Lexicon Valley

There Are Two N-Words

Like gangster and gangsta, nigger and nigga have become two distinct words.

Listen to Lexicon Valley Episode No. 126:

Subscribe in iTunesRSS feed DownloadPlay in another tab

On a recent episode of Jeopardy, contestant Nick Spicher was deemed to have offered a wrong answer when he said “Gangster’s Paradise” rather than “Gangsta’s Paradise.” John McWhorter argues that, like gangster and gangsta, nigger and nigga are two distinct words.

You’ll find every Lexicon Valley episode at Slate.com/lexiconvalley, or in the player below:

Send your thoughts about the show to lexiconvalley@slate.com.

Podcast production by Mike Vuolo.