Gora (racial epithet): Difference between revisions
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The term ''gora'' is often used by [[British Asian]]s and among English-speaking South Asians in the Subcontinent as an noun instead of an adjective to exclusively refer to [[white people]], the feminine form being '''''gori'''''.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/linguists-get-chuddies-in-twist-over-dialects-568408.html ''The Independent'', 1 April 2004]</ref> The plural term ''gore'' is also used to refer to white people of both genders. In this form it has taken on racial connotations so has acquired the status of a slur, though it is not inherently pejorative. |
The term ''gora'' is often used by [[British Asian]]s and among English-speaking South Asians in the Subcontinent as an noun instead of an adjective to exclusively refer to [[white people]], the feminine form being '''''gori'''''.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/linguists-get-chuddies-in-twist-over-dialects-568408.html ''The Independent'', 1 April 2004]</ref> The plural term ''gore'' is also used to refer to white people of both genders. In this form it has taken on racial connotations so has acquired the status of a slur, though it is not inherently pejorative. |
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==Usage in Turkey== |
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In the [[Ottoman Turkish language]], a similar term ''goure'' was used to refer to [[kafir]]s.<ref>{{citation|title=Islam in Britain, 1558-1685|first=Nabil I.|last=Matar|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1998|isbn=0521622336|page=4}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 04:46, 5 December 2009
Gora (or gaura), is a South Asian adjective for a yellow-skinned or light-brown person, whether Indian, Pakistani or from other regions. The word literally means "white" or "fair-skinned" in Indo-Aryan languages like Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), Bengali and Punjabi.
Although the word distinctly means "yellowish", it is sometimes used informally to include any light-skinned person, whether light-brown, yellow or even white. In place names that date back to the colonial era - there are a number of graveyards in Pakistan such as the Gora Qabristan (the lighter-skinned graveyard) in Peshawar, [1] the Gora Kabrastan in Karachi,[2] as well as one in Chillianwala the site of a famous battle involving the British East India Company.[3]
According to the Natyasastra, an Indian text, the term refers to "yellowish-reddish".[4] Because of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's explicitly yellow skin, he was termed "Gauranga".[5]
Usage in Britain and among anglophones on the Subcontinent
The term gora is often used by British Asians and among English-speaking South Asians in the Subcontinent as an noun instead of an adjective to exclusively refer to white people, the feminine form being gori.[6] The plural term gore is also used to refer to white people of both genders. In this form it has taken on racial connotations so has acquired the status of a slur, though it is not inherently pejorative.
References
- ^ A vanishing landmark
- ^ Grave business
- ^ Battlefields of Chillianwallah
- ^ Studies in the Nāṭyaśāstra : with special reference to the Sanskrit drama in performance, G.H. Tārḷekar, p. 138
- ^ P. 52 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu By Prem Lata
- ^ The Independent, 1 April 2004
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