What is Ghetto

What do you think of when you hear the word ghetto? Perhaps you think of someone of a lower class. Or perhaps you may think of a minority group. Some think of a location that is run down. I urge you to think differently; to think of ghetto as not a way to describe someone but as a place in which an ordinary group of people live, not necessarily blacks or Hispanics or poor people. The reason I urge you to do so is because of the development of the word ghetto.

This word was first recorded, according to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1611 to refer to a family's living situation: "The place where the whole fraternity of the Iews dwelleth together, which is called the Ghetto." During the Renaissance movement this word became more popular to describe the area where the Jews were secluded to ("Ghetto"). Ghetto was not used with an extreme negative connotation, nor did it refer to a run down part of the city. It was specifically used in Italy at first and later spread throughout Europe ("Ghetto"). Although the Jews were forced to live together in this area, it seems as though they preferred to live with people who believed in the same religous values as they did. According to the article titled "Ghetto" many of the Jews found this a great place to establish their own cultural rules and beliefs. This strikes me because I have always thought that during this time period the Jews were very unhappy with being neglected but in reality they did not see it as being neglected. The word Ghetto to them meant more than being forced into a living situation, it meant a community.

This word was later used in the 1930's when referring to where the Jews were placed by Hitler. The Jews lived in the Ghetto before they were sent off to concentration camps ("The Ghettos"). The difference in this word is more of in the context. Originally the court of the Ghetto was a location in Italy and when the Nazi's took over there were soon 300 Ghettos in Europe. After Hitler ruled and the US began to enter into World War II, the word Ghetto spread to America ("Ghetto"). It was then described as "A quarter in a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited by a minority group."

Now I bet you're thinking 'this is the definition that I recognize.' This is how it is used most commonly now because when it was brought over to America it was associated with a negative idea from WWII. Even when it became a popular word in America the people living in the ghetto didn't seem to think of it negatively. Many blacks of different economic status lived together in what they called the ghetto. African Americans living here enjoyed it and thought of it just as the Jews originally viewed it- they saw it as a place of "authentic blackness" (Smitherman).

Another trend of the word ghetto is now to use it as not only a noun but an adjective as well. It's common to hear someone say "their car is ghetto" or "their clothes are ghetto" or even "they talk ghetto". Most people know that when you say their car is ghetto you are saying it's a beat up, old car that was most likely not expensive. Our generation has begun to use ghetto more lose and the definition has broadened and at the same time became more negative and a way to show your superior to another.

So my question for you is why then do you view it so negatively? If people living there don't view it as negative then why do we? A possible answer could be to make ourselves feel more superior to another group. Another answer is simple; we view it negatively because we have the wrong definition of what ghetto should mean. This is a problem because the more you widen the definition the more controversy there will be. The more lose a word becomes the more options there are for someone to be offended. I offer you a way to think of ghetto differently because it has become offensive and negative. Another feasible answer comes from Martin Luther King: "But while so many white Americans are unaware of conditions inside the ghetto, there are very few ghetto dwellers who are unaware of the life outside. The television sets bombard them day by day with the opulence of the larger society." MLK has a great point saying that Americans not living in the ghetto are unaware of what happens there. This is a great point because I was unaware that Jews and blacks both liked their Ghetto. 

Seeing as how the word ghetto has changed from a noun to a adjective, from a select location in Italy to any location that's run down, this word needs a final definition. I suggest for one to use the word as a noun; an area where a group of people reside. This group is people who relate to eachother in some sort of way that unites them. For instance, the blacks related to one another by various social pressures but did not all have the same economic status ("Ghetto"). There are various reasons why this word should not be used as a adjective but the general reason is it has become offensive. It has been seen as putting someone down when you call their clothes or car ghetto. Why make a word that means an area of living into an offensive term?

Works Cited

Oxford English Dictionary (O.E.D.)
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50094276?query_type=word&queryword=ghetto&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=7U4v-zgW28e-6922&hilite=50094276

"Ghetto" http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/ghetto.htm

"The Ghettos." A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust. The Florida Center for Instructional Technology. 15 July 2001

Smitherman, Geneva. Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000