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Neger

The Neger was a rudimentary one-man human torpedo deployed by the German Kriegsmarine during World War II, designed as a low-cost, expendable weapon to target Allied shipping in coastal waters. Essentially a modified G7e electric torpedo with an exposed cockpit for a single operator armed with a 533 mm warhead, it lacked the ability to submerge and relied on surface propulsion at speeds up to 5 knots, making it vulnerable to detection and rough seas but hard to spot at night. Approximately 200 units were produced starting in late 1943 under the direction of engineer Richard Mohr, as part of Germany's late-war shift to asymmetric naval tactics amid dwindling resources and U-boat losses.^[1]^[2] First operational missions occurred in April 1944 off Anzio, Italy, where launches from mother submarines or surface vessels aimed to exploit Allied beachhead vulnerabilities, but poor handling—exacerbated by the pilot's limited visibility through a simple eyepiece and no periscope—resulted in most craft failing to reach targets or being scuttled prematurely. Despite claims of sinking a single freighter and damaging others, empirical records indicate negligible strategic impact, with operator survival rates below 20% due to drowning, mechanical failure, or enemy fire; many missions ended in self-sabotage to avoid capture. The type's inefficacy prompted rapid iteration into the enclosed-cockpit Marder variant by mid-1944, though both reflected causal desperation in Germany's naval doctrine as conventional forces eroded, prioritizing quantity over reliability in human-guided ordnance.^[3]^[4]

Etymology and Linguistic Roots

Derivation from Latin "Niger"

The Latin adjective niger denotes "black" or "dark", serving as a neutral descriptor for colors and appearances in classical texts, applied to inanimate objects like ink or soil, natural phenomena such as night, animals including black horses or crows, and infrequently to human features without derogatory implication.^[5] In Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia (completed circa 77 AD), niger appears in contexts like describing the dark hue of ebony wood or shadowy regions, exemplifying its routine, non-pejorative employment for observable traits rather than social judgment.^[6] This usage aligns with broader Roman linguistic patterns, where color terms like albus (white) or ruber (red) similarly lacked moral or ethnic freight, rooted in empirical observation.^[7] Through Vulgar Latin, spoken forms of the language prevalent from the 3rd to 9th centuries AD, niger underwent phonetic shifts, yielding nigrus or negro in early Romance dialects, preserving the core sense of blackness tied to visual perception.^[8] This evolution is evident in Iberian languages, where Spanish and Portuguese adopted negro by the medieval period for dark colors, as in descriptions of garments or landscapes, before extending to human skin tones encountered in trans-Saharan trade routes documented from the 13th century onward.^[8] French developed noir from a parallel Vulgar Latin trajectory (nigrum > negre > noir), but incorporated nègre as a direct borrowing retaining the Latin-derived form for intensified darkness.^[5] The term's application to people emerged in 15th- and 16th-century European exploration accounts, with Spanish chroniclers like those of the Catholic Monarchs' voyages using negros to denote dark-skinned Africans in Guinea coastal encounters around 1440–1500, framing it as a geographic and phenotypic label akin to other descriptors like moros for Moors. These attestations, in navigational logs and royal decrees, underscore niger's inheritance as a color-based identifier, detached from later hierarchical loadings, as Iberian powers cataloged populations during early Atlantic ventures.^[9]

Entry into Germanic Languages

The term Neger entered the German language in the 17th century through borrowing from Dutch neger or French nègre, both of which derived from Romance adaptations (such as Spanish and Portuguese negro) of Latin niger, denoting "black."^[10] This process reflected broader Germanic linguistic integration of terms for African peoples amid European expansion, with phonetic shifts aligning the word to High German conventions, including a voiced velar stop (/g/) and umlaut avoidance for simplicity. Semantically, it functioned as a neutral ethnonym for individuals of dark-skinned African origin, distinct from earlier descriptors like Mohr (from Latin Maurus), which emphasized North African or Moorish associations.^[10] In Dutch, the parallel form neger appeared earlier, around the late 16th century, via direct Portuguese influence during Atlantic trade and early colonial ventures, serving as a conduit for transmission to Low German dialects and thence to standard German.^[10] Danish neger and Swedish neger followed suit in the 17th century, often mediated by German scholarly and mercantile texts, preserving the core meaning as a descriptor tied to skin color and geographic provenance rather than inherent value judgments.^[10] These borrowings exemplified calque-like adaptation in Germanic languages, where Romance loanwords for racial descriptors were assimilated without significant semantic alteration, prioritizing descriptive utility in emerging ethnographic contexts. By the 18th century, Neger achieved standardization in German lexicography, appearing in Johann Christoph Adelung's Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der hochdeutschen Mundart (1774–1786) as a factual term for "a person with black skin from Africa," underscoring its role in systematic linguistic documentation.^[11] Grammatical extensions included the invariant plural Neger (e.g., die Neger) and diminutives such as Negerlein, which morphologically conformed to German patterns for endearment or diminution, initially applied in narrative contexts without pejorative freight.^[10] This entry pattern across Germanic tongues highlighted a shared trajectory of neutral borrowing, driven by empirical encounters rather than ideological imposition. In Romance languages, cognates of German Neger derive directly from Latin niger ("black"), reflecting a shared descriptive origin for dark-skinned individuals or the color black itself. Italian negro, Spanish negro, and Portuguese negro emerged as neutral terms in the 16th century onward, with Portuguese negro used descriptively in Brazil for people of African descent until at least the mid-20th century, often alongside preto without inherent offense in early contexts.^[8]^[12] French nègre, borrowed via Spanish negro around the same period, similarly functioned as a straightforward ethnic descriptor pre-1800.^[8] Slavic languages exhibit parallels through later borrowings rather than direct inheritance; Russian негр (negr), for example, entered via French nègre or Spanish negro in the 18th-19th centuries, retaining neutral status as a term for black persons distinct from the English nigger's phonetic shift and slur development.^[5] Etymological analyses, including those tracing Latin niger to Proto-Indo-European roots for "dark" or "bare," affirm these terms' pre-1800 neutrality across branches, positioning Neger within a broader Indo-European linguistic pattern of color-derived nomenclature rather than isolated Germanic innovation.^[8]^[13]

