Props

[Michael Newman]

>dn't be used by whites.
>
>While the hip-hop 'nigga' makes for an easily identifiable alternative to
>'nigger', and is generally seen as a positive black-on-black use, rather
>than the pejorative 'nigger', 'nigger', irrespective of spelling, has been
>used in a positive manner long before 1991.


Before I get more misunderstandings, I better clarify. Non-racial use
is not black-on-black or positive, which is ancient. It means the
term is used to mean roughly "dude." I'm Jewish, and I've been
referred to by it. You can get expressions like "No, not Paul, it's
that White nigga" or "Chinese nigga."

I could use it too, but it would elicit some odd looks unless they
knew I was "playin'" , much as if I used "mad" meaning "a lot" since
I'm (1) not a hip-hopper and (2) old. If I went around doing it, I
would be accused of being fake not racist.
--
Michael Newman
Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics
Dept. of Linguistics and Communication Disorders
Queens College/CUNY
Flushing, NY 11367