nengre

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English nigger. For the unexpected nasal consonant, compare nyun, mangri, onfu, mindri, kwinsi, nangra.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈneŋɾe/, [ˈnɪ̞̃ŋɾɪ̞], [ˈnẽ̝ŋɾe̝]

Noun

nengre

a black person
Synonyms: blakaman, krioro
- 1855 April 23, “De slavernij en hare gruwelen in Suriname [Slavery and its horrors in Suriname]”, in Algemeen Handelsblad‎^[1], Amsterdam, page 4:
  Pieri me na boeba, fo na ningre
  [Piri mi na buba fu na nengre]
  Strip me that negro's skin off
- c. 1885, Johannes King, “Skrekiboekoe [Book of horrors]”, in Jan Voorhoeve, Ursy M. Lichtveld, editors, Suriname: Spiegel der vaderlandse kooplieden‎^[2], Den Haag: Martinus Nijhoff, published 1980, →ISBN, pages 108, 110:
  En ala dem ouloetem gran avoo vo wi ben de Afrikan ningre na ningre kondre. Na janda dem ouroetem bakra go bai dem avoo vo wi potti na ini sipi tjari koti habra da bigi soutoe watra, en dem tjari dem kom doro dia na foto Paramaribo.
  [Èn ala den owruten granawo fu wi ben de Afrikan nengre na nengrekondre. Na yanda den owruten bakra go bai den awo fu wi poti na ini sipi tyari koti abra a bigi sowtu watra èn den tyari den kon doro dya na foto Paramaribo]
  And all our forefathers of the olden days were African negroes from negro-country. It was over there that the whites of old went and bought our forefathers and put them in ships to take them across the big salt water, and brought them here to the city of Paramaribo.
- 1951, Albert Helman, “Gadodede [Slender dayflower]”, in Adyosi / Afscheid‎^[3], Nijmegen: Instituut ter Bevordering van de Surinamistiek, published 1994, page 20:
  Nengre tek' en srapu owru / g' a prenasi, kap' wan gron, / tan te wroko brok' en skowru, / fala ala bigi bon, / kapu wana, fala pisi, / fala san en owru kisi, / krin kapuweri seibi lo, - / gadodede tan fu gro!
  The black man took his sharp machete / went to the plantation, to clear a plot, / stayed until the work broke his shoulders, / felled all the big trees, / chopped down red louro, cut down laurels / cut down what his machete could get at, / cleared thickets, seven rows, - / the slender dayflower kept on growing!
a man
(compounds) a person
(informal) Sranan Tongo
Synonyms: Sranantongo, Sranan, (dated) nengretongo

Derived terms

Businengre (“someone from one of the groups of Maroons in Suriname”)
lowenengre (“runaway slave”)
mannengre (“companion”)
negregron (“a garden plot where food is grown”)
nengre-oso (“a small house”)
nengredoro (“gate”)
nengrenoto (“souari nut”)
nengretongo (“Sranan Tongo”)
pikinnengre (“child”)

Descendants

Aukan: nengee
Saramaccan: në́ngë

References

Wilner, John, editor (2003-2007), “nengre”, in Languages of Suriname, 5th edition, SIL International, Sranan-English Dictionary