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Does anyone have any evidence regarding frequency of usage? I've heard the word plenty, publically and otherwise, by people of all races. I've known a handful of people (one pakistani guy in particular) that used no other word for black people other than "nigger" or "niggers" (usually along w other expletives). Along w my personal experience, I find it highly speculative to suggest that the word is not used by "most" people, or whatever. [[User:Sam Spade| Sam Spade Wants you to vote!]] 23:01, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC)
I used this turn of phrase because it seemed both appropriate, and extremely funny (to me at least). It survived for a VERY long time, so I doubt it was particularly inapt. If their can be a "gay community" or an "online community", why cannot their be a "wigger community"? Sam_Spade ( talk · contribs) 21:20, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Good addition regarding the Beastie Boys and Eminem. But I'm not so sure about B-Real. Is he really completely devoid of African ancestry? It's highly doubtful, given the ethnographic history of Cuba and how miscegenated bloodlines manifest over time. He certainly doesn't look straight-up white, and his swarthiness ain't from Arawak/Taino blood. Unless B-Real has personally disavowed any African ancestry, I definitely wouldn't include this example. And even then, it's likely not so that he's as "white as the driven snow." deeceevoice 08:37, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Dude, if I ever said "nigger", I'd pronounce it "nigga" and so would everyone I know. That's because in standard English, final "-a" and final "-er" are pronounced the same, as a schwa (a backwards, upside down "e" in IPA). Clearly, "nigga" is just a kewl way to write "nigger" (surely you remember "Niggaz with attitude"?). I think we have to take a bit more care in Wikipedia not to make assertions that are a bit silly, or go without saying. This is one. I didn't scrub it but those editors who work on this page regularly might like to give the idea some thought. Dr Zen 07:36, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Everything else listed on nigger refers to the word; this seems like a clear case for primary-topic disambiguation, with nigger redirecting here and what's currently at nigger moved to nigger (disambiguation). -- SPUI ( talk) 16:15, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I edited the statement on "wiggers" (The word is considered offensive [...]) to say "The word is sometimes considered offensive [...]", but it was reverted. The reason I made the change was because many people don't consider the word offensive at all, and so the article should reflect that. I know many people who would without a thought say "wigger", but who would never dream of uttering "nigger". Any thoughts? Rep 23:18, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Cite a study showing what "The majority of African Americans" think. Otherwise the above is unacceptable. Sam Spade 16:24, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Progress is being made. I have an issue w singling out races in regards to use of the term. A particularly good example of this is muslims. I knew a pakistani guy who hated black people despite the fact that they embraced him. This was especially obvious because black co-workers (I worked w the guy) often wanted to shake his hand, and otherwise greet him warmly. This made him quite angry, as he deeply disliked black people, and considered himself white. Indeed he never used the word "blacks" that I can recollect, only saying "niggers". My black coworkers on the other hand seemed to feel a brotherhood with him, sometimes referring to him as "my brotha". To top off the awkward humor of the circumstance, our upper and middle management was overwhelmingly black, and one of his complaints was that they might have hired him due to his race! All of this in the year after 9/11, when muslims were especially unpopular in the USA (this was in Dayton, Ohio). Funny stuff, if your completely un-pc (as I am). Sam Spade 12:46, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Burnout Magazine is reporting a new use for the word: http://www.burnoutmag.com/article.cgi?article=3&s= 128.54.53.118 ( talk) 03:18, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
Can someone tell me what this means? A hint? A vague outline? Anything? JP | Tark 21:38, 12 May 2005 (UTC)
I have heard a lot of Southerners say "nigger", and with a drawl, the "r" is very clearly pronounced. I think it's ridiculous to say that "many whites who intend it as a racial slur" pronounce the word "nigga", because I can only ever remember white people pronouncing it that way deliberately, in a more "thug" context. Flillibridge 04:26, May 13, 2005 (UTC)
Hapsiainen: I understand your point of view and where it is coming from. Even though you think the word can be used in neutral way in Finland, there is no public media that would agree with you. There is no people in government office that would agree with you. Even in finnish wikimedia, there is not people besides you, who would share you opinion (execpt few vandals). In this article it is said that "nigger" has been neutral term before (Mark Twain etc.) but it is not any more. Exactly same has happen to "neekeri" in finnish. Only problem is that meaning has chaged shorter time ago (some 10-20 years) in finnish and there is still people alive who are not aware of that. They might still use word without knowing better. You would like to defend their right to use that word in neutral way. Well it will not work on that way. If term what I say will hurt you, even thou it is not ment that way, it is not neutral way of saying things. Other problem is that there is still so few black people in finnland, that moust of the people do not need to think what is politically correct way of talking about them. (excuse my english!)-- Lemmikkipuu 11:39, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)
White Dawg, the notorious "gangsta rappa" uses the term "nigga" as often as humanly possible, w no known repricussions. I figured this should be mentioned in the article, but I can't find the earlier mention of wigger usage of the word. Please find a way to fit this info, and possibily his funny face in this article as soon as possible. Heck, maybe DC can even arrange for an arsewhup? Cheers, Sam Spade 21:02, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)
The word is pronounced "Weeger", it has no connection whatever with nigger, whigger or anything else, no-one has ever confused a Uighur with an African-American, and the whole paragraph is ridiculous. Adam 00:41, 9 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I just wanted to say that this is a really good balanced article on a very controversial subject. Informative and balanced (IMO). Congratulations to all involved. Gypsum Fantastic 22:35, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)
"Two 16th-century uses of the term commonly cited in dictionaries are actually taken from scholarly tracts." Can anyone explain to me how this integrates into the paragraph on origins. It was originally a fragment (no "are") and made no sense to me, so I took it out. Someone else put it back in, so presumably it made sense to them. To my mind, this still breaks up the flow of the paragraph and makes no sense, but I didn't want to start an edit war so I thought I'd post here first. I believe this needs smoothing/integration, but I don't know how to integrate it since I have no idea why the article suddenly refers to "two 16th century uses of the term" and then fails to say what those uses are or what they suggest. Tom 23:24, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Can someone clean this up? looks like a 13 year old wrote it.... If no one minds, I myself can clean it up, as well.... IreverentReverend 30 June 2005 21:26 (UTC)
The "especially" was removed from the following sentence:
I have restored the "especially"
To remove the "especially" changes the sentence so that it makes the claim that the term "nigger" is only offensive when used by non-blacks. This is an interesting claim which is discussed at some length later in the article in various other guises, but it has no place in the introductory paragraph, especially not as a bald statement of fact. If others agree that "especially" does not belong here, the sentence should be revised simply to something along the lines of, Generally, "nigger" is considered a highly offensive racial epithet.. This would avoid raising the issue altogether.
