The Truths and Riddles Behind the N Word and American History

There is so much behind a word. What it means, where it originated, how it's used, and how society interprets it. Take the word "history", for example. Most would say it simply means the past, or events that occurred in the past. Usually there is some kind of connection you make with words. When I think of history, I think of how much it still affects us today, and of events in American and world history. But how many people would know that the word "history" comes from the greek word historia, which actually means "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation".

It wasn't until 1390 that this word became part of the English Language, and obtained a new definition: "relation of incidents, story". The definition changed again, to simply "story", and then again, to "record of past events." (If you were wondering where I got my sources from, I will admit it was from wikipedia, even though you aren't supposed to use it, particularly when writing in school, I still use it for getting random information).

Anyway, my point is that people create words, and with them meaning and denotations. Every word has its own unique meaning and story behind it. I used to find this absolutely fascinating when I was about six or seven. I used to just focus on some random, everyday word, and try and grasp its true meaning--why it sounded like that, how it was spelled, and who came up with it. Okay I just realized that I'm getting a bit off topic, so I will get back to the idea I originally started out writing this post with.

The N Word. It's not that I am scared of saying it, I just don't like it. I think what the student in the article was saying about how not saying a word gives it more power was right. But I also believe that this word has had so much power and negative meaning throughout history, that there is no point in saying it in order to prove a point.

Since the day the first African American person was taken captive, and sent to America to be a slave, this word has been gathering meaning. Definition. Although it depends on who says it to

who, and in what way it is said, I believe that it is history that has shaped this word. There is no going back. This word has power and control because of its history. The N-word and the word “history” have so much in common simply because they define each other.

This post didn’t turn out how I had originally intended. But that is okay. I like how I can begin writing and by the end of the last sentence I am surprised with what I came up with. My writing is always changing and growing, just like me.