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[di_glossia]

How do you explain reappropriation of offensive terms within a certain country to non-native speakers?

I have a Scandinavian friend with a strong interest in American hip hop culture and especially music. Some time ago, I realized that she was using and misspelling a reappropriation of the N word in informal contexts. While our conversations are

Comments

[la_dy_ashley]

Do you communicate in English or Norwegian? Because if you're using Norwegian, it is possible that the word you cite, neger, isn't as offensive in her language as it is in American English, so why should she avoid it?

For example, my native Russian has a perfectly neutral word for a black person (негр), an offensive term (which I'm not going to name), and also the American borrowing ниггер (basically your N-word in Cyrillic), which is used a lot in teenage hip hop slang but has hardly any negative connotation at all. I actually know a teenage boy affectionately (sic) called n****r by his friends, because of his love for hip hop.

However, if you're using English, you should probably warn her that using the N-word might land her in trouble one day.

[di_glossia]

We speak in both. We often communicate via Twitter. I was reading one of her English tweets when I first noticed the word, which she was spelling with an 'e' instead of an 'i'. It took me some time to realize what she meant. So she was definitely using it in English and repeating a word she had heard.

I'm not a big fan of telling other people not to use words that are insulting in one language in another. It's when it's insulting in the language it's being used in that I get concerned.

[keeni84]

"American borrowing ниггер (basically your N-word in Cyrillic)"
"I actually know a teenage boy affectionately (sic) called n****r by his friends, because of his love for hip hop."

This breaks my heart.

[tisoi]

Also, I don't understand how we are so willing to accept that American hip-hop can be adopted by people outside of America, yet not understand how American racism and attitudes toward black Americans can also be adopted.

What do you think of Asian Americans - those who are into hip hop - using "nigga?" I thought it was rather silly. Especially hearing it from classmates and even among my cousins. But I came to find out that, for Filipinos at least, it may be justified. When the Americans invaded the Philippines a century ago, they called us niggers. It continued thru the occupation of the Philippines for the next half century.

[di_glossia]

It does seem like that in some way to me, too. muckefuck seems to think it would be unreasonable for someone to get angry because the user would be a non-native speaker, but not everyone thinks about whether the offending word means the same thing in one language as it does in another. I don't know much about Suarez or his intent, but it's a good example of how little intent or language differences matter when people hear an offensive word.

[keeni84]

So anyway, I'm a black American who has lived in many countries, and who has had to deal with all the countless versions of "nigger" in various languages. The most offensive thing to me is when people try to translate the hip-hop term "nigga" to "black person/African/African American". It pisses me off even more when people turn "nigga" into "nigger", and then say this means "black person".

I have had this conversation before with my Swedish friends, and by the end of the conversation, they understand my position -- no matter what language you say it in, if you say it to me, it's not okay.

I wonder how many black Norwegians and black Swedes and black Scandinavians there are who can stand up and say "I am not okay with this!"

[keeni84]

Also, I don't understand how we are so willing to accept that American hip-hop can be adopted by people outside of America, yet not understand how American racism and attitudes toward black Americans can also be adopted.

When you make it your business to "adopt" the culture or "style" of another group of people, it becomes your responsibility to understand what the hell it is you're saying.

[di_glossia]

I agree, though I don't think my friend is necessarily aware that the word is not used by all musicians in that particular category and not just some blacks. She's basically a high schooler who has taken English for a decade. The subtleties of American English dialects are still being worked out.

Of course, I may be given her the benefit of the doubt. I won't know until we talk about it.

[keeni84]

My hope is that she begins challenging herself not just in language learning, but also in understanding the culture of the people who speak the language she's learning.

I am not trying to be harsh...I just find it disappointing when fellow Americans see these types of conversations and discussions as cultural imperialism.

[lizardphunk]

I didn't read all the comments, but Norway uses "nigger" as well. It's not the same as "neger". I think I've only heard "nigger" in a context referencing to rap or hip hop in a non-derogatory manner.

And as a fellow Norwegian, I bet she knows about the issues you're worried about. She's just deciding to use the word her way, or be "radical".

You should just tell her you're offended. If she's my age, she's grown up with English, and is "native" with Norwegian-style English, but lacks the appropriate cultural contexts for some words.

[di_glossia]

Okay. Thank you for the input. I don't think you're right since that's not the word she used and she wasn't speaking in Norwegian at the time.

I'm not sure you understand the issue, actually. There are two different words, one ending in -er and one in -a. The first is undeniably offensive. The second is a reappropriation of the first that can be a form of address or refer to a black man (it might also refer to a black woman, but I've never heard it used that way). These are two different words. If anyone is using the first to refer to hip hop or rap culture, they're using the wrong word.

My friend was using the second, not the first, while speaking in English. She was using it absolutely properly. The problem is that her looks could get her in a lot of trouble for repeating that word around certain people.

[keeni84]

If you're saying "nigger" in English, it's always offensive and derogatory. That's what the word is. It doesn't change.

"Nigga" is probably the word you're looking for in reference to hip-hop and rap.

[nokomedandrea]

As a Norwegian, I have a hard time understanding how she does't see that this is not okay. I used to listen to a lot of American hip-hip when I was 10-14, and even at that age I knew that the n-word would be percieved as offensive should I, as a white Scandinavian, use it. Do you know which part of Norway she's from? Approximately the size of her hometown? Rural/urban?