Talk:Negro/Archive 2

Archive 1

Archive 2

Google blurb

Sources 8 and 9 are also dead. 98.234.94.99 (talk) 04:32, 8 April 2012 (UTC)

What comes up for this page when Googling "negro" is the following, which does seem to be in the article:

Negro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Negro is a term referring to people of nigga ancestry. Prior to the shift in the lexicon of American and worldwide classification of race and ethnicity in ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro - 50k - Cached - Similar pages -

I do not know how to address this. ^^^^

It must have been vandalism which was only recently reverted. It takes a while for edits to show up on google results. By the way, you don't sign post with four ^s, its tildes (~~~~). Spongefrog, (talk to me, or else) 10:04, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Use in the The Boondocks (TV series)

I'm surprised that a term described as an educated black man. If it is referenced so often in a pop culture TV show is it truly archaic? How to quantify this? Alatari (talk) 15:41, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Clean up

I undid a very contentious unsited revision that looked a lot like vandalism. Also removed the word "even" from the sentence in question as it's used as a weasel word.DrDoogle (talk) 11:00, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

The word negro

It is important that people know the history of this word. To me it is unfortunate that the word is changing its meaning. It used to be used as a term of respect. The word was used by famous people such as Jesse Owens and Martin Luther King. It was also used by "non negros" as a term of deep respect. Obviously, a few may have used the term insultingly, but these types will always plague us, and they are a minority. It is a pity a nice term has fallen into disuse or had its meaning changed. Wallie (talk) 09:15, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

Words and their common use reflect attitudes, which are either deeply ingrained or change with the wind. It's revealing that the negros now get upset at a word they used to use as sign of respect. Maybe they don't like themselves. Think about it: even racial slurs fail to upset most Caucasoids. Do Germans mind being called Huns? Do Englishmen have a tantrum when they're called Limeys? Do New Zealanders pout when they're called Kiwis? Do Chinamen roil when called Orientals? Nah, of course not - just words, and they're all smart enough to ignore them. So I, for one, will always use the word 'negro' and I won't care who gets upset --- in 50 years they'll love the word again.--137.186.192.51 (talk) 21:13, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

I am English ( and therefore British ) of Germanic antecedents. And also Caucasian. I consider none of these terms offensive, nor do I consider the term Negro offensive. It is simply a classification of physical characteristics. African American, by contrast is a contradiction of terms. Either one is African, or one is American ( unless, of course, one has a parent from each continent. ) 82.13.143.58 (talk) 01:21, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

Commons:Category:Negro

Would someone please weigh in at Commons:Categories for discussion/Current requests/2008/07/Category:Negro? There are really only two of us contributing to the conversation, we disagree with each other, and it would be useful to have someone else involved to move the discussion forward. - Jmabel | Talk 23:58, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Clarification of Intro

I'm having some trouble parsing this: "...the appellation was accepted as a normal neutral formal term both by those of Black African descent as well as non-African blacks."

Does "non-African blacks" refer to black people who aren't from Africa [i.e. (non-African) blacks] or to all people other than African blacks [i.e. non-(African blacks)]? This could use some clarification from someone familiar with the subject. 76.111.69.136 (talk) 00:13, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

It means blacks who are not from africa .Beccause if your born in amercia your not an african american your a black american .An amfrican america is someone who regardless of race transfers citizenship from africa to the usa. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.118.200.168 (talk) 17:42, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

That's not the commonly understood meaning of "African American". Non-African blacks would, to the best of my understanding, essentially mean Australoid Aboriginal peoples.--Ramdrake (talk) 19:21, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

User:208.118.200.168 please take care with your writing so that everyone can understand what you mean. You twicethree times typed "your" where you surely should have typed "you're" (or "you are"). You can easily check the spellings of the words Because and America too. (corrected)Cuddlyable3 (talk) 20:11, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

"Neger" used in Dutch

Having Dutch as my mother tongue, I would like to comment.

The Dutch "neger" is generally (but not universally) considered as neutral. Negro *used to be* neutral but the meaning has shifted to mildly offensive and somehow neo-colonialist. It's used in informal speech but people are aware of it not being "politically correct". (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate-coated_marshmallow_treats#Negerzoenen )

Or at least less negative than "zwarte" (black one): this stating is completely wrong. "Zwarte" is used in the same way "a black person" is in English and it's the most polite contemporary word for a person of African descend. Note: "bruine" (brown one) IS offensive as is "bruin mannen" (brown persons). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.66.104.148 (talk) 17:16, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Misspelled word

Since this page is locked I cannot edit it. Someone who has the authority to edit this page, please make the following correction.

Near the end of this article it says:

In Finnish it is unclear wether the word...

Please correct the spelling to "whether"

71.244.245.163 (talk) 00:56, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Done. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:24, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Malcolm X connection?

The article currently reads, "Because the term was objected to by the African American leader Malcolm X, by the late 1960s, it came to be considered as being an ethnic slur." There are two footnotes that purport to support this, but neither mentions Malcolm X nor any other specific African American leader. Merriam-Webster Online (which, by the way, is not written by "Modern Language Association") merely states that the word negro is "sometimes offensive". Naples News comes a bit closer, suggesting that "the more offensive slur" (presumably nigger) was banned from US place names in 1963. It does not mention Malcolm X, either.