Historical Usage in German-Speaking Contexts

Pre-20th Century Descriptive Employment

In 18th- and 19th-century German lexicography, "Neger" functioned as a straightforward ethnic descriptor for individuals of sub-Saharan African descent, akin to geographical or phenotypic classification without derogatory intent. Johann Christoph Adelung's Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart (1774–1786) defines it as "a black Moor or inhabitant of Nigritia," emphasizing origins in the African region south of the Sahara rather than any value judgment.[](https://woerterbuchnetz.de/?sigle= Adelung&lemma=Neger&mode=v1_w) This neutral framing aligned with Enlightenment-era categorizations of human diversity based on observable traits and regions, as seen in ethnographic accounts where the term denoted physical characteristics like dark skin tone. Geographical and travel literature of the period employed "Neger" descriptively in documenting African and diaspora populations. Christian Georg Andreas Oldendorp's Historie der caribischen Inseln Sanct Thomas, Sanct Crux und Sanct Jan (1777), a detailed missionary report on the Danish West Indies, uses the term extensively to describe the enslaved black inhabitants' customs, languages, and daily life, treating it as a standard identifier parallel to European ethnic labels.^[14] Similarly, Alexander von Humboldt's accounts of his 1799–1804 American expeditions, such as Versuch einer Geschichte und Beschreibung der Neuen Welt (published in parts from 1804 onward), reference "Neger" in enumerating plantation laborers and free blacks within colonial demographics, focusing on empirical observations of population distributions and labor roles.^[15] The term's uncontroversial integration into pre-1900 German print culture is reflected in its steady occurrence across genres, including educational texts. Digitized corpora like Google Books Ngram Viewer show "Neger" maintaining consistent frequency in German-language books from 1700 to 1900, rising modestly with expanded global exploration narratives but without spikes indicating polemical debate. In primers and juvenile geography works, it appeared in factual portrayals of world regions, such as lessons on African tribes or overseas territories, devoid of inferiority tropes that emerged later. This descriptive steadiness underscores its role as a conventional label in an era prioritizing classificatory precision over modern sensitivities.

19th and Early 20th Century Literature and Science

In the late 19th century, German realist authors such as Theodor Fontane incorporated "Neger" as a neutral descriptor for individuals of African descent in their novels, aligning with prevailing ethnographic conventions of the era. For instance, in Effi Briest (1895), the term appears in Effi von Innstetten's enthusiastic reference to exotic figures—"einen Neger oder einen Türken, oder vielleicht sogar einen Chinesen"—evoking curiosity about non-European peoples without pejorative intent, as part of broader portrayals of societal fascination with global diversity.^[16]^[17] This usage mirrored the descriptive norms in literature, where "Neger" denoted observable physical traits amid discussions of travel and cultural encounters, rather than implying inferiority. Early 20th-century writers like Thomas Mann similarly employed the term descriptively in contexts reflecting contemporary cultural phenomena. In works influenced by the Jazz Age, Mann referenced "Neger-Amüsement" to capture the era's artistic appropriations of African-inspired performances, such as those akin to Josephine Baker's shows, treating it as a factual label for racial or stylistic origins without derogatory overlay.^[18] Such integrations into narrative prose underscored "Neger" as a standard ethnographic marker, consistent with the period's literary engagement with modernity and global influences. In scientific discourse, particularly anthropology, "Neger" served as an empirical category for classifying physical attributes during the late 19th century. Rudolf Virchow, a prominent pathologist and anthropologist, utilized the term in publications like Die anthropologische Stellung der Neger, analyzing skeletal and morphological data from African populations to argue for environmental influences on human variation, emphasizing measurable traits such as cranial indices over innate hierarchies.^[19] This approach, grounded in Virchow's opposition to rigid hereditarian racial doctrines, positioned "Neger" as a descriptive tool for comparative anatomy, drawing on autopsy records and expedition findings without endorsing value-laden superiority.^[20] Contemporary dictionaries and periodicals further evidenced the term's non-slur status, defining "Neger" simply as a black-skinned inhabitant of Africa or the diaspora, as seen in lexical entries from the 1880s onward that lacked cautionary notes on offensiveness. Digitized archives of 19th-century German newspapers, including those aggregated in portals like the Deutsches Zeitungsportal, reveal routine applications in reports on colonial expeditions, trade, or ethnology—e.g., neutral accounts of "Neger" laborers or specimens—confirming its role as a factual descriptor amid scientific and journalistic documentation of human diversity.^[21]^[22]

Usage During Colonialism and World Wars

During the German colonial period from 1884 to 1919, "Neger" served as a standard descriptor in administrative and military reports for black African populations across territories including German East Africa and German South West Africa. Official documents from the Herero and Nama uprising (1904–1908) in South West Africa routinely applied the term to indigenous groups, as seen in correspondence from commanders like General Lothar von Trotha, who categorized rebels as "Neger" amid efforts to suppress the revolt that resulted in an estimated 50,000–100,000 Herero deaths.^[23] Similarly, in German East Africa during conflicts like the Maji-Maji Rebellion (1905–1907), colonial records used "Neger" factually to reference local fighters, often portraying them as "Neger with spears" in officer dispatches that emphasized tactical assessments over derogatory intent.^[24] This usage aligned with ethnographic classifications prevalent in imperial science, prioritizing empirical categorization of populations for governance and resource allocation.^[25] In World War I, German military records and limited propaganda materials employed "Neger" descriptively for African colonial troops serving with Allied forces, particularly the approximately 40,000 Senegalese and other West African soldiers in French units occupying the Rhineland post-1918. The "Black Shame" (Schwarze Schmach) campaign, which protested this occupation through pamphlets and speeches decrying alleged atrocities, referenced these troops as "Neger" in a factual manner tied to racial difference, without pervasive adoption of slurs like the English "nigger."^[26] Such terminology appeared in army intelligence reports on enemy compositions, focusing on logistical threats rather than ideological vilification, as evidenced by archival notations on troop demographics during battles like those on the Western Front.^[27] World War II Wehrmacht documentation continued this pattern, applying "Neger" in operational logs to denote black personnel among Allied forces, including African American soldiers (numbering over 1.2 million in U.S. units by 1945) and British colonial troops from Africa. Records from theaters like North Africa and Normandy identified these groups for tactical purposes, such as in assessments of enemy capabilities, distinct from propagandistic excesses that occasionally invoked racial inferiority but rarely escalated "Neger" into a primary slur.^[28] Nazi racial policies targeted resident black Germans under labels like "Neger und ihre Bastarde" in internal directives, yet frontline usage in Wehrmacht contexts remained comparatively restrained and descriptive, reflecting pre-existing linguistic norms rather than imported Anglo-American pejoratives.^[29]^[30] In the Weimar Republic's interwar literature, the term persisted as a neutral referent for black figures, appearing in works addressing global themes without inherent offense, countering retrospective claims of embedded racism.^[31]^[32]

