The ‘Unsayable’ Word—How to Deal with the N-word

Abstract

The N-word is known to be insulting to black people for historical reasons, which makes people care about the appearance of the N-word in their discourse. For black people, it is permissible to say the N-word as an expression of the tight relationship between black people, just like the use of words like ‘bro’ and ‘guy’. However, for non-blacks, uttering the N-word could be terrible. Instead of considering the speaker’s intention before judging the appropriateness of his or her words, people would just criticize and punish the speaker. John McWhorter analyzed the N-word in his newsletter¾The New N-word Standard is not Progress, pointing out the difference between using the N-word and mentioning the N-word. This study hopes that when people face the N-word in discourse, they can rationally combine context and relevant background knowledge, abide by the principle of cooperation, and understand the speaker’s real intention before making a reasonable evaluation of the speaker.