The_Flying_Dutchman:
are all short form references for citizen based on the name of their country. These names basically end on hard consonants with minimum syllables.
And there is also the Swiss, the Irish.
If the name of a country is not conducive to a shortened name for a citizen we may adopt a name such as the Canucks or the Yanks.
None of the above terms are considered as offensive even though the terms are used occasionally in a derogatory manner.
I recently came across this post .
Moderator Note : 1941 called and wants its racist epithet back. Good lord, Crafter_Man , you’ve been here long enough to know we frown on racial epithets around here.
And while it’s fair to say they provided the initial provocation, we more than paid them back, destroying cities and annihilating far more of their civilians than they ever did of ours.
I find it very difficult to read any intended offence when the word "Jap’ is used . The abreviation is so in line with other names of nationalities. I can’t see how the word is racist either, since the Japanese people are not a race unto themselves.
I would consider the name “Nip”, an abreviation of the actual name of Japan, as deliberately offensive given the implication of the Japanese’s smaller stature. This particular term is on the same level as “Chinks” which gives the implication not only of smaller stature, but imperfection as well.
Back during WWII, the Marine Corps wasn’t exactly satisfied with the use of “Japs” as a derogatory term. They tried to introduce the word “Japes”. They didn’t think “Japs” was derogatory enough.
So why am I bringing all this up ? Because I don’t think the term is offensive to the Japanese people and it is only misguided anti-racist sentries in some English speaking countries that keep the idea of the term as offensive alive. And venues of discourse such as the SDMB will apply sanctions for its usage. Its high time that we eliminate the discomfort in the usage of the word “Japs” and return to the usage in the same manner that we employ for other friendly nationalities.
It is interesting to note that the Engish speaking countries that were occupied or threatened with occupation by the Japanese in WWII do not regard the term as offensive.
In Singapore[9] and Hong Kong,[10] the term is used freely as a contraction of the adjective “Japanese” rather than as a derogatory term. The Australian news service Asia Pulse also uses the term.[11] In 1970, the Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada opened the “Jungle Jap” boutique in Paris.[12] In Japan itself, most Japanese are apathetic about the term, according to a 2004 study.[1]
Seems as if the Japanese couldn’t care less.
Why on earth would think that language has to be logical? It isn’t. Just because the word “Jap” fits a pattern doesn’t mean that it can’t be offensive. It’s offensive because it’s generally used offensively. At least in the U.S.