Semantic Evolution and Contextual Shifts

From Neutral Descriptor to Potential Offense

The semantic evolution of "Neger" in German reflects a causal linkage to post-World War II geopolitical and cultural exchanges, particularly the influx of American media and literature that imported sensitivities surrounding the phonetically akin English slur "nigger." Prior to 1945, the term functioned primarily as a descriptive label derived from Latin niger, devoid of inherent derogation in scientific, literary, or everyday contexts; however, the Allied occupation and subsequent transatlantic cultural diffusion, including broadcasts and publications highlighting U.S. racial tensions, began associating "Neger" with imported stigma. This drift intensified in the 1960s amid global awareness of the American civil rights movement, where German translations of English-language texts—such as editions of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—rendered "nigger" as "Neger," thereby conflating the neutral German descriptor with the English term's pejorative load rooted in slavery and segregation.^[33]^[34] By the 1980s and 1990s, this external contamination manifested in media debates over legacy usages, such as in children's literature and product naming (e.g., "Negerkuß" confections), where the term's potential for offense emerged not as an absolute prohibition but as contextually contingent—dependent on intonation, intent, and audience perception rather than lexical essence. Incidents involving reprinted classics prompted discussions on whether historical neutrality justified retention with annotations or demanded excision, revealing a tension between preserving linguistic heritage and accommodating evolving associations imported via globalized English dominance in film, television, and publishing. These episodes underscored that offensiveness accrued through cumulative exposure to Anglo-American racial narratives, not spontaneous semantic mutation.^[35]^[33] Linguistic analyses of the period highlight the term's retained descriptive viability in non-confrontational settings, with empirical corpus studies showing "Neger" persisting in neutral references into the early 2000s before broader public discourse amplified activist-driven reinterpretations; this indicates a gradual, event-driven pejoration rather than uniform taboo, as neutral embeddings (e.g., in historical texts) elicited less backlash than direct address.^[36]^[37]

Influence of English "Nigger" and Cross-Linguistic Borrowings

The English term "nigger" originated as an 18th-century dialectal pronunciation of "negro," with early variants like "neger" reflecting phonetic parallels to the German "Neger," both ultimately deriving from Latin niger via Romance intermediaries such as Spanish negro and French nègre.^[5]^[38] This shared phonetic foundation facilitated cross-linguistic recognition, but the English word's pejorative evolution—tied to transatlantic slavery and institutionalized racism—did not initially transfer to German usage, where "Neger" functioned descriptively without equivalent historical baggage.^[5] Post-World War II American cultural exports, including films, literature, and civil rights discourse, began importing the English slur's connotations, creating associative bleed-over despite phonological and contextual distinctions; by the 1980s, the influx of hip-hop music amplified this, as German artists encountered and sometimes emulated reclaimed English usages in multicultural urban scenes.^[39]^[40] In German rap, terms like "Neger" appeared in self-referential contexts mirroring American patterns, yet lexicographers resisted conflation, with Duden editions through the 1990s maintaining "Neger" as a neutral descriptor for individuals of sub-Saharan African descent, underscoring endogenous semantic stability against imported stigma.^[39]^[40] This transfer exemplifies imposed rather than organic associations, driven by globalization's causal pathways—media saturation and youth subcultures—rather than intrinsic linguistic equivalence; empirical patterns show uneven adoption, with peripheral German-speaking dialects exhibiting delayed sensitivity compared to urban centers exposed to Anglo-American influences, highlighting context-dependent diffusion over uniform endogenous shift.^[35]^[39]

Role of Post-WWII Denazification and Global Civil Rights Movements

During the Allied denazification campaign in occupied Germany from 1945 to 1949, with extensions into the 1950s under the nascent Federal Republic and GDR, authorities targeted terminology integral to Nazi racial ideology, such as "Aryan superiority" and "racial defilement" (Rassenschande), for removal from education, media, and administration. The word "Neger," however, a descriptive label tracing to 18th-century ethnographic usage rather than Third Reich invention, evaded systematic purge as non-doctrinal, permitting its continued neutral application in post-war literature and speech. For instance, Hans Massaquoi's 1970 memoir Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger, detailing Afro-German life through the late 1940s in Hamburg, employs the term routinely among locals without connoting animus, underscoring its persistence absent ideological stigma.^[41] From the 1960s onward, alignment with U.S. civil rights activism and Black Power rhetoric—amplified via student movements in the FRG and state-sponsored solidarity in the GDR—introduced Anglo-American linguistic norms, recasting "Neger" as suspect despite its etymological divergence from the slur "nigger." In the FRG, 1960s-1970s Bildungsreform initiatives, driven by '68er radicals, revised curricula to excise colonial-era descriptors, substituting "Schwarzer" in textbooks amid broader anti-imperialist pedagogy influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X narratives. GDR policies similarly evolved; by the 1970s, official outlets like Neues Deutschland critiqued Western racism while sensitizing to African students' objections, as when U.S. visitors in 1960s exchanges labeled "Neger" derogatory, prompting self-censorship in education despite sparse domestic Black population. This imported framework prioritized perceived solidarity over indigenous semantics, where surveys indicate mid-century Germans viewed the term descriptively akin to "Negro" pre-1960s U.S. usage.^[42] Linguistic corpora of German print media document "Neger"'s frequency plummeting from routine mid-20th-century occurrences to marginal post-1980, coinciding with activist campaigns rather than endogenous offense reports; older cohorts, per sociolinguistic studies, retained it privately without derogatory intent, attributing taboo to external moral entrepreneurship over causal linguistic degradation. This evolution exemplifies overreach in equating phonetic proximity to English slurs with inherent racism, disregarding "Neger"'s lack of slavery-era pejoration in German contexts and inflating geopolitical atonement into lexical prohibition.^[39]^[43]

