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Learning 'Black' Over 'Noir' In France
- Goupin Putuel recalls learning in France that people used the English word "black" instead of the French "noir."
- He accepted that correction and returned home amused, telling his parents about the language surprise.
Hearing A Painful Word In A Salon
- Nelly Bufon describes being told the French term for ghostwriter sounded like a racial slur when used in a professional context.
- She was stunned and choked when a white woman asked if she offered "nigger services" at a ministry press event.
Etymology Links Language To Slavery
- The French word négre evolved from colonial slavery and later meant a ghostwriter who did unpaid labor for others.
- That etymology explains why the term still carries deep, painful racial connotations for Black French people.