Murzyn

Murzyn (Polish pronunciation: [muʐɨn]) is the most common Polish word for a black person. It is generally seen as a neutral word, while other contemporary critics, mostly of non-Polish ethnicity, claim that it has pejorative connotations.

The word 'Murzyn' is derived by borrowing the German word , derived from Latin , similarly to the English word 'moor'.

According to the Dictionary of the Polish Language, 'murzyn' means somebody with black skin. Informally, it can also mean:

Murzyn (feminine form: murzynka, diminutive: murzynek) can be translated into English as "black man". The standard nominative plural is murzyni, which is using the "personal masculine" suffix, while the impersonal suffix (that is: murzyny) is pejorative.

However, the word "Murzyn" is largely confused with the English word "Negro", without familiarizing with the fact that the socio-cultural roots of both words are significantly different. The case of comparing the Polish "Murzyn" to the English "Negro" with omitting the neutral origin and non-racist historical background of the Polish word, caused the main controversy about this word in recent years. In the opinion of Dr Marek Łaziński, it has also been associated with Shakespeare's 'noble' Othello, usually called a "moor" in English. According to Łaziński the word murzyn in Polish is sometimes perceived as offensive, though many Poles would defend its use. In comparison, a direct translation of the English word "black", "czarny", does not seem better to him since it often carries negative connotations in Polish, though he feels it may eventually replace murzyn due to the influence of foreign languages on Polish. Łaziński, writing in the language advice column of the Polish dictionary, suggests that in cases where an individual may perceive murzyn to be offensive, geographic or national designations should be used. According to Marcin Miłkowski, writing in 2012, the word "previously considered neutral, is now all but banned in newspapers".

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