Speaking of the neg/nigg prefix.
We have a program manager where I work who is short, female, and African-American. When she visited our plant in Mexico they called her "La Negrita". At first she was a little upset by this. But she found out it was a term of affection. It means "the small black woman" but it has no racial overtones.
I've never been given a nickname down there so they either don't like me very much or don't have one for an white Anglo-Saxon Protestant who is nearly 2 meters tall. :-)
John Mayson Austin, Texas, USA