Carlos Thompson <cthompso@...> wrote:
> Here in Colombia the Spanish word "cachaco" is for an old Bogotano a
> pridefull word for himself, while used by a Coste=F1o is a derogative w=
ord for
> any Andean. "Rolo" is an insulting word used outside Bogot=E1 for Bogo=
t=E1
> people, but once a friend told me she was in a meeting with other Colom=
bians
> (none of them from Bogot=E1) in Sweden. They were talking about "rolos=
"
> without noting my friend was from Bogot=E1, after a while when some of =
the
> group ask her wher she was from she answerd the way I'm sure I would al=
so
> answer: "I'm rola".
>=20
> The point is that maybe such words like Nigger are coined by outsiders =
as
> derogative or insulting words, and that is notice for the attacked grou=
p,
> but then the attacked group makes the word own and fill it with pride. =
The
> word then becomes dual: used by outsiders is derogative or insulting, u=
sed
> by members of the group becomes a matter of pride.
Quite true. I remember a time when South Americans were called
_sudacas_ by people from Spain (I'm not sure of the etimology
but it was certainly derogatory). The word became quite common
*here*, an ironical way to call ourselves when we talked about
living in the Third World and all that.
The opposite might happen: a neuter word used by a group of people
to call themselves that becomes a derogatory term when used by
outsiders. At least in my city, Rosario, the word _porte=F1o_, used
by Buenos Aires' people to refer to themselves, almost always
carries a despective tone.
--Pablo Flores