Abbreviated National Names

[Bullgrit]

From another thread here in Meta:

Hey, the Japanese haven't been "the Japs" since WWII ended .

Many years ago, I was a part of an online WWII air combat simulator game community.

I got chastised once for using the abbreviated form of "Japanese" in a post. The context was nothing negative at all; I was just using an abbreviation. The same way I and many others in the forum used "Brits," "Yanks," and even "Germs." Oh, and "Sovs" for Soviet Russians. Heck, some folks even used "Limeys," "Krauts," and "Ruskies." (I don't remember right now if there was a nickname for the Americans in general.)

No one ever expressed a problem with any of the abbreviated and/or nicknames for the other nationalities, but shortening "Japanese" was considered offensive. At one point, the movie Midway even edited out the shortened term because it was considered offensive.

Now, I'm not making a rant or stand against political correctness, here. I'm bringing this up to ask -- because I know we have some ENWorlders from or living in Asia/Japan now -- is the abbreviated form of "Japanese" really/still considered offensive? And why? Is there something basically offensive about abbreviation in Asian/Japanese culture?

I was told many years ago that some [Asian] Indians take on "American" names, (like John or Mary), instead of using shortened versions of their given name because abbreviating someone's name was impolite. Maybe the abbreviation of "Japanese" is something similar?

Bullgrit

 

[Relique du Madde]

(I don't remember right now if there was a nickname for the Americans in general.)

Yanks and Yankees that's pretty much it.


Beyond that I think it is a thing about pride. That is, if you use the short hand yourself then it is ok.

As for Japan and the Japanese.. well the real name of the country is Nihon/Nippon (basically means the land of the rising sun), the Japanese people however are the Nihonjin (people of the land of the rising sun). Unfortunately, we know what happens when you short hand Nippon

 

[Relique du Madde]

Grr... I lost my edit.

LTDR; verison..

Japan is actually Nihon/Nippon. Japanese are actually Nihonjin. Shorting it to a three letter word becomes an insult.

Yankees was an insult (basically meant Dutch, "little boy," pirate, etc. ymmv) the Revolutionary Continental Army appropriated it. (We took it back, and then some!)
Limeys were British Navy soldiers who traveled the world with limes to prevent scurvy.
Russkie actually is a transliteration of Русский (which means "Russian" in Russian).
Krauts... came from German sausage (circa 1700s) and might still get you punched in the face.

 

[Bullgrit]

The same way I and many others in the forum used "Brits," "Yanks," and even "Germs." Oh, and "Sovs" for Soviet Russians. Heck, some folks even used "Limeys," "Krauts," and "Ruskies." (I don't remember right now if there was a nickname for the Americans in general.)

Actually, I just remembered: "Amis" was the short for "Americans," and, (like Relique said), "Yanks" was the nickname.

Bullgrit

 

[Relique du Madde]

Never heard of that one.

 

[Bullgrit]

Ami (singular), Amis (plural), I think, if I'm remembering correctly, was how some German soldiers referred to the Americans. I may be completely misremembering the source of the term.

Edit: Found a reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_German_military_terms
Ami — German slang for an American soldier.

Bullgrit

 

[ahayford]

I have a feeling it has to do more with the connotation in which it was used. Propaganda against the Japanese in WWII depicted these people as backward savages...much more so then anything used to depict Germans "Huns". The term "Jap" carries a much more racist stigma, similar to the dreaded n-word, then many of those other abbreviations.

And to quite South Park's N-word episode...you don't have to get it. In fact, you can't and won't. But if someone from that nationality finds a term offensive, the polite person would refrain from using it.

Stan Gets It? (Season 11, Episode 1) - Video Clips - South Park Studios

Jump to 45 seconds.

 

[Kaodi]

One should never attempt to derive the objectionability of a nickname from its direct resemblence to the proper name. Consider the worse forms of Negro (now itself rightly considered derogatory), Chinese, and Pakistani, and all of a sudden the objectionability of shortening Japanese might make a lot more sense.

 

[Janx]

in the context of the quote, as it referred to an article about the japanese disregarding legos because they don't like to mix education and toy together, the point was that they were being foolish, given other nations success.

it was hardly about japanese actually being unintelligent.

 

[Fast Learner]

When I was a kid growing up in rural Kansas both "kraut" and "jerry" were indeed considered offensive by German-descended American WWII vets and their families in the area. Even "jerry-rigged" was insulting (no need to bring up jury-rigged, I know).

Of course, they had a severe double-standard since they'd use "jap", "spick", "kike", and the n-word with gleeful abandon. And "n-word rigged" was just fine.

FWIW I'm of the firm belief that if a group of people find a certain name or term offensive then it is offensive, regardless of what outsiders think.