Nigga
Nigga is a term used in African American Vernacular English (Ebonics) that began as an eye dialect form of the word nigger (which is derived ultimately from the Latin word niger meaning the color black).[1]
Use in language
As of 2007, the word nigga is used, without intentional prejudice, among younger members[2] of all races and ethnicities in the United States, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and European Americans.[3][4] In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context.[1]
There is conflicting popular opinion on whether there is any meaningful difference between nigga and nigger as a spoken term.[5] Many people consider the terms to be equally pejorative, and the use of nigga both in and outside African American communities remains controversial.[6] H. Lewis Smith, author of Bury that Sucka: A Scandalous Affair with the N-word, believes that "replacing the 'er' with an 'a' changes nothing other than the pronunciation"[7] 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." [8] The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group, condemns use of both nigga and nigger.[5]
Some African-Americans express considerable offense when referred to as a nigga by Caucasian people, but not if they are called the same by other African-Americans, or by some other minority, as a term of endearment.[5] In this case, the term may be seen either as a symbol of brotherhood,[9] similar to the usage of the words dude and bro and its use outside a defined social group an unwelcome cultural appropriation. Critics have derided this as a double standard.[3]
Cultural influence
The growing use of the term is often attributed to its ubiquity in modern American hip hop music.[10][11] Examples include: hip-hop group Niggaz With Attitude (N.W.A.), Notorious B.I.G.'s song, The Realest Niggaz, The Geto Boys' Real Negro Shit, Ice Cube's The Wrong Nigga To Fuck With, Jay-Z's Jigga That Nigga and Snoop Dogg's For All My Niggaz And Bitches. Ol' Dirty Bastard uses the term 76 times in his Nigga Please album (not including repetitions in choruses). [11] This is reflected in the term's wide use in modern American gang culture. According to a Texas Monthly article about Houston gangs, many Hispanic street gang members call each other niggah [12].
The Portuguese comedy show, Gato Fedorento, uses the word nigga in an audio sketch, where the four individuals say they are niggas ("I'm nigga, nigga; are you nigga, nigga?"), and end up admitting that they do not know what nigga means, although "people say it's amazing". Da Weasel, later sang a song named Nigga in Gato Fedorento's last episode of season 5.
The term "nigga, please", first used in the 1970s by comics such as Paul Mooney as "a funny punctuation in jokes about Blacks,"[13] is now heard routinely in comedy routines by African Americans. Chris Rock had a routine Niggas vs. Black People that distinguished a nigga, which he defined as a "low-expectation-having motherfucker", from a "black person". In contrast, Tupac Shakur defined NIGGA as an acronym: "Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished" in the lyrics to his song Words of Wisdom, on his 1991 album 2Pacalypse Now. It later served as a title of a track on his posthumous 2004 album Loyal to the Game. In an interview in the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur further 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."
In 1995, two Houston, Texas men filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 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. Most recently, comedian Damon Wayans twice attempted to trademark a brand name called Nigga, "featuring clothing, books, music and general merchandise".[10] The Trademark Office refused the 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." [11]
It's ok when...
It's ok when you use it in a friendly manner like: What up nigga?! Did you really steal that?! Black women use Gi-i-i-r-r-r-l-l-l instead of nigger cause it describes a man. Word. An example of this term is "mmmm hmmm, you know it Girl!" These seperations in terms are to make sure that there is no confusion, so Males use "nigger" or the more slang use "nigga" and Females use the term "Girl" for terms of respect and endearment. When we see the phrase "AH YEAH GIRL, MY NIGGA ON FIRE" this refers to the Girl and Nigga as having Sexual intercourse and their friends and/or Homies giving them their acceptance.... RESPECT! White people are not allowed to use nigga. In some instances, white people are lured into false secutrity, and think that it is alright to say "nigga"... this is surely wrong. See Also [Boondocks] episode [Thanks for not Snitchin']. Rest in peace my white brethern who said nigga.
Other terms used by darkies
"Nigger Knife: A term describing a broken bottle used as a weapon. homeboy: a person that's is a friend to a black person Nigga stole my bike: a term used when a black person is complaining about something another black person did, in most cases it is a term when "ones ride" was not returned from the night before when they went out "lookin fo some booty". "Booty Poppin' Party": A term used by perverse jungle bunnies to describe a strip club competition. Nigga guy: Describing a white person that uses the word "nigga" on Tv. (see South Park) Booty Hunter: a black guy Sex Addict: Every Nigger "Ice Cream": Weed Vanilla Ice: HE BE TRIPIN!!!
References
- ^ a b Randall Kennedy. Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, Pantheon. 256 pp
- ^ Jeremy Cooke. Racial slur banned in New York, BBC News, 1 March, 2007
- ^ a b Kevin Aldridge, Richelle Thompson and Earnest Winston. The evolving N-word The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 5, 2001.
- ^ Kendra Pierre. 'Nigger,' 'Nigga' or Neither?, Meridia, May 1, 2006.
- ^ a b c J. Douglas Allen-Taylor. New Word Order, Metro, April 9, 1998.
- ^ Alex Alonso. Won’t You Please Be My Nigga: Double Standards with a Taboo Word, May 30, 2003.
- ^ Smith. H. Lewis."Why The N-word Is Not Just Another Word." The Black Commentator. January 25, 2007. Issue 214. Retrieved 01-26-2007.
- ^ Phil Middleton and David Pilgrim, "Nigger (the word), a brief history!." African American Registry. 2001. Retrieved 03-14-2007.
- ^ Kevin Aldridge. Slurs often adopted by those they insult, The Cincinnati Enquirer, August 5, 2001.
- ^ a b Darryl Fears. Patent offense: Wayans’s hip-hop line, The Washington Post, March 15, 2006.
- ^ a b c Rogers Cadenhead. Actor Tries to Trademark 'N' Word, Wired, 23 February, 2006.
- ^ Skip Hollandsworth, Southwest Houston After Dark," Texas Monthly, December 2006
- ^ Darryl Fears. Jesse Jackson, Paul Mooney Call for End of N-Word, BET.com, November 27, 2006.
External links
- BanTheNWord.org an activist website.