If no reference can be found to support this assertion, it must be removed or modified to accurately reflect the sources. Cnilep (talk) 15:44, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

Smith (1992) cites Stokely Carmichel as an early-adopter of Black as an ethnic label in rejection of Negro, and associates the shift away from the latter term with the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. He does not, however, mention Malcolm X. Henderson (2003) and Baugh (1999) cite surveys showing that younger people (i.e. those who were more effected by the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s) regard Negro as an ethnic slur. I will replace the current problematic news sources with these academic ones. Cnilep (talk) 15:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

British English

There should be some mention that in British English there is no negative/racist implications to using the word Negro. It is rather old fashioned (though probably not yet archaic) and anybody using it would probably be considered an old fashioned liberal from 50/60/70 when using the term Black would be considered somewhat pejorative. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.100.237.141 (talk) 15:20, 18 July 2009 (UTC)

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/pdf/2010_Questionnaire_Info_Copy.pdf —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.106.90.22 (talk) 22:29, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Negro (surname)

Someone with editing rights needs to create a Negro (surname) page, like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_(surname)and linking to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Negro —Preceding unsigned comment added by Steven noble (talk • contribs) 06:43, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

entities which still use the word

The article mentions the UNCF as an organization which still uses the word in their name. A while back I added the Journal of Negro Education in the short list, but it was removed. Should we list entities which still use the word in their name?--76.116.105.50 (talk) 01:40, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

'Negro' vs 'Preto' in Portugal

"Interestingly, while in Brazil negro is the most respectful way to address the African ethnicity, with preto being considered a racial slur, the reverse is true in Portugal."

I'm Portuguese and I disagree with this claim. The situation is far more complex.

Like in Brazil, in Portugal, specially among white people, "preto" is usually considered somewhat or potentially offensive, as opposed to "negro"; this is true at least in recent years (decades), maybe by Brazilian influence (tv and immigrants) tempered with a hint of post-colonial regrets (avoiding to refer to black people the way we commonly did back when he had colonies in Africa).

(On the other hand, it is true that more recently a minority of black people feel offended by the use of "negro" instead of "preto". This is probably due to reverse psychology: they acknowledge the word "preto" as being more common than "negro" and consider the use of "negro" in racial contexts to be unnatural (self-censorship) and condescending...) Gazilion (talk) 17:20, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I completely agree with Gazilion. I think the article should be edited to remove the statement that "preto" is the racial slur. Many Portuguese of African ascent prefer to call themselves as "preto", while others don't. But it is by no means a racial slur. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.78.219.216 (talk) 21:36, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

U.S. Census adds Negro in 2010

I just read about this on UPI and knew it was worthy of an inclusion. I've made the updates with citations and a link to the Census Bureau's website, where they have an online interactive form with the "negro" option included. According to them, many older blacks wrote in negro or still self-identify as such; lots of people are clearly upset by the inclusion, however. I'm not claiming to know, you'd have to ask a demographer, but as it's newsworthy, I've added it to the article. And don't email me with complaints, I'm not taking a stand on this, I'm just adding something to the article that is relevant. It's just information people, do with it what you will. Morgaledh (talk) 18:21, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

The Census did not "add" Negro to the 2010 census; it's been on the census form for many decades. --71.104.18.240 ([[User talk:71.104.18.240|talk]]) 05:23, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

It must have been missing from at least the 2000 edition of the census, since it was reported that many people had written in "Negro", which would not have been necessary had that option been available. (Perhaps "U.S. Census adds back Negro in 2010" would be a slightly more precise description of what occurred.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.128.188.152 (talk) 06:16, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Article is a dicdef

The article covers the usage of the term, whereas the idea behind it is at Black people. Encyclopedia articles only have one article per concept; and not per word or term. It's really a dictionary entry in the wrong place. :( - Wolfkeeper 17:39, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

The policy is at Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a dictionary.- Wolfkeeper 17:39, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

It might be a case for WP:IAR if people want to do that.- Wolfkeeper 17:39, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

This article covers far more than a dictionary definition, and Wiktionary already has a detailed entry on this word. Please stop adding the transwiki template, as it's not needed. Hersfold ^(t/a/c) 03:03, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a dictionary, but that there are words that have complex enough histories to merit encyclopedia articles. - Jmabel | Talk 03:50, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

I think the article "black people" should be renamed "Negro" and this article should be removed. I was searching for info on the Negro race, but instead got a dictionary definition. "black people" is not a scientific racial classification, but "Negro" or "Negroid" is. P.S. on an unrelated note, where is the article for the "Irish Iberian" race? I can't find it on Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.47.18.52 (talk) 20:41, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Add to bibliography/footnote 1.

What's in a Name? Preference for "Black" versus "African-American" among Americans of African Descent Lee Sigelman, Steven A. Tuch and Jack K. Martin The Public Opinion Quarterly Vol. 69, No. 3 (Autumn, 2005), pp. 429-438 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.248.93.157 (talk) 18:53, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Dead Links

http://www.spartandaily.com/2.14829/origins-of-black-history-month-discussed-1.1945687.shtml

is a dead link. Agent Cooper (talk) 00:14, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

When did "Negress" fall out of use?

