Use of the word 'Jap' - is it offensive?

That's great groink, that what i would have said, if my english was better.

When I was first learning Japanese at uni in Australia, I would always just say "Oh I've got Jap at 3:30 today" and "I'm learning Jap" etc. and I never thought anything of it. I always just thought 1) It's just shorter than saying Japanese and 2) how could anyone suspect me of being racist if I'm so enthusiastic about the language, the culture, the country in general etc.

...But now that I live in Japan, I understand that even though it is shorter to say, to people here it IS considered an insult. Even though I wouldn't mean it in a derogatory way, it would still be taken that way, regardless of what I think. So that word's definately out now and I don't say it anymore. (Plus I never say it in English anyway, hehe. "Nihongo" and "Japanese" are both 3 syllables but for some reason it feels like so much more of a tongue twister to say it in English. Something about that word makes me tired in English. The word "Nihongo" just seems to flow. Now if only I could make all Japanese words flow like that :) )

Yes, and that concludes my long-winded, over-inflated opinion. :woot:

Welcome to the boards!
I don't mean to be step forward on the wrong foot here, but what does your username mean?
Because all I see is "Jap-Golly". Please inform me if I'm misreading it.
Enjoy your stay at Jdorama.com!

I am a person of Japanese descent, and personally I believe "jap" should never be used in any context. If someone says something along the lines of "Oh! I have jap next!" to me it feels like that person is saying "I have the language the japs speak next" instead of "I have japanese class next." If "japanese" is to long to say, then just say "j-" as in "j-class". It's two letters shorter than jap anyways! The point is, this term arose from a time filled with hate. Since we are beyond those times now there is no need for us to drag ourselves back only to feel the pain of racism once again. So, I beg everyone to make a small effort to avoid derogitory terms like jap :fingerscrossed: . If everyone does, then we are one step closer to abolishing racism all together. :victory:

e.....
:crazy:

kaotsun wrote:e.....
:crazy:
i think there's nothing bad calling them 'jap'
as the country itself has the shortened name 'jap'(like on the keyboard)
so,
if there's someone who wouldn't like japanese and call them jap i don't think they would even come in to this site, so
just take it easy! everyone here is a /japanese' lover right??!??

You really don't get it do you? It's not good to say it because it's racist. Read the post above you. If a Japanese descent does not feel comfortable with this that It's impolite. Just be more considerate with this issue.

kaotsun wrote:e.....
:crazy:
i think there's nothing bad calling them 'jap'
as the country itself has the shortened name 'jap'(like on the keyboard)
so,
if there's someone who wouldn't like japanese and call them jap i don't think they would even come in to this site, so
just take it easy! everyone here is a /japanese' lover right??!??

we're all japanese lovers otherwise we wouldnt be here but is it really hard to type out japanese?? if u have the power to type out "muthaf*cker" then u can! like that one person said just say it with a "j" ie. j-class, jrock, jpop..etc. get my drift?? sheez

sorry for my rudeness, its just that people dont even bother checking the sources first than posting like whatevers.. this thread has been discussed and understood by many others in the previous posts then outta the blue someone brings it up acting dumb (not that im calling u dumb.. just people in general)

i remember someone called my friends and i chinks @ mcdonalds and we're not even chinese.. i still get mad at that, pretty funny my eyes arent even chinky =T imagine if i were really chinese?? id be bustin out my chopsticks and poke their eyes out.. whether you think its rascist or not its still an insult to someone u wouldnt even expect.. it could be your mother or friends, WHOEVER just cuz someone thinks its not bad doesnt mean the world thinks like u? ha..

kaotsun wrote:e.....
:crazy:
i think there's nothing bad calling them 'jap'
as the country itself has the shortened name 'jap'(like on the keyboard)
so,
if there's someone who wouldn't like japanese and call them jap i don't think they would even come in to this site, so
just take it easy! everyone here is a /japanese' lover right??!??

