Racial vilification (Re: warp & woof,

[Terrance]

"Ivan Z. Cestero" wrote:
> 
> yeah barcelona!!!! (though they are playing some sorry-ass league ball right now....11 pts back of madrid....the fuck?!?!?!)
> 
> hey has anyone mentiond the rather important fact that  'nigger' and 'nigga' are ostensibly two different words?

Yes. 

Also I mentioned Sarah Jones here in the past, check her
out. Is she white, black, hispanic, Latino, jewish, italian,
what? 

http://www.advancedhiphop.com/hiphop.htm

An excellent study is Geneva Smitherman's *talkin that talk:
Language, Culture, and Education in African America*

She says, 

Rule 1. the  term   cannot be used by white folk

Rule 2. Blacks should not use the term in the public arena,
and particularly not in the presence of whites. 

The rules have to do with cultural code. One needs to know
the rules of speaking the language in the social and
cultural context that are an inextricable dimension of any
language. 

In other words, cultural and social competence are dependent
upon or require the speaker to know who can say what to whom
when or under what conditions or in what social/cultural
setting. 

The word has many meanings. Among Blacks, only one of these
is negative. 



Rule 2 has been relaxed and this has implications for rule
1. 

Rule 1 is is under heavy pressure and of course, like all
language/cultural codes, there are many exceptions. 

The considerable relaxing of its use as I said,  is not only
because of hip-hop, though hip-hop is an important
contributing factor affecting rule 2 and rule 1. 

Like other language/cultural rules this change cannot be
attributed to a single event or 
cause or cultural development and is quite complicated. The
term is evolving. Latinos and other minorities, "cultural
familiars" and "honorary Blacks," dudes that are "down"(who
may be white), just as they have used "snaps" are using the
term. And, all white groups, all latino, all asian,  and
even mixed groups, in public and in private are using the
term in its many positive meanings. This has been going on
for at least twenty-five years. But rule 1 has been relaxed
and not eradicated. The breaking of rule 2 is bending rule 1
to the breaking point. 

What do you think? 

Yes, I understand your skepticism Thomas. Some young people
that use the term, as I indicated, are ignorant of its
history, its traditional meaning, a racial slur. But even
after learning about this, or even when they have know this
history for years, the term is so culturally familiar, so
much in their conversations, attitude, their RAP (this is
very important),  that they use it, privately, publicly and
frequently.