I note that the "In English" section has the word "Negro" falling out of polite use in the 1960s, but the timeframe for "Negress" falling out of use is not documented. Are there any references that can show if this happened during the same time period? A close relative who lived in the USA during only the mid 1950s surprised me by recently using "Negress" in what she believed was polite usage - so it may seem probable that the usage decline was in the same period, but I would like to see some high quality sources so that a time reference can be added to the article.Savlonn (talk) 16:05, 29 September 2011 (UTC)

Swedish pastry

The part "negerboll" shuold be changed into "negerboll (or negerbulle in southern part of the country)". The translation of "negerbulle" is "negro bun" or "negro bisquit". The word has never been used as an offence toward black people, and since it's a "put-together word" or "composite word" the "neger-" part becomes far less unsuitable then the translation may suggest. Both words are still in use, thow "south version" might be more common to use in the south then the "northern version" in mid and north of the country 83.249.39.249 (talk) 16:42, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Other languages

Just to add one - in Estonian word "neeger" has also been considered neutral and is in common usage. Alternate word "must" (lit. "black", in some context "dirty") is sensed more offencive. Although neutral in Estonian, many people often traveling abroad are using other words, including "must", in conversation, as "neeger" sounds similar to offencive "negro" and might rise unwanted attention from bystanders. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.159.213.182 (talk) 07:53, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

Most words in themselves are not offensive. It is clear to the listener whether the word is offensive or not, based on who says it and in what way. Wallie (talk) 09:19, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

Just to comment about the Idea that in Irish "Blue man" (in Irish Gaelic) is used instead of Black man as its a traditional description of the devil. In the "Intoxication of the Uliad" an ancient Irish Folk Tale, there is King Concober's Fool, who is described as having an iron collar round his neck and in command of a group of Irish troops, and as being a "Blue Skinned Ethiopian". Presumably this is of an imported and possibly freed ex-slave, (possibly all the way back to the Romans with mutual slave raids and selling abroad from the British Isles such as happened to St Patrick). However the use of "Blue" as describing a Blue Black African with a very dark skin from Sub Saharan Africa (traditionally known as Aethiopia) can be traced back at least as far as the first recorded example of this folk tale (12th Century, off the top of my head.): http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Intoxication_of_the_Ulstermen

"Here before them, to the east, outside," said Crom Deroil, "I saw a band of their rabble. One man in their midst, with a black, pointed thick head of hair, having large, subtle, all-white eyes in his head, and a smooth-blue Ethiopian countenance; a ribbed garment in folds about him; a brazen clasp in his garment, over his breast; a large bronze wand in his hand, and a melodious little bell beside him, which he touches with his wand before the host, so that it gives pleasure and delight to the High-King and to the whole host."

"Laughable and amusing is the description," said Medb.

"Laughable is the person whose description it is," said Cu Roi.

"Who is he?" said Ailill.

"Not hard to tell," said Cu Roi. "That is the royal fool Roimid, Conchobar's fool. There never was fatigue or sorrow on any man of the Ulstermen that he would heed, if only he saw the royal fool, Roimid.

So Blue Ethiopian for a Black African may be a traditional description in itself and have nothing to do with Black Man for the Devil, especially since the folk tale may predate the christian era. (If not first recorded afterwards.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.178.224.104 (talk) 23:22, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 21 May 2012

The first sentence of the article says that Negro may be used to refer to people who are black but are not of African ancestry, but you give absolutley no examples of that in the entire article. Black Brazilians, Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Haitians, Cubans, etc. have sub-Saharan African ancestry. Only in error have I seen the word Negro used to refer to someone who is solely of dark skin but is not of sub-Saharan African descent. The word specifically refers to people who are obviously of sub-Saharan African ancestry regardless of from where they or their immediate ancestors hailed. If the ancestry ultimately traces back to sub-Saharan Africa, then Negro is used. If the ancestry ultimately traces back to northern Africa, India, Polynesia, Australia, the Middle East, etc., then Negro is not used.

108.53.8.239 (talk) 23:20, 21 May 2012 (UTC)  Not done - Critique not requesting a specified edit. Egg Centric 16:24, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

Turkish words for black people

In Turkish, the word siyahi is generally used as a neutral term to address a person of dark-skinned or blackish apperance. Siyahi, literally means black-colored, is gradually replaced by a more official word Afrika kökenli (of African origin). Zenci is quite a popular colloquial term to refer to a person of African origin and it is commonly used without any negative connotation. Sometimes çikolata renkli (Chocolate colored) can be heard as a sympathetic definition for a black sport player or a celebrity. A rare and old-fashioned word Marsık literally denotes to charcoal can offensively be used to define a skinny and heavily tanned person, not necessarily a person of African descent. Kookyboi (talk) 20:56, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

​

References

Not done: please make your request in a "change X to Y" format. FloBo A boat that can float! (watch me float!) 18:43, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Negro In argentina.

I HAVE no idea where you have found that information, but in latin america "negro" y for both: the color and people. In argentina, negro is a peyorative word to name bolivians, peruvians and paraguayians.... The use of "negro" as a friendly nick name is true,., — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thaiel (talk • contribs) 03:16, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

In Argentina the term "negro" is used to refer in a pejorative, discriminative way to mestizo people, as there aren't almost any black people in the country. But, on the other hand, it could be also used to refer in a friendly way to a pal or close friend. And there are many celebrities nicknamed "negro" , like famous cartoonist Roberto Fontanarrosa or comedian Alberto Olmedo.--Gonzaloges (talk) 06:59, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Danish use

"In Denmark, "Neger" is still considered a neutral word that most of the population use when describing a person of African descent." There is given no evidence to this claim. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DellaMirandola13 (talk • contribs) 14:29, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

In a talk show Hella Joof was shocked when a man used this word. The man was equally shocked that anyone would take offense at it. The man was a generation or so older than her and white. Joof is half Danish half African. --Klausok (talk) 06:01, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Capitalization

Why are we capitalizing negro? It's not normal usage and is inconsistent with the styling of white and black in their articles. Spicemix (talk) 21:42, 13 December 2012 (UTC)

Other languages

I think it is problematic to "translate" negro in other languages. It makes no sense. As you can see in this article, the terms have different connotations and meanings. So what does that mean: "In other languages? — Preceding unsigned comment added by AstronomyMine (talk • contribs) 12:34, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

Finnish?