Have you read EVERY post in this thread? If you did, I don't believe you'd post something like this.
Ignorance is one thing, replying after reading the last post in a 13 page thread (assuming what you think the whole conversation is about) is another. (Because this is a sensitive subject, you should do your research first before you post opposing opinions)

Read ALL the posts, then reply with your input. If you have already, and you still said such, then you have absolutely no idea what's going on or what you're talking about.

kaotsun wrote:e.....

:crazy:
i think there's nothing bad calling them 'jap'
as the country itself has the shortened name 'jap'(like on the keyboard)
so,
if there's someone who wouldn't like japanese and call them jap i don't think they would even come in to this site, so
just take it easy! everyone here is a /japanese' lover right??!??

Simply put, to you its nothing wrong. But to others of Japanese descent or those who understand the underlying meanings, its an insult. And now you know about it, it would be of basic courtesy to refrain from using it anymore.

If something seems insulting to you but another person thinks its not and uses it very frequently without regard of your stand, you wouldn't like it too would u?

In any case, short forms for Japan or Japanese usually occur in J-??? or JPN or JP. Rarely represented by "JAP" actually.

To the rest: Lets not get too uptight :beaten:

kaotsun wrote:e.....
:crazy:
i think there's nothing bad calling them 'jap'
as the country itself has the shortened name 'jap'(like on the keyboard)
so,
if there's someone who wouldn't like japanese and call them jap i don't think they would even come in to this site, so
just take it easy! everyone here is a /japanese' lover right??!??

Gee, since you think there's nothing wrong, I guess it's okay. :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead:

bmwracer wrote:Gee, since you think there's nothing wrong, I guess it's okay. :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead: :shakehead:

BTW, my $h_t don't stink, either. Really. *pause* hahahahaha!

niko2x wrote:BTW, my $h_t don't stink, either. Really. *pause* hahahahaha!

:lol: :lol:

Well if you say so, it must be true!! :applaud: :woot: :dancing:

Genma wrote:

To the rest: Lets not get too uptight :beaten:

Aye..aye..sir.

Well, Kaotsun is just an ignorant little girl I guess..jeez...but I've told her about this before.. :beatyou:

oh my god...

and

kaotsun wrote:oh my god...
i don't understand what you guys want from a 14 yearsold girl like me
now i don't think i'm old enough to be in this thing
thank you for giving me such feeling

Dooiu koto? :crazy:

Nobody wants anything from you girl. We just want to point out that what you said was not right, that's all.
Giving you such feeling? eh?...I'm lost here.. :beaten:

still, since i always think different from you guys

WTF? :crazy: Whatever..Girl!!

having different opinion is ok but being ignorant is totally unexcuseable especially regarding a sensitive issue like this. What you say is totally ignorant..*sigh* ..so yeah..it's best that you stop ranting about this.

here's a quote by Langston Hughes. although it only speaks of the n-word, it is true about every racial epithet there is.


"The word nigger to colored people of high and low degree is like a red rag to a bull. Used rightly or wrongly, ironically or seriously, of necessity for the sake or realism, or impishly for the sake of comedy [,] it doesn't matter. Negroes do not like it in any book or play whatsoever, be the book or play every ever so sympathetic in its treatment of the basic problems of the race. The word nigger, you see, sums up for us who are colored all the bitter years of insult and struggle in America."


if any one has read the book Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain, you would see a barrage of the use of the n-word. But the content of the word is essential to understanding the language of southern whites in America. It's disappointing to see some black parents not fully understand the book's content and its reasons for the use of the n-word, but it is clear that they are offended, even though Huck Finn is considered a classic. I personally enjoy the book and find it entertaining and understand the reasons for Mark Twain's use of the n-word is to show the growth and mental foundation ff the main character, Huck Finn.

Now I listen to songs where I hear the n-word and listen to people like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle and laugh because it's funny. But both of them make it clear to the people, that their act is only for comedy and that no one should use racial epithets.

kaotsun wrote:
i've been taught that we should be brave to think, and brave to say it out loud

kaotsun...what Thai schools teach you is great...I personally love how your teachers do that....but what you fail to realize is that you gotta chew your words before you spit em out....sure...it's brave to say it out loud but it's also foolish to speak without thinking