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Negro

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This article is about the historical term. For the outdated race concept, seeNegroid.For other uses, seeNegro (disambiguation)andNegress (disambiguation).
Not to be confused withnigger.

In the English language, the termnegro(or sometimesnegressfor a female) is a term historically used to refer to people ofBlackAfricanheritage. The termnegromeans the colorblackin Spanish and Portuguese (fromLatinniger), where English took it from.[1]The term can be viewed asoffensive,inoffensive, or completely neutral, largely depending on the region or country where it is used, as well as the time period and context in which it is applied. It has various equivalents in otherlanguages of Europe.

In English

A European map ofWest Africa,1736. Included is the archaic mapping designation ofNegroland.

Around 1442, the Portuguese first arrived inSouthern Africawhile trying to find a sea route to India.[2][3]The termnegro,literally meaning 'black', was used by the Spanish and Portuguese as a simple description to refer to theBantu peoplesthat they encountered.Negrodenotes 'black' in Spanish and Portuguese, derived from theLatinwordniger,meaning 'black', which itself is probably from aProto-Indo-European root*nekw-,"to be dark", akin to*nokw-,'night'.[4][5]Negrowas also used for the peoples of West Africa inold mapslabelledNegroland,an area stretching along theNiger River.

From the 18th century to the late 1960s,negro(later capitalized) was considered to be the properEnglish-languageterm for people of black African origin. According to Oxford Dictionaries, use of the word "now seems out of date or even offensive in both British and US English".[1]

A specifically female form of the word,negress(sometimes capitalized), was occasionally used. However, likeJewess,it has completely fallen out of use.

Negroidwas used withinphysical anthropologyto denote one of the three purported races of humankind, alongsideCaucasoidandMongoloid.The suffix "-oid"means" similar to ".Negroidas a noun was used to designate a wider or more generalized category thanNegro;as an adjective, it qualified a noun as in, for example, "negroid features".[6]

United States

"If on no other issue than this one [the capitalization of the wordNegro],Du BoisandWashingtonwere in total agreement; each of them consistently urged the adoption of upper-case treatment by mainstream publications. Du Bois'sSuppressionandPhiladelphia Negromonographs had been among the first to have the noun placed in capitals, and Washington's success in gettingDoubleday, Page and Companyto capitalize the word inUp From Slaveryrepresented a significant breakthrough. "

W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919byDavid Levering Lewis[7]

Negrosupersededcoloredas the most polite word forAfrican Americansat a time whenblackwas considered more offensive.[8][better source needed][failed verification]In17th-century colonial America,the termNegrohad been also, according to one historian, used to describeNative Americans.[9]John Belton O'Neall'sThe Negro Law of South Carolina(1848) stipulated that "the term negro is confined to slave Africans, (the ancient Berbers) and their descendants. It does not embrace the free inhabitants of Africa, such as the Egyptians, Moors, or the negro Asiatics, such as the Lascars."[10]TheAmerican Negro Academywas founded in 1897, to supportliberal artseducation.Marcus Garveyused the word in the names ofblack nationalistandpan-Africanistorganizations such as theUniversal Negro Improvement Association(founded 1914), theNegro World(1918), theNegro Factories Corporation(1919), and theDeclaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World(1920).W. E. B. Du Boisand Dr.Carter G. Woodsonused it in the titles of their non-fiction books,The Negro(1915) andThe Mis-Education of the Negro(1933) respectively. Du Bois also used in the titles of his booksThe Study of the Negro Problems(1898) andThe Philadelphia Negro(1899).Negrowas accepted as normal, both asexonym and endonym,until the late 1960s, after the laterCivil Rights Movement.One example isMartin Luther King Jr.self-identification asNegroin his famous "I Have a Dream"speech of 1963.

Prevalence ofnegroas a demonym has varied in American English.All-Negro Comicswas a 1947 comic anthology written by African-American writers and featuring black characters.

However, during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the wordNegrobegan to be criticized as having been imposed by white people, and having connotations of racial subservience andUncle Tomism.The termBlack,in contrast, denoted pride, power, and a rejection of the past. It took root first in more militant groups such as theBlack MuslimsandBlack Panthers,and by 1967,SNCCleaderStokely Carmichaelpushed for the abandonment ofNegro.After theNewark riotsin the summer of 1967, one third to one half of young Black males polled in Newark self-identified asBlack.The term coexisted for a while withNegro,with the newer term initially referring only to progressive or radical Blacks, whileNegrowas used more for the Black establishment.[11]: 499 Malcolm XpreferredBlacktoNegro,but also started using the termAfro-Americanafter leaving theNation of Islam.[12]

Since the late 1960s, various other terms have been more widespread in popular usage. These includeBlack,Black African,Afro-American(in use from the late 1960s to 1990) andAfrican American.[13]The wordNegrofell out of favor by the early 1970s and major media includingAssociated PressandThe New York Timesstopped using it that decade.[14]However, many older African Americans initially found the termblackmore offensive thanNegro.

