|
Post by wheekwheek on Feb 15, 2004 10:08:29 GMT 7
This is going OT but anyway, sometimes ppl tend to misunderstand certain words. Jap is simply how some ppl shortform it 'cos Japanese is a rather long word. Its not meant to be racist or anything.
I'm sure many of you will say calling an Indian "ah neh" is racist. Well guess wat, "ah neh" means brother in Tamil. I've confirmed it with 2 Indian friends already. There is nothing racist with the word "ah neh" however some ppl choose to use it in a racist way & that's when it becomes racist.
Similarly, I for one don't consider "Jap" a racist or bad word. It depends on how the person uses it. If he says "I hate bloody Japs" then it can be taken as a racist or bad word. But if he says "Jap cars are not bad", I doubt there is any racist or negative inclinations.
|
|
|
Post by piggywiggymel on Feb 15, 2004 20:52:14 GMT 7
Haha.. maybe the word 'jap' does mean a vulgarity or something in Japanese. I guess zhuzhu's telling me that to prevent me from offending any japanese person i might meet in the future. haha..i had no idea 'ah neh' actually meant brother in tamil. But back to the topic..does anyone use japanese pet products?
|
|
|
Post by wheekwheek on Feb 16, 2004 12:49:31 GMT 7
Haha.. maybe the word 'jap' does mean a vulgarity or something in Japanese. I guess zhuzhu's telling me that to prevent me from offending any japanese person i might meet in the future. haha..i had no idea 'ah neh' actually meant brother in tamil. But back to the topic..does anyone use japanese pet products? Jap is definitely not a vulgar word 'cos first of all its an English word & doesn't even exist in the Japanese vocabulary! I don't use any products that do not have English words 'cos I don't know what's in them.
|
|
|
Post by Spin on Feb 16, 2004 16:50:50 GMT 7
so far have not use any japanses products cos i dunno wad the packaging reads....
|
|
|
Post by zhuzhu07 on Feb 17, 2004 11:44:54 GMT 7
Jap is definitely not a vulgar word 'cos first of all its an English word & doesn't even exist in the Japanese vocabulary! I don't use any products that do not have English words 'cos I don't know what's in them. it's not a vulagrity but it's an insult to the japanese.. it's like nigger.. know what i mean..
|
|
|
Post by piggywiggymel on Feb 17, 2004 16:12:45 GMT 7
Ahhh yes.. I see! sighz..sometimes people are too sensitive... they don't even realize it's just a short form.. like how some americans call chinese 'chinks' or something..but i think that's really insulting and racist..though i feel 'jap' is..
|
|
|
Post by zhuzhu07 on Feb 17, 2004 17:51:01 GMT 7
Ahhh yes.. I see! sighz..sometimes people are too sensitive... they don't even realize it's just a short form.. like how some americans call chinese 'chinks' or something..but i think that's really insulting and racist..though i feel 'jap' is.. well i guess we have to respect pple's culture.. we wudn't wan pple calling us chinks u noe??
|
|
|
Post by piggywiggymel on Feb 17, 2004 18:48:33 GMT 7
Wellz..we can't help it if we're in a foreign country and people call us chinks, right? So dun care lor..aha
|
|
|
Post by wheekwheek on Feb 17, 2004 20:55:34 GMT 7
Ahhh yes.. I see! sighz..sometimes people are too sensitive... they don't even realize it's just a short form.. like how some americans call chinese 'chinks' or something..but i think that's really insulting and racist..though i feel 'jap' is.. Its actually very different. "Chink" is NOT shortform for Chinese. Its a racist term. Similarly "n-igger" is not shortform for Afro Americans, its racist. "Jap" however is a shortform for Japanese. BTW I had to spell it as "n-igger" 'cos the forum's auto censor deleted the word. But some view it as racist. Just as how some think "ah neh" is racist when it means "brother" in Tamil. And like how some ppl think calling a Sikh "bayee" is racist. FYI, "bayee" also means "brother" in the Sikh language. Problem is some ppl abuse the words "ah neh" and "bayee" to the extent that they end up being perceived as racist terms by some ppl, when in actual fact they are not. Same goes for "Jap". Its not racist but you probably have some ppl using it in the racist context & as a result, some ppl perceive it as racist. Comparing "Jap" to "Chink" & "n-igger" is out of context 'cos unlike the latter 2 which are clearly racist terms, "Jap" is not meant to be racist just like "ah neh" and "bayee" are not meant to be racist. Also, you must see the context in which these words are used. If you see an Indian & shout "ah neh, come here" or "ask that bloody ah neh to see me" then it used in a racist context. But if you see an Indian friend & say "Ah neh, long time no see, how are you", that's fine. Similarly if you crack that stupid "bayee what colour" joke, its being racist. But if you greet a Sikh friend with "Eh bayee, how's your exam man" then its fine. As for Jap, saying something like "I hate Japs" would constitute a racist remark, but a statement like "I don't buy Jap brand products" certainly isn't. HOWEVER, no matter how you use "chink" and "n-igger" they remain racist words. I think there's a need to differentiate these issues.
