Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 10 of 10 1 2 8 9 10
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
And so, whilst Asians such as Indians, Iranians or Kazakhs might not consider the term Oriental a slur of any sort, it is reasonable to expect that some annoyance will be generated by this generic clubbing of races and its use might even be misconstrued as a demonstration of disinterest in other cultures.

The same can be said for the term Hispanic. I feel it's, at least, improper, if not downright insulting to lump people as culturally diverse as Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, continental Spanish, Argentinians, Filipinos, etc., all under one term, and I try to avoid using it in favor of individual descriptives or "Latin." (i.e. "of Filipino descent", etc). Hispanic is like a generic hyphen without a hyphen. That's the problem with hyphenations, for instance, African-American...where does that leave the Egyptians, the South Africans, etc? Interestingly, we are good friends with a family from Nigeria, and they are very particular about stressing their Nigerian heritage and vehemently dislike and object to the term "African-American". The same with European-American...the Greeks, the Finnish, the Russians, the Portugese, the Swedes, the Irish, etc., are just too diverse to be generically indicated.





Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
don't forget "white".





formerly known as etaoin...
#90462 01/03/03 07:30 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
anyone?


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Curiously enough, Italians aren't blanketed into the the term Hispanic, though Italian men are often referred to as Latin Lovers. And, actually, the Italians and ancient Romans are the only true Latins, so how did Latin come to mean Spanish culture? Perhaps because Spanish is more directly derived from Latin than any other language except for Italian?...Faldage? emanuela?

And what is the differenece between Latin and Latino in describing Spanish-speaking people and culture?

Words?

You mean there are no words on this thread? What have I been reading?


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Sliding even further off topic: I read Phenomenal Woman, but instead of enjoying it, I was very uncomfortable all the way through it. I can't imagine...my goodness, how could anybody go around bragging on themselves like that? The concept is utterly foreign to me. No, no, no. I could never...

Back to words [gasp of relief]--is "stomacher" a word from former days? I can't see myself going up to someone and saying, "My dear, what a lovely stomacher; wherever did you get it?"


#90465 01/04/03 02:28 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296

Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
S
sjm Offline
old hand
Offline
old hand
S
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
>And so, whilst Asians such as Indians, Iranians or Kazakhs might not consider the term Oriental a slur of any sort, it is reasonable to expect that some annoyance will be generated by this generic clubbing of races and its use might even be misconstrued as a demonstration of disinterest in other cultures.


Surely the same could be said for "Asian" also. A person born and bred in Vladivostok is Asian, so is a Laotian, my Anglo-Indian father, and a sabra Israeli. In what way is "Asian" a less meaningless, potentially insulting "generic clubbing" than Oriental? I read somewhere that when Japan developed its concept of the "Great East Asian Co-operation Sphere", or whatever it called its 1930s imperial dream, it borrowed the word "Asian" from English, as the concept did not exist in Japanese.


Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
WW, the woman in the poem just walked around talking about how, er, phenomenal she is; naming off all the ways. Not for me! Eek. You can read it on the site, if you want.




Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555
M
addict
Offline
addict
M
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 555
I am sorry you didn't enjoy the poem, Jackie. To me, it reads as if the author starts out in a self consciously reassuring fashion and as the words roll on, the mood effortlessly segues into one that is confident and celebratory. In an environment that constantly floods us with utopian sterotypes of beauty and perfection and where eating disorders by association, are ever on the rise, this poem seems like a gentle yet firm reminder of all the glorious diversity of beauty in the form of creation. And thus echoed Herrick's words:
A sweet disorder......
....Do more bewitch me than when art
Is too precise in every part.

Thanks Jackie, for posting the poem; It was a pleasure to read.



Page 10 of 10 1 2 8 9 10

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 302 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5