How racial slurs/offensive language are seen elsewhere in the world

[Alba]

I don't know if we really curse that much more than you anglophone guys... I don't know how you speak in public, but on your internet comments you're always f*ck this, sh*t that... it's just that us itlins have a greater variety and we like to show it off, with all that history of great poets we have

That's true. Those two words are inserted every half word I hear in english, watching movies, tv series, speaking in public or internet comments.

 

[Alex D]

The hardest part I think is that for many of us the English language is not our native language, so we express things in a different way and also understand a sentence different than it was originally meant.

If you watch the forum closely, a lot of discussions are only because of miss understandings. It can happen that a user writes something and someone else believes it was rude or that it was said to discredit him / her. These type of things are a big problem I think, if I say big then because they can lead to hefty debates.

I had such a situation myself at GS, when I said that people shouldn't sell their tickets just because Yuna wouldn't come. While not saying anything rude or bad, Asians understood it as that (I believe it were Asians at least).

With social media we don't see each other either, so a wink or a smile can not be used to illustrate our words, as all we have are letters.

 

[MiRé]

I had this experience once. I was talking to my good Italian friend about Korea and its Cities, and when I started talking about Daegu (City of Korea), he got mad at me because he thought I said Diego/Dago to him. Apparently it's a very offensive word.

 

[Rissa]

I still think one should look things up. Even slang is easy to find a definition for these days.


How to find out about a slang word in English. Use the n word as an example.

In Google, type the n word definition and you get this from Google itself:




And the first link is this
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/******




Or use urbandictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Note that since people, some of them racists, will define the word differently, because that is how urban dictionary works. In fact all of the first 40 or so definitions are pretty nasty.

After you read them, you would be well aware that the word is contoversial, and not one you want to use in public...or private.


The first one is



Here's the fourteenth one


The sixteenth



And the 27th by someone who is probably serious, but may think he is funny



Note that Forrest was the first Grand Wizard of the KKK
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest

That's all great but... ESL people rarely look up a definition of an English word in English. They go to their native language dictionary and the quality of freely available online dictionaries varies, they might encounter the translation that explains the offensiffness or they might not. And they won't even go looking if they don't have a reason to suspect something's wrong with how they use it in the first place.

And by the way, I wouldn't trust urbandictionary much. That website is overrun by trolls who make up bull$hit definitions, often very offensive ones, or deliberately misleading, for kicks.

 

[silverfoxes]

I just had a flashback...I remember reading a bunch of angry comments on another site when Ashley Wagner said she felt "gypped" by skating judges, because the word comes from a negative stereotype of gypsies (and even the word "gypsy" is considered offensive by many, as is "zigeuner" in German, which was one I learned the hard way). I certainly don't think she should have been expected to know that - I didn't, until I saw the reactions...so it's not only non-native speakers that can unknowingly use words that might be offensive to some. Should she have checked a dictionary before she spoke?

 

[Rissa]

Should she have checked a dictionary before she spoke?

Very good question. My vote is no and people overreacted.

But wow, we have a similar word in my own language too. Fairly commonly used, nobody meaning it as a slur, but Roma people might definitely feel offended by it.

Food for thought.

 

[Alba]

I had this experience once. I was talking to my good Italian friend about Korea and its Cities, and when I started talking about Daegu (City of Korea), he got mad at me because he thought I said Diego/Dago to him. Apparently it's a very offensive word.

Diego is a name in italian.
The most interesting thing though is that thanks to your story I looked for the word Dago, and learned today, only, that apparently is a USA, Canads ethnic slur for a person of Italian or Spanish origins, and sometimes portuguese as well. It comes indeed from the name Diego, in italian sounds as Dègo.

Ha! I had no idea about it.
We call one of my friends Dago as abbreviation, because her last name is D'Agostino.

