User:A12n/Nigerois

Nigerois is a coined term of French construction that is not actually a word in the French language,^[1] but has had some use in English to refer to people from Niger, West Africa. The appropriate term for the latter (which is also a French word) is Nigerien (pl. Nigeriens).

The evident purpose of the term was to have a word form clearly distinguishable from that associated with the neighboring country of Nigeria, namely Nigerian.

Usage of the term Nigerois seems to be on the decline,^[2] though it is still listed under "Niger" in Merriam-Webster^[3] (but perhaps currently in no other dictionary^[4])

Morphology

"Nigerois" is formed from the country name, Niger, plus the French suffix -ois, which is "Used to form adjectives related to a particular country, region or city, their associated inhabitant names, and the local language or dialect."

Origin and Usage

It is not yet clear where the term Nigerois originated, although it could have been in either English language news organizations or government sources (noting particular use by US government).

Usage in US Government documents

The earliest U.S. Government use of "Nigerois" noted so far was in a 1961 U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) pamphlet on African names and concepts.^[5] Later use of the term in DoD documents appears to have been infrequent (5 documents from the late 1980s and early 1990s via a Google search).^[6]

Another early use appears in the transcript of a Congressional hearing in 1974.^[7]

Two uses were noted in USAID reports available online, the first being a 1984 report for an agriculture policy project in Niger ^[8] However apparently only one other USAID report a decade later^[9] made use of the term.

Nigerois was apparently in the CIA World Fact Book until some time before 2008,^[10]

Usage in Canadian government documents

The Canadian government terminology base TERMIUM Plus indicated "Nigerois," not "Nigerien," as the English term when checked in mid-March 2013,^[11] The current entry, dated 26 March 2013, indicates Nigerois as obsolete.^[12]

Usage in the English language press

The earliest use noted in the New York Times was an article in 1969.^[13] In 2005, columnist Nicholas Kristof mentioned in his blog that his "copy editor told [him] that the New York Times Stylebook says that the term for the people of Niger is Nigerois, and not to use Nigeriens because of the risk of confusion with Nigerians."^[14] There are apparently only a few articles using the term, most of them between 2001 and 2011 - but when querying "Nigerois" in March 2013 the search page asks "Did you mean: Nigerien."^[15] It appears that the last use of "Nigerois" in he NY Times was in 2011; "Nigerien" is noted in articles after that date.

The Chicago Tribune apparently used it once, in 2005.^[16]

BBC reporting evidently used "Nigerois" intermittently - a Google search shows 6 uses between 1999 and 2011.^[17]

Quick Google searches of selected other US media sites^[18] seems to indicate that many never used Nigerois in reporting.

The Canadian Press Stylebook (1992) evidently lists "Nigerois" as a or the term in English.^[19] Access to this style guide is not available online without subscription, so it is not possible to verify whether there is a more current issue or view what term(s) it lists.^[20]

Usage in academic and reference literature

The article on Niger in the Encyclopedia of Global Health (Sage, 2008) uses "Nigerois."

The entry on Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara in Encyclopædia Britannica used "Nigerois."^[21] A search of EB on the term yielded only this single article.

External links

"What is the demonym for a citizen of Niger?" English Language & Usage Stack Exchange, 17 November 2014 (some interesting data and discussion)
"Origin & use of 'Nigerois' in English," Don Osborn, H-West-Africa (email list), Sun, 23 Aug 2009
"How Do You Pronounce 'Niger'?" by Avi Zenilman, Slate, 16 July 2003 (note mention of Merriam Webster; refers to Nigerois as "archaic")

Notes and references

This is not a Wikipedia article, but rather a user page for a personal project to bring together information about the use of the term "Nigerois" - something that is not appropriate as a Wikipedia page, but useful to have somewhere on Wikipedia.

