DUers from England: I have a question about language!

[bbernardini]

Tell me, is "Japs" a commonly used English term to refer to people from Japan? Or is it considered ignorant in England as well?

[Jamastiene]

1. Interesting question.

I'm not qualified to answer, but it's amazing to me that there is a place in America where it is considered ignorant to say "Japs." Where I live, everyone from my stepdad to my teachers use that term and I'm considered wrong for not saying it. I'd be interested in the answer on this one. That term is one of my pet peeves.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. "Japs" is definitely not the best term to use

It's not necessarily a racist term, like limey or wop or what-have-you, since it's just a shortened form of "Japanese", but still, one should not use it.

[yvr girl]

5. Limey is racist?

It's not a term I hear very often, but I thought it was derived from the time sailors ate limes to prevent scurvy.

[billyskank]

6. That is its origin

I don't consider "limey" offensive of itself, although sometimes some Americans definitely say it offensively. The sentiment behind the word is what matters.

[CTyankee]

21. Is "Brit" okay? I've used it affectionately.

Hope I didn't offend.

[billyskank]

23. Oh my no, "Brit" is fine

I can't imagine anybody being offended by that, unless it was preceded by the word "fucking" and followed with the word "assholes." ;)

:hi:

[CTyankee]

26. No, tisn't by me! I love the Brits.

[Captain Hilts]

27. I tell folks I come from a bunch of Limeys. First generation.

I don't think it's a perjorative.

Somehow, 'Brits' seems a bit curt.

'Tommys' refer to military folks...

'Britons' seems stilted.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Perhaps not as racist as the French's use of the term "les fuckoffs"

to talk about the British, but still, one should use proper terms.

Whether limey is racist depends on the feelings of the one being called a limey - I believe some british don't mind at all, some do.

[billyskank]

9. The French love us really

Well, okay, maybe they don't. :D

[T_i_B]

10. "les fuckoffs"

I prefer "Les Rosbif's" personally. Still, Les fuckoffs is quite a good description of some of us sadly. :-(

[tjwmason]

17. I think that it's the ultimate American insult.

Attacking somebody for not wanting to catch scurvy. ;)

I don't mind it, I use it myself sometimes when talking with Americans as gently self-deprecating humour.

[SKKY]

12. I KNOW YOU DIDN'T JUST CALL ME A LIMEY!!??

AWW HELL NO!!!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

16. And then there's the other meaning for Jap.

Jewish American Princess. That's a pretty common thing to hear by me.

[Jamastiene]

18. Here, they just say damnJews as one word

when blaming Jewish people for getting shortchanged 3 cents at the grocery store. I don't know why they say it as one word like that. I also don't know why they blame Jews for so much. It makes no sense.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

19. Actually, it's far from anti-Semitic here.

It's mostly Jewish. It's most commonly heard from one Jewish person referring to a spoiled Jewish person. My family's Catholic and I've been to more events at the synogoge than I have at our Church.

[Kickin_Donkey]

32. I shudder at the thought that so many Americans ...

consider it OK to use the word "jap" when referring to Japanese people. You are correct in NOT saying. Do your stepfather and teachers use the word "nigger"?

Because "jap" is a vicious racial slur equivalent to the N-word. And I would know, because I'm a third-generation American of Japanese descent living in California.

[T_i_B]

2. Japs is commonly used over here

It's not as bad as "nips" though.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Which is kind of funny, because really, "nips" should be the better

term, since the Japanese call their country "Nippon" and the people are "Nipponese", it's actually less racist to use the word "Nips" than "Japs" I should think; at least "Nips" is using their own name for themselves.

And how did "Nippon" ever turn into "Japan" in the English language, anyway?

[Richardo]

8. Probably the same committee that turned 'Suomi' into 'Finland'

:shrug:

[warrens]

11. Well, if there weren't all those finns there

We wouldn't call it Finland. Just like if there weren't all those Japs there, we wouldn't call it Japan.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. It comes from the Chinese name for Japan and was popularized by

Marco Polo.

The Mandarin Chinese name for Japan uses the same characters, but is pronounced "rrr-b'n." (Learning to say that buzzing "r" syllable is one of the challenges of learning Beijing pronunciation.)

In Marco Polo's day, the first syllable was prounced "zh." Earlier, it was "nzhit," and before that, "nyit," which is the point at which Japan first borrowed that kanji, and with their usual creative phonology, pronounced it "niti," which became "nichi." Japan borrowed the kanji again during a period when a lot of Buddhist monks were going to southern China (which retains more features of Old Chinese) to study, so they got the pronunciation with "nzhit," which is why the "nichi" kanji can also be read "jitsu," as in "honjitsu" (a fancy way of saying "kyou," "today").

See, I knew that that course in Chinese Historical Phonology that I took in graduate school would come in handy some day. :-)

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. Thanks!

I should have known I could count on you to fill me in!

The history of the movement of language and writing in that area of Asia I find absolutely fascinating.

[GoneOffShore]

24. As in the old joke

"there was a nip in the air this morning, but I think we got him.'

Hooray, les rosbifs!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. BTW, I think "Japs" is considered offensive because it was the

commonly used term in all the propaganda during WWII.

I once saw an excerpt from a wartime Life Magazine article titled, "How to Tell Your Friends the Chinese from Your Enemies the Japs."

It had such things as Chinese looking friendly and open while "Japs" looked cold-hearted and sneaky, :puke:

[Captain Hilts]

28. Again, 'Nips' does not have a perjorative root at all. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. But it was used pejoratively in World War II as well

:shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

31. Yes, it was. And yes, FDR WAS afraid to offend swing voters...

that's why he wouldn't come out in favor of the Anti-lynching bill.

Our boy let us down there. This, despite 75% of those polled favoring the bill...

[tjwmason]

15. More common among the older generation.

Than younger.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

20. It's considered quite ignorant here

I hear it said mostly from those who have memories of World War Two.

[querelle]

22. Here In Canada........

One rarely hears Japs used as a slur against the Japanese. As Haruka mentioned above, it most often refers to Jewish American Princesses. But we do have some uniquely Canadian linguistic slurs between the French and English. I am French, so I'll go first:

tête carrée - square head (blockhead english person)
maudit anglais - goddamned English
l'anglais foutu - fucking English

An here's what the English call us:

frog - of course
Jos Louis - this one is tough. A Jos Louis is a small cake similar to a chocolate twinkie that is unaccountably popular in French speaking regions therefore the English call us this (?!!) As in "You were dragged up on Jos Louis and Pepsi".
Queerbecers - speaks for itself.......

Q

As an aside, I have never heard a Canadian, French or English, say "eh". Hoser and Canuck are never heard here in our popular lexicon. Those words were pure inventions of Bob & Doug MacKenzie of SCTV fame. Just so you know.........

[Captain Hilts]

29. 'Canuck' was used to refer to Canadians living in the US.

In the '72 campaign, Nixon's folks called up people in Maine and said that "Muskie laughs at Canuck jokes."

[wildhorses]

33. whenever I have heard the term, lately and not at ALL often

it has been used in reference to a Jewish Amercian Princess
and then there is its counterpart BAP=Black American Princess


for what its worth


I have not heard the term Japs as in reference to a Japanese in like, forever:shrug: