A instead of ER (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Wilson Gray]

Back in what were once known as "the fit tiz," "my nigga" was a kind
of joking insult. F'rinstance, arnold might, in response to my comment
on his post, laughingly put his arm around my shoulders and say,
"damn, wilson! you my nigga!" I.e., were everyone else in the field
like you, totally stunned by the most banal of my observations, I
[would] be *rulin* lang wistic! Aw eva the kang a syntak, at lease!

This kind of speech act *has* to be "blackenized." Spoken wholly in
sE, such a comment would be taken as a fairly serious insult or
put-down, containing, as it does, the "magic word." You really have to
know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em, when using the
n-word, though its use may appear to be totally random.

In Los Angeles, where even street BE is far more r-ful than BE in
Saint Louis, hearing other black people say "nigger" [nIgr] used to
make my flesh crawl. That's prolly why NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitude) came
Straight Outta Compton and not from middle-class-black northwest
South-Central Los Angeles.

Time brings about a change, as they say. My old 'hood in northeast
South Central, north of Pico and west of Western, for those who know
the area, then called the "Wilshire District," is now "Koreatown" and
West Los Angeles, which was once so Jewish that it was like New York
City with palm trees, is the new home of the better class of colored
people, the last time that I looked, which was a while ago.

-Wilson


On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 12:22 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
<Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
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>  Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
>  Subject:      Re: A instead of ER (UNCLASSIFIED)
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>  > -----Original Message-----
>  > From: American Dialect Society
>  > [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
>  > Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 6:03 PM
>  > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>  > Subject: Re: A instead of ER
>  >
>  > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>  > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>  > Subject:      Re: A instead of ER
>  > --------------------------------------------------------------
>  > -----------------
>  >
>  > There is an additional (or more comprehensive) possibility.
>  > Hiphop lyrics and, hence, criticism, frequently use final {a}
>  > in place of orthographic {er} to stress the "r-lessness" of
>  > much urban AAVE.  Thus, e.g., "playa" for "player," "hata"
>  > for "hater."
>  >
>  >   The point of the slogan may be that this development
>  > somehow emphasizes "African-Americanness" in a positive way.
>  >
>  >   Another possibility: maybe whites are allowed to write
>  > "nigga" in contexts where racist motivation is obviously out
>  > of the question - as it would/should be in mainstream hiphop
>  > criticism. If I may once again allude to _Idiocracy_, just
>  > before he starts the time experiment, white "Officer" Collins
>  > addresses both subjects (played by Luke Wilson and Maya
>  > Rudolph)
>
>  Formerly known as "Mayer Rudolph"
>
>
>  >  comically but (I would think) harmlessly as "my
>  > niggaz."  That confirms what we already know. He's a pathetic
>  > jerk, but not a white supremacist.
>  >
>  >   I still find my very first suggestion, however ironically
>  > presented, mot appealing, but the second one may be lurking
>  > in the background.
>  >
>  >   JL
>  >
>  > Barbara Need <nee1 at MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU> wrote:
>  >   ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>  > -----------------------
>  > Sender: American Dialect Society
>  > Poster: Barbara Need
>  > Subject: A instead of ER
>  > --------------------------------------------------------------
>  > -----------------
>  >
>  > The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago has an
>  > exhibit is titled "Black Is, Black ain't" and the poster says
>  > a instead of er "changes everything"!
>  >
>  > http://www.renaissancesociety.org/site/
>  >
>  > Barbara
>  >
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--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
 -Sam'l Clemens

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