# Black, African American, Coloured, Negro, Nigger



## Tebasile

Hello everyone! 

I have problems translating the following terms into Spanish: *Black, African American, Coloured, Negro, Nigger.*  Are there any precautions that a non native speaker of English have to know about their use? 

My try:

Black: Negro
African American: Afroamericano
Coloured: Persona de color
Negro:negro??
Nigger: negro, pero de forma ofensiva??


Sorry, if I said something wrong , I know this subject is quite touchy.

Thank you very much for your help =)


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## Cazuela

Tebasile said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I have problems translating the following terms into Spanish: *Black, African American, Coloured, Negro, Nigger.* Are there any precautions that a non native speaker of English have to know about their use?
> 
> My try:
> 
> Black: Negro
> African American: Afroamericano
> Coloured: Persona de color
> Negro:negro??
> Nigger: negro, pero de forma ofensiva?? (no conozco en español una forma ofensiva parecida. En Chile se usa "morocho" pero no es ofensivo, o al menos no se usa con esa intensión)
> 
> 
> Sorry, if I said something wrong , I know this subject is quite touchy.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help =)


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## srta chicken

Una notita: 

"Coloured" y "Negro" son formas que ya no se usan por lo general.

Saludos.


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## Tebasile

Mmm... but.. for example, could you give me a situation in which it is possible to use nigger or negro? 

Thank you very much! =)


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## k-in-sc

If you yourself are black, you can say "nigger." Otherwise it is about the most offensive term I can think of. It is referred to in polite company as "the N-word."
"Negro" has not been in use for about 40 years. It also is considered impolite.
Note that the American spelling is "colored," without the U. I believe it is an official term in South Africa. It is not used in this country except in the name of an organization founded decades ago.


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

Tebasile said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I have problems translating the following terms into Spanish: *Black, African American, Coloured, Negro, Nigger.* Are there any precautions that a non native speaker of English have to know about their use?
> 
> My try:
> 
> Black: Negro
> African American: Afroamericano  Afroestadounidense.
> Coloured: Persona de color  Todos tenemos un color. Este término era sumamente racista.
> Negro:negro??  Lo mismo, sumamente racista.
> Nigger: negro, pero de forma ofensiva??  Aún más racista.
> 
> 
> Sorry, if I said something wrong , I know this subject is quite touchy.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help =)


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## srta chicken

k-in-sc said:


> If you yourself are black, you can say "nigger."


 
Actually, Bill Cosby and others don't agree with that statement. They say the term is so ugly it should just be dropped by everyone.

The only time I hear "Colored" is in the name "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

And for Negro, it's in "The United Negro College Fund."

Every once in a while an old person who's unaware of politically correct phrases will use colored or negro, but it doesn't happen often.

Saludos.


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## Tebasile

Thank you for your contribution, Juan Jacob; but, I think in Spanish the term "afroestadounidense" is not known because it isn't appear in the DRAE. About, "colored" could you give me any suggestions to translate it? Because, in Spanish I only found this translation, although I know is can be racist.


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

Tebasile said:


> Thank you for your contribution, Juan Jacob; but, I think in Spanish from Spain, beware the term "afroestadounidense" is not known because it isn't appear in the DRAE. Too bad! Spanish people -and DRAE- don't know that *americano* doesn't mean from the United States. A lot of discussions about this... *americano* is NOT from the United States. I'm from Mexico, in America, I'm an american too.
> About, "colored" could you give me any suggestions to translate it? Because, in Spanish I only found this translation, although I know is can be racist. De raza negra. But...


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## Tebasile

Sorry , I'm aware that "Americano" is not the same that "estadounidense"  and I agree with you they have different meanings, but translating "Afroamerican" I never have heard "afroestadounidense".


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## srta chicken

Yo tampoco.


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## Juan Jacob Vilalta

Well, time to do it!

¡Feliz próximo Año Nuevo!


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## k-in-sc

From WR:
*Afro-American *_adj_ afroamericano


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## Aidanriley

Maybe in a world according to Bill Cosby the N-word shouldn't be said, but alas, I hear in just about every other sentence spoken by African Americans around my age. (They even call _me_ it, and I'm white...)


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## CarolinaGuy

I am a beginner Spanish speaker, but I believe I would translate all of them to "Negro". I don't think it's necessary or possible to carry the baggage of the American (U.S.) experience into Spanish. And if you are translating dialogue, I have no idea of how to convey the connotations of colored, Negro or nigger.

Good luck.


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## mejillon

In Britain, "coloured" and even "negro" (the latter more rarely) are still heard amongst the elderly, to some extent. And "coloured" is spelt with a "u" here 

I would say they are derogatory terms one shouldn´t use, but not nearly as offensive as "nigger", excuse me.