Modern Controversies and Debates

Public Incidents and Media Backlash

In 2013, German publishers revised classic children's literature to excise the term "Neger," as seen in a new edition of Otfried Preußler's Die kleine Hexe, where descriptive uses were replaced with neutral alternatives amid concerns over outdated racial descriptors. This prompted backlash from conservatives and linguists who argued the changes sanitized historical language without evidence of derogatory intent in the original contexts, with petitions circulating to preserve unaltered texts.^[44] A similar debate erupted in 2018 when public broadcaster MDR announced a program discussing whether "Neger" could be used non-offensively, phrased provocatively on social media, leading to swift cancellation after accusations of normalizing racism from activist groups and media outlets. The incident underscored tensions between free speech advocacy and demands for linguistic taboo, with MDR apologizing for the framing despite no actual broadcast of offensive content.^[45] The most prominent case occurred on October 25, 2018, when AfD state parliament leader Nikolaus Kramer interjected "Neger" multiple times during a Left Party colleague's speech on asylum benefits in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Landtag, mocking claims of discrimination against dark-skinned recipients. Parliament president Birgit Hesse issued a reprimand, citing the term's potential to offend, but the state Constitutional Court overturned it on December 19, 2019, ruling that "Neger" lacks inherent derogation and requires proof of discriminatory context, as Kramer's usage critiqued policy rather than targeted individuals.^[46]^[47] The ruling ignited widespread media condemnation from outlets like Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung, framing it as enabling racism, and spurred protests such as a Hamburg demonstration on February 29, 2020, organized by Black communities demanding the word's outright prohibition. Counterarguments from linguists, including op-eds emphasizing semantic evolution and contextual nuance over absolutist bans, appeared in regional press, highlighting perceived inconsistencies in outrage directed primarily at right-wing usage.^[39]^[48]^[49]

Legal Rulings on Derogatory Intent in Germany and Austria

In Germany, judicial interpretation of the term "Neger" under § 185 StGB (Beleidigung) prioritizes evidence of derogatory intent and situational context over the word's isolated usage, rejecting claims of inherent slur status. Courts have ruled that the term, historically a neutral descriptor, constitutes an insult only when employed to demean or humiliate, as determined by factors such as tone, accompanying language, and relational dynamics. For example, in a 2016 decision by the Amtsgericht Karlsruhe (case 5 Cs 520 Js 39011/15), the court equated a retaliatory phrase to the derogatory invocation of "Neger" but stressed contextual equivalence rather than automatic offensiveness, acquitting where no malice was proven. Analogous rulings from 2013 to 2020, including analyses by the Bundesverfassungsgericht emphasizing free expression under Art. 5 GG unless overriding harm is shown, affirm that absent proof of intent to insult, prosecutions fail, countering demands for blanket criminalization.^[50]^[51]^[52] Empirical data on outcomes reveal low conviction rates for "Neger"-related complaints, with judicial scrutiny often leading to dismissals when intent cannot be substantiated, highlighting a gap between perceived taboo and enforceable law. Legal commentaries note that while complaints arise frequently in interpersonal disputes, successful prosecutions hover below 5% due to evidentiary burdens, as prosecutors must demonstrate subjective dishonor beyond reasonable doubt. This intent-focused doctrine preserves linguistic leeway while penalizing demonstrable abuse, as seen in the 2020 Amtsgericht Görlitz ruling (conviction in three contextual instances of repeated, hostile usage).^[53] In Austria, parallel jurisprudence under § 115 StGB (Beleidigung) and related provisions mandates proof of malicious or abwertende intent, with courts evaluating "Neger" through contextual lenses rather than presuming inherent derogation. A 2019 judikatura evaluation by the Österreichisches Parlament cited rulings where the term's general modern perception as pejorative yields to specific usage: liability arises only if context reveals demeaning purpose, exempting neutral or descriptive applications. For instance, 2018 cases involving fines were upheld solely upon evidence of malice, such as aggressive delivery in confrontations, aligning with Verbotsgesetz exceptions that prioritize individual harm over group-based prohibitions. This approach mirrors German precedent, ensuring convictions reflect causal intent rather than prophylactic bans.^[54]^[55]

Perspectives from Linguists vs. Activists

Linguists have maintained that "Neger" historically functioned as a descriptive term for individuals of sub-Saharan African descent, derived from Latin niger ("black") via Romance languages, without intrinsic derogatory intent in pre-20th-century German usage corpora.^[56] In contemporary analysis, some emphasize contextual dependency, noting that fixed compounds like "Negerkuß" (a chocolate-marshmallow confection) preserve lexical neutrality as idiomatic expressions detached from modern offense, akin to how English "Negro" lingered in technical contexts post-desegregation.^[57] The Duden dictionary's advisory board, reflecting prescriptive linguistics, classified it as pejorative in 1996 and discriminatory by 2000, recommending alternatives like "Schwarzer" based on evolving societal norms rather than semantic essence.^[39] Activists, including figures from black German advocacy groups, assert "Neger" equates to the English "N-word" due to its colonial associations with enslavement and dehumanization, demanding its categorical prohibition regardless of intent.^[39] Organizations such as the Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD) and petitioners like Charlotte Nzimiro, who gathered nearly 100,000 signatures in 2020 for legal recognition as inherently racist, frame its utterance as perpetuating trauma, often invoking personal testimonies over etymological or corpus evidence.^[58] Poet and activist May Ayim critiqued embedded racial connotations in compounds like "Negerkuss," linking them to fascist-era hierarchies and rejecting any neutral reclamation.^[59] Such positions prioritize lived experience and decolonial ideology, though they encounter rebuttals for conflating historical descriptivism with English slur dynamics, absent direct phonetic or semantic equivalence. Among black Germans, opinions diverge, underscoring the debate's nuance beyond monolithic activist narratives. While Ayim and similar voices decry it as inescapably injurious, performer Roberto Blanco expressed in 2015 that he associates "Neger" solely with positive childhood memories, avoiding its application to people yet resisting blanket vilification.^[60] The 2020 Afrozensus survey indicated widespread racism experiences (over 90% of respondents), but did not isolate "Neger" as a universal trigger, with some attributing harm to delivery rather than lexicon.^[61] Empirical psychological studies on German-specific slur trauma remain sparse, relying on self-reports of discrimination rather than controlled metrics isolating "Neger" from broader prejudice, suggesting ideological amplification over verifiable causation.^[62] This variance highlights how activist-driven absolutism contrasts with linguists' evidence-based contextualism, where intent and setting modulate impact.

