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