Nigga
Encyclopedia
Nigga is a term used in African American Vernacular English
that began as an eye dialect
form of the word nigger
(a word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people
, as a variation of the Spanish
/Portuguese
noun negro
, a descendant of the Latin
adjective niger, meaning the colour "black
").
, although its use by persons not of African descent is still widely viewed as unacceptable and hostile, even when used without intentional prejudice
. In addition to African Americans, other ethnic groups have adopted the term as part of their vernacular.
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 African American communities remains controversial. 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" 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.
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
. In this case, the term may be seen either as a symbol of brotherhood, 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
.
Non-rhotic
English-speakers, such as speakers of many British dialects and African American Vernacular English, pronounce "nigger" and "nigga" identically, as their accents do not distinguish between these two words.
. Examples include: hip-hop group Niggaz Wit' Attitude
(N.W.A.), A Tribe Called Quest
's "Sucka Nigga", Notorious B.I.G.'s song, "The Realest Niggaz", 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). 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.
However, its use has spread beyond North America. The Portuguese comedy group, Gato Fedorento
, uses the word nigga in an audio sketch, where the four individuals (all Caucasian) 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" (since the word isn't familiar for most Portuguese people, and is seen in the sketch simply as a strange-sounding word). Da Weasel
later sang a song named "Nigga" in Gato Fedorentos last episode of season 5.
Comedian Chris Rock
's routine "Niggas vs. Black People
" distinguishes a nigga, which he defined as a "low-expectation-having 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."
does not permit registration of trademark
s 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 Houston, Texas
men 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. Most recently, comedian Damon Wayans
twice attempted to trademark a brand name called Nigga, "featuring clothing, books, music and general merchandise." The PTO 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."
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
that began as an eye dialect
Eye dialect
Eye dialect is the use of non-standard spelling for speech to draw attention to pronunciation. The term was originally coined by George P. Krapp to refer to the literary technique of using non-standard spelling that implies a pronunciation of the given word that is actually standard, such as...
form of the word nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
(a word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
, as a variation of the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
/Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
noun negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
, a descendant of the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
adjective niger, meaning the colour "black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
").
Use in language
In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context. Presently, the word nigga is used more liberally among younger members of all races and ethnicities in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, although its use by persons not of African descent is still widely viewed as unacceptable and hostile, even when used without intentional prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
. In addition to African Americans, other ethnic groups have adopted the term as part of their vernacular.
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
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
, and the use of nigga both in and outside African American communities remains controversial. 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" and the African American Registry
African American Registry
African American Registry is a non-profit educational resource for the learning community to supply teachers with the information, method, and materials to provide a solid educational background in black history and heritage, in the sciences, business, the arts, and all facets of academics and...
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
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, a civil rights group, condemns use of both nigga and nigger.
Some African-Americans express considerable offense when referred to as a nigga by Caucasian
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
people, but not if they are called the same by other African-Americans, or by some other minority, as a term of endearment
Term of endearment
A term of endearment is a word or phrase used to address and/or describe a person, animal or inanimate object for which the speaker feels love or affection...
. In this case, the term may be seen either as a symbol of brotherhood, similar to the usage of the words dude
Dude
A dude is an individual, typically male. The female equivalent, which is used less often, is "dudette" or "dudess". However, "dude" has evolved to become more unisex to encompass all genders, and this was true even in the 1950s....
and bro, and its use outside a defined social group
Speech community
Speech community is a group of people who share a set of norms and expectations regarding the use of language. Speech communities can be members of a profession with a specialized jargon, distinct social groups like high school students or hip hop fans , or even tight-knit groups like families and...
an unwelcome cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of...
. Critics have derided this as a double standard
Double standard
A double standard is the unjust application of different sets of principles for similar situations. The concept implies that a single set of principles encompassing all situations is the desirable ideal. The term has been used in print since at least 1895...
.
Non-rhotic
Rhotic and non-rhotic accents
English pronunciation can be divided into two main accent groups: a rhotic speaker pronounces a rhotic consonant in words like hard; a non-rhotic speaker does not...
English-speakers, such as speakers of many British dialects and African American Vernacular English, pronounce "nigger" and "nigga" identically, as their accents do not distinguish between these two words.
Cultural influence
The term "nigga, please", first 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 musicHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
. Examples include: hip-hop group Niggaz Wit' Attitude
N.W.A.
N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre....
(N.W.A.), A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
's "Sucka Nigga", Notorious B.I.G.'s song, "The Realest Niggaz", Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's "Jigga That Nigga
Jigga That Nigga
"Jigga That Nigga" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z. It was the third single from his sixth studio album, The Blueprint. It features additional vocals from Stephanie Miller and Michelle Mills but they are not credited as featuring. The song peaked at #66 on the Hot 100....
" and Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
's "For All My Niggaz and Bitches". Ol' Dirty Bastard
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
uses the term 76 times in his Nigga Please
Nigga Please
Nigga Please is the second studio album by American hip hop artist and member of the Wu-Tang Clan Ol' Dirty Bastard, released on September 14, 1999. This was the last album released during ODB's lifetime. The album debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 copies sold in the first week...
album (not including repetitions in choruses). This is reflected in the term's wide use in modern American gang culture. According to a Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
article about Houston gangs, many Hispanic street gang members call each other niggah.
However, its use has spread beyond North America. The Portuguese comedy group, Gato Fedorento
Gato Fedorento
Gato Fedorento is a Portuguese group of comic actors, who previously worked on SIC and RTP; they are currently signed to the Portugal Telecom group, with whom they have a contract of unspecified duration. The group is composed of the four actors José Diogo Quintela, Miguel Góis, Ricardo Araújo...
, uses the word nigga in an audio sketch, where the four individuals (all Caucasian) 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" (since the word isn't familiar for most Portuguese people, and is seen in the sketch simply as a strange-sounding word). Da Weasel
Da Weasel
Da Weasel was a Portuguese hip-hop band from Almada, fronted by MCs Pacman and Virgul. They were one of the oldest hip-hop projects in Portugal, having been created in 1993 and terminated in 2010, and notorious for being a full session band, instead of relying on a DJ and samples...
later sang a song named "Nigga" in Gato Fedorentos last episode of season 5.
Comedian Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
's routine "Niggas vs. Black People
Niggas vs. Black People
"Niggas vs. Black People" is the title of one of Chris Rock's most famous and most controversial bits. This bit, which appeared as track 12 on his 1997 album, Roll With the New, as well as his 1996 HBO special, Bring the Pain, is widely considered to be the breakthrough routine that established...
" distinguishes a nigga, which he defined as a "low-expectation-having motherfucker
Motherfucker
Motherfucker is a vulgarism which, in its most literal sense, refers to one who participates in sexual intercourse with a mother, either someone else's mother, or his own.- Variants :...
", from a "black person". In contrast, Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
distinguished between nigger and nigga: "Niggers was the ones on the rope
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
, hanging off the thing; niggas is the ones with gold ropes
Bling-bling
Bling is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps....
, 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."
Use in trademarks or brand names
The Lanham ActLanham Act
The Lanham Act is a piece of legislation that contains the federal statutes of trademark law in the United States. The Act prohibits a number of activities, including trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising.-History:Named for Representative Fritz G...
does not permit registration of trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
s containing terms that may disparage
Disparagement
Disparagement, in United States trademark law, is a statutory cause of action that permits a party to petition the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the Patent and Trademark Office to cancel a trademark registration that "may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or...
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 Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
men filed a trademark application with the PTO for the words "Naturally Intelligent God Gifted Africans," and its acronym
Acronym and initialism
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These components may be individual letters or parts of words . There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms , nor on written usage...
. The application was rejected, as were numerous subsequent applications for variations of the word nigga. Most recently, comedian Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans brothers.-Early life:Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager...
twice attempted to trademark a brand name called Nigga, "featuring clothing, books, music and general merchandise." The PTO 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."
See also
- Guilty or Innocent of Using the N WordGuilty or Innocent of Using the N WordGuilty or Innocent of Using the N Word is a 2006 documentary directed by British director, Bhavna Malkani, in Warsaw, capital of Poland.The documentary explores questions and issues surrounding the word "nigger" that many feel constrained to discuss, as is often categorized as a taboo word...
- ReappropriationReappropriationReappropriation is the cultural process by which a group reclaims—re-appropriates—terms or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. For example, since the early 1970s, much terminology referring to homosexuality—such as gay, queer, and faggot—has been reappropriated...
External links
- "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 McWhorterJohn McWhorterJohn Hamilton McWhorter V is an American linguist and political commentator. He is the author of a number of books on language and on race relations. His linguistic specialty is creole and the process through which it forms.-Early life:...
, The Root