In the English language, the word nigger is a racial slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the 1990s,[1] references to nigger have been increasingly replaced by the euphemism "the N-word", notably in cases where nigger is mentioned but not directly used.[2] In an instance of linguistic reappropriation, the term nigger is also used casually and fraternally among African Americans, most commonly in the form of nigga, whose spelling originated from the phonological system of African-American English.[2][3]