Redskin (slang)

"Redskin" is a slang term referring to Native Americans in the United States. In modern dictionaries of American English it is labeled "usually offensive", "disparaging", "insulting", and "taboo".

The origin of the term is debated, in particular whether the use of "red" referred to skin color or the use of pigments by certain tribes, and also whether the term was applied to natives by Europeans or came from language natives used to refer to themselves. Professor Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz states that the settlers were paid bounties and they gave a name to the mutilated and bloody corpses they left in the wake of scalp hunts: redskins. Whatever its origins in the colonial period, many argue that "redskin" underwent a process of pejoration due to the increasingly disparaging use of the term through the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Although the term has almost disappeared from common use, it remains as the name of many sports teams, most prominently the Washington Redskins, and the term's meaning has been a significant point of controversy.

Redskin

Redskin can refer to:

Redskin (film)

Redskin is a 1929 American feature film with a synchronized score and sound effects, filmed partially in Technicolor, and released by Paramount Pictures.

Cast

Production background

Color film was used for the scenes taking place on the Indians' land, while black and white was used only in the scenes set in the white man's world. Roughly three-fourths of the film is in color.

Home video

Redskin is currently available in the United States on disc 4 of the DVD collection Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934.

See also

References

External links

Redskin (subculture)

In the context of the skinhead subculture, a redskin is a socialist, communist, or anarchist skinhead. The term combines the word red, (a slang term for socialist or communist) with the word skin, which is short for skinhead. Redskins take a militant anti-fascist and pro-working class stance.

The most well-known organization associated with redskins is Red and Anarchist Skinheads (RASH). Other groups that have had redskin members include Anti-Fascist Action, Red Action and Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (although SHARP does not have an official leftist ideology). Bands associated with redskins include: The Redskins, Angelic Upstarts, Blaggers I.T.A., Kortatu, Skalariak, Banda Bassotti, The Burial, Negu Gorriak, Opció K-95, Los Fastidios, Kaos Urbano, Brigada Flores Magón, Nucleo Terco and The Press. One record label associated with the subculture is Insurgence Records.

Slang

Slang consists of a lexicon of non-standard words and phrases in a given language. Use of these words and phrases is typically associated with the subversion of a standard variety (such as Standard English) and is likely to be interpreted by listeners as implying particular attitudes on the part of the speaker. In some contexts a speaker's selection of slang words or phrases may convey prestige, indicating group membership or distinguishing group members from those who are not a part of the group.

Defining slang

Few linguists have endeavoured to clearly define what constitutes slang. Attempting to remedy this, Bethany K. Dumas and Jonathan Lighter argue that an expression should be considered "true slang" if it meets at least two of the following criteria:

Slang (disambiguation)

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions in certain social settings.

Slang may also refer to:

Slang (Def Leppard song)

"Slang" is a 1996 song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their gold album Slang. It reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is the only one from its parent album to be played after the Slang World Tour of 1996 to 1997, with Def Leppard performing the song most recently during their Viva! Hysteria concert residency of Las Vegas in 2013.

In reference to the song, lead singer Elliot said in the album's commentary that Slang is "a bit of a throwback to [Def Leppard's] original sound, in other words loads and loads of backing vocals" and said that "live, this song has always been a favourite with fans".

The single cover features the Def Leppard logo (the 1995 variation) but Slang did not feature the logo in any variation.

Video

The music video was directed by Nigel Dick. Recorded on Occidental Studios, Los Angeles in April 1996. The video was released in May 1996.

An additional "Director's Cut" video was released in October 2004, included on the Best of the Videos DVD.