Language and Predjudice
Phillip Mixon
Mohammed Alfarttoosi
English 102
First Draft – 12 Feb 2014
The History of the Term Nigger
Nigger...How do you feel about this word? Does it make you sad? angry? Are you indifferent? Does seeing this word make you want to stop reading this? Would it be alright if I said “Nigg-uh” instead of “Nigger”? These are the kinds of questions I am going to explore in my research paper. This topic, to most people, is something that I find is commonly avoided and glossed over. People often do not want to talk about this because of the power and history it holds. It is amazing that a simple six letter word has such a confusing and controversial history that no other word in American slang holds. It is something about these two syllables, ni and gger that nowadays causes people to turn their heads and ask, “Who said THAT?” Unfortunately, sometimes it causes people to do something else: retaliate. This could mean hurting individuals, saying other powerful words in return, or even worse actions. However, it was not always like this. Long ago, nigger was used everywhere. You could overhear “nigger” on the street and see the use of nigger on signs on the sides of buildings; saying this had no harmful reaction, but it is not the same in today’s world. My own opinion of this word is simple; don’t use it to hurt other’s feelings. Since it is basically impossible to abolish a word from ever being said again, I think this is the best course of approaching this subject. Some will disagree with me, saying “that it should never be used no matter what,” or “only the African Americans should use it,” but neither of these things are going to happen. It will always be used, by both white and black individuals. I believe the method of using nigger in a way that will cause no controversy is using it only around people you know will not get hurt, and this is what I am going to try and argue. I know this may sound foolish to others, but it is what I believe. I admit that my
Mohammed Alfarttoosi
English 102
First Draft – 12 Feb 2014
The History of the Term Nigger
Nigger...How do you feel about this word? Does it make you sad? angry? Are you indifferent? Does seeing this word make you want to stop reading this? Would it be alright if I said “Nigg-uh” instead of “Nigger”? These are the kinds of questions I am going to explore in my research paper. This topic, to most people, is something that I find is commonly avoided and glossed over. People often do not want to talk about this because of the power and history it holds. It is amazing that a simple six letter word has such a confusing and controversial history that no other word in American slang holds. It is something about these two syllables, ni and gger that nowadays causes people to turn their heads and ask, “Who said THAT?” Unfortunately, sometimes it causes people to do something else: retaliate. This could mean hurting individuals, saying other powerful words in return, or even worse actions. However, it was not always like this. Long ago, nigger was used everywhere. You could overhear “nigger” on the street and see the use of nigger on signs on the sides of buildings; saying this had no harmful reaction, but it is not the same in today’s world. My own opinion of this word is simple; don’t use it to hurt other’s feelings. Since it is basically impossible to abolish a word from ever being said again, I think this is the best course of approaching this subject. Some will disagree with me, saying “that it should never be used no matter what,” or “only the African Americans should use it,” but neither of these things are going to happen. It will always be used, by both white and black individuals. I believe the method of using nigger in a way that will cause no controversy is using it only around people you know will not get hurt, and this is what I am going to try and argue. I know this may sound foolish to others, but it is what I believe. I admit that my