Do you? And do you ever wave that around as some sort of banner?
"Negro"
- Thread starter vraiblonde
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Do you? And do you ever wave that around as some sort of banner?
Hank
my war
Was I talking to you?
philibusters
Active Member
Since black people won't tell me, perhaps because they don't know, I did some research myself on why the word "Negro" is considered offensive.
Opinion piece with history by what I presume is a white guy:
http://stuffblackpeopledontlike.blogspot.com/2011/02/76-term-negro.html
^^ This whole site is pretty much politically incorrect, but interesting and observant nonetheless.
Scholarly article by the Senior Editor of Ebony magazine, who I presume to be black:
http://www.virginia.edu/woodson/courses/aas102 (spring 01)/articles/names/bennett.htm
Interesting how people want to be called one thing or another based on emotion and not on anything historical or rational. The word "negro" has no connotation for me, either negative or positive - I just like the way it sounds as opposed to "black" or the mostly incorrect "African-American". It's a word that sounds rich and almost regal - it means "black" in Spanish, giving it an international flair. But it's no skin off me if black people don't want to take that word and make it their own.
Words and language are interesting to me. They mean something, as in they have a definition, then they get hijacked and turned into something else that has been declared offensive so you get yelled at for saying it. It's hard to keep up and annoying to even try.
Being neither here nor there, above is your history lesson for the day in case you care.
John McWhorter, an African American linguists and African American studies, explained the phenomena. At first a word is introduced because the group feels the current term has a negative stigma and is offensive. And at first the new term has a neutral feel to. However over a generation it tends to pick up the same negative connations of the word it replaced.
Originally people said people with low IQ's were "mentally handicapped". Over time that term started to pick up negative connations, so advocates for people with low IQ's advocated using the scientific sounded term, retarded. At first that had a neutral feel to it. However, a generation later, if you wanted to put down somebody, you would say "Are you retarded?" It had picked up the same negative connations. And thus advocates for people with a low IQ started advocating for a new term, which is where we are now.
Same thing with African Americans. African Americans is the preferred neutral sounding term. Before that it I think it was negro and colored (I cannot remember if negro replaced colored or vice versa). Over time African Americans will likely feel that the term "African Americans" has a negative connation and come up with a new preferred term.
According to McWhorter, its all natural language change.
For what its worth McWhorter is an interesting character. He is to the left of most of you, but he does have some libertarian leanings and actually accepted an offer to leave Cal Berkeley to work for a conservative think tank for three years. During that time he wrote a well selling book arguing welfare was hurting African American communities. That said he is not a conservative. He has said Trump stinks and said while he had policy disagreements with Obama he much admired and supported him.
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PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
For something like a week back in the 80s or 90s the preferred term was Afro-American, why did it change so quick?
Yes. ;-)
Hijinx
Well-Known Member
That guess is as good as mine I suppose, but you called me racist, Are you racist for having an opinion?
It's not a homophone, it's the same word used in multiple ways.
That's what a homophone is. The same word pronounced in different ways.
It can have multiple meanings
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
No it isn't. A homophone is two different words that are pronounced the same, such as knight and night. Dumbass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone
each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling
Negro- 18-19 century term for a person of color now considered offense by many
Negro- a Spanish word pronounced differently referring to a color.
My original definition was correct as is yours patchetic attempt at making me look wrong.
hotbikermama40
New Member
No. Not the "same word"...two or more words that are pronounced the same but mean different things. As in 'witch' or 'which'.
In the future, when you think "Hey! I can educate others on grammar!". Kick yourself in the a$$.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
That is a homonym, dumbass
Are you really that stupid?
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
ho·mo·phone
ˈhäməˌfōn,ˈhōməˌfōn/
noun
plural noun: homophones
each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling, e.g., new and knew.
And people were arguing that Trump supporters are highly educated the other day.
Our education system in this country was bad before wait till Devos is done with it
hotbikermama40
New Member
Oh ffs...Negro is a homograph. -graph meaning how a word is written or drawn
Pitcher (as in baseball) and pitcher (as in vessel) is a homonym: said OR spelled the same way, but each with a different meaning.
PE's example of knight and night is a good homophone. -phone meaning how a word sounds.
You need to go back and finish the third grade so you can spell words before trying to lecture anyone here about grammar structure, vocabulary or definitions. For example:
WTF does this sentence even mean?
I don't. Nor do I have any Gay, Trans, Muslim, Socialist, Communist, Pedophile, SJW's and Terriorists freinds......not by choice, but I seem not to travel in their circles.
...but I do have Asian, Hispanic, Liberal, Consevative, Coptic Christian, Evangelical, Jewish friends.
So what is your point?
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
Contradict yourself much? You are clearly wrong, but people like you will not admit it, always deflecting, blaming others.
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