jpablo68:something similar happens in mexican spanish the word "puto" (well) is a slur for refering to homosexuals but I don't think it needs to be changed just because here in Mexico that's what it means

I am from Quebec, and in Quebec french the word "esti" (or "ostie" ) is a bit like the english word "fuck" without the sexual connotation. And I am very glad to learn a language in which the word "esti" is not only a verb but also the most used one. Now the word "esti" also mean to me "to be".

erinja:...Your cited passage is far more problematic, to me, for its use of "sovagxuloj" - that's the part of it that I was offended by, the association made between a skin color and a very derogatory description of the people. The color's name and its use to describe people are neutral in Esperanto.

There is even a church hym on Youtube that I saw before, which used the same terminology. The song was sung in Esperanto and was about how Esperanto can be used to bring Christianity to the "nigraj sovaĝuloj". Honestly, I think the song was supposed to be innocent but it sounds horrible. I tried to find it again but I couldn't.

Of course, life changes all the time. Maybe there are lots of offensive words and it isn't fair to change the language every time there is a problem, but on the other hand, I think African Americans are extra sensitive because of their history and I think that they might feel hurt if they hear this word.

I don't even like hearing this word to describe objects. Oh well. What can I do about it.

Cocio_16:

jpablo68:something similar happens in mexican spanish the word "puto" (well) is a slur for refering to homosexuals but I don't think it needs to be changed just because here in Mexico that's what it means

I am from Quebec, and in Quebec french the word "esti" (or "ostie" ) is a bit like the english word "fuck" without the sexual connotation. And I am very glad to learn a language in which the word "esti" is not only a verb but also the most used one. Now the word "esti" also mean to me "to be".

I must admit I laughed out loud at the thought of this. I believe that this trumps "farti" for sure.

Also, on the related theme of the Spanish "puto", I find it somewhat humorous that the Esperantization of president Putin's name is the Esperanto word for "whore". I am guessing that "putino" comes from "puto", but I'm not sure if that is true or not.

Alkanadi:Of course, life changes all the time. Maybe there are lots of offensive words and it isn't fair to change the language every time there is a problem, but on the other hand, I think African Americans are extra sensitive because of their history and I think that they might feel hurt if they hear this word.

I don't even like hearing this word to describe objects. Oh well. What can I do about it.

Your concern is understandable, but I think it betrays a heavy Anglo-centric bias. English is (as far as I can tell) the only language which has developed such a negative connotation for the Latinate root for "black". Nobody in Spanish-, Portuguese-, or Italian-speaking countries would bat an eye at the terms negro or nero.

Esperanto is a sovereign language - it's not accountable to English, just as English is not accountable if some of its (normal) words happen to resemble offensive terms in other languages.

It is unreasonable to want to change or avoid words in a foreign language just because they don't sound good in your native tongue. Having this discomfort - and then gradually losing it as you gain proficiency - is just part of the language learning process.

Exactly. Having studied Spanish previously and thus having already gotten used to the word "negro", I didn't have an issue with "nigra"; I didn't even think of that connection until you mentioned it. When I first started learning Esperanto, I did feel weird about "farti", but now I don't even think about it. I still haven't fully gotten over "peni", especially in the past tense, but I'm sure I will eventually. It is, as Tempodivalse said, just part of the learning process.

Other "embarrassing" terms include: the old Italian (and Latin) word for "scabbard"; the Russian words for "to sew" and "choir", which sound like the English expletives for excrement and a prostitute pronounced with a Russian accent; and the Chinese word for "can, be able to", which is a Russian expletive for a certain body part.

That last term (會, huì) was a source of mortification for my Rusophone family when I dabbled with Mandarin as a kid.

I can tell you that things like this seem to affect non-black people more than they do black people. I don't find the word 'nigra' any more offensive than the word blanka (in fact, if one were to have a more negative connotation it would probably be the latter).

But if you're really struggling with it, it might serve you better to use bruna instead, though that could be considered a catch-all.

Please edit out the profanities from posts on this thread. It is against the site's policy to have profanities in our site, other than in the vocabulary list of profanities.

Alkanadi:I don't like the word nigra. It makes me cringe, especially when used to describe people. Check out this quote "...la nigraj sovaĝuloj tute false imagas etikon kaj moralecon..."
source

I was thinking of a word to use instead. I know that there is no centralized authority that controls the usage of Esperanto, but maybe, as a community we should come up with an alternative.

I was thinking about using malluma or malhela. Although it sounds nicer, it is worse on a different level. It sounds like an idiom to describe ignorance.

Is there a good word to use? Is there a word for indigo?

What do you think?

If you're referring to someone of African ancestry who fits into the negro racial group, use the word for a member that group; nigrulo.

Negro, the English equivalent is a perfectly good, unambiguous word (think United Negro College Fund). If nigra makes you feel uncomfortable, then I think you've been over-sensitized. The word you really object to is probably a quoite different word from negro. I totally get that. I remember someone once used the word niggardly (completely unrelated word for 'stingy') in public once in the US and it caused a sort of media frenzy.

Nigrula really doesn't sound much like the words that bother you, though.

BTW: Did you find the word for 'indigo'? Did you want the plant, or the color?

eshapard:Did you find the word for 'indigo'? Did you want the plant, or the color?

I meant the color.

No. I didn't find it. It may not exist.