Date:  Wed, 29 Oct 1997 10:48:37 -0500
From:  Al Futrell <al[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]LOUISVILLE.EDU>
Subject: Re: What does the "n" word mean? (was PC dictionaries)

On Tue, 28 Oct 1997, Dennis Baron wrote:

> The reporter who interviewed me about the n word for the local TV
> station is black and said she was surprised to see all this discussion,
> since when she was growing up her working definition of the word was 'an
> uneducated person' and it had no racial connotation. She was surprised
> when I told her it was connected to Negro. I thought this was very
> interesting. Jesse, and others: is there any additional confirmation
> for such a use of the word in the African American community?
>

I just spoke to an African-American professor who grew up in Gary, IN and
he told me the same thing Dennis reports here. Where I grew up
(Champaign) the N-word always referred to a person of color. And it does
here in Louisville as well -- at least when used by a white person.

Al Futrell
-- al[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]louisville.edu
-- http://www.louisville.edu/~awfutr01
Dept of Communication -- University of Louisville