Black affrontit

The following was written by a pair of BIPOC hands (scroll), belonging to a linguist of mixed heritage.

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Recently the question has been raised about the history of such Shaetlan expressions as "black fantin" ('extremely hungry, absolutely starving'), "black affrontit" ('very ashamed, mortified'), "black dark" ('pitch black'), "black calm" ('flat calm [eg of the sea]'), etc, and whether they are PC or not. This is the origin of the expressions:

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The word "black" descends from Old English blæc/blacc- (Northumbrian), meaning 'black, dark; ink'. It in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *blakaz 'burnt; black', but the further etymology is uncertain. It started to be used in figurative senses with negative connotations no later than in the 14C. The meaning of 'very, extremely' is pan-Scots and is attested since the early 19C.

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The word "fantin" descends from Old Scots fant 'faint', which in turn comes from Old French faint/feint 'feigned, sluggish, etc'. The meaning of 'starving'  is Shetland specific and attested since the 19C.

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The word "affrontit" consists of the noun "affront" + the adjective ending "-it". It comes from Middle English afro(u)nt, which in turn comes from Old French afronter 'to defy'. The meaning of 'to cause offence' is attested since the 14C.

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The expressions therefore have a long and varied history. They are not uttered with any intended offence, but are merely inherited expressions in a contact language with a rich and fascinating history. This café au lait coloured linguist has never encountered any BIPOC person who has remarked on these expressions. To politicise these inherited descriptive expressions risks trivialising the real issue of actual racism and othering.