Vocabulary question

Archived discussion from Toril-2.
Pisalos
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Vocabulary question

Postby Pisalos » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:41 am

ok today i read a dictionary book and try to learn more words. I get yelled at today for saying this

One entry found for niggardly.


Main Entry: nig·gard·ly
Pronunciation: -lE
Function: adjective
1 : grudgingly mean about spending or granting : BEGRUDGING
2 : provided in meanly limited supply
synonym see STINGY
- nig·gard·li·ness noun
- niggardly adverb

----

now it say nothing of being race like but people yell at me anyway. why
Ambar
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Postby Ambar » Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:49 am

Connotation and perception is 9/10ths of the law. A word may not mean something int he dictionary, but we all know slang exists. If something offends ONE person, it is offensive.

A dictionary will tell you that a Bitch is a female dog, but doesn't it mean something else entirely also?

Just google the word Niggardly and see what you get.

Hell, the word GAY actually means happy, what ELSE does it mean in the US?


Again, connotation and perception, add in a little slang, etc

-Jennifer
Salen
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Postby Salen » Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:21 am

I'll give you the exact opposite answer. They were offended because they are too stupid to know what you are saying. While a crumb of Ambar's One person = offensive statement is true (if you NEED the person to not be offended it matters), it's thinking along those lines that has the nation walking on eggshells with every word. By her justification, I could claim the word 'Jennifer' is offensive as is refers to a Hollywood whore who dates B-rate stars, so none of you should ever use it again, especially refering to another person.

I wonder WHY you were using it, since the chances that anyone actually knew what it meant was veeeery slim. Whether your choice of word was simply a random word out of the dictionary or something more nefarious, it was a bad choice. Using words that no one knows is futile at best, stupid and confusing at worst.
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Ashiwi
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Postby Ashiwi » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:21 pm

Look up the word "nigger" and see what the original meaning of that is. If you still can't understand why it's not acceptable to use "niggardly" then I would probably have to wonder if your naivety is real or feigned for potential shock value.

Personally, I think you seem a little queer.
Gormal tells you 'im a dwarven onion'
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'

Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'

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Ruxur
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Postby Ruxur » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:29 pm

Ashiwi wrote:Look up the word "nigger" and see what the original meaning of that is. If you still can't understand why it's not acceptable to use "niggardly" then I would probably have to wonder if your naivety is real or feigned for potential shock value.

Personally, I think you seem a little queer.


yep! klosh told me that salen does indeed, have sex with men
Cofen group-says 'wtf, why am i missing a cursed khanjari?'
Alendar group-says 'i r rednek i can only afford the monitor i have mud on and the broken monitor under it'
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Salen
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Postby Salen » Mon Aug 08, 2005 5:42 pm

Really, Ash? And here I could of sworn at least a few of my black friends used the term endearingly. :wink:

I am glad you agree with my second half questioning WTF someone would use that word with (a) myriad (of) other choices that mean the same thing.

And Rux, I know you don't talk to Klosh since the burning rash incident of '02. And you better get your Gaydar checked because it's a little off.

PS Your mom had sex with men.
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kwirl
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Postby kwirl » Mon Aug 08, 2005 5:54 pm

ok, for you non-urbanites let me explain.


using words like this is entirely dependent on your location and situation, combined with your tone and the inflection you use.

im white, but lets say i walk up to some black guys i dont know, and say 'sup niggas' - then my attitude and posture towards them is going to either make me get my ass kicked or get my hand shaked.

on the same coin, my boy comes by after i get out of the hospital, knocks on the door im like 'oh shit, come in dawg, my crip ass can't get up and help you' - he's like 'my nigga, its good to see ya kickin' - all of this is friendly use of the word. one of the big points is the 'r' at the end of the word. when you add the 'r' you leave the slang and are going into proper vocabulary, which is non-friendly.

you do that, you get your ass kicked, thats just how it goes. the proper use of the word you originally mentioned would have been 'niggaly' :P although its mostly scared white people that will correct you, because no one else gives a shit.
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Postby Ragorn » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:37 pm

A word means what people take it to mean. You can point to the dictionary definition for "niggardly," indicating its proper use and divergent etymological history from "nigger" if you want to. Nobody's going to care. The word means what people think it means. "Niggardly" is too similar in appearance and sound to a racially volatile word to ever achieve mainstream use for its dictionary definition.

Don't use it. The only reason to use "niggardly" would be to try to flex your vocabulary. It's unnecessary, it's almost always misconstrued, and even the real definition is likely to be negatively associated by african americans who hear you use it.
- Ragorn
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Postby Ashiwi » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:49 pm

Right, Salen.. but as much as I hate giving Kwirl any credit, it's very much like he said and dependant on the instance it's used in. I have great friends I can jokingly call "bitch" and great friends who can't stand the term. Since I respect both, I will joke around like that with those who don't mind it, and I refrain from using it around those who don't care for it... as well as those whom I am unsure of. Unlike Kwirl's take on it, however, I disagree that it's the "R" that makes the difference. Use the "R" or not... use of the word "nigger" or "negro" or any of a multitude of racial terms is acceptable or unacceptable depending on the speaker, the audience, how it's spoken and how it's perceived. If you've ever talked to somebody and felt just by their body language that they're talking down to you, then you'll understand.
Gormal tells you 'im a dwarven onion'
Gormal tells you 'always another beer-soaked layer'

Inama ASSOC:: 'though it may suit your fantasies to think so, i don't need oil for anything.'

Haley: Filthy lucre? I wash that lucre every day until it SHINES!
auslyx
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Postby auslyx » Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:59 pm

@Salen

It's funny, in other posts that dude says english isn't his first language. You say he's stupid. Stupidity means you can't learn. Ignorance -hail Teflor- means you are uneducated. It's not a negative term, as is "stupidity". To be ignorant is being 'naive, uninformed, etc' it doesn't mean one is trying to ignore logic. Yes, saying a word that to our language is relatively similar sounding to a crappy word, but saying that dude is stupid means you're ignorant! *cheer Teflor*

For the record Pizza, er pisa, you could just stick with travel books or whatever it is helping you learn english. Dictionaries are more for people with term papers!
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Postby Ruxur » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:45 pm

yes salen, but my mother is female, making it ok for her to have sex with men :-P let me explain it to you. Men have sexual relations with women, and vice versa.

and btw, you might wanna get yourself checked out. God only knows what you caught from klosh.
Cofen group-says 'wtf, why am i missing a cursed khanjari?'

Alendar group-says 'i r rednek i can only afford the monitor i have mud on and the broken monitor under it'

Nonox tells you 'i think someone casted 'power word gay' on pril'

Malacar ASSOC:: 'must... mp...soon...underwear...cringing...at...oncoming...onslaught...'

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