^ It appears in neither the Larousse nor Le Robert French dictionaries.
^ A Google search in August 2009 yielded approximately 6000 hits. A search done on 8 March 2013 yielded less than 4500.
^ "Niger," Merriam Webster online. (Accessed 8 March 2013)
^ The Oxford English Dictionary does not list it, which is a pity as they would presumably have information about its first usage. One blogger in 2010 indicated he could not find "Nigerois" in any dictionary other than Merriam-Webster: “Nigerois”? Harry Campbell (blog), 20 February 2010. (Accessed 8 March 2013)
^ Armed Forces Information and Education Office, 1961, "Africa: Names and Concepts" (Thanks to Sven Yargs for this info in his post on the English Language & Usage site.)
^ Google search on "nigerois site:.mil" 10 March 2013
^ World Hunger, Health, and Refugee Problems, Part V: Human Disasters In Cyprus, Bangladesh, Africa Hearing Before the Subcommittee to Investigate Problems Connected With Refugees and Escapees of the Committee on the Judiciary and the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate, Ninety-Third Congress, Second Session, August 20, 1974 (accessed 15 March 2013)
^ "Niger: Agricultural Policy and Credit Reforms," Wesley Weidemann, Theodore Cook, July, 1984. Agriculture Policy Analysis Project 936-4084
^ Final Report: Evaluation of the Policy Analysis and Monitoring Project in Niger," Submitted to USAID/Niamey, Niger by Nathan Associates Inc. Under Contract No. AEP-5451-1-00-2058, Delivery Order #17, January 1995
^ "Tricky English fake word of the day: Nigerois," Siphoning Off a Few Thoughts (blog), 7 January 2008. (Accessed 8 March 2013)
^ TERMIUM Plus, search on "Niger," listing #8 (scroll down) with the source listed as Buckley, Peter, ed. 1992. CP stylebook : a guide for writers and editors. Toronto: Canadian Press. (accessed 15 March 2013) See discussion of this stylebook below.
^ See previous link to TERMIUM, and scroll to listing #4. (accessed 28 January 2015)
^ "ALIENS IN GHANA STREAM TO TOGO; Accra Orders Those Without Work Permits to Leave," New York Times, 3 December 1969 (for-pay article)
^ "So What Is This Place?" Nicholas D. Kristof, On the Ground (blog), New York Times, 11 October 2005
^ Search for "Nigerois" on NYTimes.com, 10 March 2013
^ Search of ChicagoTribune.com, 15 March 2013. The article was "The famine next time," August 14, 2005
^ Google search on "Nigerien -Nigeris site:bbc.co.uk" 15 March 2013
^ CNN, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek
^ Per citation in the Canadian government's TERMIUM Plus database, mentioned above.
^ "Online stylebooks," The Canadian Press website (accessed 15 March 2013)
^ "Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara," Encyclopaedia Brittanica, (accessed 28 January 2015)

[1] It appears in neither the Larousse nor Le Robert French dictionaries.

[2] A Google search in August 2009 yielded approximately 6000 hits. A search done on 8 March 2013 yielded less than 4500.

[3] "Niger," Merriam Webster online. (Accessed 8 March 2013)

[4] The Oxford English Dictionary does not list it, which is a pity as they would presumably have information about its first usage. One blogger in 2010 indicated he could not find "Nigerois" in any dictionary other than Merriam-Webster: “Nigerois”? Harry Campbell (blog), 20 February 2010. (Accessed 8 March 2013)

[5] Armed Forces Information and Education Office, 1961, "Africa: Names and Concepts" (Thanks to Sven Yargs for this info in his post on the English Language & Usage site.)

[6] Google search on "nigerois site:.mil" 10 March 2013

[7] World Hunger, Health, and Refugee Problems, Part V: Human Disasters In Cyprus, Bangladesh, Africa Hearing Before the Subcommittee to Investigate Problems Connected With Refugees and Escapees of the Committee on the Judiciary and the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate, Ninety-Third Congress, Second Session, August 20, 1974 (accessed 15 March 2013)

[8] "Niger: Agricultural Policy and Credit Reforms," Wesley Weidemann, Theodore Cook, July, 1984. Agriculture Policy Analysis Project 936-4084

[9] Final Report: Evaluation of the Policy Analysis and Monitoring Project in Niger," Submitted to USAID/Niamey, Niger by Nathan Associates Inc. Under Contract No. AEP-5451-1-00-2058, Delivery Order #17, January 1995

[10] "Tricky English fake word of the day: Nigerois," Siphoning Off a Few Thoughts (blog), 7 January 2008. (Accessed 8 March 2013)

[11] TERMIUM Plus, search on "Niger," listing #8 (scroll down) with the source listed as Buckley, Peter, ed. 1992. CP stylebook : a guide for writers and editors. Toronto: Canadian Press. (accessed 15 March 2013) See discussion of this stylebook below.

[12] See previous link to TERMIUM, and scroll to listing #4. (accessed 28 January 2015)

[13] "ALIENS IN GHANA STREAM TO TOGO; Accra Orders Those Without Work Permits to Leave," New York Times, 3 December 1969 (for-pay article)

[14] "So What Is This Place?" Nicholas D. Kristof, On the Ground (blog), New York Times, 11 October 2005

[15] Search for "Nigerois" on NYTimes.com, 10 March 2013

[16] Search of ChicagoTribune.com, 15 March 2013. The article was "The famine next time," August 14, 2005

[17] Google search on "Nigerien -Nigeris site:bbc.co.uk" 15 March 2013

[18] CNN, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek

[19] Per citation in the Canadian government's TERMIUM Plus database, mentioned above.

[20] "Online stylebooks," The Canadian Press website (accessed 15 March 2013)

[21] "Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara," Encyclopaedia Brittanica, (accessed 28 January 2015)

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