(Note 9)? Please tell me, what has this pdf, that's nowhere else to be found or findable?--Radh (talk) 11:54, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

Please note: The source does not support this: "In the Finnish language the word neekeri (negro) was considered a neutral term for black people.[19]" From the source: "Vaikka n-sana olisikin ennen ollut Suomessa neutraali ja harmiton, mitä näkemystä analyysini ei kuitenkaan tue[...]" in English: "Even if the N-word had previously been neutral and harmless in Finland, which is a view that my analysis does not support [...]". --Ojisama (talk) 21:43, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

Seems like someone at some point modified both the meaning of the word in the source and in Finland general. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Negro&diff=351145638&oldid=351069837 84.250.98.244 (talk) 10:04, 16 October 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 January 2014

Negro Is Spanish for Black male, and Negra is Spanish for Black Female, they come from the Latin Root word Niger, which means Black. 76.73.196.39 (talk) 07:03, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Not done: please make your request in a "change X to Y" format. If you would like to re-activate your request after editing your request to x to y form, set the answered parameter to no. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Roborule (talk • contribs) 01:51, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 January 2014

Please delete this line:The word "black" (чёрный) as a noun used as a form of address is pejorative, although it is primarily used with respect to peoples of the Caucasus, natives of Central Asia, and not black people. It contains offencive and RACIST statements аbout peoples of the Caucasus 62.182.11.3 (talk) 13:04, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

Not done: That sentence states, in a neutral tone, that the word "black" used in this context is pejorative. This means that the people addressed this way may find it offensive, which is exactly what you are saying. The sentence itself is not offensive; it informs readers that a pejorative term is used to address peoples of the Caucasus. That sounds like factual information to me. – Wdchk (talk) 03:41, 7 February 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 April 2014

Please change the caption for the title picture from "Six Afro-Americans..." to "Six black people" or "Six people having been referred to as Negroes". The term "Afro-Americans" is more often used to describe US citizens of African descent, than as a word for all the black people in North and South America. Moreover, Jamaican Bob Marley and Cuban Nicolas Guillen are not Afro-Americans even in a broader sense of a term, being Afro-Caribbeans instead. 213.159.97.50 (talk) 10:37, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(t • e • c)} 13:51, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Picking a nit

The following sentence would benefit from a parenthetical comma before "because": The United States Census Bureau announced that "Negro" would be included on the 2010 United States Census, alongside "Black" and "African-American" because some older black Americans still self-identify with the term. 70.112.60.141 (talk) 19:13, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

(I was just cruising for grammar errors, for practice. This article is solid - I only found a few. Nice work.)70.112.60.141 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 19:19, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Done: Thank you for the suggestion. – Wdchk (talk) 00:54, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

Correct words in Spanish

The article cites the example "Negro ¿Como andas? . It should say: "Negro, ¿cómo andas?" instead. Please fix. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.207.155.204 (talk) 04:23, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

Why is the word "Negro" in quotes every time it is mentioned?

This seems like a pretty strong case of WP:SCAREQUOTES. I'm going to add a neutrality tag to this article because of this. Replaceinkcartridges (talk) 05:10, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

I would think "Negro" appears in quotes throughout the article because the entire subject matter of the article is the word and not the referent. shalom, groupuscule (talk) 18:27, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

If that were true, this article would violate WP:NAD. The only reason this page has negro is in quotes is because the word is controversial.

Plus, almost all articles about specific words do not have the word in quotes (For example, nigger, that, you, thou). Replaceinkcartridges (talk) 23:07, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

What are you talking about, every article you linked either has the word in question in quotes or italicised or both (is there anything in the MOS about this?) Bosstopher (talk) 23:21, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Nvm found it: Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Words_as_words Bosstopher (talk) 23:23, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

In the articles I referenced, they do not use italics to show the controversy of the word. This is the key difference between the articles. Replaceinkcartridges (talk) 02:01, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

This article has been changed so that the word Negro is in italics insstead of quotes, this is in line with the manual of style as linked above, because the word its meanings and implications are being discussed. While there were some actual cases of scare quotes in this article I have removed them. There is no key difference between this article on the one on thou in terms of italics usage.Bosstopher (talk) 13:51, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Okay. WP:SCAREQUOTES has been upheld once again. Replaceinkcartridges (talk) 15:44, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

People not of African descent

The first sentence of this article says that Negro is used to "refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not" (emphasis mine). As a native speaker in the U.S. in my late 50s, I can't think of ever having heard of someone not of at least partial African descent called a Negro, except metaphorically (Norman Mailer's "White Negro" for example). Is there any citation or example for this? - Jmabel | Talk 07:26, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

I would presume that Australian aboriginals are/were sometimes called Negro, especially outside of Australia. D O N D E groovily Talk to me 07:52, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

Then we should probably be specific about that, rather than this rather confusing statement which would suggest (for example) that the term might be applied to some of the darker-skinned peoples of Asia. - Jmabel | Talk 18:04, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

I concur with the thought expressed by Jmabel above, which is that 'Negro' refers specifically and uniquely to a person of sub-Saharan African ancestry or appearance. It would not be correct to identify a person with very dark skin who is not of sub-Saharan African ancestry or appearance, for example, a person from Goa, India or from Sri Lanka, as a Negro. By way of explanation, I'm a 60 year old Canadian, and what I just wrote reflects what I learned growing up in the 1960s when the word Negro was heard more often in conversation. I do acknowledge that everyday use of the word Negro is archaic in this day and age, but the word itself is not a priori pejorative. If I need to specifically identify persons of sub-Saharan ethnicity in conversation today, I would consider using the word Negro to do so, on the basis that I would use the word Caucasian (rather than white, or European, or Irish, etc.) in the same context and same conversation to define my own ethnicity. I guess what I am trying to say here is that when it is used without malice in an effort to be precise in the identification of a race of people, 'Negro' is no more offensive than 'Caucasian'.