That said, I've restored the "especially" because I believe that as written -- "especially when used by non-blacks" -- the sentence represents a neutral point of view.
All would agree, I think, that the term (like any racial slur) is especially offensive when used as an epithet by an outsider against the targeted group. I think the widespread avoidance of the word in print media etc. is evidence that the word itself is considered highly offensive no matter what (even when the speaker is anonymous or unclear). Whether or not the term is offensive when used within the group is up to more debate -- debate covered in discussion which belongs later in the article. Of course, I would argue that existence of said debate is evidence that at least some people consider the word highly offensive even (or perhaps especially!) when used by other blacks -- there are quotes to this effect in the article as well. Tom 1 Jul 2005 11:45 (UTC)
Intent makes a word racist, not skin color of the speaker. To say it is automatically more racist if a white person uses it is racist. To say it is more racist when used in a derogetory term is not. If you were to go onto a random BBS online, and see someone saying "nigger please" and "nigger" this and "nigger" that is it racist? Would your opinion of that change if I told you the author was white? What if I said he was black? Asian? It shouldn't as, according to this article, those appear to be ok uses. Would it be racist if instead, you found the phrase "shut up, you are nothing but a dumb-ass nigger"? was that racist? It is suddenly NOT racist if the author was black? Get with the program. If you believe the color of your skin makes a word more or less racist, you are racist. Hell if you believe the color of skin MATTERS in a social setting you are racist. Lets move into modern times. IreverentReverend 7 July 2005 16:36 (UTC)
People use 'nigger' to refer to people from the middle east in the term 'sandnigger'. I wonder if anyone else thought that should be added to the page or not. -- PirateMonkey 7 July 2005 21:56 (UTC)
I've removed the bold text from the following sentence: "When it was translated into English, it was published under the title White Niggers of America (incidentally, former Klu Klux Klan member and current Democratic U.S. Senator of West Virginia Robert Byrd used the term "white niggers" when asked in an interview about the state of race relations in America)."
I have no doubt that Byrd said that, but a) the article doesn't specify when and where Byrd said it, or provide a citation for it and b) it makes no sense as a parenthetical clause of that sentence. Please put the quote back if a citation can be found and note the citation under References at the bottom of the article. Thanks, Fernando Rizo 9 July 2005 02:44 (UTC)
Some editors seem not to like a link to the GNAA in this article. Can I give the reason why I think it is highly relevant? The article centres on the fact that the word nigger is normally regarded as highly offensive. The GNAA is an example of deliberate, but non-racist, use of the word nigger to cause offence, something not mentioned in the article. I can't think of another example but if there were one, then that would have a place. Having mentioned it in the text obviates the need to put a 'see also' section in the article and I have moved the reference, but in my opinion, provided the GNAA article itself is kept (which is looking increasingly likely), it has a relevance to the contemporary usage of the word nigger. For the record I am not a member of the GNAA and I would consider anyone who implies that I am as making a personal attack. David 25px | Talk 21:19, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
The Ethnophaulisms section looked like this prior to my edit:
As you can see, the Erlich quote has not end quotation mark, and I don't personally know where the reference comes from, so I've removed the quotation mark. Fernando Rizo 23:30, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
The word "nigger" is an extremely controversial term used in many English-speaking countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia (but also in other countries where English is known such as Germany, specifically) I do not understand it. 213.76.152.186 ( talk) 10:34, 25 August 2005 (UTC)
The term is only really racist when another descriptive word is placed infront of it. So If someone said "You stupid Nigger" that would be racist but If someone said "I saw a Nigger" that wouldn't be racist. If someone done a impression of a Stereotype Black person that would be racist. So anyway if "Nigger" came from "Negro" which means "Black" is the word "Black" really a racist term? -- 82.152.193.24 ( talk) 23:47, 5 September 2005 (UTC)
I have found personally, and also in much black stand-up, that nigger/nigga is beginning to become the black equivalent of white trash. This is especially evidenced in the infamous/notorious Chris Rock routine, Niggas vs. Black People, which he seems to stand behind as a true political statement as opposed to purely a comedy routine. Perhaps the "evolution" of the word ought to be addressed in the article? 70.243.32.96 ( talk) 03:14, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
I do not fully understand the term. If a person is born white, but eventually goes black maybe from a tan, would he/she be allowed to say it? What if he was muslim? 60.226.31.60 ( talk) 07:26, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
It's offensive, end of story. 129.85.35.49 ( talk) 09:28, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
I believe that E.S Nigger Brown was an international Rugby League player, not Rugby (this term usually signifies Rugby Union in Australia) Charmanestar 06:14, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
'In the 1997 film Gridlock'd, Tim Roth's character justifies his use of the word by referring to it as "a term of fuckin' endearment".'
I think this should be added somewhere. 86.136.113.191 ( talk) 10:56, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
I'd like to get a better idea of where Administrators stand on the n-word being used as a positive or in a lighter sense. It is a precarious word to use, but in that same idiom, it is what has made the term open for satire (as in Chappelle's Show or The Boondocks). All things considered, someone like Richard Pryor would never have had the career he did if he had tried to avoid using the word. And, I have known particular cases where wiggers have taken the term used towards them as a sign of acceptance, and thus, seen it as a positive. I realize an earlier statement with the same sentiments was deleted, either because it wasn't placed well or because it was a touchy point; however, I believe the article should pay some respect to the fact that the word can be used in a lighter or comedic sense, and even to some a positive, outside of simply the "popular culture section". The "New revisionism" portion should include it as well, or there should be a new section altogether, to drive the point that many who use the word can be using it in a less serious manner. It seems the word is perhaps being overthought to the point of driving people crazy. 66.251.25.105 ( talk) 05:22, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
I can not edit this article at the moment since it is protected, however the second paragraph must be titled Etymology. (eg the paragraph that starts w/ "The word originates in from French..."). This seems like a term mostly originating in U.S. Could someone take a look at those 1882 cards [1] and determine if they are of historical/etymological significance? This user has left wikipedia 21:50, 27 January 2006 (UTC)
By who? Illiterates? Niggard is a perfectly good word. How can anyone take offence? Avalon 11:08, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
I removed the following text:
Sociologists commonly point to black-on-black violence and its association with gangsta rap -- the phenomenon most responsible for the rise in the revisionist use of the term among some black youth -- as a manifestation of the self-destructive, self-loathing mind-set referred to above.