Comparative Analysis with Analogous Terms

"Negro" in English-Speaking Worlds

In the English-speaking world, particularly the United States, "Negro" emerged as a neutral descriptor for people of African descent in the 1700s, supplanting earlier interchangeable uses of "black" and "Negroes" from the 1600s in printed English.^[63] The term appeared in official records, such as the 1790 U.S. Census, which categorized the black population under "Negro" alongside free whites and slaves, reflecting its standard administrative usage without derogatory connotation at the time.^[64] By the early 20th century, "Negro" gained endorsement from black leaders and organizations as a dignified alternative to "colored," emphasizing specificity and group identity; W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington promoted it in this era.^[65] The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) originated from the National Negro Committee formed in 1909, explicitly adopting "Negro" in its platform to advocate for equal rights and refute notions of inferiority.^[66] This preference persisted through the mid-20th century, with "Negro" remaining the dominant term in civil rights discourse and U.S. Census categories until the 1960s.^[67] Post-1960s, amid the Black Power movement, "Negro" underwent phased retirement in favor of "Black" by the early 1970s and later "African American," driven by preferences for terms evoking empowerment and heritage rather than any inherent offensiveness.^[68] Unlike the slur "nigger," which derives phonetically from a corrupted form of "Negro" but carries explicit pejorative intent, "Negro" lacked such derogatory linkage in standard usage and was not treated as taboo.^[69] It endures in non-controversial historical references, such as the Negro Leagues, professional baseball associations for black players active from 1920 to the late 1940s that drew millions of fans and symbolized resilience against segregation.^[70]

Equivalence Claims to "Nigger" and Empirical Rebuttals

Claims of equivalence between the German term "Neger" and the English slur "nigger" often stem from shared etymological origins in Latin niger ("black"), transmitted through Spanish/Portuguese negro and French nègre, with phonetic similarities amplifying perceptions of parity among activists and some media outlets.^[5]^[39] However, such parallels overlook causal divergences in historical development: "nigger" crystallized as a derogatory epithet in 18th-century English amid the intensification of chattel slavery on American plantations, where it encoded degradation tied to forced labor, whippings, and familial separations affecting millions from the 1700s onward, absent equivalent scale in German-speaking contexts.^[5] Germany's brief colonial holdings in Africa (1884–1919) involved no transatlantic slave trade or plantation systems comparable to those in the Americas, limiting "Neger" to descriptive nomenclature for Black Africans encountered via exploration or limited trade, without embedded connotations of hereditary servitude.^[71] Empirical rebuttals underscore these distinctions through corpus analyses of pre-1950 German texts, where "Neger" appears in neutral, ethnographic, or literary roles—such as in children's books or scientific descriptions—lacking the diminutive or intensifying morphology that rendered "nigger" a tool of interpersonal insult in English dialects.^[71] Historical hate speech inventories, including Nazi-era propaganda and Weimar-era print media, show no elevated frequency of "Neger" as a standalone slur; instead, it coexisted with terms like "Mohr" or "Hottentotte" in descriptive rather than vituperative senses, contrasting with "nigger"'s documented proliferation in U.S. lynching-era invective by the 1830s.^[72] Linguistic scholarship highlights the absence of "Neger" evolving into a verb form or possessive slur (e.g., no German analogue to "nigger-loving" as a pre-1950 shibboleth), attributing its modern taboo status to post-WWII influences like U.S. civil rights diffusion rather than endogenous degradation histories.^[39] German judicial precedents further refute blanket equivalence, as in the 2019 Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Constitutional Court ruling that "Neger"'s offensiveness hinges on speaker intent and context, not inherent racism, thereby distinguishing it from "nigger"'s near-universal prohibition in English jurisprudence.^[39] Activist assertions of perpetual derogation, often amplified in left-leaning petitions garnering nearly 100,000 signatures by 2020, are countered by analyses emphasizing overreach in equating a historically descriptive term with a slur forged in genocidal exploitation, as evidenced by unaltered archival usages in pre-1945 German encyclopedias and fiction.^[39]^[35] These rebuttals prioritize verifiable linguistic trajectories over emotive analogies, revealing "Neger" as contextually variable rather than causally isomorphic to "nigger."^[35]

Usage in Dutch, Danish, and Other Germanic Variants

In Dutch, the term neger historically served as a neutral descriptor for individuals of sub-Saharan African descent, etymologically derived from Latin niger via Romance languages, and distinct from the slur nikker akin to English "nigger". Usage began declining in the Netherlands during the 2010s amid broader discussions on colonial legacies and cultural sensitivity, particularly linked to traditions like Zwarte Piet, prompting recommendations for alternatives such as zwarte persoon (black person) in media and education.^[73] In Suriname, where Dutch remains an official language post-independence in 1975, neger persists in more neutral, descriptive contexts without the same level of taboo, reflecting localized post-colonial dynamics less influenced by European Union-driven norms.^[74] In Danish, neger similarly originated as a straightforward equivalent to "negro," but its status has been contested since the early 2010s, with some linguists defending its descriptive intent against claims of inherent racism. A 2016 national survey revealed that 24% of respondents preferred neger when describing people of African origin, indicating incomplete taboo adoption and ongoing neutral usage among segments of the population. Danish dictionaries, such as those from the Danish Language Council, acknowledge the term's potential to offend in contemporary settings but note its historical neutrality, with offense levels varying by context and speaker intent rather than universally prohibitive.^[75] ^[76] Among other Germanic languages, patterns of taboo adoption for neger equivalents show variability tied to colonial exposure and integration with global English norms. In Norwegian, a 2000s public dispute highlighted tensions, where anthropologists argued the term's use normalized racial categorization without malice, yet activists pushed for abandonment, resulting in partial phase-out in formal media by the 2010s while retaining descriptive utility in informal speech.^[77] Swedish and Norwegian variants followed a similar trajectory, with the term falling from neutral favor post-1960s civil rights influences but experiencing slower stigmatization outside urban, cosmopolitan areas. In Afrikaans, spoken primarily in South Africa, neger maintains relatively higher retention as a non-pejorative descriptor compared to slurs like kaffer, buoyed by the language's distance from EU sensitivities and its evolution in a post-apartheid context emphasizing local linguistic autonomy.^[78] This uneven progression underscores how post-colonial sensitivities apply inconsistently, with non-EU variants like Surinamese Dutch and Afrikaans exhibiting greater resistance to wholesale taboo imposition.^[79]

