Loud and Clear: A Linguistic Breakdown of Why You Can't Say "Nigga"

     Just in case it wasn't clear the first ten million times, linguist Aliah Luckman breaks down why the word "nigga" is a no go.

     As it currently stands, we're about two years away from commemorating 400 years since the first black slaves touched down on USAmerican soil. Just to be clear: 400 years is not a long time. Yet we are often times told to forget slavery and move on. We're told we no longer need to talk about it because we're living in a "post-racial society." Just so we're clear, here's a brief list of things we still celebrate/acknowledge that are 400 years old or older:

  • That time Pocahontas was too compassionate for her own good and saved the white savage John Smith

  • All thirty-seven of Shakespeare's dusty ass plays

  • Corsets

  • Jesus

  • ̶A̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶R̶o̶d̶g̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶H̶a̶m̶m̶e̶r̶s̶t̶e̶i̶n̶

     So with that in mind, I think we might have a right to continue speaking about slavery. Specifically, the mother of racial slurs that resulted from it: nigger.

     "Nigger" is a jarring word. "Nigga," when coming from a non-Black mouth is just as jarring. For years there has been a debate over the "N-word" and who exactly can say it. Linguist Aliah Luckman offers an in-depth and critical examination of the linguistic and pragmatic reasons why no non-Black person should ever use the word.

     It started on Twitter when Luckman tweeted:

 

     What followed was a detailed breakdown of the concept of "Pragmatic Competence." Luckman composed a series of tweets explaining:

"Pragmatic Competence refers to the ability to use language appropriately in different social situations. The appropriateness of language can be determined by various circumstances including: The purpose of speech, the relative status of those communicating, etc. Different circumstances warrant different word choices, for example:

Purpose: To get someone to stop talking; Status: Sibling, Same age/Younger; 'Shut up'

Purpose: To get someone to stop talking; Status: Stranger, Co-worker, Classmate; 'I'd really appreciate it if you'd be quiet.'

This holds true for word selection in different languages:

  • French : Vouz vs Tu

  • Spanish: Usted vs Tu

  • German: Sie vs Du

  • Chinese: Nǐn vs Nǐ

Although the intentions might be innocent, people of a certain status might feel offended by address of familial 'you' over formal 'you,' as would a stranger or co-worker if you told them to 'shut up.'"

     Basically, Luckman has explained that it's not just how someone says something, but also who says it that can have a huge effect on speech and how it's perceived. A speaker's relationship to their listener makes a major difference in the effectiveness of their speech, regardless of whatever intent may lie behind it.

     She expands:

"We have established that intention of speech doesn't corroborate perception of speech, and that it is important to adjust so not to offend. The importance of Relative Status as a circumstance for speech holds true when it comes to historically or socially derogatory terms."

     Luckman goes on to invite the public in partaking in polls about speech and its effect/perception based on the speaker and their relationship to their listener.

 
 
 

     Though the numbers vary from poll to poll, it seems that all who voted can agree on one thing: the way we receive speech is extremely dependent upon the speaker producing it and their relationship to the person receiving it.

     Luckman continues:

"Now, opinions on the appropriateness or inappropriateness of terms used in these circumstances vary COMPLETELY. Which is why they're polls. Some may believe that members outside of the targeted derogatory group shouldn't use derogatory words. Some may believe that neither members should use the derogatory word. Some believe that members outside the derogatory group can use the derogatory word if well-intentioned, or if friends/familiar w/ audience. The point we must return to is that word selection is contingent on the relative status of the speaker and listener, and so even if your ID friend 'doesn't mind' you calling him a 'retard' you're damn sure not going to go out and use the word with others. Why? Because you know that the word has social/historical negative connotations, & what may not offend your ID friend, could offend others. I repeat: Word use licensed in ONE circumstances does not warrant use in ANY OTHER circumstances."

     Luckman says it louder for the people in the back:

 

     This, however, is not Luckman's first rodeo, and she anticipates the classic phrase of dissension we've all heard:

 

     To which she responds:

"To that, we go back to the historical use of the word, and I urge you to free your mind of entitlement for just a moment to hear this out. No, 'nigger' didn't always mean what it means derrogatively. [sic] Nigger is almost a loanword for the COLOR in Spanish. But we know that its English origins were intended to reference black people. SO, Nigger = Black. Moving on, overtime with slavery, segregation, etc. Nigger became a word that carried A LOT of the hatred & disgust directed to black people. Of all of the racial slurs created to define ethnic groups (and there are a lot), Black people have THE MOST variety (lucky us). Examples include: 'coon,' 'mammy,' 'buck,' 'jigaboo,' etc. But NIGGER was the holy grail of the many slurs referencing black people.