It may be that sociological studies have found a link, but I'm sure that even social scientists dispute the correlation between gangster rap and violence. I'm interested in reading your sources, so please cite them. -- Defenestrate 23:57, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
According to the article on Muhammad Ali the following is a misquote:
What he actually said is in the following excerpt[?]
Did he serve 4 years in prison, if he did was he compensated for having been "wrongfully" emprisoned? Also I am curious to know on what grounds the Supreme Court overturned his sentence ! I hope it's not just because of popular opinion ! (would be unfair to the unpopular people who did hard time for the same thing !) ~~wikipedia at domn.net~~ 216.113.99.10 ( talk) 00:55, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
What's going on with the "Definitions" section in this article? It doesn't appear to be very encylopedic in style. -- Takeel 01:09, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
I would dispute that this term is commonly used in the UK. Maybe by a tiny minority, but the more common pejorative term in the UK is "Black B..." I've never in my 42 years heard anyone in the UK use this term, even virulent racists us BB, rather than this "Americanism". Camillus (talk) 03:34, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
Isn't this opinion? Genjix 13:02, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
The rate of vandalism to this article is very high. Would it help the situation any if edits were restricted to registered users? -- Takeel 13:19, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
I am white and the word nigger has a specific meaning to me. I grew up in a predominantly white town in NJ. I lived directly across the street from a A.M.E Zion Baptist church - "the Black Church". I learned that a "nigger" was a low-down scumbag of a person - who happened to be black. A person is not a nigger just because he or she happnes to be black. And while I have used the word nigger, I don't know that I ever used it without prefacing it with "piece of shit..." It has been so rare for me to use it, I don't know that I can even think of the last time I said it.
Nigger is offensive if it is used offensively, just like "ass" or "bitch". Examples: "I have an ass to plow my field." "She has a nice ass." "Don't be an ass!" "That test was a bitch." "I bred my dog with Mr. Wilson's bitch." "You're a bitch!"
The argument or position that blacks don't say "nigger", but rather "nigga" is a bunch of crap. Put a slang on it, but it's the same word. It's also a bunch of crap that only blacks can say nigger or nigga. It's how you use the word.
We know that nigger is used as an insult (to say the least), but it is also used as a sign of friendship ("He's my nigger/nigga"). I don't know this definition. That is, I don't have anyone in my life that I would call "my nigger/nigga".
There have been moves to remove books from reading lists and libraries that contain the word "nigger". Would you take To Kill a Mockingbird off the shelves because the word "nigger" is in the book. How else does Atticus teach his daughter, Scout, that what is being said in this case is very wrong. Thomasb113 00:34, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
Many entries on Wikipedia include a photo to help people better comprehend the meaning of the entry. Should a photograph of a nigger/s be submitted for this entry? Any questions, comments? Spookwaffe 17:56, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
Someone wiped out the whole page. You really need to restrict this to registered users or else it's gonna happen again. 63.40.250.56 ( talk) 15:20, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
To my mind the word nigger is racist period. But I still think it's stupid to censor the word when reporting on somthing. For example this:
"A Washington Post article on Strom Thurmond's 1948 candidacy for President of the United States went so far as to replace it with the periphrasis 'the less-refined word for black people'."
Now that's just stupid, I can't imagine any rational person being upset at the Post for printing "Nigger" in relation to Thurmond's candidacy. 151.205.110.152 ( talk) 03:03, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
Hi,
My sourced additions to the article were just reverted and no explanation was given, so I'm re-instating them.
Primetime 05:51, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
In Russia and the former Soviet states (Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Belarus etc.) the word "negr" is used to refer to people of sub-Saharan African ancestry. It is not a derogatory term. To US ears it of course sounds like "nigger". Shouldn't this be mentioned?-- Eupator 19:45, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
This article is absolutely offensive and has no place on Wikipedia. It should be deleted and replaced with an article that does not spell the actual word. -- 68.22.252.165 ( talk) 03:13, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
If people don't stop removing my tags that this page should be reviewed I will have to find someone myself and I won't stop until this article's name is changed and all uses of the N word are removed. 68.22.252.165 ( talk) 03:40, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
In the article it claims that the use of the word 'nigga' is still found to be offensive by blacks if said by non-blacks, shouldn't it be noted that several hispanic rappers have used the term without much criticism if any i.e Big Pun, Fat Joe. Brodey 06:13, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
This sentence assumes the reader isn't black, since the word often isn't considered derogatory when used by black people. It's even mentioned later in the article that black people often use the word "nigga" without any negative connotations. This sentence should be appended with something like "unless used by black people, in which case it is often neutral." Please remember that we black people also read and contribute to Wikipedia. 4.226.252.19 ( talk) 04:34, 17 April 2006 (UTC)
Hey, I was amazed to see this article here, and I read every word. I'm fairly new to Wikipedia, and I think this article is a great illustration of Wikipedia's value. Other reference sources don't even mention the word. Wikipedia mentions it, talks about it from many angles, dissects the bad, presents the rest in neutral terms, etc. Even references the book Nigger, which is a pretty good thoughtful book (I've read it. Imagine the awkward moment when I asked the public librarian about it over the telephone), but not as broad as the Wikipedia article. Lou Sander 02:43, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Why is the talk page at Dago still blank? Nigger contains 10,000 times more comments and opinions than does Dago. What causes so much spellinding interest in Nigger? The word is a common expression, so why is there so much curiosity about it? Nigger is a very dull subject of no interest to me. Please place some comments at Dago, Spic, and Kike, too. Superslum 05:49, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Removed this content which I couldn't verify: "The Beastie Boys, an all-white hip-hop group, were forced off-stage after using the word in a non-hostile context to refer to their audience." Did this really happen? When and where? SpuriousQ 01:21, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
It's not true that the original use of the word was not offensive. Basically, with very few exceptions, Europeans that came into contact with blacks were racists, therefore their language was racist. Furthermore, to systematically class a variety of folks based on skin tone is least common denominator ignorant; the language manufactured the slavery, which was the commodification of different human beings and the treatment of different people, from different tribal groupings, alike.
