Nigga

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the colloquial slang. For the racial slur from which "nigga" derives, see Nigger.
For the singer also known as "Nigga", see Flex (singer).
"Nigga, please" redirects here. For the album by Ol' Dirty Bastard, see Nigga Please.
Nigga (/n/) is a colloquial and vulgar term used in African-American Vernacular English that began
as a dialect form of the word nigger, an ethnic slur against black people. As a result of
reappropriation, today the word is used mostly by African-Americans in a largely non-pejorative
sense as a slang term referring to another black person or to themselves, often in a neutral or
friendly way.[1][2] The word is commonly associated with hip hop music and culture, especially that
of gangsta rap and G-funk subgenres.

In dialects of English (including standard British English) that have non-rhotic speech, nigger and
nigga are often[a] pronounced the same.

Usage
The use of nigger non-pejoratively within the black community was documented in the 1912 novel
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson, in which he recounted a
scene in New York City around the turn of the century:[3]

I noticed that among this class of colored men the word "nigger" was freely used in about the same
sense as the word "fellow," and sometimes as a term of almost endearment; but I soon learned that
its use was positively and absolutely prohibited to white men.

There is conflicting popular opinion on whether there is any meaningful difference between nigga
and nigger as a spoken term.[4] Many people consider the terms to be equally pejorative, and the
use of nigga both in and outside black communities remains controversial.[5] H. Lewis Smith, author
of Bury That Sucka: A Scandalous Love Affair with the N-word, believes that "replacing the 'er' with
an 'a' changes nothing other than the pronunciation"[6] 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."[7] The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights
group, condemns use of both nigga and nigger.[4]

Most African-Americans only consider nigga offensive when used by people of other races,[4][8]
with some seeing its use outside a defined social group as an unwelcome cultural appropriation.
Used by black people, the term may indicate "solidarity or affection",[9] similar to the usage of the
words dude, homeboy, and bro. Some consider nigga non-offensive except when directed from a
non-African-American towards an African-American. Yet others have derided this as hypocritical
and harmful, enabling white racists to use the word and confusing the issue over nigger.[10]
Conversely, nigga has been used an example of cultural assimilation, whereby some members of
other ethnicities (particularly younger people) will use the word in a positive way, similar to the
previously mentioned dude, homeboy, and bro, although this usage remains very controversial.[8]
Members of other ethnicities will not use the word while around African-Americans, especially those
they do not know. [11]

In practice, its use and meaning are heavily dependent on context, with non-offensive examples
ranging from a greeting,[12] to reprimand, to general reference, to a use synonymous with male
person.[citation needed] As of 2007, the word nigga was used more liberally by some younger
members of all races and ethnicities in the United States.[13] In addition to African-Americans, other
ethnic groups have adopted the term as part of their vernacular, although this usage is very
controversial.[10][14]