 

[adelia]

I just had a flashback...I remember reading a bunch of angry comments on another site when Ashley Wagner said she felt "gypped" by skating judges, because the word comes from a negative stereotype of gypsies (and even the word "gypsy" is considered offensive by many, as is "zigeuner" in German, which was one I learned the hard way). I certainly don't think she should have been expected to know that - I didn't, until I saw the reactions...so it's not only non-native speakers that can unknowingly use words that might be offensive to some. Should she have checked a dictionary before she spoke?

No need to check the dictionary. But it just reflects that she isn't very well-spoken or cautious in the way she speaks because the word is rather obviously a slang (regardless of whether one knows its negative origins or not) and probably not the most eloquent/appropriate word to use in a professional interview. But she's an athlete and these things happen so it would be quite far-fetched to conclude from just this incident alone that she is in any way racist.

 

[[email protected]]

I missed the beginning of this thread and do not know what Kovtun said. If he used the n word openly in English addressing to someone then it must be some intention to deliver some negative message. I am sure he should know that there is a taboo. On the other hand, in Russian there is the word which is read "negr" which is neutral and always been. "Black" and some derivatives can be treated as rude words, on the other hand. The history of the USA does not take a large share in school textbooks. Of course, we are taught that there were slavery and racism. But we are not taught that the n word is bad. So, if he used Russian, it could be OK but again I have no idea what happened.

The worst racist words in Russia are directed to the people living in the South (Georgia, Armenia) or South East (Uzbekistan, Turkmenia) same as the skinheads' hate. I would imagine that any foreigner who would openly address these people as "churki" cannot just pretend that his language skills are bad. It will be very offensive.

 

[Mrs. P]

I was thinking that in Korean, there's a word that sounds REALLY close to the n-word. So people often think Koreans are saying that word.

Rather they are saying the word "Niga"or 니가. The word means "you" and in that context used as a subject. Yet if you sound it out, it sounds like the n-word.

This is a good blog that explains this: http://roboseyo.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-did-that-korean-call-me-and-nigga.html

 

[el henry]

There are words that originally were based on ethnic slurs that English speakers no longer remember/consider as offensive ... not only "gypped", but also for example "to welsh on a bet". That comes from, you got it, someone's negative perception of the Welsh. But there is a boatload of difference between that and the n word, and a native English speaker who pretends otherwise is, well, pretending.

Of course all romance languages use variants of "niger", the Latin word for black. In the romance languages I know (as a non-native speaker of those languages), the negative context does not exist for these variants. There are other words for that.

Which leads me to my query, based on what samkrut said. In American schools, when I learned languages, we were in fact warned away from certain words. Not to use them. Told that they were insulting. This was in language classes, not history classes. I can't believe that American schools are the only ones teaching sensitivity to what may be slurs in other languages. Are they?

Also, thinking back on it, as a young pup, I learned certain not great words in Italian (probably Abruzzi dialect, considering where I learned them). I knew darned well they were not polite words. But in the arrogance and joy of learning curse words in youth, I thought it was cool to use them. Doesn't excuse it. And it wasn't ignorance. It was thinking I was cool. Which I wasn't.

 

[dorispulaski]

That is a good question, as to whether teachers vary in whether they tell you which words are offensive?

People perhaps find it easier to swear in languages other than their own, I think?

Back in the day, Mr. Ski played in a Quebec/US industrial hockey league. Profanity was screamed all the time; the Quebeckers used English profanity, the Americans Quebec slang profanity which 30 years ago included the French names for objects found in a church. All involved were well aware that these were insulting words. However, they were not aware of the relative depth of the insult.

In fact, more than one hockey fight started that way, due to not knowing that chalice is more insulting than tabernacle.

 

[alebi]

You don't need to be a native speaker to understand when a word is ok or offensive... Someone said in a previous post that these young Russians listen to 50 cents and then use some words to make a cooler impression but they should also know that 50 cents doesn't sing about flowers, butterflies and rainbow... And use these words everyday, completely out of contest is even more wrong... as well as rude. I can't stand it because it's the same with a "famous" Italian word widely used outside... always used as a cool word, when there's really nothing cool in using the word mafia.

