The discussion about replacing the term negro with afrodescendente (African descendant)’ – with the justification that it refers not only to skin color, but to historical and cultural references of African origin – has already generated much controversy. Famed TV host/journalist Glória Maria, for example, does not like the new vocabulary. The journalist says proudly, that she is negra (black, feminine form) and likes the affectionate nickname neguinha (which can be loosely translated as ‘little black woman’), that she earned from her friends. “Sorry, but I think it’s idiotic. We are negros (blacks), period. When I got on TV, everyone called me neguinhaand I was very happy! Does calling someone branquinha (little white woman/girl) offend anyone? I think the offense is not in neguinha, but in the way you said it, in the tone you say it. Sometimes you can offend with a look, with the gesture. Even today my friends call me neguinha. Until 15 years ago, at Globo (TV), everybody called me neguinha and I felt very proud and I feel proud today.” BWofBrazil note: Brazilians often speak in augmentatives and diminutives. Adding the suffix “inho” or “inha” to a word makes it a smaller version of the root word, while adding the suffix “ão” makes the root word bigger. Also, in Portuguese, both the terms preto/preta and negro/negra mean black. Activists of the Movimento Negro distinguish the two terms as preto/preta is the actual color black while the terms negro/negra have a more political meaning used by persons of a wide range of phenotypes who define themselves as belonging to a collective race of persons who trace their ancestry to the African continent. Glória Maria’s reference to the manner in which a term like neguinha is used is similar in the manner in which the terms black and nigga/nigger are used by black or non-black people in the US. The terms of usage amongst African-Americans, the term black can signify a person’s race or a very dark-skinned person. Many African-Americans use the term nigga as a term of affection towards other African-Americans while nigga or nigger is usually seen as insulting/racist when said by a non-black person. Similarly, in Brazil, many people accept terms such as neguinha/neguinho, crioulo/crioula as terms of affection (by any person or race) while others are increasingly seeing the terms as racially pejorative or insulting regardless of the tone or social situation in which it is used.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 05:11:43 +0000
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