Miniature sheep, horses, and cattle are usually bred that way by humans, though, which is a different situation than a given population naturally developing a smaller size.
I have no idea why chimps got that name, given that they certainly do not live in caves.
I’m pretty unclear on whether “troglodyte” as used by the ancient Greeks ever referred to a real human culture, or if they are as fictional as the monopods.
Yikes - I suppose that makes me guilty of some form of “racism of adjacency” (there has got to be a more elegant term than that) and for that I slink away in shame. Nonetheless, it’s my impression that you have a better handle on anything related to the African continent than most of us posters, and that’s what prompted me to think of you. Moreover, you have a keen awareness of how racism manifests in what can be less-than-obvious ways to some of us. I always appreciate your insights.
Coming from Cairo Carol, that’s saying something!
Actually, I also lived in Mozambique for two years, and my son was born in Nelspruit, South Africa. But I don’t feel I have any particular expertise regarding all things African - in fact, we were often told by friends who had lived in other parts of Africa, West Africa in particular, that Mozambique was completely different from what they thought of as African.
Of course, we were there just a few years after the civil war, and it was a grim place indeed. Little cultural richness was visible, and most of what passed for cultural experiences was heavily influenced by the Portuguese.
I don’t think there is a technical biological issue or an ethnic issue, it’s just that calling someone a pygmy is akin to calling them a short-arse, except in Greek. In any case, I am pretty sure there are a few good reasons why they do not appreciate the term.
It did have an ‘Africa is a Country’ kind of vibe, is all.
The whole Hottentot thread is still fresh in my memory, so I’m not very enamoured with how the board feels free to spout off on African topics they don’t really have any place doing , and just wanted to distance myself from doing the same for the shorter Equatorial Africans.
Call people what they’d prefer. Don’t call them names they dislike. That’s not a special African insight. It’s just best practice.
I think that a lot of us Americans have a cartoonish Tarzan-movie-level concept of Africa, and don’t understand that it’s a massive continent with a huge range of peoples, civilizations, environments, biotas, etc. Heck, even though intellectually I know better, the stereotypes I grew up with still intrude on my thinking.
And “BINGO” was his name-o.
[Unless, of course, he/she/they would prefer to be called something else]
You don’t have to be a local to see if something is offensive, and try to avoid doing it yourself.
I’m talking more about the people who insisted it wasn’t offensive, or was so regional that it should be allowable here.
The size contrast is even more striking between the pygmy sperm whale Kogia breviceps (and for that matter, the dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima) and the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus.
Not sure either of the Kogia species has a local name that would serve as an alternative, since they’re pretty poorly known and rarely seen at sea.
And the fact that there is both a pygmy and a dwarf version means we cannot just rename the pygmy sperm whale “dwarf” sperm whale!
I blame Gerardus Mercator.
Which term to call them today has changed several times.
It did, and I will try to learn from that.
Definitions from Oxford Languages
Pygmy
noun
DEROGATORY: a person who is insignificant or lacks ability in a particular respect.
“he regarded them as intellectual pygmies”
adjective
DEROGATORY: (of a person or thing) very small.
I guess one could argue that just because it is a derogatory word that doesn’t mean it’s an offensive word but I’ll leave that hill for others to die on.
It is offensive to call anyone by a name they don’t like, especially when it’s inappropriately used. I think it’s totally inappropriate to use this word in reference to humans. Classifying humans in this way belongs in a footnote of the history of biological science.
Offensive words, not acts, should not be spoken in polite company, and are generally offensive not just when directed to particular people. Derogatory words are not in that category. Calling words offensive in themselves leads to censorship. This is supposed to be the board where such things can be discussed in context and explained, not just encouragement to add to a list of banned words.
No one here is stopping you from using it. I’m not sure what your complaint is.