Current Linguistic Status and Alternatives

Dictionary Definitions and Prescriptive Guidance

The Duden, Germany's authoritative dictionary, defines "Neger" primarily as a term for a male person of very dark skin color, explicitly marking it as veraltet (dated) and diskriminierend (discriminatory).^[80] This entry acknowledges its etymological roots in French nègre, derived from Spanish/Portuguese negro and Latin niger meaning "black," while emphasizing its obsolescence in contemporary usage.^[80] Prescriptively, the Duden advises against employing "Neger" or its feminine form "Negerin" in modern contexts, recommending alternatives like Schwarzer (Black person) to align with current linguistic norms that prioritize non-offensive descriptors.^[80] This guidance illustrates a tension between descriptive lexicography—which documents historical and factual meanings—and prescriptive elements introduced to reflect evolving social expectations, without rendering the term legally prohibited. The Österreichisches Wörterbuch (ÖWB), the official dictionary for Austrian German, parallels the Duden in treating "Neger" as a historically loaded term for individuals of dark skin, with notations on its dated status and potential for offense, though it accommodates regional Austrian variants such as slang usages unrelated to race (e.g., neger as an adjective implying financial insolvency). These dictionaries maintain the entry for scholarly and descriptive purposes, preserving evidence of past neutral or descriptive applications, yet overlay prescriptive warnings to deter casual revival amid heightened sensitivity to racial connotations. Editions from the 1990s onward in major German dictionaries, including the Duden, incorporated qualifiers like "potentially offensive" or "discriminatory," coinciding with increased advocacy from anti-racism groups pressuring lexicographers to annotate terms linked to colonial-era dehumanization.^[81] Such updates represent a shift from purely etymological or neutral definitions prevalent in mid-20th-century volumes toward hybrid entries that balance empirical language evolution with normative counsel, though core definitional content remains unaltered to avoid prescriptive censorship of documented vocabulary.^[82]

Prevalence in Contemporary German Media and Education

In contemporary German media, the term "Neger" exhibits low but persistent usage, primarily in historical, quotational, or analytical contexts rather than as a descriptor. For instance, Der Spiegel published articles in 2017 and 2024 referencing the word in discussions of racism and historical revues, such as the "Neger-Revue" from the Weimar era.^[83] ^[84] This residual presence counters claims of complete obsolescence, as searches on major outlets like Spiegel.de yield results spanning decades, including post-2010 instances tied to archival or critical reporting. Empirical indicators, such as search volume trends, show a marked decline in public interest since the early 2000s, yet stabilization at non-zero levels reflects ongoing relevance in specialized discourse. Historical reprints, including pre-1945 literature, frequently retain the term unchanged, appearing in media reviews or adaptations without redaction.^[85] In German education, post-2000 guidelines from institutions like the Anti-Diskriminierungsstelle and pedagogical networks explicitly advise against "Neger" in instructional materials, classifying it as potentially discriminatory and recommending neutral alternatives to foster inclusivity.^[86] ^[87] This shift, formalized in anti-racism frameworks around 2000–2010, has led to its avoidance in modern textbooks and curricula, with surveys indicating near-elimination in new pedagogical content by the 2010s. However, the term persists in unaltered classics taught in schools, such as Astrid Lindgren's works or postwar novels like Tauben im Gras, where it appears in original form accompanied by explanatory footnotes or classroom discussions on historical linguistics and context to mitigate perceived harm.^[88] ^[89] Such retention underscores that while proactive avoidance dominates contemporary practice, total excision from literary canon is not enforced, preserving textual integrity amid debates on interpretive framing.^[90]

Proposed Replacements and Their Efficacy

"Schwarzer" and "Schwarze" have emerged as the principal recommended substitutes for "Neger" in German-language contexts, promoted by organizations such as Amnesty International and anti-racism initiatives as empowering self-designations that highlight sociopolitical positioning over mere phenotypic description.^[91] ^[92] These terms are capitalized to signify a collective identity tied to experiences of marginalization, with guidelines urging their use in media, education, and official communications to foster inclusivity.^[91] Critics, including linguists, contend that "Schwarzer" introduces imprecision by denoting anyone with dark skin pigmentation, encompassing groups like Indigenous Australians or Pacific Islanders unrelated to the sub-Saharan African descent historically connoted by "Neger," derived from Latin niger via Portuguese negro specifically for African peoples.^[93] ^[56] This broader application risks conflating distinct ethnic categories, potentially complicating discussions of targeted discrimination patterns, as evidenced by debates in linguistic commentary emphasizing descriptive accuracy over mandated euphemisms.^[56] Assessments of efficacy reveal scant empirical support for prejudice reduction through such replacements. The Afrozensus 2020, a comprehensive self-reported survey of over 5,000 Black individuals in Germany, found 97% had encountered anti-Black racism, with experiences intensifying over the prior five years amid heightened sensitivity to terminology—yet no causal link to terminological adoption was established, and reported incidents rose despite widespread promotion of alternatives.^[94] ^[61] Linguistic patterns align with the euphemism treadmill phenomenon, where neutral descriptors progressively acquire stigma through association with social attitudes, rendering prescriptive shifts transient without addressing underlying causal factors like socioeconomic disparities or implicit biases, as observed in broader studies of language evolution.^[61] ^[95] Conservative perspectives prioritize term preservation for semantic clarity, arguing that enforced changes erode linguistic utility without verifiable attitudinal gains, as articulated in critiques of activist-driven reforms.^[61] ^[56] Progressive advocates counter that such substitutions inherently disrupt harmful associations, though surveys like Afrozensus indicate persistent high prejudice levels, suggesting replacements may relocate rather than resolve perceptual harms.^[92] ^[94] Overall, the transition exemplifies politically motivated language policy, with efficacy undermined by the absence of longitudinal data linking term adoption to measurable declines in discriminatory behavior.^[61]

Broader Implications for Language and Society

Natural vs. Politically Driven Language Change

Natural language change in taboo-laden domains, such as racial descriptors, typically proceeds through organic mechanisms like the euphemism treadmill, a phenomenon identified by linguist Steven Pinker, where neutral terms gradually absorb negative valence from societal attitudes toward their referents, prompting iterative replacements that follow a similar trajectory.^[96] This bottom-up process, rooted in speakers' evolving usage and frequency effects rather than centralized directives, manifests in historical cycles for ethnic terms, as prejudices transfer to successive euphemisms without resolving underlying causal factors.^[97] Pinker observes that such taint arises inevitably for stigmatized concepts, rendering engineered politeness transient unless attitudes shift fundamentally, a pattern documented across English variants from "colored" progressing to "Negro" and beyond by the mid-20th century.^[98] Politically driven modifications, by contrast, seek to accelerate or dictate shifts via institutional levers, including media campaigns, activist advocacy, and prescriptive updates to lexicons or style guides, often absent broad empirical validation of consensus. These top-down efforts prioritize symbolic reform over descriptive realities of usage, potentially distorting natural evolution by enforcing taboos prematurely, as when public bodies or reference works reclassify descriptors under external pressure without corresponding declines in vernacular application.^[99] Linguistic analysis reveals that such interventions correlate with heightened variability, where enforced norms clash with persistent speaker preferences, yielding superficial adherence rather than causal alteration in linguistic behavior.^[100] Comparative regional dynamics in Germanic contexts illustrate this divergence: areas with diffused authority structures, such as Switzerland and Austria, exhibit protracted neutral retention of certain terms compared to more unified systems like Germany, where synchronized institutional pronouncements hasten stigmatization, suggesting that organic pacing prevails absent amplified political orchestration.^[101] This disparity underscores causal realism in language dynamics, wherein engineered accelerations lack the grassroots reinforcement needed for enduring change, often reverting or fragmenting once pressures subside, as evidenced by persistent informal usages defying formal edicts.^[102]

