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= Nigga =
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Introduction
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'Nigga' () is a colloquial and vulgar term used in African-American
Vernacular English that began as a dialect form of the word 'nigger',
an ethnic slur against black people. As a result of reappropriation,
today the word is used mostly by African-Americans in a largely
non-pejorative sense as a slang term referring to another black person
or to themselves, often in a neutral or friendly way. The word is
commonly associated with hip hop music and culture.
In dialects of English (including standard British English) that have
non-rhotic speech, 'nigger' and 'nigga' are usually pronounced the
same.
Usage
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The use of 'nigger' non-pejoratively within the black community was
documented in the 1912 novel 'The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man'
by James Weldon Johnson, in which he recounted a scene in New York
City around the turn of the century:
I noticed that among this class of colored men the word "nigger" was
freely used in about the same sense as the word "fellow," and
sometimes as a term of almost endearment; but I soon learned that its
use was positively and absolutely prohibited to white men.
There is conflicting popular opinion on whether there is any
meaningful difference between 'nigga' and 'nigger' as a spoken term.
Many people consider the terms to be equally pejorative, and the use
of 'nigga' both in and outside black communities remains
controversial. H. Lewis Smith, author of 'Bury That Sucka: A
Scandalous Love Affair with the N-word', believes that "replacing the
'er' with an 'a' changes nothing other than the pronunciation" and the
African American Registry notes, "Brother (Brotha) and Sister (Sistah
or Sista) are terms of endearment. Nigger was and still is a word of
disrespect." The National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, a civil rights group, condemns use of both 'nigga' and
'nigger'.
Most African-Americans only consider 'nigga' offensive when used by
people of other races, with some seeing its use outside a defined
social group as an unwelcome cultural appropriation. Used by black
people, the term may indicate "solidarity or affection", similar to
the usage of the words 'dude', 'homeboy', and 'bro'. Some consider
'nigga' non-offensive except when directed from a non-African-American
towards an African-American. Yet others have derided this as
hypocritical and harmful, enabling white racists to use the word and
confusing the issue over 'nigger'. Conversely, 'nigga' has been used
an example of cultural assimilation, whereby some members of other
ethnicities (particularly younger people) will use the word in a
positive way, similar to the previously mentioned 'dude, homeboy,' and
'bro', although this usage remains very controversial. Members of
other ethnicities will not use the word while around
African-Americans, especially those they do not know.
In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context,
with non-offensive examples ranging from a greeting, to reprimand, to
general reference, to a use synonymous with 'male person'. , the word
'nigga' was used more liberally by some younger members of all races
and ethnicities in the United States. In addition to
African-Americans, other ethnic groups have adopted the term as part
of their vernacular, although this usage is very controversial.
Cultural influence
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The phrase 'nigga, please', used in the 1970s by comics such as Paul
Mooney as "a funny punctuation in jokes about Blacks", is now heard
routinely in comedy routines by African-Americans. The growing use of
the term is often attributed to its ubiquity in modern American hip
hop music.
One of the earliest uses of the term in a popular song was in the
lyrics of the 1983 song "New York New York" by Grandmaster Flash and
the Furious Five, although it had featured in some very early hip hop
recordings such as "Scoopy Rap" and "Family Rap", both from 1979. Ol'
Dirty Bastard uses the term 76 times in his 'Nigga Please' album (not
including repetitions in choruses).
Comedian Chris Rock's 1996 routine "Niggas vs. Black People"
distinguishes a "nigga", which he defined as a "low-expectation-havin'
motherfucker", from a "black person". In contrast, Tupac Shakur
distinguished between 'nigger' and 'nigga': "Niggers was the ones on
the rope, hanging off the thing; niggas is the ones with gold ropes,
hanging out at clubs." Tupac, who has been credited with legitimizing
the term, said his song "N.I.G.G.A." stood for "Never Ignorant Getting
Goals Accomplished".
In 2001, a public disagreement between Conrad Tillard (activist and
minister then, Conrad Muhammad) and Russell Simmons (Def Jam
co-founder) erupted about the portrayal in media of hip hop culture,
especially that of rap music. Tillard argued that the use of 'bitch'
and 'nigga' by rappers is "degrad[ing] the African-American community"
through its "bombardment of ... negative images". He directly accused
Simmons of "condoning violence by refusing to condemn the frequent use
of [these words] in rap lyrics" in the lead up to both parties
organizing gatherings to discuss hip hop culture. Rapper KRS-One
publicly supported Tillard, but stated that "if an artist feels he has
to use the 'n' or 'b' words, that's a poetic debate. What we're saying
is you cannot package the word muthaf---er to our children."[censoring
quoted] Tillard's own Campaign for Dignity Meeting in April was
boycotted by Simmons, who also encouraged others to not attend, while
Simmons organized the Hip Hop Summit in June, which Tillard attended.
The disagreement has been referred to as a "feud", and the two were
successfully encouraged by Louis Farrakhan (head of the Nation of
Islam) at Simmons' summit to bury the hatchet and show public unity.
The song "R & B" from Devin the Dude's second solo album 'Just
Tryin' ta Live' (2002) features a comedic conversation between Devin
and "a redneck" (voiced by Devin) exploring a cultural divide and how
it might be overcome by the liberal application of "reefer and beer".
The song culminates with Devin frustrated by the redneck failing to
correctly pronounce 'nigga'.
In the 2004 Coen brothers film 'The Ladykillers', the antagonist is
Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall), an elderly church-going landlady with
moral certainty living in the Baptist bible belt, who is introduced
making a complaint to her local sheriff about her neighbour playing
"hippity hop music too loud". She qualifies her disdain by asking the
sheriff rhetorically if he knows "what they call colored folks in them
songs?" moving to quickly exclaim, "Niggaz" [or "Niggers"; sources
have printed both spellings].
Some television shows use the word, either to create a realistic
atmosphere or as a way of presenting social discussion, specifically
ones relating to the wealth gap between the rich and the poor.
Use in trademarks or brand names
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Until a 2017 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 'Matal v. Tam', the
Lanham Act did not permit registration of trademarks containing terms
that may disparage persons or bring them into disrepute. Registration
by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) of terms that are
historically considered disparaging to groups of people has been
allowed in some circumstances. Self-disparaging trademarks have been
allowed in some cases where the applicant has shown that the mark
as-used is not considered by the relevant group to be disparaging.
In 1995, two men from Houston filed a trademark application with the
PTO for the words "Naturally Intelligent God Gifted Africans", and its
acronym. The application was rejected, as were numerous subsequent
applications for variations of the word 'nigga'. In 2005, comedian
Damon Wayans twice attempted to trademark a brand name called Nigga,
"featuring clothing, books, music and general merchandise". The PTO
refused Wayans' application, stating "the very fact that debate is
ongoing regarding in-[ethnic]-group usage, shows that a substantial
composite of African-Americans find the term 'nigga' to be offensive".
Notes
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External links
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*[
https://web.archive.org/web/20100818035852/http://www.theroot.com/views/lets-make-deal-n-word
"Let's Make a Deal on the N-Word: White folks will stop using it, and
black folks will stop pretending that quoting it is saying it,"] John
McWhorter, 'The Root'
License
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License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigga
