Niccast

Wiktionary is written in English, but includes and defines words from all languages, not just English words. Equinox ◑ 20:55, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

Hi. I'm fairly new here but I was struck by your article on the definition of the word "nigger". I would have liked to leave a reply on the actual page , but evidently it is protected and thus leaving a reply is not possible. So, I hope you'll forgive me for leaving it here, but I think there is a pertinent question here in regards to your point : "And even those African-Americans who have tried to reclaim it typically make a clear distinction between 'nigga' and 'nigger' and consider 'nigga' acceptable only when used by black people."

I feel safe in making the leap that in your opinion the word "nigger" is 100% a derogatory and most offensive term, specified towards black people or African-Americans. In stating that "even those African-Americans who have tried to reclaim it (for all intents and purposes, I think its fair to say that there is no longer a trying "to reclaim it". With its intensely frequent usage amongst the majority of the black community, I feel confident in saying it's been reclaimed, just not necessarily in the correct way) typically make a clear distinction between 'nigga' and 'nigger' and consider 'nigga' acceptable only when used by black people." I feel that a few unreasonable declarations are being made.

By saying that black people "make a clear distinction between 'nigga' and 'nigger'" and "consider "nigga" acceptable only when used by black people", you're asserting two arguable ideas:

1- that the word "nigga" does not carry the same meaning as the word "nigger", this is supported by your assertation that even black people "make a clear distinction between 'nigga' and 'nigger'", and

2- that the word "nigga" is racially exclusive, obviously meaning that the word can only be used by black people. I find this slightly contradictive if "nigga" actually does not carry the same definition as "nigger", because if that is the case then why would black people find it offensive for another race to use the same term if it does not carry the same definition as the origin word? Which black people do, as is evident by the reaction of most black people upon hearing the word "nigga" used by anyone other than another black person.

In regards to arguable idea 1: that the word "nigga" does not carry the same meaning as the word "nigger".

When using the Oxford definition of the word "nigga" it is plainly evident the both words carry the same meaning and weight:

OXFORD -

nig·ga

/ˈniɡə/

noun

OFFENSIVE

respelling of nigger (typically representing African American speech).

- I will concede that the Oxford dictionary is not the dictionary of choice here in the US, but to use the Merriam-Webster definition one could argue that its definition, actually 2 definitions, are completely contradictive to each other:

MERRIAM-WEBSTER -

nigga - noun

plural niggas also niggaz

1. offensive; see usage paragraph below —used as a pronunciation spelling of nigger

2. sometimes offensive; see usage paragraph below —used by some Black people to refer to themselves or to another Black person in a neutral or positive way.

The first definition mirrors Oxford's definition and in both cases, because it defines the word as a respelling of the origin word, implies that it is offensive across the racial spectrum and that all people, including black people, should be aware of the damage the word can inflict when used against anyone, especially black people, and as often as possible to refrain from using it (even though in the United States hate speech is protected under the First Amendment - I'm not arguing that anyone should use the words, just that regardless of how offensive the words are the use of them is protected by the Constitution).

The second definition of Merriam-Webster directly contradicts the former by stating that the word is "sometimes offensive" when used by any other race other than black people who, for some unknown reason, are allowed, exclusively to "refer to themselves or to another Black person in a neutral or positive way", in which case it isn't offensive.

So, my argument against the first assertation is this - If the word "nigga" is used in a positive way amongst the black community to either describe one's self or another black person, then why would it then be considered offensive if another race uses it in the same manner. To imply and assume that when anyone else other than black people use the word "nigga" they are using it in a derogatory or disparaging way is in itself the definition of racism. No one claims that only one race can use the word "beautiful" in a positive way and that anyone else who uses it is being racist and/or derogatory. Across the racial spectrum "beautiful" is a positive and uplifting term in any of its uses. So, if "nigga" is used in a positive or affirming way amongst black people then why would it be re-defined when used by anyone other than black people? I, honestly, can't find an example of where "nigga" is used by anyone in a negative way, except for when a negative adjective precedes or follows it, and that can be said of any words that have negative adjectives preceding or following them. It's the adjective that implies a negative description or quality, not the noun or pronoun.

In regards to arguable idea 2: that the word "nigga" is racially exclusive.

For any word to be racially exclusive, it would have to be a word that would not, except in reference to the race that uses it exclusively, be used by any other race at any time for any other reason other than the afore-mentioned. With the former argument all being said and laid out, one can easily come to the conclusion that the word "nigga" must have a separate and more benevolent definition and cannot be racially exclusive, based simply on that common sense assumption that black people, who find the word "nigger" highly offensive, would not use another form of the word, that has the same definition, to describe themselves or each other. So if "nigga" does, in actuality, have a different and more positive meaning, then as with other words that are uplifting and positive like "beautiful", "smart", "talented", energetic", etc.., that are not racially exclusive, the word "nigga" cannot be racially exclusive, because there are no other nouns or pronouns that have both a negative and positive definition at the same time. At least none that I can find. (Don't confuse connotation with definition.) DeltaChefNV (talk) 19:09, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

You say 'So if "nigga" does, in actuality, have a different and more positive meaning, then as with other words that are uplifting and positive like "beautiful", "smart", "talented", energetic", etc.., that are not racially exclusive, the word "nigga" cannot be racially exclusive, because there are no other nouns or pronouns that have both a negative and positive definition at the same time. At least none that I can find. (Don't confuse connotation with definition.)'

- There are plenty of nouns that have a positive and a negative definition. The word 'child' can mean a person under the age of, I dunno, about 13 - and under this definition it doesn't typically carry a positive or negative connotation. But it can also mean an adult who behaves in a childish way (typically negative connotation, as in 'Stop being such a child!'); AND it can mean an adult who has retained a child-like ability to wonder or explore or play (typically positive connotation). Another example (which plays to my 'it depends on the characteristics of the speaker') is bitch. When a man says it to or about a woman, it's pretty much always negative. But if a woman comes upon a group of her female friends and says 'hey bitches, what's up?' it has a much different connotation (and, I would argue, definition). (...Then there's also the difference between 'Peggy is a bitch' and 'I made Peggy my bitch'.) Niccast (talk) 04:57, 1 January 2024 (UTC)