Hiram L. Smith - Wassup, My Nigga: The Hidden History of a Controversial Word

Wassup, My Nigga by Bucknell University professor Hiram Smith presents the history and meaning of one of the most controversial words in American English. Read on for a Q&A with the author to learn more.

How did you come to research this topic?

When I used to watch talk shows where guests and audience members debated whether nigga was a ‘term of endearment’ or a racial slur, I noticed that most of these discussions relied on assumptions and intuitions rather than linguistic evidence—there were never any linguists or historians involved in any of these conversations. As a result, much of what was said about its origin, pronunciation, and meaning came from hip-hop artists and sports figures rather than from careful historical or linguistic research. In my personal search for answers, I learned that there was virtually no research on the subject. So, I set out to remedy that state of affairs by doing the research myself.

What is the most common misconception about the meaning and usage of the word nigga?

The most common misconception among linguistic outsiders is that the word nigga is synonymous with the slur n*gger. In African American language usage, however, nigga can serve several different functions—it can signal familiarity or solidarity, or function simply as a neutral term of reference similar to dude or guy, among many other meanings. What is less well known is that African Americans have been using the word nigga in these varied ways since slavery times—we now have documented evidence of this—so these meanings are not a recent reappropriation, as is often claimed.

Where did the pronunciation nigga come from, and when?

The pronunciation nigga may have emerged through a couple of historical pathways. In the book, I explore how the most significant change in the word’s pronunciation—the loss of the word-final r—may reflect both the influence of West African languages on the English learned by enslaved people and developments in British English that spread through the American South via White plantation owners and into the speech of enslaved Black people; there may also be a connection to Caribbean creole speakers. The really interesting question, however, is whether these two pronunciations represent different words with distinct meanings—a possibility I also explore.