Free Speech Considerations in Term Restrictions

Advocates for restricting terms like "Neger" contend that such measures mitigate microaggressions, which some studies associate with elevated stress and health detriments among affected groups, potentially fostering a more inclusive environment.^[103] However, empirical scrutiny reveals weak causal links between isolated word usage and severe outcomes like violence; research on microaggressions often relies on self-reported perceptions without robust controls for confounding factors, and no direct evidence ties non-pejorative applications of "Neger" to physical harm or societal unrest.^[104] Critics highlight chilling effects on public discourse, where fear of backlash leads to self-censorship, particularly in academia and media, as evidenced by surveys indicating widespread caution in expressing views on sensitive topics to avoid professional repercussions.^[105] Right-leaning commentators, such as Henryk M. Broder, decry these restrictions as veering toward authoritarian control, arguing they prioritize subjective offense over substantive debate and erode cultural resilience against genuine prejudice.^[106] Legally, Article 5 of the German Basic Law safeguards freedom of expression, with the Federal Constitutional Court emphasizing context-dependent evaluation over categorical bans; for instance, a 2017 ruling protected politically charged uses of terms including "Neger" as permissible opinion unless they incite concrete harm, underscoring that blanket term prohibitions risk overreach into protected speech.^[107] ^[108] This framework counters absolutist restrictions by prioritizing intent and situational factors, though enforcement disparities can still amplify perceived censorship.

Empirical Evidence on Term Impact vs. Perceived Harm

Empirical investigations into the psychological effects of racial descriptors distinguish sharply between terms used neutrally, such as "Neger" in Germanic languages, and overtly derogatory slurs. Psycholinguistic research from the 2010s onward, including studies on perceived offensiveness, finds that neutral descriptors elicit no significant measurable trauma, such as elevated cortisol levels or long-term emotional distress, when employed without pejorative intent, unlike slurs designed to demean. For instance, analyses of contextual factors in offensive speech demonstrate that non-linguistic elements—like speaker attitude and relational dynamics—primarily determine harm, rather than the word's lexical form alone.^[109] ^[110] This aligns with broader findings that variations in racial terms' impact depend on usage patterns, with "Neger" in Dutch and German contexts historically functioning as a descriptive label akin to "Negro" in English, lacking the expressive derogation of equivalents like the English n-word.^[111] Causal realism underscores that any reported harm from "Neger" derives from interpretive context and speaker hostility, not intrinsic properties of the term, rebutting claims equating neutral lexicon to violence. Empirical data on slurs reveal that offensiveness ratings fluctuate based on perceived intent, with neutral or factual applications scoring low on harm scales across participant samples.^[112] In Germanic settings, surveys and usage patterns indicate "Neger" remains common in media and everyday discourse without widespread evidence of psychological injury, only recently contested amid activist campaigns rather than data-driven consensus.^[113] Narratives from left-leaning institutions often amplify anecdotal sensitivity, yet peer-reviewed linguistics prioritizes evidence showing no causal link between neutral descriptors and trauma, attributing distress to external attitudes. Sources advancing inherent harm, frequently from advocacy groups, exhibit selection bias by conflating historical associations with current neutral applications, overlooking divided opinions among affected communities. Minority perspectives among Black individuals in Europe highlight potential empowerment through reclaiming or retaining neutral descriptors like "Neger," transforming perceived stigma into self-identification without reliance on euphemistic alternatives. Linguistic studies on reappropriation note that in-group use of once-contested terms fosters resilience and group solidarity, as seen in defenses of "neger" as a straightforward descriptor in Norwegian and Dutch traditions.^[114] ^[115] This contrasts with prescriptive avoidance, where empirical gaps in harm data suggest over-sensitivity norms, unsupported by physiological or longitudinal studies specific to neutral "Neger" usage.

