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===Other languages=== {{refimprove section|date=December 2023}} Other languages, particularly [[Romance languages]], have words that sound similar to or share etymological roots with ''nigger'' but do not necessarily mean the same. In some of these languages, the words refer to the color black in general and are not specifically used to refer to black people. When used to refer to black people, these words have acquired varying degrees of offensiveness, ranging from completely neutral (as in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] {{lang|es|negro}}) to highly racist (as in [[Finnish language|Finnish]] {{lang|fi|Neekeri}}). Examples of related words in other languages include: *[[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]: {{lang|bg|Негър}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|negar}}), loaned from French {{lang|fr|nègre}}, is considered a neutral word for black people in [[Bulgaria]]. Some publications and institutions use {{lang|bg|чернокож}} or {{lang|bg|тъмнокож}}, but the use of {{lang|bg|негър}} is more widespread. *[[Dutch language|Dutch]]: {{lang|nl|Neger}} ('negro') used to be neutral, but many now consider it to be avoided in favor of {{lang|nl|zwarte}} ('black').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Waarom wil je ons zo graag neger noemen?|lang=nl|url=http://www.joop.nl/opinies/waarom-wil-je-ons-zo-graag-neger-noemen|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220220515/http://www.joop.nl/opinies/waarom-wil-je-ons-zo-graag-neger-noemen|archivedate=2016-02-20|work=joop.nl|first=Mitchell|last=Esajas|date=2014-05-25}}</ref><ref>[http://taaltelefoon.vlaanderen.be/nlapps/docs/default.asp?id=2047 "Neger/zwarte"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612182420/http://taaltelefoon.vlaanderen.be/nlapps/docs/default.asp?id=2047 |date=June 12, 2013 }}, ''Taaltelefoon''.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Volkskrant stijlboek |language=nl |trans-title=Volkskrant style book |url=http://www.volkskrant.nl/media/stijlboek~a4255465/ |website=Volkskrant |access-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-date=December 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202235128/http://www.volkskrant.nl/media/stijlboek~a4255465/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stijlboek |language=nl |trans-title=Style book |url=https://apps.nrc.nl/stijlboek/search/node/neger |website=NRC handelsblad |access-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220144116/https://apps.nrc.nl/stijlboek/search/node/neger |url-status=live }}</ref> {{lang|nl|Zwartje}} ('little black one') can be amicably or offensively used. {{lang|nl|Nikker}} is always pejorative.<ref>[[Van Dale]], ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse taal'', 2010</ref> * [[Finnish language|Finnish]]: {{lang|fi|Neekeri}} ('negro/nigger'), as a loan word ('Neger') from the [[Swedish language]], appeared for the first time in a book published in 1771.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jussila |first=Raimo |title=Vanhat sanat: Vanhan kirjasuomen ensiesiintymiä |year=1998 |pages=170, 365 |location=Helsinki |publisher=Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura / Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus |isbn=951-746-008-2 |language=fi}}</ref> The use of the Finnish equivalent ({{lang|fi|neekeri}}) began in the late 19th century. Until the 1980s, it was commonly used and generally not yet considered derogatory, although a few instances of it being considered to be so have been documented since the 1950s; by the mid-1990s the word was considered racist, especially in the metropolitan area and among the younger population.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rastas |first=Anna |chapter=Neutraalisti rasistinen? Erään sanan politiikkaa |title=Rasismi lasten ja nuorten arjessa: Transnationaalit juuret ja monikulttuuristuva Suomi |location=Tampere |publisher=Tampere University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-951-44-6946-6 |url=http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:978-951-44-6964-0 |language=fi |access-date=December 26, 2020 |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915130944/https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/67726 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has since then usually been replaced by the [[metonymy|metonym]] {{lang|fi|musta}} ('black [person]').<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Raittila |editor-first=Pentti |title=Etnisyys ja rasismi journalismissa |year=2002 |chapter=Etniset vähemmistöt uutisissa |pages=25–26 |last=Pietikäinen |first=Sari |location=Tampere |publisher=Tampere University Press |isbn=951-44-5486-3 |url=https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/65640 |access-date=December 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417183905/https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/65640 |url-status=live }}</ref> In a survey conducted in 2000, Finnish respondents considered the term {{lang|fi|Neekeri}} to be among the most offensive of minority designations.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Tervonen| first=Satu| title=Etnisten nimitysten eri sävyt| journal=Kielikello| year=2001| number=1/2001| publisher=Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus| url=https://www.kielikello.fi/-/etnisten-nimitysten-eri-savyt| language=fi| access-date=December 26, 2020| archive-date=December 4, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204104134/https://www.kielikello.fi/-/etnisten-nimitysten-eri-savyt| url-status=live}}</ref> *[[French language|French]]: {{lang|fr|[[Nègre]]}} is now considered derogatory. Although {{lang|fr|Nègre littéraire}} was the standard term for a [[ghostwriter]], it has largely been supplanted by {{lang|fr|prête-plume}}. Some white Frenchmen have the surname [[Negre|Nègre]]. The word can still be used as a synonym of "sweetheart" in some traditional Louisiana [[French-based creole languages|French creole]] songs. *[[German language|German]]: {{lang|de|Neger}} is dated and now considered offensive. {{lang|de|Schwarze/-r}} ('black [person]') or {{lang|de|Farbige/-r}} ("colored [person]") is more neutral. *[[Haitian Creole]]: {{lang|ht|nèg}} is used for any man in general, regardless of skin color (like ''[[dude]]'' in [[American English]]). Haitian Creole derives predominantly from French. *[[Italian language|Italian]] has three variants: {{lang|it|negro}}, {{lang|it|nero}} and {{lang|it|di colore}}. The first one is the most historically attested and was the most commonly used until the 1960s as an equivalent of the English word "negro". It was gradually felt as offensive during the 1970s and replaced with {{lang|it|nero}} and {{lang|it|di colore}}. {{lang|it|Nero}} was considered a better translation of the English word ''black'', while {{lang|it|di colore}} is a [[calque|loan translation]] of the English word ''colored''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/it/lingua-italiana/consulenza-linguistica/domande-risposte/nero-negro-colore |publisher=Accademia della Crusca |title=Nero, negro e di colore |date=12 October 2012 |language=it |access-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930063932/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/it/lingua-italiana/consulenza-linguistica/domande-risposte/nero-negro-colore |url-status=dead }}</ref> *[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: {{lang|pt-BR|Negro}} (as well as {{lang|pt-BR|preto}}) is neutral;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/trabalhoerendimento/pnad2009/tabelas_pdf/brasil_1_2.pdf |title=Tabela 1.2 – População residente, por cor ou raça, segundo a situação do domicílio e o sexo – Brasil – 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924122330/http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/trabalhoerendimento/pnad2009/tabelas_pdf/brasil_1_2.pdf |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/negros/popnegra.html |title=Evolutio da populaco brasileira, segundo a cor – 1872/1991|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221233359/http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/povoamento/negros/popnegra.html |archive-date=December 21, 2010 }}</ref> nevertheless {{lang|pt-BR|preto}} can be offensive or at least "[[political correctness|politically incorrect]]" and is almost never proudly used by Afro-Brazilians. {{lang|pt-BR|Crioulo}} and {{lang|pt-BR|[[macaca (term)|macaco]]}} are always extremely pejorative.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Rio/0,,MUL58456-5606,00-SOU+INCAPAZ+DE+QUALQUER+ATITUDE+RACISTA+DIZ+PROCURADOR.html |title=G1 > Edição Rio de Janeiro – NOTÍCIAS – Sou incapaz de qualquer atitude racista, diz procurador |website=G1 |publisher=Grupo Globo |access-date=October 9, 2019 |archive-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912031132/https://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Rio/0,,MUL58456-5606,00-SOU+INCAPAZ+DE+QUALQUER+ATITUDE+RACISTA+DIZ+PROCURADOR.html |url-status=live }}</ref> *[[Romanian language|Romanian]]: {{lang|ro|Negrotei}} is derogatory;<ref>{{cite web|title=negrotei - definiție Argou și paradigmă |url=https://dexonline.ro/definitie/negrotei|access-date=June 12, 2023|website=Dicționar explicativ al limbii române|language=ro|archive-date=June 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612194233/https://dexonline.ro/definitie/negrotei|url-status=live}}</ref> *[[Russian language|Russian]]: the word {{lang|ru|[[:ru:негр|негр]]}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|negr}}) has been commonly used as neutral word to describe black people until recent years. It can also be used as a synonym for underpaid worker; "{{lang|ru|литературный негр}}" ({{lang|ru-Latn|literaturny negr}}) means ghostwriter.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ozhegov |first=Sergeĭ Ivanovich|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1041202243|script-title=ru:Толковый словарь русского языка : около 100 000 слови |last2=Skvortsov |first2=Lev Ivanovich |year=2014|isbn=978-5-94666-678-7|edition=28th |location=Moscow|oclc=1041202243|access-date=December 9, 2020|archive-date=September 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915130943/https://search.worldcat.org/title/1041202243|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=August 29, 2000|script-title=ru:Латыши и гости столицы|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/17514|access-date=March 8, 2021|website=Kommersant|language=ru|archive-date=August 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818214659/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/17514|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|script-title=ru:Писатели-призраки|url=https://newizv.ru/news/culture/29-06-2007/71864-pisateli-prizraki|access-date=March 8, 2021|website=Noviye Izvestiya |archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417202405/https://newizv.ru/news/culture/29-06-2007/71864-pisateli-prizraki|url-status=live}}</ref> Nowadays, a black person would often be described neutrally as "{{lang|ru|чернокожий}}" ({{lang|ru-Latn|chernokozhiy}}, 'black-skinned'), though the organization [[Help Needed]] instead recommends "{{lang|ru|темнокожий}}" ({{lang|ru-Latn|temnokozhiy}}, 'dark-skinned').<ref name="Такие Дела 2019 f016">{{cite web | script-title=ru:Почему плохо говорить «негр»? | website=Takiye Dela | date=April 8, 2019 | url=https://takiedela.ru/dictionary-words/negr/ | language=ru | access-date=July 25, 2023 | archive-date=January 3, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103145526/https://takiedela.ru/dictionary-words/negr/ | url-status=live }}</ref> *[[Spanish language|Spanish]]: {{lang|es|Negro}} is the word for "black" and is the only way to refer to that color.<ref>{{cite dictionary |title=negro, gra |url=https://dle.rae.es/negro |access-date=February 1, 2023 |publisher=Diccionario de la lengua española |edition=tricentenary |language=es |archive-date=December 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207211744/https://dle.rae.es/negro |url-status=live }}</ref>
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