Why this respect for long-dead blackbirders who needed a single term for people that could then be enslaved?
At no time was the word neutral. It expressed hatred and contempt in the very act of ignoring human personalities and human differences.
Let's see, you're a chief's son looking forward to the house of your bridegroom when a bunch of scurvy drunken red-faced Micks come along and says you are a nigger, and as such fit for nothing else than picking cotton in the USA.
Sure, polite society in the early 19th century, characters out of Jane Austen, or Masterpiece Theater, oh so politely called 'em "niggers". But let's ignore the fancy clothes. Insofar as the wealth of these people was based on genocide, they were bums and racists. Fuck 'em. Spinoza1111 10:13, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
As far as the etymology of this word, I believe it came from Sanskrit actually. The "Aryan race" that conquered India 8000 years ago and formed the ruling class of India for thousands of years until the Muslim invasions. The word "nigger" is actually derived from the word "naga" which means snake people and was commonly used in reference to the so called Dravidian peoples indigneous to India who worshiped the snake deity and were dark skinned. 137.229.244.182 ( talk) 23:36, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
IMHO, this article is a tribute to the excellence of Wikipedia. It's a truly excellent expostion of a subject that lesser sources won't touch. And what a miracle that the constant vandalism is kept almost totally in check by the flock of unpaid folk who watch over Wiki-land. Truly amazing. Lou Sander 21:07, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
I think this article is excellent, but one thing I feel it is missing is a proper section on how offensive it is when used by people of varying ethnicities. Round my part of England, loads of the black guys call each other nigger without meaning offense, and a few white guys they respect can get away with it, but most white people couldn't get away with it. A good example being the film Rush Hour, where Chris Tucker goes into his cousin's bar and starts chatting to the barman with the phrase "Whassup, my nigger?". Rock leaves the room, and Jackie Chan attempts to start a conversation with the barman using the same phrase and is attacked by most of the black characters in the bar. Noit88 15:01, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
There should be a link to the " white cracker" page. A page which, unlike this one, proudly displays a photo of a cracker. 70.231.228.116 ( talk) 08:15, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
If someone in America is called African-American what are they called in England or Ireland? 62.252.144.12 ( talk) 02:43, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
'Similarly, other portmanteaus formed from nigger, also considered offensive, are used to describe other groups. These include combining nigger with Chinky, (Chinese), to produce chigger,'
I'm not sure we really need the 'Chinky'. I suggest the more simple 'These include combining nigger with Chinese to produce chigger'. I don't suppose many people look at the word 'Chigger' and think 'oh Chigger, that must be a combination of Nigger and Chinky'. Chinky is not common parlance for many people. Maybe my Grandma, and that's about it. In fact, if you keep Chinky in there, the article reads like my Grandma probably wrote it. I made an exec decision and changed it, hope no-one minds! 88.104.163.180 ( talk) 02:08, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
The "Near-homophones" section mentions niggardly and snigger as "frowned upon and sometimes seen as offensive" because of their pronunciation. Here (Britain) I've heard that occasionally about "niggardly", but never, ever about "snigger", which is the standard word for that type of laugh (far more common in British English than "snicker"). Loganberry ( Talk) 03:42, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
Doesn't this word come from the two country names Niger and Nigeria??? P.S.: Shouldn't someone upload a picture of an african-american person??? Quote: An encyclopedia is a knowledge resource: if someone doesn't know what a nigger is, they should be able to come here and find out (complete with visual aid). 82.101.190.156 ( talk) 12:44, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
"Similarly, other portmanteaus formed from nigger, also considered offensive, are used to describe other groups. These include combining nigger with Chinese to produce chigger (not to be confused with the parasitic arthropod), with Korean, kigger, with Japanese, jigger, with Taiwanese, tigger; and with spic (a slur for a Hispanic), to produce spigger; also, the term Niggerican is sometimes used to refer to Puerto Ricans. Also to deride those of Mexican descent is the term "taco nigger". The terms timber nigger, prairie nigger, and swamp nigger are used in some areas to refer to Native Americans. This term is found more in the northern part of the United States where the original Native Americans flourished in the large forests that once existed there. Sand nigger refers to those of Arab descent, snow nigger is a slur against those of Inuit descent, and rice nigger and slant-eyed nigger are slurs similarly directed at Asians in general. Those of Irish descent are sometimes referred to as potato niggers, and Germans called NigMeisters. People of Polynesian descent are derisively called pineapple niggers."
Is all this even neccessary? Honestly, it would be much more academic to simply point out that as one of (if not the ultimate) the most offensive slurs in the english language, it is often combined with a stereotype of another group to insult them? I want to edit this now, but I'd rather have feedback first.
Also, is it really neccesary to list and detail so many popular culture uses of the word? Yes it is used quite a lot, but wouldn't a brief list of examples suffice?
Please give feedback -- Ccosta 21:54, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
Why is there nothing about nigger-rigged (also jerry-rigged or gerry-rigged like gerrymandered). I don't know where this is in use but blacks and whites both use it here (deep south), whites, generally only around other whites, and blacks, whenever. My neighbor (black) uses it commonly because he tinkers with and tries to fix electronic and mechanical items himself. He says it without a second thought. eg: "I had to nigger-rig it with duct-tape." I've never bothered to ask why he uses the term and his input on whether or not it's racist. PondScumEsq 09:27, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
The first paragraph makes it seem as if the USA and Europe abilished slavery at the same time, whereas in fact the USA retained it far longer than any civilised nation. TharkunColl 23:36, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
This term grew into common usage when Indian slaves/workers were called "niggers", due to their darker skin... The origins of the word is linked to many indian languages, thus the base is possibly from sanskrit. 61.246.63.173 ( talk) 18:19, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
I just went through and made a ton of grammar and structure and spelling edits. Didn't change the substance of any of the content, although I also added a few things. Hopefully the edits are OK, but if not let me know.
