The n word?

With all the news surrounding big brother at the moment i wondered what people thought of this.. on a big brother forum people were saying black people can refer to each other by this term but if a white person says it then it is offensive.. is the n word offensive? if the word is offensive surely no one should be using it regardless of skin colour.. is it ok for black people to use the word and not ok for white people.. should everyone wipe this word from thier volcabulary? personally it is not a term i ever use but the discussion earlier has me thinking robert c there is no need to call someone stupid for asking a question.. in case you hadn't noticed this is a question and answers board.. who is the stupid one??

Answer

I agree if the word is offensive then no one should be using it. considering the connotations of some words and the deep seated feelings that go with it, so better to be safe and remove it from society all together, yeah. however, words are sounds that we hublokes use to communicate with each other. these sounds (words) in one language can mean something totally different in another language. eg. that f-word in english can be taken to be nasty, but in thai it means "pumpkin" (fak thaawng). eg. the name ian/iain in english is the word for "shy" in khmer. eg. and this one is interesting; the n-word of this topic is the same as "aahh" or "umm" in blokedarin. next time you hear two chinese speaking, listen and you'll hear it repeated regularly (my gf didn't even know she was saying it until i pointed it out). so there you go, words are sounds, which mean blokey different things throughout this planet. it is all about the interpretation that we put onto them. for the sake of proving we are sensitive to our fellow hublokes we should all refrain from using unsavoury words and/or language, no matter who we are. then again, i hope freedom of speech is seldom extinguished and that people learn to be tolerant and accepting of others, no matter who they're.