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Pickaninny
Pickaninny (also picaninny, piccaninny or pickininnie) is a racial slur for black children and a pejorative term for aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. The origins of the term are disputed. Along with several words for children in pidgin and creole languages, such as piccanin and pikinini, it may derive from the Portuguese pequenino ('boy, child, very small, tiny').
In the United States, the pickaninny is a derogatory caricature of a dark-skinned African-American child, often depicted with unkempt hair, bulging eyes, and large red lips. Such characters were a popular feature of minstrel shows into the twentieth century.
The origins of the word pickaninny (and its alternative spellings picaninny and piccaninny) are disputed; it may derive from the Portuguese term for a small child, pequenino. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term evidently spread through trade networks using Portuguese-based pidgins during the 17th century, especially the Atlantic slave trade. Other spellings include piccanini, pickoninnie, pick-ny, piccanin, and picannin.
Pickaninny was apparently used by slaves in the West Indies to affectionately refer to a child of any race. The term acquired a pejorative connotation by the nineteenth century as a term for black children in the United States, as well as aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It is now generally considered offensive.
The term piccanin, derived from the Portuguese pequenino, has along with several variants become widely used in pidgin languages, meaning 'small'. This term is common in the creole languages of the Caribbean, especially those which are English-based. In Jamaican Patois, the word is found as pickney, which is used to describe a child regardless of racial origin. The same word is used in Antiguan and Barbudan Creole to mean "children",[citation needed] while in the English-based national creole language of Suriname, Sranang Tongo, pequeno has been borrowed as pikin for 'small' and 'child'.
The term pikinini is found in Melanesian pidgin and creole languages such as Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea or Bislama of Vanuatu, as the usual word for 'child' (of a person or animal); it may refer to children of any race.[citation needed] Charles III used the term in a speech during a 2012 visit to Papua New Guinea. Speaking in Tok Pisin, Charles (then Prince of Wales) described himself as "nambawan pikinini bilong Misis Kwin" ('number one child belonging to Mrs. Queen').
In Nigerian as well as Cameroonian Pidgin English, the word pikin is used to mean a child. It can be heard in songs by African popular musicians such as Fela Kuti's Afrobeat song "Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense" and Prince Nico Mbarga's highlife song "Sweet Mother";[non-primary source needed] both are from Nigeria. In Sierra Leone Krio the term pikin refers to 'child' or 'children', while in Liberian English pekin does likewise. In Chilapalapa, a pidgin language used in Southern Africa, the term used is pikanin. In Sranan Tongo and Ndyuka of Suriname, pikin may refer to 'children' as well as to 'small' or 'little'. Some of these words may be more directly related to the Portuguese pequeno than to pequenino.[citation needed]
The first famous depiction of a pickaninny was the character of Topsy in Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, presented as a neglected girl, poorly dressed and behaved, untamable and corrupted by slavery. The pickaninny became the dominant racial caricature of black children in the United States, and typically depicted untamed, genderless children with unkempt hair, bulging eyes, large mouths, and red lips, often stuffing their mouths with watermelon or fried chicken.
Pickaninny
Pickaninny (also picaninny, piccaninny or pickininnie) is a racial slur for black children and a pejorative term for aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. The origins of the term are disputed. Along with several words for children in pidgin and creole languages, such as piccanin and pikinini, it may derive from the Portuguese pequenino ('boy, child, very small, tiny').
In the United States, the pickaninny is a derogatory caricature of a dark-skinned African-American child, often depicted with unkempt hair, bulging eyes, and large red lips. Such characters were a popular feature of minstrel shows into the twentieth century.
The origins of the word pickaninny (and its alternative spellings picaninny and piccaninny) are disputed; it may derive from the Portuguese term for a small child, pequenino. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term evidently spread through trade networks using Portuguese-based pidgins during the 17th century, especially the Atlantic slave trade. Other spellings include piccanini, pickoninnie, pick-ny, piccanin, and picannin.
Pickaninny was apparently used by slaves in the West Indies to affectionately refer to a child of any race. The term acquired a pejorative connotation by the nineteenth century as a term for black children in the United States, as well as aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It is now generally considered offensive.
The term piccanin, derived from the Portuguese pequenino, has along with several variants become widely used in pidgin languages, meaning 'small'. This term is common in the creole languages of the Caribbean, especially those which are English-based. In Jamaican Patois, the word is found as pickney, which is used to describe a child regardless of racial origin. The same word is used in Antiguan and Barbudan Creole to mean "children",[citation needed] while in the English-based national creole language of Suriname, Sranang Tongo, pequeno has been borrowed as pikin for 'small' and 'child'.
The term pikinini is found in Melanesian pidgin and creole languages such as Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea or Bislama of Vanuatu, as the usual word for 'child' (of a person or animal); it may refer to children of any race.[citation needed] Charles III used the term in a speech during a 2012 visit to Papua New Guinea. Speaking in Tok Pisin, Charles (then Prince of Wales) described himself as "nambawan pikinini bilong Misis Kwin" ('number one child belonging to Mrs. Queen').
In Nigerian as well as Cameroonian Pidgin English, the word pikin is used to mean a child. It can be heard in songs by African popular musicians such as Fela Kuti's Afrobeat song "Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense" and Prince Nico Mbarga's highlife song "Sweet Mother";[non-primary source needed] both are from Nigeria. In Sierra Leone Krio the term pikin refers to 'child' or 'children', while in Liberian English pekin does likewise. In Chilapalapa, a pidgin language used in Southern Africa, the term used is pikanin. In Sranan Tongo and Ndyuka of Suriname, pikin may refer to 'children' as well as to 'small' or 'little'. Some of these words may be more directly related to the Portuguese pequeno than to pequenino.[citation needed]
The first famous depiction of a pickaninny was the character of Topsy in Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, presented as a neglected girl, poorly dressed and behaved, untamable and corrupted by slavery. The pickaninny became the dominant racial caricature of black children in the United States, and typically depicted untamed, genderless children with unkempt hair, bulging eyes, large mouths, and red lips, often stuffing their mouths with watermelon or fried chicken.
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