User:Malick78/Murzyn

Murzyn is a Polish word used to describe black people. It is seen by some as a neutral word, but others consider it to have pejorative connotations.

Etymology
Etymologically, 'murzyn' comes from the same root as the English word 'moor'.

Meaning and connotations
According to Słownik Języka Polskiego (Dictionary of the Polish Language), 'murzyn' means somebody with black skin. Informally, it can also mean: 1. Somebody anonymously doing work for somebody else; 2. Somebody with a dark brown tan; 3. A hard working person forced to do hard labour.

'Murzyn' (diminutive - 'murzynek', feminine form - 'murzynka') can be translated into English as 'black' or 'Negro'. Journalist Jacek Żakowski, in an article defending smokers' rights, referred to John Lennon's phrase "Woman Is the Nigger of the World" by translating 'nigger' as 'murzyn' ("Kobieta jest Murzynem tego świata"). However, in the opinion of Dr Marek Łaziński, it can also be used to describe Shakespeare's 'noble' Othello, usually called a 'moor' in English. According to Patrycja Pirog, the word "'murzyn', which in the opinion of many Poles, including academics, is not offensive, is seen by black people as discriminatory and derogatory."

According to Antonina Kloskowska, writing in "Race", ethnicity and nation: international perspectives on social conflict, the word "Murzyn" "does not carry pejorative connotations. In contrast, the favoured term in the West, "black", which translates into Polish as "Czarny", is seen as offensive".

Poland's first black Member of Parliament, John Godson, has said that he is proud to be a 'murzyn'.

In phrases
Dr Tomasz Piekot, speaking to Gazeta.pl, notes that the image of the 'murzyn' in Poland is "'brutal. We think they are stupid, dirty and stink. From this we get sayings of the following type: 'it stinks as if it's from a murzyn hut', 'it's as dark as in a murzyn's arse'. It's associated with backwardness, poverty, slavery. We can after all describe someone we are using as, 'this is my white murzyn'. These are all negative connotations.'"

Wiadomosci24 says: "'Although we rarely see Africans and African-Americans on our streets, of course we say: 'The murzyn has done his job, he can go now', or: 'we need a murzyn' (for dirty work done for little pay).'"

The phrase "a hundred years behind the murzyns" ("sto lat za Murzynami") is used, often about Poland itself, to describe a backward, under-developed situation.

Examples in Polish culture
Patrycja Pirog describes the famous children's poem Murzynek Bambo: "'One of the most popular images of the 'murzyn' is that created by Julian Tuwim in his poem Murzynek Bambo. [...] Briefly speaking, this is a story about how enlightened Europe tries to civilise the savage. Bambo goes to an African school, but has a tendency to fool around, and when his mother tries to tell him off for it, he runs away and up a tree. This black child is afraid of having a bath, because his colour might wash off. The school, bath and milk are symbols of civilisation, of washing away that which is impure and incompatible with high culture, until it is white and pure. Bambo instinctively runs away from this. Complying with the rules of the West means the loss of his identity. [...] Bambo is characterised as good, cheerful, black - the Enlightenment myth of the good savage, creating an opposition to that which is white and rational. Unfortunately Bambo cannot go to school with us - white man's school has no place for him, though, the regret that is expressed in the poem regarding this allows the conscience of the reader to be soothed. The poem has greatly contributed to the preservation of the word 'murzyn' in the lexicon. This image created by Tuwim, strongly rooted in Polish culture, still operates in the media and public life, untroubled by the rules of political correctness.'"

"Under the murzyns" ("Pod Murzynami") is also a not uncommon name for chemist's shops or tenement buildings in Poland. Often an image of a black person accompanies the name.

Food
'Murzynek' and 'Cycki Murzynki' ('Tits of a murzynka') are also the names of Polish chocolate cakes.