Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 65.201.71.253 (talk) at 20:50, 25 October 2006 (→Cultural influence). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

It has been suggested that this article be merged into Nigger. (Discuss)

Nigga is a term used in African-American Vernacular English that began as an eye dialect form of the word nigger (which is derived from the Spanish word negro, meaning black, which in turn comes from Latin niger.)

Use in language

As of 2006, the word nigga is used without intentional prejudice among all ethnicities in the United States, including African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, and even by some members of the Caucasian race. In practice, its use and meaning, when used in reference to another individual, is heavily dependent on context.

Like the term nigger, many people continue to see the word nigga as pejorative and its use both in and outside African-American communities remains highly controversial. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group, condemns use of both nigga and nigger and bought the rights to the website nigger.com to prevent online exploitation of the term.

Some African-Americans express considerable offense when referred to as a nigga by white people, but not if they are called the same by other African-Americans, or by some other minority. In this case, the term may be seen as a symbol of fraternity , and its use outside a defined social group an unwelcome cultural appropriation. Critics have derided this as a double standard.

References

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Metro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ENQ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. Kevin Aldridge. Slurs often adopted by those they insult, The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 5, 2001.

• Slang
• African American culture
• American English
• Ethnic slurs