Nigga
447699
225407165
2008-07-13T14:52:54Z
Deanlaw
5020932
/* Use in trademarks or brand names */ correct my grammer
{{dablink|For the Panamanian singer known as Nigga, see [[Flex (singer)]]}}
{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Nigga.ogg|2007-03-15}}
'''Nigga''' is a term used in [[African American Vernacular English]] that began as an [[eye dialect]] form of the word ''[[nigger]]'' (which is derived ultimately from the [[Latin]] word ''[[wikt:niger|niger]]'' meaning the color black).<ref name=WP>Randall Kennedy. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/nigger.htm Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word], ''Pantheon''. 256 pp</ref>
== Use in language ==
In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context.<ref name=WP/> Presently, the word ''nigga'' is used more liberally among younger members<ref name =BBC>Jeremy Cooke. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6406625.stm Racial slur banned in New York,] ''BBC News'', [[1 March]], [[2007]]</ref> of all races and [[ethnicities]] in the [[United States]], 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]]; [[Asian Americans]], [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], [[Latin Americans]] and [[European American]]s<ref name=ENQ>Kevin Aldridge, Richelle Thompson and Earnest Winston. The evolving N-word ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', [[August 5]], [[2001]].</ref><ref name=LCM>Kendra Pierre. [http://www.lcmeridian.com/media/storage/paper806/news/2006/05/01/News/nigger.nigga.Or.Neither-1876412.shtml?norewrite200610170024&sourcedomain=www.lcmeridian.com 'Nigger,' 'Nigga' or Neither?], ''Meridia'', [[May 1]], [[2006]].</ref> 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.<ref name=Metro>J. Douglas Allen-Taylor. [http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/04.09.98/cover/nigger-9814.html New Word Order], ''Metro'', [[April 9]], [[1998]].</ref> Many people consider the terms to be equally [[pejorative]], and the use of ''nigga'' both in and outside African American communities remains controversial.<ref name=SGM>[[Alex Alonso]]. [http://www.streetgangs.com/magazine/053003niggas.php Won’t You Please Be My Nigga: Double Standards with a Taboo Word], [[May 30]], [[2003]].</ref> 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"<ref>Smith. H. Lewis.[http://www.blackcommentator.com/214/214_n_word_not_just_another_smith_guest.html "Why The N-word Is Not Just Another Word]." ''The Black Commentator.'' January 25, 2007. Issue 214. Retrieved 01-26-2007.</ref> 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."<ref>Phil Middleton and David Pilgrim, [http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2420/Nigger_the_word_a_brief_history "Nigger (the word), a brief history!]." ''African American Registry.'' 2001. Retrieved 03-14-2007.</ref> The [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]], a civil rights group, condemns use of both ''nigga'' and ''nigger''.<ref name=Metro />
Some African-Americans express considerable offense when referred to as a ''nigga'' by [[caucasian race|caucasian]] people, but not if they are called the same by other African-Americans, or by some other minority, as a [[term of endearment]].<ref name=Metro/> In this case, the term may be seen either as a symbol of [[brotherhood]],<ref name=ENQ2>Kevin Aldridge. [http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2001/08/05/loc_2slurs_often_adopted.html Slurs often adopted by those they insult], ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', [[August 5]], [[2001]].</ref> similar to the usage of the words ''[[dude]]'' and ''bro'' and its use outside a [[speech community|defined social group]] an unwelcome [[cultural appropriation]]. Critics have derided this as a [[double standard]].<ref name=ENQ/>
== Cultural influence ==
[[Ice Cube]], in his song "[[Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It]]", says he "heard ''nigga'' back in 1971." The term "nigga, please", first used in the 1970s by comics such as [[Paul Mooney (comedian)|Paul Mooney]] as "a funny punctuation in jokes about Blacks,"<ref name=Mooney> Darryl Fears. [http://www.bet.com/Entertainment/jacksonmooneynwordboycott.htm?Referrer=%7B03CE5360-2620-42CB-AD7E-77E4249C5FB7%7D Jesse Jackson, Paul Mooney Call for End of N-Word], ''BET.com'', [[November 27]], [[2006]].</ref> 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 music]].<ref name=WASH>Darryl Fears. Patent offense: Wayans’s hip-hop line, ''The Washington Post'', [[March 15]], [[2006]].</ref><ref name=Wired> Rogers Cadenhead. [http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70259-0.html Actor Tries to Trademark 'N' Word,] ''Wired'', [[23 February]], [[2006]].</ref> Examples include: hip-hop group [[N.W.A.|Niggaz with Attitude]] (N.W.A.), [[Notorious B.I.G.]]'s song, "The Realest Niggaz", [[The Geto Boys]]' "Real Negro Shit", [[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).<ref name=Wired/> This is reflected in the term's wide use in modern [[Gangs in the United States of America|American gang]] culture. According to a ''[[Texas Monthly]]'' article about [[Houston]] gangs, many Hispanic street gang members call each other ''niggah''.<ref name=Texas>Skip Hollandsworth, [http://www.texasmonthly.com/2006-12-01/feature4-3.php Southwest Houston After Dark]," ''[[Texas Monthly]]'', December 2006</ref>
However, its use has spread beyond North America. The Portuguese comedy show, ''[[Gato Fedorento]]'', uses the word ''nigga'' in an audio sketch, where the four individuals say they are niggas ("I'm nigga, nigga; are you nigga, nigga?"), and end up admitting that they do not know what ''nigga'' means, although "people say it's amazing". [[Da Weasel]] later sang a song named "Nigga" in ''Gato Fedorento'''s last episode of season 5.
[[Chris Rock]] had a routine [[Niggas vs. Black People]] that distinguished a ''nigga'', which he defined as a "low-expectation-having [[motherfucker]]", from a "black person". In contrast, [[Tupac Shakur]] defined 'NIGGA' as an acronym: "Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished" in the lyrics to his song "Words of Wisdom", on his 1991 album ''[[2Pacalypse Now]]''. It later served as a title of a track on his posthumous 2004 album ''[[Loyal to the Game]]''. In an interview in the documentary ''Tupac: Resurrection'', Shakur further distinguished between ''nigger'' and ''nigga'': {{Cquote|"Niggers was the [[lynching|ones on the rope]], hanging off the thing; niggas is the ones with [[Bling-bling|gold ropes]], hanging out at clubs."}}
==Use in trademarks or brand names==
The [[Lanham Act]] does not permit registration of [[trademark]]s containing terms that may [[Disparagement|disparage]] persons or bring them into disrepute.<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|15|1052}}.</ref> 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 relevent group to be disparaging.<ref name="Anten">{{Citation|last=Anten|first=Todd|author-link= |title=Self-Disparaging Trademarks and Social Change: Factoring the Reappropriation of Slurs into Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act|journal=Columbia Law Review|volume=106|issue= |pages=338|date= |year=2006|url=http://www.columbialawreview.org/pdf/Anten-Web.pdf|format=[[PDF]]|accessdate=2007-07-12}}</ref>
In 1995, two [[Houston, Texas]] men filed a trademark application with the PTO for the words "Naturally Intelligent God Gifted Africans," and its [[Acronym and initialism|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."<ref name=WASH/> 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."<ref name=Wired/>
== See also ==
* ''[[Guilty or Innocent of Using the N Word]]''
* [[Reappropriation]]
== References ==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
== External links ==
*[http://www.banthenword.org BanTheNWord.org] an activist website.
[[Category:Slang]]
[[Category:African American culture]]
[[Category:American English]]
[[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]]
[[es:Nigga]]
[[fi:Nigga]]