"Niggardly" - good word or bad word?

[Bao Sanniang]

Meaning.

Problems caused by it's usage.  

[Psyzapp]

Really, Rei? I think you are smart enough to choose a better, more appropriate and relevant word for today's gobal community. Think about it.  

[Faerie KatrinaZ]

I agree with Psy. You really should take the time to think about the consequences of using such words before you speak/post. There are plenty of other, more appropriate words that reflect same or similar meanings that won't offend others. 3nodding  

[ThisEmptySoul]

I don't think it's a "good" word, but I don't think it's a "bad" word either. It's just a word. That's like asking if "shiny" is a good or bad word. It's an adjective... and unless there is some kind of malignant intent behind its use, it's nothing more than a means of describing something.

I find myself agreeing with this quote from part of the article you linked:

David Howard Incident

Julian Bond, then chairman of the NAACP, deplored the offense that had been taken at Howard's use of the word. "You hate to think you have to censor your language to meet other people's lack of understanding", he said. "David Howard should not have quit. Mayor Williams should bring him back — and order dictionaries issued to all staff who need them."

However, purposefully using a word that you -know- people are going to take the wrong way is completely different from just using a word you would have normally used for the situation. Knowingly trying to offend people and then going back and saying, "but the word isn't racist so I'm not actually being offensive" is a childish thing to do, and I would classify that as malignant intent.  

[Bao Sanniang]

I didn't mean to upset, I was just taking an opinion poll.  

[Faerie KatrinaZ]

Rei Inaba

I didn't mean to upset, I was just taking an opinion poll.

I really don't think anyone here is upset. We were just expressing our opinions ... which is what you wanted.  

[Bao Sanniang]

Faerie KatrinaZ

Rei Inaba

I didn't mean to upset, I was just taking an opinion poll.

I really don't think anyone here is upset. We were just expressing our opinions ... which is what you wanted.

oh ok  

[Krego-sama]

Great word! Only the poorly educated would find it offensive!


oh.....I guess that's mostly black people.......




sweatdrop Please excuse the joke...not trying to offend anyone. I don't really see a problem with using the word niggardly, but I often feel that people are more easily offended than they ought to be. Not sure what can be done about that.  

[FireSpark]

Hmm. I didn't even realize it was a word.

That being said, words cannot be inherently good or bad. It is the manner in which people speak them, and in what context people place them in. Admittedly, there are certain words and terms that have existed for so long in their negative ways, and have become so ingrained with their negative definitions, that there is no separating them. At this point, the word should be jettisoned from the language with all due haste.

But if a person simply utters a word that sounds like one of these "jettisonable" words, it is not their responsibility to inform everyone around them of that fact. It should fall upon the listener to either listen more closely, or barring that seemingly impossible task in today's society, seek clarification from the speaker on the all too possible chance that they misheard.

I even have a anecdote for this kind of situiation. Many years ago, when my brothers and I were but wee lads, one of my younger brothers had a bit of an impediment upon his speech. Made numerous words difficult. Sometimes combinations of words. Words like "Duck Hunt". Now if your brain doesn't immediately jump to the gutter on that one, it's because I typed it correctly. However, when he spoke it, it came out almost as one word. "Duhc-hunt."

Parental hilarity did not ensue.

My point being this. In the same way it is people that have given words their meaning, it is people who continue to give words their power. if you find a word offensive, do not use it. Do not acknowledge it. And ignore it when other people do use it. If it isn't shocking and emotionally charging, who would want to use the word then?