in the mayor's government. One of the most enduring controversies has been the word's use in Mark Twain 's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Inside Higher Education. Retrieved January 18, It also is or was a colloquial technical term in industry, mining, and seafaring. Hands Off Our Healthcare. You'll also hear the word in songs by black US rappers and in UK grime music.