I also deleted the idiotic "yo yo" section which was created yesterday on this talk page.
shift6 08:33, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
Please consider editing ... "the word nigger was not originally considered derogatory, " (this word was originally considered derogatory by blacks. To correct this state it should read .. "the word nigger was not originally considered derogatory, by whites." 66.138.72.66 ( talk) 15:26, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
![]() | This page is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | Archive 4 | Archive 5 |
Does anyone have any evidence regarding frequency of usage? I've heard the word plenty, publically and otherwise, by people of all races. I've known a handful of people (one pakistani guy in particular) that used no other word for black people other than "nigger" or "niggers" (usually along w other expletives). Along w my personal experience, I find it highly speculative to suggest that the word is not used by "most" people, or whatever. [[User:Sam Spade| Sam Spade Wants you to vote!]] 23:01, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC)
I used this turn of phrase because it seemed both appropriate, and extremely funny (to me at least). It survived for a VERY long time, so I doubt it was particularly inapt. If their can be a "gay community" or an "online community", why cannot their be a "wigger community"? Sam_Spade ( talk · contribs) 21:20, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Good addition regarding the Beastie Boys and Eminem. But I'm not so sure about B-Real. Is he really completely devoid of African ancestry? It's highly doubtful, given the ethnographic history of Cuba and how miscegenated bloodlines manifest over time. He certainly doesn't look straight-up white, and his swarthiness ain't from Arawak/Taino blood. Unless B-Real has personally disavowed any African ancestry, I definitely wouldn't include this example. And even then, it's likely not so that he's as "white as the driven snow." deeceevoice 08:37, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Dude, if I ever said "nigger", I'd pronounce it "nigga" and so would everyone I know. That's because in standard English, final "-a" and final "-er" are pronounced the same, as a schwa (a backwards, upside down "e" in IPA). Clearly, "nigga" is just a kewl way to write "nigger" (surely you remember "Niggaz with attitude"?). I think we have to take a bit more care in Wikipedia not to make assertions that are a bit silly, or go without saying. This is one. I didn't scrub it but those editors who work on this page regularly might like to give the idea some thought. Dr Zen 07:36, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Everything else listed on nigger refers to the word; this seems like a clear case for primary-topic disambiguation, with nigger redirecting here and what's currently at nigger moved to nigger (disambiguation). -- SPUI ( talk) 16:15, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I edited the statement on "wiggers" (The word is considered offensive [...]) to say "The word is sometimes considered offensive [...]", but it was reverted. The reason I made the change was because many people don't consider the word offensive at all, and so the article should reflect that. I know many people who would without a thought say "wigger", but who would never dream of uttering "nigger". Any thoughts? Rep 23:18, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Cite a study showing what "The majority of African Americans" think. Otherwise the above is unacceptable. Sam Spade 16:24, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Progress is being made. I have an issue w singling out races in regards to use of the term. A particularly good example of this is muslims. I knew a pakistani guy who hated black people despite the fact that they embraced him. This was especially obvious because black co-workers (I worked w the guy) often wanted to shake his hand, and otherwise greet him warmly. This made him quite angry, as he deeply disliked black people, and considered himself white. Indeed he never used the word "blacks" that I can recollect, only saying "niggers". My black coworkers on the other hand seemed to feel a brotherhood with him, sometimes referring to him as "my brotha". To top off the awkward humor of the circumstance, our upper and middle management was overwhelmingly black, and one of his complaints was that they might have hired him due to his race! All of this in the year after 9/11, when muslims were especially unpopular in the USA (this was in Dayton, Ohio). Funny stuff, if your completely un-pc (as I am). Sam Spade 12:46, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Burnout Magazine is reporting a new use for the word: http://www.burnoutmag.com/article.cgi?article=3&s= 128.54.53.118 ( talk) 03:18, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
Can someone tell me what this means? A hint? A vague outline? Anything? JP | Tark 21:38, 12 May 2005 (UTC)
I have heard a lot of Southerners say "nigger", and with a drawl, the "r" is very clearly pronounced. I think it's ridiculous to say that "many whites who intend it as a racial slur" pronounce the word "nigga", because I can only ever remember white people pronouncing it that way deliberately, in a more "thug" context. Flillibridge 04:26, May 13, 2005 (UTC)
Hapsiainen: I understand your point of view and where it is coming from. Even though you think the word can be used in neutral way in Finland, there is no public media that would agree with you. There is no people in government office that would agree with you. Even in finnish wikimedia, there is not people besides you, who would share you opinion (execpt few vandals). In this article it is said that "nigger" has been neutral term before (Mark Twain etc.) but it is not any more. Exactly same has happen to "neekeri" in finnish. Only problem is that meaning has chaged shorter time ago (some 10-20 years) in finnish and there is still people alive who are not aware of that. They might still use word without knowing better. You would like to defend their right to use that word in neutral way. Well it will not work on that way. If term what I say will hurt you, even thou it is not ment that way, it is not neutral way of saying things. Other problem is that there is still so few black people in finnland, that moust of the people do not need to think what is politically correct way of talking about them. (excuse my english!)-- Lemmikkipuu 11:39, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)
White Dawg, the notorious "gangsta rappa" uses the term "nigga" as often as humanly possible, w no known repricussions. I figured this should be mentioned in the article, but I can't find the earlier mention of wigger usage of the word. Please find a way to fit this info, and possibily his funny face in this article as soon as possible. Heck, maybe DC can even arrange for an arsewhup? Cheers, Sam Spade 21:02, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)
The word is pronounced "Weeger", it has no connection whatever with nigger, whigger or anything else, no-one has ever confused a Uighur with an African-American, and the whole paragraph is ridiculous. Adam 00:41, 9 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I just wanted to say that this is a really good balanced article on a very controversial subject. Informative and balanced (IMO). Congratulations to all involved. Gypsum Fantastic 22:35, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)
"Two 16th-century uses of the term commonly cited in dictionaries are actually taken from scholarly tracts." Can anyone explain to me how this integrates into the paragraph on origins. It was originally a fragment (no "are") and made no sense to me, so I took it out. Someone else put it back in, so presumably it made sense to them. To my mind, this still breaks up the flow of the paragraph and makes no sense, but I didn't want to start an edit war so I thought I'd post here first. I believe this needs smoothing/integration, but I don't know how to integrate it since I have no idea why the article suddenly refers to "two 16th century uses of the term" and then fails to say what those uses are or what they suggest. Tom 23:24, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Can someone clean this up? looks like a 13 year old wrote it.... If no one minds, I myself can clean it up, as well.... IreverentReverend 30 June 2005 21:26 (UTC)
The "especially" was removed from the following sentence:
I have restored the "especially"
To remove the "especially" changes the sentence so that it makes the claim that the term "nigger" is only offensive when used by non-blacks. This is an interesting claim which is discussed at some length later in the article in various other guises, but it has no place in the introductory paragraph, especially not as a bald statement of fact. If others agree that "especially" does not belong here, the sentence should be revised simply to something along the lines of, Generally, "nigger" is considered a highly offensive racial epithet.. This would avoid raising the issue altogether.