First translations offered are accurate, in my opinion


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## srta chicken

Respecto a "afroestadounidense":

Hoy por primera vez vi ese término en un ciberartículo (en el periódico _La Opinión)_, aquí, en el segundo párrafo:

http://www.impre.com/laopinion/noti.../sondeo--hispanos-son-discrimin-168154-1.html

No estoy diciendo que el uso en un artículo quiera significar que la palabra de repente es algo oficial, pero ahí está.  La palabara tiene que tener cierto grado de aceptabilidad, se imagina, o el editor no habría permitido que se empleara en el artículo. 

Saludos a todos.


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## Aserolf

k-in-sc said:


> From WR:
> *Afro-American *_adj_ afroamericano


 Siempre lo he oído de esta manera, aunque concuerdo en que 'americano' es cualquier persona que viva dentro del continente americano...
Para mi un norteamericano puede ser una persona de Canadá, EEUU o de México, pero bueno, esto ya sería tema para otro hilo.


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## srta chicken

Hola,

Tal vez este artículo, escrito (en inglés) por una afroamericana, sea de interés de los participantes de este hilo:  http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-kaplan8-2010feb08,0,7157375.story

Saludos.


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## SDLX Master

Tebasile said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I have problems translating the following terms into Spanish: *Black, African American, Coloured, Negro, Nigger.* Sorry, if I said something wrong , I know this subject is quite touchy.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help =)


 
No, no, no... this is not a touchy subject, it is just a *dark* one 




CarolinaGuy said:


> I am a beginner Spanish speaker, but I believe I would translate all of them to "Negro". I don't think it's necessary or possible to carry the baggage of the American (U.S.) experience into Spanish. And if you are translating dialogue, I have no idea of how to convey the connotations of colored, Negro or nigger.
> 
> Good luck.


 
You'll click to the nuance in time, you'll see


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## El Licenciado

Para _nigger_ los mexicanos norteños, y en especial los pochos, suelen usar _moyo_ y _mayate_. En otras regiones de México, esas palabras se refieren a los homosexuales. Los cubanos emplean "_culebra_".  En el cono sur, son "cabecitas negras".Con cariño, se oye "los negritos" para referirse a la raza negra.


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## didakticos

Tebasile said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> I have problems translating the following terms into Spanish: *Black, African American, Coloured, Negro, Nigger.*  Are there any precautions that a non native speaker of English have to know about their use?
> 
> My try:
> 
> Black: Negro
> African American: Afroamericano
> Coloured: Persona de color
> Negro:negro??
> Nigger: negro, pero de forma ofensiva??
> 
> 
> Sorry, if I said something wrong , I know this subject is quite touchy.
> 
> Thank you very much for your help =)



Tebasile:

el problema que veo es que tres de los términos que estás traduciendo son similares en español: *negro*. En mi país, Costa Rica, no sería un término ofensivo, pero depende del tono de voz que use por supuesto.

Lo mismo pasaría si tratara de traducir el término que algunas personas usan en forma derogatoria para referirse a los inmigrantes en general y a los mexicanos en particular: *beaner*. Si alguien me dijera _frijolero_, a mi no me importaría un comino porque no tiene ninguna connotación para mí. Pero en algunos contextos donde lo he leído EN INGLES, no cabe duda de su carga racista y xenofóbica.

¿Por qué no dejas los términos en inglés y usas comillas o itálicas para denotar que son usadas en inglés en el original? Solo una sugerencia.


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## pericalospalotes

I'm glad to find this thread.  Well, I'm translating captions of pictures of crafts and sometimes a black person is represented.  So there is no question about the context or intention... the most politically correct the better.  They are part of a book translated by an English person so I'd like to know, if possible, what do the Brits think about it.

"Vase with Figure of a Negro Person" or "Moreno (negro) Mask"

Thanx for the help!


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## ForsMiner

Tebasile said:


