Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsJoseph
Wrong. Wrong. And Wrong. "Nigger" has ALWAYS been a racial slur to the peoples being described. It was considered a slur to black people WAY before the 1900's.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redcard
My Oxford English Dictionary on my Kindle says that nigger came from the 17th century, an offensive off-shoot from neger. It notes that it has long held offensive connotations. It also notes that lately, the word has morphed into a more mildly offensive usage amongst blacks to address other blacks, much like gay people use "queer" to describe themselves.
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According to the "Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang," "N*****" did not originate as a slur and only took on that meaning over time. There's a lot of other evidence that it was not originally pejorative, too.
Although of course I'd be interested in countervailing evidence.