Nigga Lingua

It started with a discussion on the Wailing Wall about a poster for an anti-racism campaign that the Red Cross is launching in Finland. It should come as no surprise to anyone that racism does in fact exist in Finland just as it does nearly everywhere else on the planet where there are a least 2 humans from different races or cultures. In contrast to the US which prides itself on being the 'melting pot of the world' [which has always brought to my mind an image of homogeneity], Finland is a reasonably homogeneous culture which has only about 2% of its population who are foreigners. Given that many of these foreigners are recent imports, myself included, it is predictable that language as a weapon adapted.

So, this isn't new, but what I take issue with here in Finland is the incorrect usage of a particular racial slur whose origin lies not with Shakespeare, but with slavery in the US. The word is nigger. I strongly dislike the word and its use, but if those who use English in graffiti and in insults feel the need to make English the lingua franca of hate, they should know how to use it properly. [I will note here that I do find it curious that a large percentage of graffiti, including racial slurs, is in English] I will refer to the Dictionary of American Regional English as the authority for the word, and another I'll introduce as it's counterpart, since America is where this word took the form that is being used presently in Finland. The first citation of nigger in the US dates from 1619 by a man who was sold twenty negars by some Dutch slave traders. The Finnish equivalent of nigger is neekeri which came into use via the Swedish word neger which, of course, has the same roots as the the English word negro which evolved from the latin niger for black.

Nigger n. - may also be spelled negger, niggar, niggur, nager, ne(a)ger, neeger, negar, negur, niegor, and niger.

1. A black person.
2. Used in a depreciatory sense by White speakers.
3. Used in a relatively neutral or affectionate sense by White speakers
4. Used in a neutral or favorable sense by Black speakers.
5. Used with a given name as an identifier.
6. Used of any other non-White person, esp. an American Indian.
7. Used of any person perceived as uncouth, immoral, or threatening, regardless of skin color. especially frequent among Black speakers; derog.
8. In combination with big, head or lead - an important, often self-important, person
9. Cheap; inferior; makeshift.
10. Used as a name for a black animal.
11. A steam engine used to operate a capstan, especially on a riverboat.
12. In logging: a device for lifting, turning, and adjusting logs in a sawmill.
13. A detachable length of heavy pipe made and sold as part of a large wrench.
14. et. al

It is a strange word with so many uses, contexts and connotations that even native speakers of American English don't feel comfortable using it, even in a situation where it would be less treacherous to do so. It's not a word to be used lightly or carelessly. I particularly dislike the word being used as a catch-all epithet for any non-white persons given the etymology of the word and since racism is as old as race itself and there are plenty of specific racial slurs to go around. Also, if the graphic artist from the photo above was trying to insult someone, Nigga can be a term of endearment. Nigger : The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word is a book that caused a bit of a stir in the US when it was published and received quite good reviews from the curious and the scholarly.

I haven't heard nigger's white counterpart, cracker, yet. Cracker is a much younger word and isn't recommended for use in the Southern US without a death wish.

Cracker n.

1. A variety of baked good, biscuit.
2. A poor White person. [Probably originated from cracker meaning braggart]
3. White racist.
4. An extreme or outstanding example of its kind.

The first citation is from 1766; "I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode." It is often used in the form Georgia Cracker, a.k.a. corn-cracker, which was originally a dig at poor white trash. It's an intriguing word since there are few racial slurs specifically for white racists so insulting or incendiary. Cracker could also be easily adapted to Finnish as Krakkeri, but it's already being used as a slang term for a computer 'cracker' so it may need to remain in it's English form.

Both words have an interesting etymology, a wide range of uses, and uses which incorporate boasting in the more derogatory forms. Neither of them seem to have a very clear history of how they evolved into racial slurs. Language is a tool to bring people together and an effective weapon to exclude, belittle and degrade those who are different. Especially with epithets whose meaning depend so much on context and the culture of their origin, they don't always translate well even though movies, music, books and other vehicles of popular culture present them well beyond their native habitat.

20 Mar 2004 at 1:04, Helsinki