> Are there any precautions that a non native speaker of English have to know about their use?
> 
> My try:
> 
> Black: Negro
> African American: Afroamericano
> Coloured: Persona de color
> Negro:negro??
> Nigger: negro, pero de forma ofensiva??
> QUOTE]
> 
> Please allow this Southern White Man to add his two cents:
> 
> 1. Your translations are quite adequate and correct.
> 
> As for "Negro" (in English), there probably is no way to translate this term, since it (obviously) comes from Spanish. What is indicated by its use may be ignorance or even an uninformed attempt to be polite. Negro, is offensive only to the hearer. It is not used pejoratively by whites. I have often heard latinos in the US use "moreno" as a preference to "negro".
> 
> "Nigger" is a word that should be avoided at all costs. It is intended to be offensive (with the very small exception of ignorant people in out-of-the-way places who have been passed by by the march of progress and may simply use it as the only word they ever knew....my own grandfather was one such person, who, despite the fact that his best friend was black, didn't know or recognize any other word.)
> 
> The N-word, as it is most often known, is offensive, and while blacks use it quite often, you will rarely hear it pronounced with the -er on the end. Rather they favor the pronunciation "niggah" and even use the endearment "my niggah". It has been explained that this is an attempt (decades old by now) to wrest it away from the white oppressor and claim it for their own. One can judge the success for oneself.
> 
> Depending on what the purpose is for translating, if you had to translate the word "nigger" in context, I would suggest something like "negro de mierda" (if the contextual intent is offensive) otherwise you'll probably need a nice footnote to explain all this historical baggage which the US has been saddled with for the past 150 years.
> 
> Good luck!


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## pericalospalotes

Thank you so much FrosMiner!


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## Pixie Rose

I guess this is a subject that will go on and on but I would like to add that while we want to avoid using terms that are offensive to others, if we are translating a text that is using a term in an offensive way, we need to be able to reflect that.


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## cristalito

*Black, African American, Coloured, Negro, Nigger* en español es simplemente negro.  *Afroamericano* es un uso consolidado en los Estados Unidos por la connotación peyorativa que tiene el uso de *negro*.


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## Guitarrero

As ForsMiner pointed out, Negro comes from the Spanish, but I think that using the adjective form "negroide"  might carry the same racist baggage as the English noun. Negro--> gente negroide. For example, Afro-Peruvian music and dance used to be referred to in those terms, but that use has been mostly abandoned because of the racist overtones.

By way of helping those who are translating ideas about race from the English outside of contexts of historical use:

Please note that political activists in Latin America and the Caribbean tend to favor the term "afrodescendiente," which is increasingly being used. Like the US term African American, this term places emphasis on their complex African heritage rather than the color of their skin. Those interested may can Google "legado afro romero rodriguez" to find his essay on the subject.

The use of "afro-" with the country in question is also common (although the use of the hyphen is varied): afroperuano, afrocubano, afroargentino.

"Negro" in Spanish is still common and used even by people of African descent, but not necessarily in politically sensitive contexts.


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## Señor K

I have a question: the word "black" goes by itself or has to be written with other word, like "black man", "black guy"?...


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## Guitarrero

Context and audience are important here.

The word "black" can be used by itself to refer to people that a society judges fit that category, although this usage may be unclear. The plural form "blacks" is less ambiguous. Some people may find this usage offensive as summarizes people solely in terms of skin color, but since this is a common thing to do, it is generally accepted. "African American" is the more historically sensitive term in the U.S.

Although the AP style states that this usage should not be capitalized because it refers to the color of a person's skin, but the Chicago Manual of Style suggests (from a web page by Dr. Abel Scribe):

_White & Black._ It is appropriate to capitalize White and Black when referring to the American racial groups. “The term Black is now often capitalized as the widely accepted name of the dark-skinned group or groups of people originating in Africa” (_CMS_ 1993, 247). As always, be consistent. Other color terms may have disparaging connotations: red, yellow, brown. Do not use these terms.


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## JillN

Instead of "afroestadounidense", how about "estadounidense negro" or "norteamericano negro"?


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## LnGwStX

I think the important thing to remember is that this board is for a discussion of language use, and even if words are offensive, if they are used, and you are looking for an equivalent, then the equivalent should also be offensive. As an interpreter, I have internal, personal reactions to certain words (like some on the list), but I still need to know how to say them in the target language if someone chooses to use them. Same thing goes for translation. And I can attest to the fact that many of these terms are still in wide usage by some populations, regardless of what political correctness wants us to believe.

Una pregunta que tengo yo al respecto a esta conversacion es, ¿que tan correcta es decir "moreno" hablando de una persona de color (así lo decimos en inglés las personas muy aculturadas en la cultura 'black' de los EEUU)?  Lo he escuchado miles de veces, pero la mayoría de estas veces vinieron de la boca de gente que no pertenecía al grupo descrito, así que, no estoy segura de si es una traducción aceptable del termino 'black' que uso en inglés.  Para que sepan, mi aprendizaje del español tomó lugar en el suroeste de los EEUU y en el norte de México, y he escuchado la palabra 'morenito' tanto en México como en Panamá.  Gracias.


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## Sources

The word moreno describes all the range of shades between black and white, regardless of their nationality or heritage. Therefore, some American people might be "morenos", as well as some African descendants.
For example, if you are coloured, but you are more white than black, you could be called "moreno claro".
Another example is, if you are white but you're used to tan a lot, you may be called "moreno".


