Ayyy…and then there’s the Black Irish…nothing but trouble they are.
[quote=“gao_bo_han”]When a classmate asked our teacher -a native Mandarin speaker from Taiwan- he was adamant that “hei gui” was extremely rude and should never be used. He specifically said that it translates to the n-word, and that we should only use “hei ren” when referring to black people.
[/quote]
Taiwan is definitely more PC and heigui is more frowned up, that’s for sure. Once a term is deemed non-PC, it’s continued use then necessarily makes the speaker’s intention suspect. Its usage is slightly different on the other side of the strait. I would say the use of heigui can often be considered as uncouth rather than intentionally offensive. This is not to say that the Chinese aren’t racist, because in general, anyone other than east Asians or whites are looked down upon to various degrees.
Try this exercise mental exercise. Imagine going to your neighbour and showing him two words – nigger and noose. Ask him if he can make a connection between these two. Imagine doing the same with a FOB Chinese dude using the words heigui and jiao3suo3 (絞索) and see if he can make the same connection as your neighbour. The FOB Chinese dude would probably miss the cultural reference and thus, miss all the loaded cultural baggage that goes along with the word nigger. That’s why nigger isn’t a good translation for heigui.
When heigui is used to offend or degrade, I think it is better translated as “darky” – still rude and offensive, but no where close to nigger.
In the world of Don Imus, these folks are to be properly referred to as “nappy-headed Mackerel Snappers”.
Inneresting. Fei1 chang2 off topic, but when has hei1 gui3 ever been used in Taiwan to describe a black person? I have never heard that term, only hei1 ren2. I just asked a Taiwanese person and he told me he’s never heard hei1 gui3 used here.
In HK and amongst Cantonese speakers I hear hak guai all the time, but never amongst Taiwanese Mandarin speakers. Maybe amongst Mandarin speakers in China then?
[quote=“gao_bo_han”]Hmm…very odd. 
When a classmate asked our teacher -a native Mandarin speaker from Taiwan- he was adamant that “hei gui” was extremely rude and should never be used. He specifically said that it translates to the n-word, and that we should only use “hei ren” when referring to black people. I can’t imagine he had any incentive to mislead us on the term. Perhaps he thinks even the colloquial use is offensive and didn’t want us to get started using it.[/quote]
Oh, he’s right that it’s rude. Nobody here is disagreeing with your teacher. And semantically, it is the same. But what the other posters here are saying is that it is not as strong.
On the other hand, just because some people will use the term in a neutral way doesn’t mean the term is neutral. There are and have been people who use the n-word without any racist intent, and without feeling it means anything. It’s still a racist term.
The question is whether or not “Black Devil/Ghost Oil” is meant to refer to that, or to dark spirits that mess with your health. It’s not that I don’t believe Chinese are that racist, it’s that I think the other interpretation makes more sense in this case.
Like, if there was an “English Bitch” oil sold at a veterinarian shop, I’d seriously think it meant dogs.
I think Mandarin borrowed heigui from Cantonese but it’s not all that widespread. Heiren and laohei are far more common terms. You’ll see heigui used more in southern China (i.e. Guangdong, no surprise there) than up north.
[quote=“914”]Inneresting. Fei1 chang2 off topic, but when has hei1 gui3 ever been used in Taiwan to describe a black person? I have never heard that term, only hei1 ren2. I just asked a Taiwanese person and he told me he’s never heard hei1 gui3 used here.
In HK and amongst Cantonese speakers I hear hak guai all the time, but never amongst Taiwanese Mandarin speakers. Maybe amongst Mandarin speakers in China then?[/quote]
I’ve heard it used to a friend of mine of mixed South Asian/Latin American heritage, and since the speaker was throwing a punch at him at the time I assume it was derogatory.
Anyway, I hope that truck-driver doesn’t try to welsh out of paying for the damages.
[quote=“Gao Bohan”]Hmm…very odd.
When a classmate asked our teacher -a native Mandarin speaker from Taiwan- he was adamant that “hei gui” was extremely rude and should never be used. He specifically said that it translates to the n-word, and that we should only use “hei ren” when referring to black people. I can’t imagine he had any incentive to mislead us on the term. Perhaps he thinks even the colloquial use is offensive and didn’t want us to get started using it.[/quote]
Or he culda been a super PC teacher.
How many native English teachers teach something wrong? ONE single mando teacher is not the end all source of the nuances of the language. Ask around and get a few opinions.
I have no idea, nor am making any claims, but with the contrary evidence already presented here, might be worth getting a few different opinions.
Too bad they don’t have this law in the states. I could drag all the Amish people into court for calling me (and everyone else) English. Who knew they were such racists?