The termNegrois still used in some historical contexts, such as the songs known asNegro spirituals,theNegro leaguesof baseball in the early and mid-20th century, and organizations such as theUnited Negro College Fund.[15][16]Theacademic journalpublished byHoward Universitysince 1932 still bears the titleJournal of Negro Education,but others have changed: e.g. the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (founded 1915) became the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History in 1973, and is now theAssociation for the Study of African American Life and History;its publicationThe Journal of Negro HistorybecameThe Journal of African American Historyin 2001.Margo Jeffersontitled her 2015 bookNegroland: A Memoirto evoke growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in theAfrican-American upper class.

African-American linguistJohn McWhorterhas bemoaned attacks on the use ofNegroin "utterances or written reproductions of the word when referring to older texts and titles". He cites reports that performances or publishing of certain works (William L. Dawson'sNegro Folk Symphony,and an anthology ofNorman Mailer's works) have been avoided, "out of wariness of the word 'Negro'” used in titles; and of "two cases" between 2020-2021 "of white college professors having complaints filed against them by students for using the word 'Negro' in class when quoting older texts."[17]

TheUnited States Census BureauincludedNegroon the2010 Census,alongsideBlackandAfrican-American,because some older black Americans still self-identify with the term.[18][19][20]TheU.S. Censusused the grouping "Black, African-American, or Negro".Negrowas used in an effort to include older African Americans who more closely associate with the term.[21]In 2013, the census removed the term from its forms and questionnaires.[22]The term has also been censored by some newspaper archives.[23]

Liberia

Theconstitution of Liberialimits Liberian nationality toNegropeople (see alsoLiberian nationality law).[24]People of other racial origins,even if they have lived for many years inLiberia,are thus precluded from becoming citizens of the Republic.[25]

In other languages

Spanish language

InSpanish,negro(femininenegra) is most commonly used for the color black, but it can also be used to describe people with dark-colored skin. In Spain, Mexico, and almost all of Latin America,negro(lower-cased, asethnonymsare generally not capitalized inRomance languages) means just 'black colour' and does not refer by itself to any ethnic or race unless further context is provided. As in English, this Spanish word is often used figuratively and negatively, to mean 'irregular' or 'undesirable', as inmercado negro('black market'). However, in most Spanish-speaking countries,negroandnegraare commonly as a form of endearment, when used to refer to partners or close friends.[26]

Spanish East Indies

"Negritos o Aetas" illustration inBosquejo Geográfico e Histórico-natural del Archipielago Filipino(Ramón Jordana y Morera, 1885)

In thePhilippines,which historically had almost no contact with theAtlantic slave trade,the Spanish-derived termnegro(femininenegra) is still commonly used to refer to black people, as well as to people with dark-colored skin (both native and foreign). Like in Spanish usage, it has no negative connotations when referring to black people. However, it can be mildly pejorative when referring to the skin color of other native Filipinos due to traditional beauty standards. The use of the term for the color black is restricted to Spanish phrases or nouns.[27][28]

Negrito(femininenegrita) is also a term used in the Philippines to refer to the various darker-skinned native ethnic groups that partially descended from earlyAustralo-Melanesianmigrations. These groups include theAeta,Ati,Mamanwa,and theBatak,among others. Despite physical appearances, they all speakAustronesian languagesand are genetically related to otherAustronesianFilipinos. The island ofNegrosis named after them.[29]The termNegritohas entered scientific usage in the English language based on the original Spanish/Filipino usage to refer to similar populations in South and Southeast Asia.[30]However, the appropriateness of using the word to bundle people of similar physical appearances has been questioned as genetic evidence show they do not have close shared ancestry.[31][32]

Other Romance languages

Italian

InItalian,negrowas the archaic form of the adjectivenero;as such, the previous form can still be found in literary texts or in surnames (cfr. the English-language surnameBlack), while the latter form is the only one currently used today. However, the word could also be used as a noun and at a certain point it was commonly used as term equivalent to Englishnegro,but without its offensive connotation. However, under influence from English-speaking cultures, by the 1970s it had been replaced withneroanddi colore.Nerowas considered a better translation of the English wordblack,whiledi coloreis a loan translation of the English wordcolored.[33]

