The cultural and popular media landscape of the United States of America changed after the Civil-Rights movement of the 1960s. The word “Nigger” was changed during that same period of American history. There are several authors and a comic that helped change this word during the 1960s. The post Civil-Rights American has a different experience and understanding with this word than those born before 1970. This work triangulates the current cultural location of the word “Nigger,” “nigga,” and “the n-word” using linguistics, law, and two media case studies. The “Nigger” trinity is a model that adds value to the discourse that surrounds this one word in post civil-rights/post 1960s America.

Uncovering the Range of Intentions and Interpretations Associated with N-Word Usage in American Film by Nneka Logan Under the Direction of Michael Bruner ABSTRACT This thesis is an analysis of contemporary N-word usage. Key points are that there is more than one N-word in circulation, and that “nigger,” the racial slur, is only one conception of the N-word. A second point is that “nigga” is a separate word with a separate scope of meaning. I also argue that usage of “nigga” is a complex communicative phenomenon that cannot be essentialized in terms of race, socioeconomic status and other social factors. I argue that contemporary N-word usage is not an exclusively black cultural endeavor, but in fact a multiracial phenomenon. To support my assertions I employ communication, race and N-word scholarship, and I apply the scholarship to the text of American film. A study of this kind is significant because increasing numbers of people are being exposed to the N-words in a variety of contexts, but many are unaware of their important semantic differences. INDEX WORDS: Nigger, Nigga, N-word, Race, Interracial Communication, Hip Hop, Pop Culture

<p>All languages have words that are considered taboo – words that are not supposed to be said or used. Taboo words, or swearwords, can be used in many different ways and they can have different meanings depending on what context they appear in. Another aspect of taboo words is the euphemisms that are used in order to avoid obscene speech. This paper will focus on x-words, words like the f-word or the c-word, which replace the words fuck or cunt, but as the study will show they also have other meanings and usages.</p><p>The purpose of this paper is also to investigate the significance of taboo words and their usage in English, as well as research on how they are used, or not used, in media. The aim is to examine how x-words are used in the British newspapers the Guardian and the Observer by using corpus searches.</p><p>The results show that there are several ways of using x-words, and that using them in order to show that a word either is taboo, or has become taboo in a certain context, is the most common way. It is also clear that x-words can represent many different words, and not only words that are generally considered taboo.</p>

All languages have words that are considered taboo – words that are not supposed to be said or used. Taboo words, or swearwords, can be used in many different ways and they can have different meanings depending on what context they appear in. Another aspect of taboo words is the euphemisms that are used in order to avoid obscene speech. This paper will focus on x-words, words like the f-word or the c-word, which replace the words fuck or cunt, but as the study will show they also have other meanings and usages. The purpose of this paper is also to investigate the significance of taboo words and their usage in English, as well as research on how they are used, or not used, in media. The aim is to examine how x-words are used in the British newspapers the Guardian and the Observer by using corpus searches. The results show that there are several ways of using x-words, and that using them in order to show that a word either is taboo, or has become taboo in a certain context, is the most common way. It is also clear that x-words can represent many different words, and not only words that are generally considered taboo.