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{{copyedit|for=Some words are still not "simple English" here.|date=July 2018}}
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'''Nigger''' is a [[racist]] [[insult]] against [[Black people]]. It can also be referred to as the '''"hard R"''', due to the word ending in 'er' instead of 'a, like the word with a similar meaning - "[[nigga]]". Like the word "nigga", it can be used in [[pop culture]] slang. However, it is mainly used by [[White supremacy|those who believe that white people are better than everybody else]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Starkey |first1=Brando Simeo |title=If you truly knew what the N-word meant to our ancestors, you'd NEVER use it |url=https://theundefeated.com/features/if-you-truly-knew-what-the-n-word-meant-to-our-ancestors-youd-never-use-it/ |website=The Undefeated |date=18 May 2017}}</ref>
'''Nigger''' is a [[racist]] [[insult]] against [[black people]]. The word "nigga" is used in [[pop culture]] [[slang]] by black people. However, it is commonly used by [[Racism|those who believe that their people are better than black people]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Starkey |first1=Brando Simeo |title=If you truly knew what the N-word meant to our ancestors, you'd NEVER use it |url=https://theundefeated.com/features/if-you-truly-knew-what-the-n-word-meant-to-our-ancestors-youd-never-use-it/ |website=The Undefeated |date=18 May 2017}}</ref>


The word did not from a [[slang]] pronunciation of "[[negro]]", which is the word for the colour [[black]] and black people in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]],<ref name="Pilgrim">{{cite web |url= http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/caricature/ |title=Nigger and Caricatures |accessdate=2007-06-19 |last=Pilgrim |first=David |date= September 2001 }}</ref> but from the original Latin word "niger" (French "noire") simply meaning "black"; hence the geographical state name "Nigeria" (see [https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@9.0338725,8.677457,6z Google Maps]). Before 1865, most black people in the [[United States]] were [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]] forcibly transported from West Africa as a "trade". During this time, the mis-spelt word "nigger" usually meant a slave. Writers such as [[Joseph Conrad]], [[Mark Twain]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Twain |first1=Mark |title=Life on the Mississippi |date=2004 |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-1-4191-3041-0 |page=11, 13, 127, 139, 219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBWbSj-r4U4C&pg=PA11 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Charles Dickens]] used it.
The word came from a slang way to say "[[negro]]". That is the word for the color [[black]] and for black people in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref name="Pilgrim">{{cite web |url= http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/caricature/ |title=Nigger and Caricatures |accessdate=2007-06-19 |last=Pilgrim |first=David |date= September 2001 }}</ref> Before 1865, most black people in the [[United States]] were [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]]. During that time, the word "nigger" commonly meant a slave. Writers such as [[Joseph Conrad]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Nigger of the "Narcissus" by Joseph Conrad|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17731/17731-h/17731-h.htm|access-date=2023-01-21|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref> [[Mark Twain]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Twain |first1=Mark |title=Life on the Mississippi |date=2004 |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-1-4191-3041-0 |page=11, 13, 127, 139, 219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBWbSj-r4U4C&pg=PA11 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Charles Dickens]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg: Dickens and Racism|url=http://www.estherlederberg.com/EImages/Extracurricular/Dickens%20Universe/Racism%20in%20Dickens.html|access-date=2023-01-21|website=www.estherlederberg.com}}</ref> often used the word in their stories and their other writing.


Today, the word is used, or seen, by many as an offensive racial [[slur]] in [[English language|English]] and, is often thought of as a part of [[hate speech]]. "Nigger" is too offensive to say so most people call it the "N-word" instead.
However, in the late 20th century, the word was seen as a hurtful racial [[slur]] in [[English language|English]]. It was called [[hate speech]]. "Nigger" was seen as very [[Taboo|offensive]] to say or hear which caused many to not use the word at all. They instead called the word "The N-Word". It is said with a "hard R", because the word ends in 'er' instead of 'a', as in the word "[[nigga]]".

==Related pages==
* [[Wigger]]


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:Pejoratives]]
[[Category:English profanity]]
[[Category:English profanity]]
[[Category:Slurs]]
[[Category:Slurs]]

Latest revision as of 15:26, 26 October 2024

Nigger is a racist insult against black people. The word "nigga" is used in pop culture slang by black people. However, it is commonly used by those who believe that their people are better than black people.[1]

The word came from a slang way to say "negro". That is the word for the color black and for black people in Spanish and Portuguese.[2] Before 1865, most black people in the United States were slaves. During that time, the word "nigger" commonly meant a slave. Writers such as Joseph Conrad,[3] Mark Twain,[4] and Charles Dickens[5] often used the word in their stories and their other writing.

However, in the late 20th century, the word was seen as a hurtful racial slur in English. It was called hate speech. "Nigger" was seen as very offensive to say or hear which caused many to not use the word at all. They instead called the word "The N-Word". It is said with a "hard R", because the word ends in 'er' instead of 'a', as in the word "nigga".

References

[change | change source]
  1. Starkey, Brando Simeo (18 May 2017). "If you truly knew what the N-word meant to our ancestors, you'd NEVER use it". The Undefeated.
  2. Pilgrim, David (September 2001). "Nigger and Caricatures". Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  3. "The Nigger of the "Narcissus" by Joseph Conrad". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  4. Twain, Mark (2004). Life on the Mississippi. Kessinger Publishing. p. 11, 13, 127, 139, 219. ISBN 978-1-4191-3041-0.
  5. "Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg: Dickens and Racism". www.estherlederberg.com. Retrieved 2023-01-21.