![]() Send comments, questions, and semantic drift to. The Angry Grammarian, otherwise known as Jeffrey Barg, looks at how language, grammar, and punctuation shape our world, and appears biweekly. Only then can we be certain whether anyone’s use of a word like thug is intentionally racist or just plain ignorant. (The reverse happens as well: NPR’s Code Switch has traced the history of “call a spade a spade,” a phrase that originated in ancient Greece, before anti-black racism existed, but took on racist meanings in the 20th century.)īut before we let any of them out of word purgatory, we need to scrutinize why they mean what they mean, and if we’re truly comfortable with everything those definitions imply. I can’t go for that, and neither should you.Ĭan these words and phrases ever shed their racist origins? Language changes constantly, and we should account for the possibility that what was offensive could in time grow innocuous. This innocent-seeming phrase is derived from pidgin English in the 19th century, when Americans said it to mock Chinese immigrants. This list is far from comprehensive, but will hopefully serve as a starting point for you to examine your own language.Īpologies to Hall and Oates. As long as we’re reevaluating racist American foundations, our language shouldn’t escape direct scrutiny. ![]() Plenty of other everyday words and phrases have had their racist origins obscured by time. ![]() This column has previously examined the deeply racist connotation of the word thug, and yet Donald Trump wasn’t the least bit bashful in his all-caps proclamation that Minneapolis protesters were “THUGS” (in a tweet that Twitter soon hid because it violated the company’s rules against glorifying violence).īut that’s just the beginning. As people march and protest across the country, including in Philadelphia, racism in all forms, including language, is the subject of a long-overdue conversation. The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has raised our national consciousness about the racist systems that our country was built upon. The good news? We’re all paying more attention to this, including the Angry Grammarian. Let’s start with the bad news: Racism is embedded in almost every institution in America, and language is no exception. Editor’s note: Please be aware offensive terms are repeated here solely for the purpose of identifying and unpacking them honestly. ![]()
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