Having said that, I commend the authors and editors of this article for writing a thoughtful and well-balanced article about a somewhat sensitive subject. 74.12.88.6 (talk) 08:03, 29 May 2015 (UTC)

"Negros"

The usage and primary topic of Negros is under discussion, see Talk:Negros (island) -- 70.51.202.113 (talk) 04:41, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

FALSE EQUIVALENCE

"As in English, this Spanish word for 'black' is often used figuratively and negatively, to mean 'irregular' or 'undesirable', as in mercado negro " This is one of the finest examples of false equivalence I have ever seen! "Black market" is a term used in many other languages and "black people" is also used in many languages. That doesn't mean that "black people is a pejorative term, just like calling someone a "redhead" doesn't mean that you just called him a communist. A Spanish dictionary is linked as source and it redirects me to Wikipedian article (!?). That article itself mentions that the dictionary was criticized for it's inaccuracy. So, how reliable is that dictionary? Reading this article, one can assume that all Slavic countries and half of the world are incredibly racist because they say "black people" instead of whatever the politically correct term is in America. If that is not editor's personal bias, then I don't know what it is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.138.54.216 (talk) 09:29, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 September 2016

Article says: In Bolivia and especially Chile, where people of West African slave descent are fewer, Spanish megoo and negra are used in colloquial, semi-formal and sometimes even in formal contexts to refer to dark-skinned people of any ethnicity and, by itself, this use does not represent an insult.

I believe "megoo" is a typo. No such word exists in Spanish (regardless of dialect). I think it is meant to say 'negro' and 'negra'.

Guildhelm (talk) 08:06, 30 September 2016 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. — Andy W. (talk · ctb) 21:00, 30 September 2016 (UTC)

Euryalus removed the entire sentence that included 'megoo'. The information was unsourced, and removing it was the correct call. Guildhelm, thank you for making the request. — Neonorange (talk) 04:31, 1 October 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 28 April 2017

Negro in Italian means also "ghostwriter", but this use ceased when the word started to be considered offensive. 151.28.64.229 (talk) 02:35, 28 April 2017 (UTC) 151.28.64.229 (talk) 02:35, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. — IVORK _Discuss 04:41, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 January 2018

I would like to edit a portion of this text. Coffee4 (talk) 17:18, 6 January 2018 (UTC)

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. st170e 17:26, 6 January 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 8 January 2018

CHANGE The Dutch word neger was considered to be a neutral term, but is now considered offensive.

TO The Dutch word neger is widely used and considered to be a neutral term, although in recent years more often considered offensive by some. Postvakje (talk) 22:43, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

Not done: Your proposal includes the words widely used. The only reputable WP:RS source you provided, VanDale.nl, makes no such distinction. Spintendo ᔦᔭ 10:19, 9 January 2018 (UTC)

References

word "negro" in Italy

I add this note here, if it is the wrong place I apologize, I'm not a wikipedia expert at all. The page states that in Italian "Joking, non-offensive words are: moretto, moretta.". This is completely wrong, moretto/a in Italian is a joking word meaing "with black HAIR" and has nothing to do with the color of skin, even though a nice black-skin girl could easily be addressed as "una bella moretta". Sometimes (not often) it is used in extension for people with black skin, but this usage is marginal and when done can even be intended as mocking. If one asks "which of those three girls is Vanessa?" and, while they all have black hair and only one black skin, you answer "la moretta" that is offensive. The source is... any Italian dictionary. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.239.163.19 (talk) 11:33, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

"In Italy the word "negro" is an ethnic slur, but sometimes some uneducated people can use it without offensive meaning". The previous sentence is uncorrect: "negro" (along with "nero", which is very similar) is a term frequently used to describe black people without offensive meaning by the majority of italians, wheter they are uneducated or not. All the "the word "negro" is an ethnic slur, but sometimes some uneducated people can use it" is just an opinion, which is far from the truth: for example, if you watch to the italian version of films like "lethal weapon" you can clearly listen Danny Glover calling himself a "negro". I am italian and i can assure you about this.

--151.43.7.36 (talk) 19:22, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm Italian too and I'm wondering in which country do you live. "Negro" is not used at all by "the majority of Italians" to refer to black people. This is just plain ludicrous, just very uneducated people would do that. "Negro", although a neutral term until the 60s-70s, is today definitely perceived as an ethnic slur. --89.97.35.70 (talk) 17:36, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

No it is not.I am Canadian Negro and I use it on a regular basis.I get pissed on a term "African American",most stupidest thing I ever heard. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.84.254.224 (talk) 08:28, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

I reinsert my comment, which was cancelled by an anonymous. --151.43.14.6 (talk) 22:05, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

I partially agree with you. Furthermore "negro" still is an Italian word (although quite old, e.g. present in Petrarca's poems or local dialects) indicating the black color. See the definition of an online vocabulary. However more and more the term is thought to be offensive by many people, even if it was originally just a color adjective. The cited source states "il termine talvolta è avvertito o usato con valore spreg. e sostituito da nero" = the term (negro) sometimes is felt or used in an offesinsive manner, and substituted by nero". --Biopresto (talk) 10:13, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

