[quote=“formosa”]Neo has a point, and basically, we shouldn’t be using the term Japs here. But in the UK and NZ and Oz, it is acceptable, I am told from my friends there. In the USA and Janada, it’ s a no no. Let’s let the moderators decide.
It is NEVer used in newspapers anymore, so I think it is wrong to use it here, among us civillized forumosans. However, since in the UK, it carries no more meaning than BRits does for British people, let the mods decide for us here. I vote no JAP or JAPS on these threads, but I am open to other opinions. Also NIPS no. Just call them Japanese. It’s easy.[/quote]
I wasn’t aware that the term “Jap” is considered ok in other English speaking countries. I was brought up to treat it as a definite no no in the US. Perhaps there’s a greater sensitivity here from Japanese Americans because of the internment of hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese-American civilians in camps in the US during WWII because they were considered potentially traitorous and unpatriotic, unlike Caucasians of European background like Italian-Americans and German-Americans. So there are probably greater historical sensitivities in the US.
[quote=“mod lang”]On another forum a poster who was a Pakistani was complaining about having his postings on the Guardian forum deleted because he used the word “Paki”. He tried to argue that only in the U.K. was “Paki” an offensive term, because in Pakistan it was a commonly used shortenization that Pakis themselves used. He also pointed out that along the same lines, the word “Polak” while offensive in America, wasn’t offensive in Poland - because “Polak” is simply the Polish word for “Polish person”; it’s what Polaks call themselves.
Also, “Orient” is the Latin word for “East”, while “Asia” is the Greek word for “East”. Yet by contemporary American politically correct logistics, one word is offensive while the other is the accepted term.
Recommendation: look up the word “arbitrary” in a dictionary sometime.[/quote]
I didn’t know that some of the other terms mentioned in this thread are potentially sensitive terms in certain countries. Now that I do, I’ll probably refrain from using them. To the point that ethnic terms go in and out of fashion and may be interpreted differently by different users, I don’t find that surprising. Words have different meaning to different people in different contexts. “Ni**er” is assumed to have negative meaning when it comes from a white person’s mouth, whereas it seems like the meaning is not interpreted as negatively when spoken by a black person, it’s taken more in jest when coming from a black person. The fact that “Paki” is interpreted neutrally among Pakistanis in their home country but negatively in Britain could probably be explained by the same reason.
Words have meaning, often multiple meanings. For example, the word love spoken in one context has grat romantic import, in another context it is a point score for a tennis game. Meanings are different to different people in different contexts, which is no great linguistic revelation. These meanings also change over time, again no great linguistic revelation. Why should this be any different with potentially offensive words that describe race? Words, depending on the speaker, the listener, the context, and the current usage of the times, have different meanings, and hence different levels of offensiveness.
It’s easy to be non-offensive. Just don’t use potentially ambiguous usages. I’m sure most of us consider ourselves civilized and non-racist. Using ambiguous words only lets people misinterpret your meaning and make them think you’re something you’re not.
My response as an American who has never lived in another English speaking country: I’m not sure if I want to get on the piss with you. I’m hetero. Whatever it is, it sounds kind of gross…and why would I want to do it with you?