Free Essays on Slang Words

Nigga Vs. Nigger â€Å"Yo! That’s my NIGGA†, is what the average African American person would substitute for the connotation of their buddy, acquaintance, friend and associate. Notice the spelling of the word Nigga; the word ends with the letter â€Å"A† rather than â€Å"ER†. The ending of the word emphasizes a meaning. If the word ends with an â€Å"ER† it’s meant to offend a black person, as oppose to an â€Å"A†, which is used to express friendship within a circle of black friends. Even though the figure of speech is a noun, like the word nigger, it has a whole different meaning behind it. The connotation behind the word nigga symbolizes unity within the African American culture and society. Young black people feel comfortable calling each other â€Å"their nigga’s† because they are aware of the meaning. The connotation behind the word nigga to whites, regardless of the â€Å"A† or â€Å"ER† is negative. White p eople think the meaning is derogatory and always will be because of their perspective on how it was used throughout history. White people feel extremely uncomfortable calling their friends a nigga because they feel the new meaning of the connotation is the same denotation of the word. â€Å"That’s a NIGGER†, is the way many people classified black people back in the day. The word nigger is traced back to 1786 with the same denotation as it has now. A nigger as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as, â€Å"loosely or incorrectly applied to members of other dark-skinned races.† Throughout history the word nigger was never used in a manner that demonstrates pleasant things, it was always used to belittle a black person for not being similar to what the average person was (white). In the Oxford English Dictionary, all the examples the author provides for the reader reflect a negative meaning of that word. For example, in the dictionary it states to work like a nigger, is to work exceptionally hard. This examp... Free Essays on Slang Words Free Essays on Slang Words Nigga Vs. Nigger â€Å"Yo! That’s my NIGGA†, is what the average African American person would substitute for the connotation of their buddy, acquaintance, friend and associate. Notice the spelling of the word Nigga; the word ends with the letter â€Å"A† rather than â€Å"ER†. The ending of the word emphasizes a meaning. If the word ends with an â€Å"ER† it’s meant to offend a black person, as oppose to an â€Å"A†, which is used to express friendship within a circle of black friends. Even though the figure of speech is a noun, like the word nigger, it has a whole different meaning behind it. The connotation behind the word nigga symbolizes unity within the African American culture and society. Young black people feel comfortable calling each other â€Å"their nigga’s† because they are aware of the meaning. The connotation behind the word nigga to whites, regardless of the â€Å"A† or â€Å"ER† is negative. White p eople think the meaning is derogatory and always will be because of their perspective on how it was used throughout history. White people feel extremely uncomfortable calling their friends a nigga because they feel the new meaning of the connotation is the same denotation of the word. â€Å"That’s a NIGGER†, is the way many people classified black people back in the day. The word nigger is traced back to 1786 with the same denotation as it has now. A nigger as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as, â€Å"loosely or incorrectly applied to members of other dark-skinned races.† Throughout history the word nigger was never used in a manner that demonstrates pleasant things, it was always used to belittle a black person for not being similar to what the average person was (white). In the Oxford English Dictionary, all the examples the author provides for the reader reflect a negative meaning of that word. For example, in the dictionary it states to work like a nigger, is to work exceptionally hard. This examp...