Nigger could be used as a noun, verb, and an adjective, all to describe the characteristics of a lazy, worthless, irrelevant BLACK person. BLACK as an insult; Calling a white person a nigger was no more offensive in reference to laziness as it was in reference to being 'a negro.' In fact, 'nigger' was used adjectively [sic] in reference to Darkness. You had 'brown,' & then you had 'nigger-brown,' 'nigger-black,' etc."

     Sis brings out receipts:

 

     She continues:

"How did it become a word used by black people then? Well Trevor, I'm glad you asked.

Since Nigger already meant black, Nigger could have meant a variety of insults between black people, from laziness, to worthlessness, (as in Imamu Amiri Baraka's poem 'I Don't Love You') to what people today would refer to as 'coonery' or being in the 'sunken place.' The N-word used intra-racially at most was to say 'They (whites/masa) were right about you.'

How did it become such a 'light-hearted' and commonly used term then? *Brace yourselves fellow Linguistics nerds*

DIMMINUTIVE [sic]AFFIXES

Dimminutives [sic] are used to create a concept of 'small' or 'little'-ness, like 'kitten' to 'kitt-y.'

And they are often used to create monikers

'Daniel' - 'Dann-y'

'Elizabeth' - 'Lizzy'

So, when we dropped the -er and added an -a, we, in turn, diminunized the word.

So instead of 'My lazy, worthless, black,' We have 'My LITTLE, lazy, worthless, black,' which to some capacity, is... Cuter?

Some of you may say 'YOU CAN'T DO THAT!' But unfortunately, we did, it happened. But only in a rhetorical way. It's rhetorical in the same way that girls can use 'Bitch' in different registers to portray different meaning despite its initial reference. But the meaning is ONLY rhetorically dimminutive [sic] if used by the targeted group of the derogatory word.

If men say 'Bitch' in ANY register it's offensive. Period. Because historically, the word was meant to be used by men to put down women.

In that same way, if a non-POC uses ANY variation of the N-word, it CANNOT be rhetorically diminutive because Why?

The word's INTENDED use was by whites to belittle and insult and dehumanize black people.

Relative Status guys.

No matter what your intentions, the word WILL mean something different depending on your relative status. Language is circumstancial. [sic]

You CANNOT as a white person use the N-word as a rhetorical diminutive, the same way you could not call the Queen of England 'Lizzy.'

And for other Non-black POC: No, you can't say it either. If you want to use racial slurs so bad use the ones they made for your ethnic group."

     Luckman proceeds to bring it home for us.

"So RECAP:

1. Intentions don't matter when it comes to perception.

2. Relative status CHANGES meaning of speech.

3 . Nigga is rhetorically diminutive used INTRA-RACIALLY BY BLACK PEOPLE.

4. The N-word is offensive Interracially.

5. The N-word should not be used Interracially.

6. Knowing this, you should not use the word Interracially.

7. You, after reading this thread, know better than to use the word Interracially.

8. Non-black people should not use the word Nigga.

9. NON-BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD NOT USE THE WORD NIGGA."

     And in case you missed it:

 

     No, sis. Thank you.

     We've always known internally why we hate hearing the 'N word' from non-Black mouths, but now we have a solid concrete explanation as to why it's wrong. What's even more incredible is the medium by which it was delivered. We see a lot of content posted via Twitter, but we're starting to see a small upswing in informational and educational threads.

     Could Twitter Journals become a thing?

     We kind of hope so. Especially if they're being written by smart educated sisters like Aliah Luckman.

     Luckman is currently working towards her BA in Theoretical Linguistics with a minor in ASL. You can thank her for being an  ̶a̶n̶g̶e̶l̶ ,  ̶s̶a̶v̶i̶o̶r̶ ,  ̶g̶o̶d̶d̶e̶s̶s̶  bad ass and bestowing us with this in-depth explanation by hitting up her PayPal here  

Culture, Open LettersImani Vaughn-Jonesthe n word, academia, linguistics, educated and melanated, Popular1 Comment