That said, I've restored the "especially" because I believe that as written -- "especially when used by non-blacks" -- the sentence represents a neutral point of view.
All would agree, I think, that the term (like any racial slur) is especially offensive when used as an epithet by an outsider against the targeted group. I think the widespread avoidance of the word in print media etc. is evidence that the word itself is considered highly offensive no matter what (even when the speaker is anonymous or unclear). Whether or not the term is offensive when used within the group is up to more debate -- debate covered in discussion which belongs later in the article. Of course, I would argue that existence of said debate is evidence that at least some people consider the word highly offensive even (or perhaps especially!) when used by other blacks -- there are quotes to this effect in the article as well. Tom 1 Jul 2005 11:45 (UTC)
Intent makes a word racist, not skin color of the speaker. To say it is automatically more racist if a white person uses it is racist. To say it is more racist when used in a derogetory term is not. If you were to go onto a random BBS online, and see someone saying "nigger please" and "nigger" this and "nigger" that is it racist? Would your opinion of that change if I told you the author was white? What if I said he was black? Asian? It shouldn't as, according to this article, those appear to be ok uses. Would it be racist if instead, you found the phrase "shut up, you are nothing but a dumb-ass nigger"? was that racist? It is suddenly NOT racist if the author was black? Get with the program. If you believe the color of your skin makes a word more or less racist, you are racist. Hell if you believe the color of skin MATTERS in a social setting you are racist. Lets move into modern times. IreverentReverend 7 July 2005 16:36 (UTC)
People use 'nigger' to refer to people from the middle east in the term 'sandnigger'. I wonder if anyone else thought that should be added to the page or not. -- PirateMonkey 7 July 2005 21:56 (UTC)
I've removed the bold text from the following sentence: "When it was translated into English, it was published under the title White Niggers of America (incidentally, former Klu Klux Klan member and current Democratic U.S. Senator of West Virginia Robert Byrd used the term "white niggers" when asked in an interview about the state of race relations in America)."
I have no doubt that Byrd said that, but a) the article doesn't specify when and where Byrd said it, or provide a citation for it and b) it makes no sense as a parenthetical clause of that sentence. Please put the quote back if a citation can be found and note the citation under References at the bottom of the article. Thanks, Fernando Rizo 9 July 2005 02:44 (UTC)
Some editors seem not to like a link to the GNAA in this article. Can I give the reason why I think it is highly relevant? The article centres on the fact that the word nigger is normally regarded as highly offensive. The GNAA is an example of deliberate, but non-racist, use of the word nigger to cause offence, something not mentioned in the article. I can't think of another example but if there were one, then that would have a place. Having mentioned it in the text obviates the need to put a 'see also' section in the article and I have moved the reference, but in my opinion, provided the GNAA article itself is kept (which is looking increasingly likely), it has a relevance to the contemporary usage of the word nigger. For the record I am not a member of the GNAA and I would consider anyone who implies that I am as making a personal attack. David 25px | Talk 21:19, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
The Ethnophaulisms section looked like this prior to my edit:
As you can see, the Erlich quote has not end quotation mark, and I don't personally know where the reference comes from, so I've removed the quotation mark. Fernando Rizo 23:30, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
The word "nigger" is an extremely controversial term used in many English-speaking countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia (but also in other countries where English is known such as Germany, specifically) I do not understand it. 213.76.152.186 ( talk) 10:34, 25 August 2005 (UTC)
The term is only really racist when another descriptive word is placed infront of it. So If someone said "You stupid Nigger" that would be racist but If someone said "I saw a Nigger" that wouldn't be racist. If someone done a impression of a Stereotype Black person that would be racist. So anyway if "Nigger" came from "Negro" which means "Black" is the word "Black" really a racist term? -- 82.152.193.24 ( talk) 23:47, 5 September 2005 (UTC)
I have found personally, and also in much black stand-up, that nigger/nigga is beginning to become the black equivalent of white trash. This is especially evidenced in the infamous/notorious Chris Rock routine, Niggas vs. Black People, which he seems to stand behind as a true political statement as opposed to purely a comedy routine. Perhaps the "evolution" of the word ought to be addressed in the article? 70.243.32.96 ( talk) 03:14, 8 October 2005 (UTC)
I do not fully understand the term. If a person is born white, but eventually goes black maybe from a tan, would he/she be allowed to say it? What if he was muslim? 60.226.31.60 ( talk) 07:26, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
It's offensive, end of story. 129.85.35.49 ( talk) 09:28, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
I believe that E.S Nigger Brown was an international Rugby League player, not Rugby (this term usually signifies Rugby Union in Australia) Charmanestar 06:14, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
'In the 1997 film Gridlock'd, Tim Roth's character justifies his use of the word by referring to it as "a term of fuckin' endearment".'
I think this should be added somewhere. 86.136.113.191 ( talk) 10:56, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
I'd like to get a better idea of where Administrators stand on the n-word being used as a positive or in a lighter sense. It is a precarious word to use, but in that same idiom, it is what has made the term open for satire (as in Chappelle's Show or The Boondocks). All things considered, someone like Richard Pryor would never have had the career he did if he had tried to avoid using the word. And, I have known particular cases where wiggers have taken the term used towards them as a sign of acceptance, and thus, seen it as a positive. I realize an earlier statement with the same sentiments was deleted, either because it wasn't placed well or because it was a touchy point; however, I believe the article should pay some respect to the fact that the word can be used in a lighter or comedic sense, and even to some a positive, outside of simply the "popular culture section". The "New revisionism" portion should include it as well, or there should be a new section altogether, to drive the point that many who use the word can be using it in a less serious manner. It seems the word is perhaps being overthought to the point of driving people crazy. 66.251.25.105 ( talk) 05:22, 8 January 2006 (UTC)
I can not edit this article at the moment since it is protected, however the second paragraph must be titled Etymology. (eg the paragraph that starts w/ "The word originates in from French..."). This seems like a term mostly originating in U.S. Could someone take a look at those 1882 cards [1] and determine if they are of historical/etymological significance? This user has left wikipedia 21:50, 27 January 2006 (UTC)
By who? Illiterates? Niggard is a perfectly good word. How can anyone take offence? Avalon 11:08, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
I removed the following text:
Sociologists commonly point to black-on-black violence and its association with gangsta rap -- the phenomenon most responsible for the rise in the revisionist use of the term among some black youth -- as a manifestation of the self-destructive, self-loathing mind-set referred to above.