The noun is considered offensive today,[34][35][36]but some attestations of the previous use can still be found.[37]

InItalian law,Act No. 654 of 13 October 1975 (known as the "RealeAct "), as amended by Act No. 205 of 25 June 1993 (known as the"MancinoAct ") and Act No. 85 of 24 February 2006, criminalizes incitement to and racial discrimination itself, incitement to and racial violence itself, the promotion of ideas based on racial superiority or ethnic or racist hatred and the setting up or running of, participation in or support to any organisation, association, movement or group whose purpose is the instigation of racial discrimination or violence.[38][39]As theCouncil of Europenoted in its 2016 report, "the wording of the Reale Act does not include language as ground of discrimination, nor is [skin] color included as a ground of discrimination."[39]However, theSupreme Court,in affirming a lower-court decision, declared that the use of the termnegroby itself, if it has a clearly offensive intention, may be punishable by law,[40]and is considered anaggravating factorin acriminal prosecution.[41]

French

Street plate inMedina of Tunisshowing, in Arabic and French, Negroes street

In theFrench language,the existential concept ofnegritude('blackness') was developed by the Senegalese politicianLéopold Sédar Senghor.The word can still be used as a synonym ofsweetheartin some traditional LouisianaFrench creolesongs.[42]The wordnègreas a racial term fell out of favor around the same time as its English equivalentnegro.Its usage in French today (nègre littéraire) has shifted completely, to refer to aghostwriter(écrivain fantôme), i.e. one who writes a book on behalf of its nominal author, usually a non-literary celebrity. However,French Ministry of Cultureguidelines (as well as other official entities ofFrancophoneregions[43]) recommend the usage of alternative terms.

Haitian Creole

InHaitian Creole,the wordnèg(derived from the Frenchnègrereferring to a dark-skinned man), can also be used for any man, regardless of skin color, roughly like the termsguyordudeinAmerican English.

Romanian

In theRomanian language,negrucan refer to either the color or a black person (as a neutral term).

Germanic languages

TheDutchwordnegerwas considered to be a neutral term, but since the start of the 21st century it is increasingly considered to be hurtful, condescending and/or discriminatory. The consensus among language advice services of the Flemish Government and Dutch Language Union is to usezwarte persoon/man/vrouw('black person/man/woman') to denote race instead.[44][45][46][47]

InGerman,Negerwas considered to be a neutral term for black people, but gradually fell out of fashion since the 1970s.Negeris now mostly thought to be derogatory or racist.

In Denmark, usage ofnegeris up for debate. Linguists and others argue that the word has a historical racist legacy that makes it unsuitable for use today. Mainly older people use the wordnegerwith the notion that it is a neutral word parallelingnegro.Relatively few young people use it, other than for provocative purposes in recognition that the word's acceptability has declined.[48]

InSwedishandNorwegian,negerused to be considered a neutral equivalent tonegro.However, the term gradually fell out of favor between the late 1960s and 1990s.[citation needed]

InWest Frisian,the wordnegeris largely considered to be a neutral term for black people withAfricanroots.[49][50]The wordnikker(evil water spirit) is considered to be offensive and derogatory, but not necessarily racist due to the term's historic definition.[50]

Elsewhere

In theFinnish languagethe wordneekeri(cognate withnegro) was long considered a neutral equivalent fornegro.[51]In 2002,neekeri's usage notes in theKielitoimiston sanakirjashifted from "perceived as derogatory by some" to "generally derogatory".[51]The name of a popular Finnish brand ofchocolate-coated marshmallow treatswas changed by the manufacturers fromNeekerinsuukko(lit. 'negro's kiss', like the German version) toBrunbergin suukko('Brunberg's kiss') in 2001.[51]A study conducted among native Finns found that 90% of research subjects considered the termsneekeriandryssäamong the most derogatory epithets for ethnic minorities.[52]

InTurkish,zenciis the closest equivalent tonegro.The appellation was derived from the ArabiczanjforBantu peoples.It is usually used without any negative connotation.

In Russia, the termнегр(negr) was commonly used in theSovietperiod without any negative connotation, and its use continues in this neutral sense. In modern Russian media,negris used somewhat less frequently.Чёрный(chyorny,'black') as an adjective is also used in a neutral sense, and conveys the same meaning asnegr,as inчёрные американцы(chyornye amerikantsy,'black Americans'). Other alternatives tonegrareтемнокожий(temnokozhy,'dark-skinned'),чернокожий(chernokozhy,'black-skinned'). The latter two words are used as both nouns and adjectives. See alsoAfro-Russian.

