Opinion: I’m Not Saying The N-Word

Words that sound the same are not the same.

A year ago, a professor at the University of Southern California went viral explaining the Chinese filler word, ‘that,’ in his communications management course (BBC). In Chinese, ‘that’ (那個) is often pronounced nah-guh, nae-guh, or ni-guh. As the video circulated widely, the University’s instant response was to deny him the liberty of teaching the course. Why? The phonetic similarity between that word and the n-word had sparked controversy online. 

Yet there are words from other languages that resemble that specific sound. For example, the Korean words nae-ga (네가) and ni-ga (니가) are both informal words meaning ‘you.’ According to Metro, When the song “Fake Love” by popular boy group BTS hit the U.S. radio, lyrics involving those words were censored for sounding like the n-word. Clearly, censorship of innocent foreign words that sound like hurtful ones is not a rare occurrence.

The intention behind responses like suspension and censorship is to prevent words that sound like an offensive slur from reaching the American public. However, the implications of foreign word censorship extend farther than that. Blind association of two words relegates foreign languages to an inferior position. In the name of encouraging respect towards African-Americans, the censorship comes at the expense of disregarding international languages, often spoken by other minority groups in America. The irony in pitting two minority groups is ineffective. Ironically, it connects everyday words from one language to the historical racial injustice of America, purely for sounding alike. 

Let’s put the situation into the perspective of English. A common filler word used by natives is “like.” It would be incredibly difficult to cut out of everyday conversations. Now imagine having to stop using the word completely in fear of being berated for “like ” sounding similar to a derogatory term of another language. Even worse, you could lose your job or have rumors spread about you being racist or ignorant over a misunderstanding. This is what such negative associations could entail for foreigners. Though these connections may not assume negative intent from foreign speakers, it enhances ignorant America-centric attitudes. Aided by censorship of common foreign words, it would only prompt English speakers to have a misconception of international languages, and potentially the character of the speaker as well.

This is not to say that the offensive terms should be ignored. Without a doubt, words with race-based derogatory meanings or extremely negative connotations should always be avoided. But unrelated words should not be demonized for the way they sound. With more than 6500 languages in the world, there are bound to be overlaps in phonetics and pronunciation. The brutality of slavery and lingering discrimination towards African Americans should not be pinned onto words that developed in other regions of the world, far away from the cruel history of America. Associating random words for their auditory similarities would only bring about more discrimination towards minorities. 

As an international student at Deerfield, I believe that cultural competency is key to building a healthily diverse community. The phrase “Intent vs. Impact” often provides a singular view, though. While words in two languages may sound alike, the typical usage of a foreign word is independent from one of another language. When I am on a video call with my parents in the common room, or stuttering in English when I cannot phrase my thoughts properly, I hope to feel assured knowing that the students around me are not misinterpreting my native tongue. 

The confluence of cultures, and subsequently languages, all around the world is key to our modern day. As we learn about and hear more languages being spoken together, it is best to encourage positive associations rather than erroneous, presumptive ones. At Deerfield, where we often meet students of different cultural backgrounds for the first time, a little bit of understanding can go a long way. It is only through collective efforts that we may build a stronger and more inclusive community.