It may be that sociological studies have found a link, but I'm sure that even social scientists dispute the correlation between gangster rap and violence. I'm interested in reading your sources, so please cite them. -- Defenestrate 23:57, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
According to the article on Muhammad Ali the following is a misquote:
What he actually said is in the following excerpt[?]
Did he serve 4 years in prison, if he did was he compensated for having been "wrongfully" emprisoned? Also I am curious to know on what grounds the Supreme Court overturned his sentence ! I hope it's not just because of popular opinion ! (would be unfair to the unpopular people who did hard time for the same thing !) ~~wikipedia at domn.net~~ 216.113.99.10 ( talk) 00:55, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
What's going on with the "Definitions" section in this article? It doesn't appear to be very encylopedic in style. -- Takeel 01:09, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
I would dispute that this term is commonly used in the UK. Maybe by a tiny minority, but the more common pejorative term in the UK is "Black B..." I've never in my 42 years heard anyone in the UK use this term, even virulent racists us BB, rather than this "Americanism". Camillus (talk) 03:34, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
Isn't this opinion? Genjix 13:02, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
The rate of vandalism to this article is very high. Would it help the situation any if edits were restricted to registered users? -- Takeel 13:19, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
I am white and the word nigger has a specific meaning to me. I grew up in a predominantly white town in NJ. I lived directly across the street from a A.M.E Zion Baptist church - "the Black Church". I learned that a "nigger" was a low-down scumbag of a person - who happened to be black. A person is not a nigger just because he or she happnes to be black. And while I have used the word nigger, I don't know that I ever used it without prefacing it with "piece of shit..." It has been so rare for me to use it, I don't know that I can even think of the last time I said it.
Nigger is offensive if it is used offensively, just like "ass" or "bitch". Examples: "I have an ass to plow my field." "She has a nice ass." "Don't be an ass!" "That test was a bitch." "I bred my dog with Mr. Wilson's bitch." "You're a bitch!"
The argument or position that blacks don't say "nigger", but rather "nigga" is a bunch of crap. Put a slang on it, but it's the same word. It's also a bunch of crap that only blacks can say nigger or nigga. It's how you use the word.
We know that nigger is used as an insult (to say the least), but it is also used as a sign of friendship ("He's my nigger/nigga"). I don't know this definition. That is, I don't have anyone in my life that I would call "my nigger/nigga".
There have been moves to remove books from reading lists and libraries that contain the word "nigger". Would you take To Kill a Mockingbird off the shelves because the word "nigger" is in the book. How else does Atticus teach his daughter, Scout, that what is being said in this case is very wrong. Thomasb113 00:34, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
Many entries on Wikipedia include a photo to help people better comprehend the meaning of the entry. Should a photograph of a nigger/s be submitted for this entry? Any questions, comments? Spookwaffe 17:56, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
Someone wiped out the whole page. You really need to restrict this to registered users or else it's gonna happen again. 63.40.250.56 ( talk) 15:20, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
To my mind the word nigger is racist period. But I still think it's stupid to censor the word when reporting on somthing. For example this:
"A Washington Post article on Strom Thurmond's 1948 candidacy for President of the United States went so far as to replace it with the periphrasis 'the less-refined word for black people'."
Now that's just stupid, I can't imagine any rational person being upset at the Post for printing "Nigger" in relation to Thurmond's candidacy. 151.205.110.152 ( talk) 03:03, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
Hi,
My sourced additions to the article were just reverted and no explanation was given, so I'm re-instating them.
Primetime 05:51, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
In Russia and the former Soviet states (Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Belarus etc.) the word "negr" is used to refer to people of sub-Saharan African ancestry. It is not a derogatory term. To US ears it of course sounds like "nigger". Shouldn't this be mentioned?-- Eupator 19:45, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
This article is absolutely offensive and has no place on Wikipedia. It should be deleted and replaced with an article that does not spell the actual word. -- 68.22.252.165 ( talk) 03:13, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
If people don't stop removing my tags that this page should be reviewed I will have to find someone myself and I won't stop until this article's name is changed and all uses of the N word are removed. 68.22.252.165 ( talk) 03:40, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
In the article it claims that the use of the word 'nigga' is still found to be offensive by blacks if said by non-blacks, shouldn't it be noted that several hispanic rappers have used the term without much criticism if any i.e Big Pun, Fat Joe. Brodey 06:13, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
This sentence assumes the reader isn't black, since the word often isn't considered derogatory when used by black people. It's even mentioned later in the article that black people often use the word "nigga" without any negative connotations. This sentence should be appended with something like "unless used by black people, in which case it is often neutral." Please remember that we black people also read and contribute to Wikipedia. 4.226.252.19 ( talk) 04:34, 17 April 2006 (UTC)
Hey, I was amazed to see this article here, and I read every word. I'm fairly new to Wikipedia, and I think this article is a great illustration of Wikipedia's value. Other reference sources don't even mention the word. Wikipedia mentions it, talks about it from many angles, dissects the bad, presents the rest in neutral terms, etc. Even references the book Nigger, which is a pretty good thoughtful book (I've read it. Imagine the awkward moment when I asked the public librarian about it over the telephone), but not as broad as the Wikipedia article. Lou Sander 02:43, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Why is the talk page at Dago still blank? Nigger contains 10,000 times more comments and opinions than does Dago. What causes so much spellinding interest in Nigger? The word is a common expression, so why is there so much curiosity about it? Nigger is a very dull subject of no interest to me. Please place some comments at Dago, Spic, and Kike, too. Superslum 05:49, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Removed this content which I couldn't verify: "The Beastie Boys, an all-white hip-hop group, were forced off-stage after using the word in a non-hostile context to refer to their audience." Did this really happen? When and where? SpuriousQ 01:21, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
It's not true that the original use of the word was not offensive. Basically, with very few exceptions, Europeans that came into contact with blacks were racists, therefore their language was racist. Furthermore, to systematically class a variety of folks based on skin tone is least common denominator ignorant; the language manufactured the slavery, which was the commodification of different human beings and the treatment of different people, from different tribal groupings, alike.