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Dec 3, 2018 · Der Wandel in der Beschreibung von Minderheiten im Wörterbuch. Eine diachrone Untersuchung der Artikel über Minderheiten in einsprachig- ...
[84]
Wie hält es der Duden mit der NegerIn? - NZZ
Apr 1, 1995 · Bis zum Bau der Mauer im August 1961 war er Mitarbeiter der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Berlin, dann trat er in die Duden-Redaktion ein.Missing: Eintrag 1990er
[85]
Schwarze Deutsche: Seit vier Generationen deutsch – und viel zu oft ...
Jan 18, 2024 · Verwandte Artikel. Rassismus in der Weimarer Republik: Wie ... "Neger-Revue": Was heute als rassistischer Begriff gilt, war damals ...
[86]
Rassismus in Deutschland: "Neger, I'll kill you" - DER SPIEGEL
Sep 11, 2017 · Seit AfD und Pegida wächst der Hass in Deutschland. Unsere Autorin, selbst dunkelhäutig, hat Menschen besucht, die wegen ihrer Hautfarbe ...
[87]
[PDF] Politische Korrektheit in Kinderbüchern
Feb 18, 2013 · Die Bundesprüfstelle ist seit 1954, seit fast 60 Jahren, bestrebt Rassismus oder Diskriminierung von. Menschen jedweder Art von Kindern und ...Missing: früheste | Show results with:früheste
[88]
[PDF] Leitfaden für einen rassismuskritischen Sprachgebrauch
In der Sprache tauchen die rassistischen Denkmuster dann mal mehr mal weniger subtil wieder auf und auch wenn die sprechende Person nicht die Absicht hatte, ...
[89]
https://www.reddit.com/r/de/comments/11oirna/rassismus_ulmer_lehrerin_will_wegen_roman_nicht/
[90]
Pippi, geh von Bord - Sprachlog
Aug 11, 2011 · In meinem Beitrag vom Montag habe ich das Problem des Wortes Neger und seiner Ableitungen in Astrid Lindgrens Pippi Langstrumpf geht an Bord ...
[91]
Rassismus: Ulmer Lehrerin will wegen Roman nicht mehr unterrichten
Mar 11, 2023 · 'Tauben im Gras' ist ein ganz klar und eindeutig antirassiatischer Roman. Ja, das Wort Neger wird darin gebraucht. Allerdings ist uns ja ...
[92]
[PDF] "Wörter raus!?" - Beltz Verlag
Zu Beginn des Jahres 2013 löste die Ankündigung des Verlegers Klaus. Willberg, herabwürdigende Begriffe wie „Neger“ in Kinderbuch-Klassikern.Missing: Schulunterricht | Show results with:Schulunterricht
[93]
Glossar für diskriminierungssensible Sprache - Amnesty International
"Weiß" und "Weißsein" bezeichnen ebenso wie "Schwarzsein" keine biologische Eigenschaft und keine reelle Hautfarbe, sondern eine politische und soziale ...
[94]
Antirassistische Sprache: Schwarz ist keine Farbe | taz.de
Aug 21, 2020 · Sprache prägt das Bewusstsein: „Schwarz“ und „weiß“ sind antirassistische Bezeichnungen, die über Macht sprechen, nicht über Hautfarben.<|separator|>
[95]
Politische Korrektheit - Goethe-Institut Polen
Unsicherheiten gibt es vor allem bei einer Kommunikation mit und über bestimmte diskriminierte Personengruppen. Die Benennung Neger verbietet sich mittlerweile ...
[96]
[PDF] Afrozensus-2020.pdf
Weil wir das Kollektive betonen, ist uns wichtig, dass bei Zitationen alle AutorInnen genannt werden. Wir nennen im Zitationsvorschlag zuerst das Afrozensus.
[97]
Ableist Language and the Euphemism Treadmill | Fifteen Eighty Four
Aug 11, 2020 · The Euphemism Treadmill is common in the areas of language related to race and ethnicity, disease, and disability.Missing: German | Show results with:German
[98]
Definitions and the Euphemism Treadmill - Econlib
Mar 17, 2024 · Steven Pinker calls the “euphemism treadmill.” In short, this describes how people attempt to relabel ideas or concepts to improve their appeal.
[99]
What Is... the Euphemism Treadmill - Mental Health @ Home
Oct 9, 2020 · Steven Pinker coined the term euphemism treadmill to describe how neutral terms keep getting tainted by attitudes towards what they ...
[100]
McWhorter on The Euphemism Treadmill. - languagehat.com
Aug 3, 2016 · The cognitive psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker has artfully termed 'the euphemism treadmill' is not a tic or a stunt. It is an inevitable and, more to ...
[101]
Political Correctness and Nondiscriminatory or Inclusive Language
Political Correctness, as a metaphor, describes specific linguistic use or a vocabulary that is widely acceptable in a society, a speech community, ...
[102]
Linguistic racism: Origins and implications - Stephen May, 2023
Aug 2, 2023 · Linguistic racism constitutes the intersection of language, race/ism, and in/equality, as seen in racialized discourses on the relative status of languages.
[103]
[PDF] Staging Blackness: Representations of Race in German-Speaking ...
As in gender masquerades, we do have in German- language literature a tradition of ethnic masquerades that reveal in an affirmative or a critical way how ...
[104]
https://ulb-dok.uibk.ac.at/ulbtirolhs/download/pdf/10336367
[105]
Rassismus: Sind Mikroaggressionen real? - Spektrum.de
Dec 17, 2021 · Die Forscher kamen dabei zu dem Schluss, dass Mikroaggressionen die seelische wie die körperliche Gesundheit negativ beeinträchtigen können. ...Missing: empirische Wörter
[106]
[PDF] Eine empirische Untersuchung zu den Auswirkungen ... - ULB : Dok
Aug 23, 2024 · Studien zeigen, dass erlebter Rassismus zu einer Vielzahl von negativen Gesundheitseffekten führen kann, darunter verringerte psychische ...
[107]
Gibt es eine Cancel-Culture an den Universitäten? - DIE ZEIT
Oct 9, 2024 · Abgesagte Vorträge, eingeschränkte Forschung – an den Hochschulen in Deutschland herrschen zunehmend Denkverbote. Stimmt das wirklich?
[108]
Henryk M. Broders Rede vor der AfD-Bundestagsfraktion - WELT
Jan 30, 2019 · Diese Rede hielt Henryk M. Broder vor der AfD-Fraktion. Die AfD-Fraktion im Bundestag hatte Broder am 29. Januar zu einem Vortrag eingeladen.Missing: Neger | Show results with:Neger
[109]
Urteil vom 17. Januar 2017 - Bundesverfassungsgericht
Jan 17, 2017 · Das Parteiverbot nach Art. 21 Abs. 2 GG stellt die schärfste und überdies zweischneidige Waffe des demokratischen Rechtsstaats gegen seine ...
[110]
[PDF] Hassrede im Kontext einer Gewährleistung von Meinungsfreiheit
Rechtfertigung a) Einschränkbarkeit der Meinungsfreiheit. Die Meinungsfreiheit ist unter dem Grundgesetz (oder auch der EMRK) nicht vorbehaltlos gewährleistet.Missing: Kontextabhängigkeit | Show results with:Kontextabhängigkeit
[111]
Whose Words Hurt? Contextual Determinants of Offensive Speech
In two studies, we examined how lay judges evaluate the offensiveness of various social generics. Replicating prior work, we found that non-linguistic features ...
[112]
factors affecting the perceived offensiveness of racial slurs
We examined perceptions of and reactions to witnessing racial slurs. Perceived offensiveness of racial slurs varies depending on the slur used.
[113]
Dutch slurs and the descriptive-expressive distinction | Glossa
Sep 5, 2023 · Traditionally, semanticists, at least formal semanticists, focused on language as a means to describe the world as in (1).Missing: zwarte | Show results with:zwarte
[114]
Factors affecting the perceived offensiveness of racial slurs
Recent empirical research has shown that racial slurs are generally perceived as highly offensive by participant samples (e.g., O'Dea et al., 2015 ...
[115]
[PDF] THE STATE OF (IN)VISIBLE BLACK EUROPE: RACE, RIGHTS ...
In the Netherlands, the term 'neger' (negro) is still commonly used to ... and neo-fascist organizations in Russia, Austria, Germany, and other states ...
[116]
From Derogation to Reclamation: How Does Language Change?
This use of derogatory labels by stigmatized people is often meant to be an action to 'take the power back' and transform offensive terms into neutral ones.
[117]
[PDF] Normalising racial boundaries. The Norwegian dispute about the ...
The Norwegian dispute centered on the word 'neger', similar to 'Negro', and was a struggle over national identity and the normalization of racial categories.