What do you put in your birdfeeders to attract goldfinches?
I put in niger seed, the seed of Guizotia abyssinica.
I was taken aback today to read in a newspaper ad about the availability of Nyjer seed.
What are we dealing with here? Is it that many have forgotten a basic rule of pronunciation – that a single vowel between two consonants is usually pronounced with the long vowel sound? Is it that any word that starts with the letters N-I-G, like “niggardly,” is dangerous? Is it that too many people were asking for “nigger” seed to attract finches?
Uh huh. And what will we do about “Nigeria”? Can’t have that. One of the most important lessons I ever learned is that the word is not the thing, the map is not the territory, the symbol is not the thing being symbolized. Symbols only have the meaning that we give them.
What’s next? The word “black”?
“Mommy, what color is the sky at night?”
“I can’t tell you, honey.”
“Why not?”
“Well, some people thought that the word for it might make some other people upset, so no one can use it now.”
“Mommy, that’s fucked up.”
“I know, sweetie. I know.”
Nyjer Seed was (originally) a registered trademark of a particular brand of niger seed. (Note the capitalization of Nyjer.) It appears to have followed kleenex and aspirin into the forests of words that have lost or are losing their status to become a common noun.
What are saying? That everyone who posted previously in this thread, who jumped to the ridiculous conclusion that this was an example of PC thuggery bullying the nation into decadence, now looks like a complete idiot?
I don’t really get the “political correctness gone mad” trope. So they’re calling bird seed by a different name. Horrors. I agree that it’s a pointless change that won’t have any effect on anything. But of course, that also means…it’s a pointless change that won’t have any effect on anything. So why give a crap?
I for one am outraged at the omission of Nicaragua from this discussion.
Y’know what’s sad? Guys back in junior high and high school would dare one another to say ‘Nicaragua’ and giggle madly about it. They insisted it was a bad word. I shudder to think that these young men will reproduce.
And?
Note that the most common pronunciation of the country with the same spelling in English speaking countries is nee-ZHERR.
Note that an awful lot of people really have never actually learned the single- or double-consonant pronunciation rule.
I am sure that the “nigger” pronunciation was considered troublesome, but there were also other considerations, as noted in this reprinted Wild Bird Feeding Industry article. “Nyjer” has a readily apparent pronunciation to a generally North American English speaking audience. The “offensive mispronunciation” was a consideration, but does not appear to be the primary motivation. Note that this site sets out the name change as
It does not quite appear to be a knee-jerk reaction.