 

[grantrf98]

I think the main question of this thread is "Is it a slur/offensive if you do not know what it means in other countries?"

Personally, I don't get offended if people assume I'm Chinese just because I'm Asian/Islander (because it happens so often), but I know people who do get offended because other people assume things. I know that's not profanity, but it's similar. I think it all comes down to the culture, understanding, and personality of the person who might or might not find it offensive. In my opinion, before someone gets offended by what seems to be offensive, they should conclude whether or not the intention of the comment was offensive.

For example, I did not know using the abbreviated form of the word "Japanese" was offensive, and should not be considered offensive if I used it unknowingly.
But I do know the n-word is offensive, and should be considered offensive if I ever dare to say that.

Racism is a huge problem in the United States, even going back to the time Columbus rediscovered America, and it's arguably worse now. So I know what I should and shouldn't say during conversations.

But again, it all depends on the person that is present...

 

[dorispulaski]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity

If you go to Quebec, here's a sample of what you need to know about rude words in Quebec French.

It is interesting reading, and has a bearing on this topic since none of the "sacres" are inherently rude in French. Using them is almost an art in Quebec.

 

[alebi]

As I said... if they are Russian and they use that word is obvious that they've learned it... And how have they learned it? Not from fables... but from harsh, rude, offensive songs/movies/contests... So.. are they stupid and unable to understand that these are harsh/rude/offensive words too? For me.. there are no excuses :disapp:

 

[Snow63]

There's Russian word 'Негр' (Negr), it is neutral and basically means 'Black man'. Everybody here in Russia use it, including our President. I use it. And it is NOT a slur, and it doesn't have any offensive context in it. NOt at all. This word existed before USA existed as independent coutry. It's even in Dahl's dictionary.
And what exactly Kovtun said? Where's direct quote? I haven't seen it, and it looks like most people here haven't also. But they're pretty quick to jump on bandwagon, aren't they?
I'm not saying he's innocent angel, no. He's a brat, and I know he used homophobic jocks on his social media. But I need to see what he said before making any judgement about his 'racist' behaviour.

And last, using the 'n' word, especially not knowing its history, and be a racist is not the same. Same goes to Engenia and Serafima. And I think some black people (someone may call them artists) should stop using 'n' word like they proud and happy to hear it about themselves.

 

[TMC]

In fact, more than one hockey fight started that way, due to not knowing that chalice is more insulting than tabernacle.

 

[Alba]

Which leads me to my query, based on what samkrut said. In American schools, when I learned languages, we were in fact warned away from certain words. Not to use them. Told that they were insulting. This was in language classes, not history classes. I can't believe that American schools are the only ones teaching sensitivity to what may be slurs in other languages. Are they?

Not in my days and not in my school. Although we were taught about slavery in the history class.
Now, I can't remember in the language class though. But I don't think so.

Also, thinking back on it, as a young pup, I learned certain not great words in Italian (probably Abruzzi dialect, considering where I learned them). I knew darned well they were not polite words. But in the arrogance and joy of learning curse words in youth, I thought it was cool to use them. Doesn't excuse it. And it wasn't ignorance. It was thinking I was cool. Which I wasn't.

That happens with all foreigners. The first words that local people will teach them are bad words.

 

[el henry]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity

If you go to Quebec, here's a sample of what you need to know about rude words in Quebec French.

It is interesting reading, and has a bearing on this topic since none of the "sacres" are inherently rude in French. Using them is almost an art in Quebec.

Thanks DorisPulaski and interesting to hear about Mr. Ski. Bad words in a foreign language always sound cool. And of course, French speakers from France would wonder what the big deal is. It makes me realize that the same sensitivity is needed for people "divided by a common language", like the Brits and the Americans. Words that are considered slurs in Britain would elicit "huh"? in America. Since we have no language classes, how would we learn about those?