What Québec gets from the N-word
A Québec columnist kicks of a rowdy dispute over race and academic freedom, but beneath the surface one can see Canada’s age-old language politics at work.
Over the last couple of weeks an acrid dispute simmered throughout Québec society. It was fomented in large part by the province’s many influential Francophone columnists and media personalities. The controversy concerned the use of the “n-word.” Yes, that word.
It’s arguably one of the most verboten words in the English language. Even considered within the grand scheme of all racial slurs and insults this word stands out for its repugnancy.
That Black communities have reclaimed it as a term of endearment hardly seems relevant when you consider the long history of brutality associated with the word when it comes from white people’s mouths. Not to say that this phenomenon isn’t something worth studying from a sociological point of view. Nevertheless, English-speakers have largely settled on the convention of not saying it explicitly in situations which require decorum and decency, which few situations do not require particularly ones taking place in the public sphere.
Yet, in parts of the French-speaking world, such as Québec, people insist that the equivalent word in French — nègre — does not carry the same odious connotations. Which isn’t altogether untrue…