Why this respect for long-dead blackbirders who needed a single term for people that could then be enslaved?
At no time was the word neutral. It expressed hatred and contempt in the very act of ignoring human personalities and human differences.
Let's see, you're a chief's son looking forward to the house of your bridegroom when a bunch of scurvy drunken red-faced Micks come along and says you are a nigger, and as such fit for nothing else than picking cotton in the USA.
Sure, polite society in the early 19th century, characters out of Jane Austen, or Masterpiece Theater, oh so politely called 'em "niggers". But let's ignore the fancy clothes. Insofar as the wealth of these people was based on genocide, they were bums and racists. Fuck 'em. Spinoza1111 10:13, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
As far as the etymology of this word, I believe it came from Sanskrit actually. The "Aryan race" that conquered India 8000 years ago and formed the ruling class of India for thousands of years until the Muslim invasions. The word "nigger" is actually derived from the word "naga" which means snake people and was commonly used in reference to the so called Dravidian peoples indigneous to India who worshiped the snake deity and were dark skinned. 137.229.244.182 ( talk) 23:36, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
IMHO, this article is a tribute to the excellence of Wikipedia. It's a truly excellent expostion of a subject that lesser sources won't touch. And what a miracle that the constant vandalism is kept almost totally in check by the flock of unpaid folk who watch over Wiki-land. Truly amazing. Lou Sander 21:07, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
I think this article is excellent, but one thing I feel it is missing is a proper section on how offensive it is when used by people of varying ethnicities. Round my part of England, loads of the black guys call each other nigger without meaning offense, and a few white guys they respect can get away with it, but most white people couldn't get away with it. A good example being the film Rush Hour, where Chris Tucker goes into his cousin's bar and starts chatting to the barman with the phrase "Whassup, my nigger?". Rock leaves the room, and Jackie Chan attempts to start a conversation with the barman using the same phrase and is attacked by most of the black characters in the bar. Noit88 15:01, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
There should be a link to the " white cracker" page. A page which, unlike this one, proudly displays a photo of a cracker. 70.231.228.116 ( talk) 08:15, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
If someone in America is called African-American what are they called in England or Ireland? 62.252.144.12 ( talk) 02:43, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
'Similarly, other portmanteaus formed from nigger, also considered offensive, are used to describe other groups. These include combining nigger with Chinky, (Chinese), to produce chigger,'
I'm not sure we really need the 'Chinky'. I suggest the more simple 'These include combining nigger with Chinese to produce chigger'. I don't suppose many people look at the word 'Chigger' and think 'oh Chigger, that must be a combination of Nigger and Chinky'. Chinky is not common parlance for many people. Maybe my Grandma, and that's about it. In fact, if you keep Chinky in there, the article reads like my Grandma probably wrote it. I made an exec decision and changed it, hope no-one minds! 88.104.163.180 ( talk) 02:08, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
The "Near-homophones" section mentions niggardly and snigger as "frowned upon and sometimes seen as offensive" because of their pronunciation. Here (Britain) I've heard that occasionally about "niggardly", but never, ever about "snigger", which is the standard word for that type of laugh (far more common in British English than "snicker"). Loganberry ( Talk) 03:42, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
Doesn't this word come from the two country names Niger and Nigeria??? P.S.: Shouldn't someone upload a picture of an african-american person??? Quote: An encyclopedia is a knowledge resource: if someone doesn't know what a nigger is, they should be able to come here and find out (complete with visual aid). 82.101.190.156 ( talk) 12:44, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
"Similarly, other portmanteaus formed from nigger, also considered offensive, are used to describe other groups. These include combining nigger with Chinese to produce chigger (not to be confused with the parasitic arthropod), with Korean, kigger, with Japanese, jigger, with Taiwanese, tigger; and with spic (a slur for a Hispanic), to produce spigger; also, the term Niggerican is sometimes used to refer to Puerto Ricans. Also to deride those of Mexican descent is the term "taco nigger". The terms timber nigger, prairie nigger, and swamp nigger are used in some areas to refer to Native Americans. This term is found more in the northern part of the United States where the original Native Americans flourished in the large forests that once existed there. Sand nigger refers to those of Arab descent, snow nigger is a slur against those of Inuit descent, and rice nigger and slant-eyed nigger are slurs similarly directed at Asians in general. Those of Irish descent are sometimes referred to as potato niggers, and Germans called NigMeisters. People of Polynesian descent are derisively called pineapple niggers."
Is all this even neccessary? Honestly, it would be much more academic to simply point out that as one of (if not the ultimate) the most offensive slurs in the english language, it is often combined with a stereotype of another group to insult them? I want to edit this now, but I'd rather have feedback first.
Also, is it really neccesary to list and detail so many popular culture uses of the word? Yes it is used quite a lot, but wouldn't a brief list of examples suffice?
Please give feedback -- Ccosta 21:54, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
Why is there nothing about nigger-rigged (also jerry-rigged or gerry-rigged like gerrymandered). I don't know where this is in use but blacks and whites both use it here (deep south), whites, generally only around other whites, and blacks, whenever. My neighbor (black) uses it commonly because he tinkers with and tries to fix electronic and mechanical items himself. He says it without a second thought. eg: "I had to nigger-rig it with duct-tape." I've never bothered to ask why he uses the term and his input on whether or not it's racist. PondScumEsq 09:27, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
The first paragraph makes it seem as if the USA and Europe abilished slavery at the same time, whereas in fact the USA retained it far longer than any civilised nation. TharkunColl 23:36, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
This term grew into common usage when Indian slaves/workers were called "niggers", due to their darker skin... The origins of the word is linked to many indian languages, thus the base is possibly from sanskrit. 61.246.63.173 ( talk) 18:19, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
I just went through and made a ton of grammar and structure and spelling edits. Didn't change the substance of any of the content, although I also added a few things. Hopefully the edits are OK, but if not let me know.
I also deleted the idiotic "yo yo" section which was created yesterday on this talk page.
shift6 08:33, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
Please consider editing ... "the word nigger was not originally considered derogatory, " (this word was originally considered derogatory by blacks. To correct this state it should read .. "the word nigger was not originally considered derogatory, by whites." 66.138.72.66 ( talk) 15:26, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
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