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## LesD

This is very interesting at the moment in the UK as there has been a soccer investigation into the apparent racist comments made during a game between two players apparently speaking in Spanish!   It all seems to have hinged on the repeated use of the word 'negro' by one player to the other.  What hasn't been clear, is if it was enunciated in the Spanish way n(egg)ro, or in the English (knee)gro.

My thanks for all the above postings which have advanced my education somewhat.


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## mentayflor

> Respecto a "afroestadounidense":
> 
> Hoy por primera vez vi ese término en un ciberartículo (en el periódico _La Opinión)_, aquí, en el segundo párrafo:
> 
> http://www.impre.com/laopinion/notic...-168154-1.html
> 
> No estoy diciendo que el uso en un artículo quiera significar que la palabra de repente es algo oficial, pero ahí está. La palabara tiene que tener cierto grado de aceptabilidad, se imagina, o el editor no habría permitido que se empleara en el artículo.
> 
> Saludos a todos.


Yo suelo escuchar o leer las palabras 'afroamericano' o 'afrodescendiente', esta última creo que más a menudo. Creo que refiriendose a personas nacidas en norteamerica. Saludos


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## loladamore

LesD said:


> This is very interesting at the moment in the UK as there has been a soccer investigation into the apparent racist comments made during a game between two players apparently speaking in Spanish!   It all seems to have hinged on the repeated use of the word 'negro' by one player to the other.  What hasn't been clear, is if it was enunciated in the Spanish way n(egg)ro, or in the English (knee)gro.



It's an interesting case, as the defence was that the word _negro _is not offensive in Uruguayan Spanish. However, the report is now out and I have just read the following excerpt:


> The report stated that after Evra asked Suárez during the game why he had been kicked, he replied in Spanish: "_Porque tu eres negro_," which translates as "Because you are black". Evra said he would punch Suárez if he repeated the comment to which Uruguayan said: "_No hablo con los negros_": "I don't speak to blacks."



It seems that the linguistic experts consulted unsurprisingly concluded that such comments "would be considered racially offensive" anywhere.

(source) 

Saludos.


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## ducpiloti

Note that the word "Nigger" is very commonly used by blacks themselves to address other blacks, so within their community it is not offensive.

For instance one black man may tell another black man: "Those niggers don't know what they are talking about", this would not be an offensive statement.

The word "Nigger" is offensive only when used by a non-black!  Go figure!!


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## grahamcracker

ducpiloti said:


> Note that the word "Nigger" is very commonly used by blacks themselves to address other blacks, so within their community it is not offensive.
> 
> For instance one black man may tell another black man: "Those niggers don't know what they are talking about", this would not be an offensive statement.
> 
> The word "Nigger" is offensive only when used by a non-black!  Go figure!!


Well, there is no accounting for such things when it comes to the politics and culture of racial linguistics (if there is even such a term). Since it is a no-win situation, it is best to recognize the reality of it and live with it.


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## belenville

Por si aún le sirve a alguien de ayuda, una alternativa para traducir "nigger" es "negrata". Hay que tener en cuenta que, al igual que "nigger", es un término muy ofensivo, racista y utilizado sólo en contextos informales.

Un saludo


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## alfajor

@ *Juan Jacob Vilalta*

Sorry, but the citizens of the United States of America call themselves Americans. People should be called what they want to be called, especially in their own language. No one in the English-speaking world refers to anyone in North, Central, or South America as Americans, except when speaking about natives of the USA.


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## Señor K

As most of you have said, this is a highly non-win situation, because -at least in Chile- the word "negro" can be used in an offensive situation as well as a tender one. Couples can be named each other as "negro" and "negra" in a relationship with no signs of a bad feeling involved. It goes too for other words like "gordo/a" ("chubby"), "chanchi" ("piggy"), "pelao" ("baldy") or even "roto" ("rude")...


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## xmanta

In Spanish the word "negro" is not necessarily offensive or racist and it is not the equivalent to English words: "negro" nor "nigger" but *"black"*. Literally it just means "black". What happened here is that you, native English speaks, adopted a word from a foreign language and negatively burden it during and after slave trade times. However it doesn't change the original meaning of the word in Spanish that refers to a colour. In Spanish to call "black" a black person, can be considered as rude as "fat", "bald", or any other nickname in a formal context. Moreover "back race" in Spanish is "raza negra" without any negative burden; "black music" is "música negra", and so on. Of course if someone repeatedly put emphasis in the colour of someone else, this person could have racist motivations. For example, the word Jew can be also used that way. The problem is not the word but how you use it.


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