In Italy the term today, september 2008, is with no doubt an offensive one and would not be used nor in politically speeches, nor in media, nor in any other colloquial situations. Debates are spreading about the correctness of the definition "coloured person" to define a black person, generally of african descent. I remove the comment, sorry for the anonimity but i have no time to register as i am a regular contributor on the italian wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.142.69.209 (talk) 21:18, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

I've just seen that the page is protected. That's fine for me, but the affirmation that the word in Italy has no offensive meaning is absolutely false. Thus i ask administrators to solve the problem. I must say also that an affirmation like //if you watch to the italian version of films like "lethal weapon" you can clearly listen Danny Glover calling himself a "negro"// is more than ridiculous: apart from the fact that the translator could be a fan of the KKK, or simply an ignorant, should we suppose that the italian translation of a movie like that is an encyclopedic source? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.142.69.209 (talk) 21:30, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

If somebody would want to talk about his skin color hironically or just making humor about himself would say "negro" and not "nero". As said, it really depends on contexts, it is not always offensive.--Biopresto (talk) 19:58, 5 December 2008 (UTC)

So if "negro" is italian for "black" what is the correct/polite term in Italian? 72.228.150.44 (talk) 16:06, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

"Nero" is Italian for the color black. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 21:24, 23 February 2013 (UTC)

"Nero" --Biopresto (talk) 17:42, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

In publishing language, "negro" is (or was) the Italian term for ghostwriter. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.27.55.6 (talk) 01:51, 20 October 2013 (UTC)

Negro in Spain

The word "Negro" in Spanish means black, and it is the normal word used to refer to Black people and it is not derogatory, but is a common misconception between English speakers to think that "negro" is derogatory because of its phonetical similarity to the word "nigger". So I don't understand why my edit was reverted, the article says that negro is derogatory and this is wrong, so I'll edit it. I'm a native Spanish speaker, I'm a spaniard and also I'll add as reference the definition of "negro" by the Royal Spanish Academy dictionary:

negro, gra.

(Del lat. niger, nigri).

1. adj. Se dice del aspecto de un cuerpo cuya superficie no refleja ninguna radiación visible.

2. adj. Se dice de la ausencia de todo color. U. m. c. s. m.

3. adj. Dicho de una persona: Cuya piel es de color negro. U. t. c. s.

Another native Spanish speaker here. I have corrected the previous nonsense. "Negro" is not derogatory in any way, and to use it as a way to address someone is in no way similar to the American use that was included before. Please stop being a bunch of imperialist ignorant Americans, unable to understand that things may be different in other languages/cultures. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Beguemot~enwiki (talk • contribs) 14:54, 13 December 2015 (UTC)

As I am another (partly) native speaker, I agree with both people, "negro" in Spanish refers to someone who is African American/black, just as "blanco" is what we say to white people. There is no other way to say it that I know of (as stated before, I'm a partially native speaker). In spanish, "negro" is in no way derogatory, it is simply what we call them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:CFC0:F310:89A9:1A90:A016:6B2F (talk) 03:38, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 July 2018

151.28.171.18 (talk) 18:09, 7 July 2018 (UTC)Negro and its variants (Negri, Nigro, De Nigris, Dal Negro etc.) is also a surname in Italy (i.e. [Negro], former football player, Ada Negri, poetess, Giovanni Antonio De Nigris, jurist, Dal Negro company, producing playing cards and children's toys...). Moreover, until the ban, it was used in idioms referring to someone doing a tiring and/or unpleasant work (SGOBBARE COME COME UN N*, "slogging like a n*") and it's still at present days the only Italian word meaning "GHOSTWRITER", also if now always replaced by English term. 151.28.171.18 (talk) 18:09, 7 July 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. ‑‑ElHef (Meep?) 14:50, 8 July 2018 (UTC)

Some proposed changes

Information to be added or removed: Section: 'In English' paragraph 4: '"Negroid" has traditionally been used within physical anthropology to denote one of the three purported races of humankind, alongside Caucasoid and Mongoloid.' Explanation of issue: Should read: '"Negroid" has traditionally been used within physical anthropology to denote one of the four purported races of humankind, alongside Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Australoid.' References supporting change: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australo-Melanesian 2A02:C7D:7631:9300:8924:DD95:50A8:A880 (talk) 17:47, 22 October 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made.: Wikipedia is not a reliable source. --B dash (talk) 05:36, 13 November 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 31 October 2018

In the first sentence, delete "traditionally" and insert "historically". Vendorz (talk) 16:49, 31 October 2018 (UTC)

 Done--B dash (talk) 05:37, 13 November 2018 (UTC)

Pronunciation

I think there should be a section on pronunciation of "Negro" and how it may have changed over time or in different parts of the country. on the WP page Nigger it is said: "The dialect spoken in the Southern United States changes the pronunciation of negro to nigra." I wonder if this was a dialect issue, or people everywhere in common speech will shorten the vowel sounds, just as some people say peh-TAY-teh instead of POE-TAY-TOE for potato. If someone has a pre-1960 dictionary they could check me on that. I remember growing up in the south, it sure sounded strange when around 1965 the newscasters started saying Knee-Grow for Negro. This is important because people listening to historical tape recordings are likely to infer a pejorative intent where there was none. For example, the WP page on Strom Thurmond emphasizes his "Nigra<sic>" pronunciation when in fact that is how everyone pronounced it at the time. Not that that speech wasn't racist, but he was much too well-educated and dignified a politician to drop into slang for that word.Eaberry (talk) 03:51, 10 February 2019 (UTC)

In French

"Nègre" is closer to the n-word than "Negro" (in meaning, for they are all cognates), so maybe it should be discussed there... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Corriendodelohpacoh (talk • contribs) 18:57, 6 October 2019 (UTC)

