1 / 12

TKAM: The Power of a Word

TKAM: The Power of a Word. NIGGER Arguably, the most powerful word in American English. BLACK Nero in Italian Negre in French Negro in Spanish

shiro
Download Presentation

TKAM: The Power of a Word

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. TKAM: The Power of a Word

  2. NIGGER Arguably, the most powerful word in American English.

  3. BLACK Nero in Italian Negre in French Negro in Spanish Many people suggest it means GOD in Ancient Egyptian. When the Romans invaded Nubia through Egypt, they learned the word referencing the KING. Through colonization, the term became negative to mean SLAVE.

  4. From Anti-Defamation League 1998 Nigger (also spelled niggar): a word that is an alteration for the earlier neger, nigger derives from the French negre, from the Spanish and Portuguese negro, from the Latin niger (black). First recorded in 1587 (as negar), the word probably originated with the dialectical pronunciation negro in northern England and Ireland.

  5. From PBS In the United States, “nigger” was first regarded as a pejorative in the early 19th century. In the era of enslavement, the words “nigger” or “black” were inserted in front of a common American first name (e.g., John), given to a slave to distinguish the slave from any local white person with that name.

  6. Racial Boundaries While usage of the word in African American culture is complex in that it can be used affectionately, politically, or pejoratively, the epithet is considered an abusive slur when used by white people.

  7. Langston Hughes in The Big Sea (1940) Used rightly or wrongly, ironically or seriously, of necessity for the sake of realism, or impishly for the sake of comedy, it doesn’t matter. Negroes do not like it in any book or play whatsoever, be the book or play ever so sympathetic in its treatment of the basic problems of race. Even though the book or play is written by a Negro, they still do not like it. The word nigger, you see, sums up for us who are colored all the bitter years of insult and struggle in America.

  8. Controversy • Jennifer Lopez “I’m Real” (2001) • Eminem (2003) • Michael Richards (2006) • Paris Hilton (2007) • Nas (2007) • Charlie Sheen (2008) • Jay-Z v. Oprah (2009) • John Mayer (2010) • Mel Gibson (2010) • Common v. Maya Angelou “The Dreamer” (2011) • Brad Paisley & LL Cool J “Accidental Racist” (2013)

  9. Video Clips • http://video.whro.org/video/1593778359/

  10. Connotation Reveals Society’s Underlying Prejudice

  11. Discussion Questions • In general, who can or can’t say the word? When, if ever, can it be said? • How do you feel about the use of the word? • Is the use of the word in the classroom different from its use outside the classroom? • Is it different to read a text by an African American who uses it than it is to read it in a text by a non-African American? Why? • Does the use of the word in a “classic” literary work give it validity outside of the classroom? How?

  12. Reflective Discussion • How do you think the word will evolve for the future? • What is your experience with racial pejoratives? • What is the social purpose of using such terms? • Do you use the terms? How? What message are you sending? Is that okay with you?

More Related