Talk:Pickaninny

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term 'pickney' of the same etymology is used in the Caribbean as a term for children. It is not used in a derogatory fashion - my wife happily uses it, her family being from Barbados.

I'm sure that's true, but she needs to know that, at least in the Southern United States, it's been considered to be a deragotory term for the last four decades or more. Rlquall 03:29, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

The self-referential assertion is backed up by the Jamaican standard (note the Patwa variant) Pickney Girl, recorded by both Desmond Decker and Symarip.

Nuttyskin 05:37, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lingua franca

Are we sure that Lingua franca took part in the transmision? Pequeninho is standard Portuguese, and Portuguese pidgins were relexified with English. There are other words that may have passed from Lingua franca to Portuguese pidgins, but I don't know of the reverse case. --Error 00:26, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

This article doesn't explain what a Pickaninny is. I would be bold and do it, but I myself don't know--that's why I came here. The first sentence should read, "A pickaninny is a..." rather than giving etymology. --Locarno 16:55, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] UK usage (Enoch Powell)

The term was also controversially used ("wide-eyed grinning picaninnies") by the British Conservative politician Enoch Powell in his "Rivers of Blood" speech on 20 April 1968.

Was the term "piccaninny" commonly used in the UK back then? Was the word considered controversial at the time, or only by today's standards? 217.34.39.123 16:32, 1 December 2006 (UTC)