|
|
|
Post by zhuzhu07 on Feb 18, 2004 19:58:37 GMT 7
Its actually very different. "Chink" is NOT shortform for Chinese. Its a racist term. Similarly "n-igger" is not shortform for Afro Americans, its racist. "Jap" however is a shortform for Japanese. BTW I had to spell it as "n-igger" 'cos the forum's auto censor deleted the word. But some view it as racist. Just as how some think "ah neh" is racist when it means "brother" in Tamil. And like how some ppl think calling a Sikh "bayee" is racist. FYI, "bayee" also means "brother" in the Sikh language. Problem is some ppl abuse the words "ah neh" and "bayee" to the extent that they end up being perceived as racist terms by some ppl, when in actual fact they are not. Same goes for "Jap". Its not racist but you probably have some ppl using it in the racist context & as a result, some ppl perceive it as racist. Comparing "Jap" to "Chink" & "n-igger" is out of context 'cos unlike the latter 2 which are clearly racist terms, "Jap" is not meant to be racist just like "ah neh" and "bayee" are not meant to be racist. Also, you must see the context in which these words are used. If you see an Indian & shout "ah neh, come here" or "ask that bloody ah neh to see me" then it used in a racist context. But if you see an Indian friend & say "Ah neh, long time no see, how are you", that's fine. Similarly if you crack that stupid "bayee what colour" joke, its being racist. But if you greet a Sikh friend with "Eh bayee, how's your exam man" then its fine. As for Jap, saying something like "I hate Japs" would constitute a racist remark, but a statement like "I don't buy Jap brand products" certainly isn't. HOWEVER, no matter how you use "chink" and "n-igger" they remain racist words. I think there's a need to differentiate these issues. well wheekwheek, this info is from a few of my japanese frens. I'm quite close to them.. anyway my auntie is married to a japanese n lives there, so this info shld be accurate. it's not a short form word to them, it's sort of a racist word to them. yes, short form to us but not to them. sometimes they dun reli care cos they assume tt we dun know. but if u know then still say 'jap' to them, u can bet they'll be angry at u.. well, i guess in singapore context, we like short form but pls dun say tt to a japanese lor.. just my advise. no offence.
|
|
|
Post by piggywiggymel on Feb 18, 2004 20:01:05 GMT 7
Haha..thanks..i shall remember not to ever say that to a japanese!
|
|
|
Post by clover on Feb 19, 2004 17:09:17 GMT 7
Umm, I actually thought that the words 'jap' and 'chee-na' became racist terms during the world war. That's why japanese and chinese are sensitive to these words. The younger generation didn't live thru that time, so we are not sensitive to these terms. However, some pp may be aware of the use of 'jap' and 'chee-na' during the war, and understand that it is actually insulting.
|
|
|
Post by wheekwheek on Feb 19, 2004 19:38:57 GMT 7
Umm, I actually thought that the words 'jap' and 'chee-na' became racist terms during the world war. That's why japanese and chinese are sensitive to these words. The younger generation didn't live thru that time, so we are not sensitive to these terms. However, some pp may be aware of the use of 'jap' and 'chee-na' during the war, and understand that it is actually insulting. The Malay word "cina" (pronounced "cheena" simply means Chinese. But some ppl use the word "cheena" in a racist way like "her hairstyle very cheena". Classic case of a non racist word becoming racist due to some jokers.
|
|
|
Post by zhuzhu07 on Feb 21, 2004 8:26:08 GMT 7
Umm, I actually thought that the words 'jap' and 'chee-na' became racist terms during the world war. That's why japanese and chinese are sensitive to these words. The younger generation didn't live thru that time, so we are not sensitive to these terms. However, some pp may be aware of the use of 'jap' and 'chee-na' during the war, and understand that it is actually insulting. well i guess the natives from the countries will know best. anyway, one of my japanese fren who got offended in oni 20, so dun think oni the older gen is sensitive. i guess tis is not a topic to be discussed.. since diff pple has diff views.
|
|
|
Post by piggywiggymel on Feb 21, 2004 12:51:58 GMT 7
Haha..anyway..back to the topic of japanese products.. the person at Petz Stuff recommended some japanese water bottle (it MIGHT be minimal or wild) which cost like 20 bucks... she said it was the best one where you can really see the bubbles etc... is it REALLY that good?! or are they just looking to rip you off?
|
|