Correction of Spanish sentence

There's a Spanish sentence that is incorrect when giving instances of how the word "negro" in Spanish isn't offensive. In the example of "Negro, ¿Como andas?" it should be "Negro, ¿cómo andas?". I'm requesting that it should be changed.— Preceding unsigned comment added by SantiChau23 (talk • contribs) 00:33, 11 May 2019 (UTC)

Done. --Yhdwww (talk) 15:19, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 April 2020

Negro is an ethnic group indigenous to Upper Egypt Mohrenland (Blacks Land). Stretching from Thebes Egypt to the North. Somolia to the South. Arabia to the East and Iran to the North and Lower Egypt to the West. The people in this region are referred to by all Egyptians and Germanians as NGS (God, Negroes, Arians). A key historical location is the State of Nahsi (Nazi) in South West Asia just north of Yemen. At some point in time the Nahsi migrated to Libya, Morocco and Mauritania as the Mauri and Bafur Tribes. Also to Nigeria as the Naze Tribe. They used what's known as the Black Sun as a method of navigation known by Hitler as Schwarze Sonn (Black Sun or Black Swastika) which Hitler named his elite troops the SS. Negroes also settled with Mauer, Indigenous Black Germanians of Liechtenstein under the name Freimaurerei (Free Blacks / Frei Mohren). Which at some point Londoners translated to Free Masons rather than Free Moors. Notable Negroes were Saint Maurice of the Theban Legion. Queen Sheba of Yemen. Moriaan, de Schwarze Ritter (Mohr, the Black Knight) As well as Notre Dame's virgin Mary das Schwarze Mutter (the Black Mutter) also known as Schwarze Madonna. Black comes from the word Mor which was ancient meaning Mother as in as in the first, beginning, and protector. Jimmie Manor (talk) 05:08, 1 April 2020 (UTC)

 Not done. It's not clear what change you are proposing. Please make your request in the form "please change X to Y". Mathglot (talk) 08:37, 1 April 2020 (UTC)

Racial Slur

The article states this term is "widely considered a racist slur", what basis is there for this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.202.138.186 ([[User talk:68.202.138.186|talk]]) 19:18, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Same question from here Vasilatos (talk) 17:41, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Considering the word Negro appears on the US Census as a choice for race I don't see how it can be 'widely' considered a racist slur.

The claim has no references and is therefore misleading as to it being "widely" considered as a racial slur. It is used on the US Census, and although there have been a few complaints from younger african-americans, the term is not "widely" considered a slur. 80.77.132.239 ([[User talk:80.77.132.239|talk]]) 19:31, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

I agree and have removed the claim from the article.--Jersey Devil (talk) 20:15, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

The term is more archaic than a "slur.' 69.171.160.71 (talk)

100% agreed.71.112.41.87 (talk)

—Preceding undated comment added 02:46, 31 July 2010 (UTC).

Completely agree. It was the same as saying "coloured", in no ways it was offensive, actually it was the kind way of calling "black people" since this term didnt exist util the 60s. Both coloured and negro where just created to have a kind way of refering black people when the then traditional term "nigger" started to have negative connotations (it hadn't always have). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 181.26.44.186 (talk) 03:58, 4 December 2020 (UTC)

Negro in Latin America

I am from Argentina myself and a native spanish speaker. Negro is used in all spanish speaking countries to describe the "black race" (africans) for negro literally means black and that is not derrogatory at all.

In Argentina, it depends on how you say it: if you use "negro" in second person, it's generally friendly (except if you say something like "negro de m*rda" wich is equvalent to "f*cking ni*ger", but negro alone is never used to "insult" somebody directly). If you are talking about "negros" in 3rd person it genrally means dark skinned people**, although here, as we almost dont have african descendants (wich is not true for Uruguay) we use it to adress descendants form natives (amerindians), middle easterns and moors, and it is used as a racial slur (because their real race is not the black race, negro is not correct in any fromal context to adress anybody who isnt from african descendence, that's just a slur that highlights non european features as a form of discrimination), ENVN THOUGH (when talking in third person), it can also be just a pejorative term without being race related, for instance saying some white person is a "negro", means they behave like the sterotype of the forementioned people, wich is bad (being noisy, stealing, commiting vandalism, etc).

• • Although it actually ends up meaning looking partially indian (native) or moorish, even if those people have pale skin because they are mixed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 181.26.44.186 (talk) 03:34, 4 December 2020 (UTC)
    • People aren't mixed; cakes are mixed, concrete is mixed. Jacona (talk) 18:16, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

My correction

I know a huge amount of evidence that demonstrates the word 'negro' in Italian had not a derogatory meaning until the early Eighties. So, I don't understand why someone corrected my modification to the page. Marco Bechere (talk) 16:36, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 March 2022

When talking about Italian's "negro", it states that it started becoming a slur in the '60s, but doesn't link any source for it. The word did actually start becoming used as an insult in Italian only in the early 2000s. 5.169.101.18 (talk) 23:02, 1 March 2022 (UTC)

 Partly done: I presume you refer to However, under influence from English-speaking cultures, the word gradually started to be considered offensive during the 1960s. The source at the end of the paragraph states that by the 1970s it started being banned by translators, so I would argue that sufficiently justifies mention of it being considered offensive. I'll boldly remove mention of the 1960s as that does indeed appear to not be sourced. I fully encourage a more experienced editor to undo this in the event that a) I'm missing some source somewhere that does justify it, b) a source is found to justify it, or c) I'm ignorant of some other content policy that merits it's presence.

