TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY THE N-WORD? THAT IS NOT THE QUESTION
Debates continued a couple of years after the University of Ottawa's professor used the N-word.
A friend recently heard about this event and asked me what my position was regarding the usage of the N-word. He also wanted to know if I believe pronouncing the N-word entirely should be prohibited, even in an academic context.
Before engaging in this type of conversation, it is crucial to understand the evolution of a word that creates so much confusion because of blurry lines.
According to Linguist Ph.D. John McWhorter:
"The usage of the N-word begins as just a descriptive word for black people by, for example, Englishman and other whites. At first, it just meant the blankies essentially.
Then, predictably it ends up also being a slur that most of us probably think of first.
There's a natural human process where people of a subordinate group will take a term thrown at them and bring it in as an ingroup term of affection. Through that process, the N-word became what you mean by "buddy." Although part of the reason the word is used to mean buddy is that, in a way, you are kind of putting the person down; you are leveling the person, which is one thing that black men do among one another
The N-word has continued to evolve over the past few decades among non-black, particularly boys who are listening to the same music as black boys and who develop a sense of identification with black culture and therefore naturally want to start calling one another the N-word to mean buddy and to them that feels perfectly natural.
We, therefore, have a word that means three very different things: You've got: the slur, and then you've got the buddy, and then you've got of all things a white 17-year-old calling his friend."
Words evolve in different meanings temporally but also spatially.
As a person born and raised in Francophone Africa, the N-word for me carries a different weight and depth than a black American.
I have a higher tolerance for its usage, the same way I have with the words "Tabernacle" and "ostie," as they are used in Quebec. Not because these are not harmful words, but because, from my personal history and experience, I do not feel a direct connection to them.
In addition, my first introduction to the N-word was through African francophone literature with these books:
- « Le vieux Nègre et la Médaille » , Ferdinand Oyono
- « Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie Nègre et Malgache », Léopold Sedar Senghor
As used in these books, the N-word did not imply slur but was used as a descriptive word and somewhat in a way that slightly suggested pride.
Even as Africans, we may have a different relation to this word. So, for example, what the N-word means to me, will differ from what it means for someone who has suffered apartheid in South Africa.
This brings me back to my starting point: Shall we or shall we not use the N-word?
When someone asks me this question, what I hear is, can I use the N-word when it doesn't imply a slur or when my intentions are not to hurt someone?
Without wanting to enter into a long debate about intention VS action, to me, whether we should or should not use the N-word is not the right question.
So here are to me the fundamental questions instead:
Given the particularly charged connotation of the N-word and its potential to hurt, trigger trauma, or cause complicated feelings, is it a word that should be used lightly, especially by an educated person?
Is it fair to ask the black community to assume someone's intention when using the N-word, precisely when the word today is still used as a slur?
Equally, could you assume the impact of your words on someone before getting to know them?
For a word that was (and still is) used as a way to dehumanize an entire community, is it sensible to use it as someone who has the face or carries the symbol of their oppressor?
Isn't it beautiful to witness a community that has experienced generational trauma finally setting boundaries around what is no longer acceptable to them and not being reminded of o that space?
And why is it triggering resistance on your part?
I will leave you with these questions to reflect on.
“Be you and the world will adjust.”
— Rachel-Diane EPOUPA