See also

References

  1. ^ab"Negro: definition of Negro in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)".Oxforddictionaries.com. Archived fromthe originalon 9 August 2012.Retrieved11 May2014.The word Negro was adopted from Spanish and Portuguese
  2. ^Thatcher, Oliver."Vasco da Gama: Round Africa to India, 1497–1498 CE".Modern History Sourcebook.Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co.Retrieved19 February2018.
  3. ^"Vasco da Gama's Voyage of 'Discovery' 1497".South African History Online.Retrieved19 February2018.
  4. ^The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2000. p.2039.ISBN0-395-82517-2.
  5. ^Mann, Stuart E. (1984).An Indo-European Comparative Dictionary.Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. p. 858.ISBN3-87118-550-7.
  6. ^"Queen Charlotte of Britain".pbs.org.Retrieved19 May2013.
  7. ^Lewis, David Levering (1993).W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919.Henry Holt. p. 385.ISBN0-8050-2621-5.
  8. ^Nguyen, Elizabeth."Origins of Black History Month",Spartan Daily,Campus News. San Jose State University. 24 February 2004. Accessed 12 April 2008.Archived2 October 2011 at theWayback Machine
  9. ^"6 Shocking Facts About Slavery, Natives and African Americans".Indian Country Today Media Network.9 October 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2013.Retrieved30 November2021.
  10. ^O'Neall, John Belton."The Negro Law of South Carolina".Internet Archive.Printed by J.G. Bowman.Retrieved1 June2018.Public DomainThis article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  11. ^Smith, Tom W (1992),"Changing Racial Labels: From 'Colored' to 'Negro' to 'Black' to 'African American'.",The Public Opinion Quarterly,56(4),OUP,AAPOR:496–514,doi:10.1086/269339,JSTOR2749204
  12. ^Liz Mazucci, "Going Back to Our Own: Interpreting Malcolm X's Transition From 'Black Asiatic' to 'Afro-American' ",Souls7(1), 2005, pp. 66–83.
  13. ^Christopher H. Foreman, The African-American predicament, Brookings Institution Press, 1999, p. 99.
  14. ^"When Did the Word Negro Become Socially Unacceptable? - 2010 - Question of the Month - Jim Crow Museum".jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu.Retrieved17 April2024.
  15. ^"UNCF New Brand".Uncf.org.Retrieved19 May2013.
  16. ^Quenqua, Douglas (17 January 2008)."Revising a Name, but Not a Familiar Slogan".The New York Times.
  17. ^McWhorter, John (7 January 2022). "I Can't Brook the Idea of Banning 'Negro'".The New York Times.
  18. ^U.S. Census Bureau interactive form, Question 9. Accessed 7 January 2010.Archived8 January 2010 at theWayback Machine
  19. ^CBS New York Local News. Accessed 7 January 2010.Archived9 January 2010 at theWayback Machine
  20. ^"Census Bureau defends 'negro' addition".UPI.6 January 2010.Retrieved7 January2010.
  21. ^Mcfadden, Katie; Mcshane, Larry (6 January 2010)."Use of word Negro on 2010 census forms raises memories of Jim Crow".Daily News.New York.
  22. ^Brown, Tanya Ballard (25 February 2013)."No More 'Negro' For Census Bureau Forms And Surveys".NPR.Retrieved26 June2021.
  23. ^"Segregation on buses ruled unconstitutional in 1956".NY Daily News.Retrieved15 August2017.Negroes "(http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2428061.1447081601!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/segregation7a-1-web.jpg) replaced by "[African Americans]{{cite news}}:External link in|quote=(help)
  24. ^Tannenbaum, Jessie; Valcke, Anthony; McPherson, Andrew (1 May 2009). "Analysis of the Aliens and Nationality Law of the Republic of Liberia". Rochester, NY.doi:10.2139/ssrn.1795122.SSRN1795122.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  25. ^American Bar Association (May 2009)."ANALYSIS OF THE ALIENS AND NATIONALITY LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA"(PDF).ABA Rule of Law Initiative.
  26. ^"negro"in theDiccionario de la Real Academia Española
  27. ^Rondilla, Joanne Laxamana (2012).Colonial Faces: Beauty and Skin Color Hierarchy in the Philippines and the U.S.(PhD). University of California, Berkeley.
  28. ^Manalansan IV, Martin F. (2003).Global Divas.Duke University Press. p. 57.ISBN9780822385172.