In regards to it being a slur in the 2000s, while a "slur" and a word being "offensive" aren't exclusive, they certainly aren't identical; ergo, I do not believe there is an inconsistency here. If you have sources that show the word only started becoming offensive by Italians in the 2000s, and not the 1970s, that could be an interesting discussion point for this talk page. Cheers! —Sirdog (talk) 10:05, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Typo correction

It’s locked, so I can’t edit. But “sites” should be “cites”. Thanks!

He sites reports that performances or publishing of certain works (William L. Dawson’s “Negro Folk Symphony”, and an anthology of Norman Mailer's works) 66.171.43.48 (talk) 06:58, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

 Done Thanks. Rsk6400 (talk) 17:52, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

German

Political correctness has caused all manufacturers of "Negerkuss" (negro kiss) to rename the sweet to "Schokokuss" (chocolate kiss) many years ago. No idea how that helps prevent racism... next thing they will have to use white chocolate, because someone might take offence in the brown icing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.53.225.124 (talk) 07:14, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

I don't think that this has to do with political correctness. It has to with respect and historical knowledge. --AstronomyMine (talk) 12:26, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

Negerkuss isn't 'negro kiss'. It would be more like 'nigger kiss'. --2A02:2028:EA:F891:38B8:E8BF:D7BA:D635 (talk) 12:11, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Neger was not discriminating; discriminating words like the english nigger have been: Bimbo, Kaffer, Baumwollpflücker etc. So not "Niggerkiss" but more like "Coulouredkiss" - learn german or be quiet. 88.66.200.193 (talk) 20:36, 15 May 2022 (UTC)

There is a mistake in the Text: The german word "Neger" have not been pejorative since the 1980s, but since the Mid-/Late-90s. I know this, because I am from Germany and have been a witness of the discussion about renaming. Agatha Christies Book was 1999 in an new translation and the title was still "Zehn kleine Negerlein" and four years later it was renamed to: "Und dann gab´s keines mehr". So in the 80s the word "Neger" was normal and no one thought in a discriminating way. The meaning of the word changed in the Mid90s and at the late 90s/early2000s it was a common sense that it will be since then discriminating. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.66.200.193 (talk) 20:44, 15 May 2022 (UTC)

Greater impact?

This sentence is pretty strange, and of questionable accuracy:

“Like many other similar words, the word Black, of Anglo-Saxon/Germanic origin, has a greater impact than Negro, of French/Latinate origin”.

What kind of impact? Negative? Positive. I doubt it’s accuracy insofar as Latin words are very often considered more impressive, which is why people sometimes use them. That’s probably why Negro is, per se, more impressive than “black”.

It should be deleted as being some attempt at a POV, but without reference (no, the thing about Anglo Saxon purity does count). Sychonic (talk) 17:16, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

Makes perfect sense, unless some source can explain what that even means, it’s just WP:OR. Jacona (talk) 18:40, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

"Knegro" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Knegro and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 August 5#Knegro until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. _signed, Rosguill ^talk 16:06, 5 August 2022 (UTC)

Derogatory terms in See also

Do these really need links? Some are truly offensive. 69.112.244.165 (talk) 23:36, 1 July 2020 (UTC)

This section may contain original research.

Add links to sources, otherwise this section may be deleted. In pre-revolutionary Russia, in the 17th-18th centuries, in relation to black people from Africa, the word arap was used, the most famous of which was the arap of Peter the Great, the great-grandfather of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.

The situation in modern Russia differs markedly from the above. People of the Negroid race in Russia and the USSR have always been (and to a large extent remain) exotic, and even the arrival of a significant number of African students in the country in the second half of the 20th century and the appearance of mulatto children in some of them did not particularly change the situation. The word "Negro" is still the most common

According to the definition of the Great Russian Encyclopedia, the Russian word "Negro" defines only representatives of the Negro race, and not the Negroid as a whole. The anthropological term “Negritos” is used as a playful, and the word “black -haired” or “black” is used as offensive. The word "negro" in Russian is not an insult, but only means belonging to the Negroid race and is politically correct 37.54.230.242 (talk) 10:35, 19 December 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 December 2022

Negro is the Spanish word for black. Spanish speaking readers are probably looking for the color, so maybe add a note with the text “for the color see black”. こもれびーさん (talk) 19:32, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

This is English language Wikipedia. We don't structure it for speakers of other languages. HiLo48 (talk) 22:40, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 May 2023

Please replace this expression

Negro was also used of the peoples of West Africa

with this one

Negro was also applied to the peoples of West Africa

or with this one:

Negro was also used for the peoples of West Africa

Thank you. 2A00:23C6:54D3:DA01:D3D:5445:EB78:5A87 (talk) 14:37, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

 Done --Pinchme123 (talk) 15:18, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 June 2023

The article mentions that "negro" means "black" in portuguese, which is not the case. While it is often used to refer to black people, it actually means "dark". 2804:14C:65A0:4E7E:2C48:8510:AFA0:387C (talk) 22:04, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. NotAGenious (talk) 06:56, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 July 2023

Italicize the distinguished hatnote for "nigger". 112.205.182.144 (talk) 21:35, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

 Done PlanetJuice (talk • contribs) 23:33, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

“to refer partners”

has to be “to refer to partners”. 67.83.101.225 (talk) 13:41, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

 Done thank you. Fred Gandt · talk · contribs 15:52, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

"inoffensive, or completely neutral"

Wouldn't neutral be the inoffensive variant, and wouldn't in that way these two be the same? 86.31.178.164 (talk) 23:24, 10 September 2024 (UTC)