  29. ^del Castillo, Clem (22 October 2015)."A closer look at our indigenous people".SunStar Philippines.Archived fromthe originalon 11 May 2021.Retrieved21 November2018.
  30. ^Snow, Philip.The Star Raft: China's Encounter With Africa.Cornell Univ. Press, 1989 (ISBN0801495830)
  31. ^Catherine Hill; Pedro Soares; Maru Mormina; Vincent Macaulay; William Meehan; James Blackburn; Douglas Clarke; Joseph Maripa Raja; Patimah Ismail; David Bulbeck; Stephen Oppenheimer; Martin Richards (2006),"Phylogeography and Ethnogenesis of Aboriginal Southeast Asians"(PDF),Molecular Biology and Evolution,23(12), Oxford University Press: 2480–91,doi:10.1093/molbev/msl124,PMID16982817,archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 April 2008
  32. ^Chaubey, Gyaneshwer; Endicott, Phillip (1 February 2013)."The Andaman Islanders in a regional genetic context: reexamining the evidence for an early peopling of the archipelago from South Asia".Human Biology.85(1–3): 153–172.doi:10.3378/027.085.0307.ISSN1534-6617.PMID24297224.S2CID7774927.
  33. ^Accademia della Crusca,Nero, negro e di colore,12 ottobre 2012 [IT]
  34. ^"'Negro'? Per noi è dispregiativo"( "'Negro'? For us it is a derogatory term" ) byBeppe Severgnini,Corriere Della Sera,13 May 2013 (in Italian)
  35. ^"...the most banned word in thepolitically correctdictionary... ": From"La Kyenge sdogana la parola tabù - Da oggi si può dire 'negro'"( "Kyenge clears the taboo word - From today we can say 'negro'" ) by Franco Bechis,Libero Quotidiano,28 May 2014 (in Italian)
  36. ^See alsoRacism in Italy
  37. ^For example, famed1960spopsingerFausto Lealiwasnicknamedil negro bianco( "the white negro" ) in Italian media on account of his naturallyhoarsestyle of singing. Compare: "Fausto Leali, il 'negro-bianco' compie 70 anni"(" Fausto Leali, the 'white negro', is 70 years old "),Corriere Brescia,25 October 2014; "Auguri a Fausto Leali, il 'Negro Bianco' compie 70 anni"(" Felicitations to Fausto Leali, the 'White Negro' is 70 years old "),ANSA,25 October 2014 ";Fausto Leali, i 70 anni del Negro BiancoArchived21 January 2018 at theWayback Machine"(" Fausto Leali, the 70 years of the White Negro "),Brescia Oggi,25 October 2014.
  38. ^Criminal Code of Italy (excerpts),Legislation online
  39. ^ab"ECRI Rerport on Italy"by the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance,Council of Europe,7 June 2016
  40. ^"Dare del 'negro' è reato: lo dice la Cassazione"( "Calling out 'negro' is a crime: so says theSupreme Court") by Ivan Francese,Il Giornale,7 October 2014 (in Italian)
  41. ^"Razzismo, la Cassazione: 'Insulti, sempre aggravante di discriminazione'"( "Racism, the Supreme Court: 'Insults are always an aggravating factor'" ),Quotidiano.net,15 July 2013
  42. ^Radio Canada, 1971, "Le Son des Français d'Amérique #3 Les Créoles, interview with Revon Reed
  43. ^E.g. "prête-plume",Office Québécois de la Langue Française(Quebec Office for the French Language), 2012 (inFrench)
  44. ^"Het n-woord".Ninsee
  45. ^"Standard Dictionary of the Dutch Language: neger".Van Dale(in Dutch).Retrieved11 August2020.
  46. ^"zwarte / neger / negerin".www.taaltelefoon.be(in Dutch).Retrieved11 August2020.
  47. ^"neger".VRT Taal(in Flemish).Retrieved11 August2020.
  48. ^Anne Ringgaard, Journalist."Hvorfor må man ikke sige neger?".videnskab.dk.Retrieved on 2 January 2016.
  49. ^"Neger".Taalweb Frysk.Retrieved21 January2021.
  50. ^ab"Nikker".de Moanne.9 March 2016.Retrieved21 January2021.
  51. ^abcRastas, Anna (2007).Neutraalisti rasistinen? Erään sanan politiikkaa(in Finnish). Tampere: Tampere University Press, 2007.ISBN978-951-44-6946-6.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 19 February 2020.Retrieved8 February2009.
  52. ^Raittila, Pentti (2002).Etnisyys ja rasismi journalismissa(PDF)(in Finnish). Tampere: Tampere University Press. pp. 25–26.ISBN951-44-5486-3.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 13 March 2012.Retrieved24 May2010.

External links

Look upnegroin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related toNegro (archaic term).
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