Kltpzyxm? O_O *is banished back to own dimension*

Edit: damn you wikipedia! I went to make sure he was dimensional and wound up reading lots more than I needed to. This is a standard occurrence for me over there.
 
Oh man that would be. Chinese-American Sodakkian Yokels. ... CASYs i guess...
see the funny thing is, the last time I met someone named Wang who grew up in Canada and I pronounced it properly, they were pretty happy about someone not making a retarded joke about their name that they have heard a million times in their lives. The funny thing is, like calling the inhabitants of N. America Indians, it is more of a joke on the retard saying it than anything else.
[/QUOTE]

Depending on my mood, being called an "Indian" is mildly annoying to full out irritating.
 
D

Disconnected

I just got 14 spam emails with the following subject line

SUPER EFFECTIVE V1AGRA AND C1AL1S B0TH 8O% 0FF‏


1. I didn't know spam was so psychic
2. super effective sounds like i'm gonna blow a hole in the wall.
 
R

rabbitgod

A coworker came up to me today and asked a question. He intended on saying, "Is this the scale you use to weigh grinding stones?" But what he actually said was, "Do you use this to weigh things?"
 

figmentPez

Staff member
Ok, why do you need a tape cutter on scissors? You already have scissors in your hand.

Also, why a twine cutter? Again, scissors.

Thirdly, if the blades are stronger than steel AND come with a sharpener, what's the point of the wire cutter?
To keep adhesive off of the blades.

Dunno, maybe someone who cuts a lot of twine knows. Perhaps pulling twine across the cutter is faster than snipping with scissors.

Because nicks in a blade aren't going to be fixed with a ceramic honing rod.
 
M

makare

Oh man that would be. Chinese-American Sodakkian Yokels. ... CASYs i guess...
see the funny thing is, the last time I met someone named Wang who grew up in Canada and I pronounced it properly, they were pretty happy about someone not making a retarded joke about their name that they have heard a million times in their lives. The funny thing is, like calling the inhabitants of N. America Indians, it is more of a joke on the retard saying it than anything else.
[/QUOTE]

Depending on my mood, being called an "Indian" is mildly annoying to full out irritating.[/QUOTE]

What do you prefer to be called?
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
Oh man that would be. Chinese-American Sodakkian Yokels. ... CASYs i guess...
see the funny thing is, the last time I met someone named Wang who grew up in Canada and I pronounced it properly, they were pretty happy about someone not making a retarded joke about their name that they have heard a million times in their lives. The funny thing is, like calling the inhabitants of N. America Indians, it is more of a joke on the retard saying it than anything else.
[/QUOTE]

Depending on my mood, being called an "Indian" is mildly annoying to full out irritating.[/QUOTE]

What do you prefer to be called?[/QUOTE]

Had a discussion about this in class while reading a chapter revolving around a young Crow boy... Native Americans? American Indians? Amerindians? Or if you're Canadian, First Nations?
 
M

makare

I guess since I've spent so much of my life studying Indian Law, living on the reservation and interacting with tribal members I just say Indian. I have never in my entire life met a "Native American" who called himself that or preferred to be called that. He might say "native" but 99% of the time it's just "indian". I always thought the whole Native American thing was just this PC issue that, like most PC issues, was generally ignored by the people it referenced. After all, at the end of the day the word "indian" is no less related to the tribes than the words "native" or "american". If you want to be really correct you should use the actual tribal name like Lakota or Dinè.
 

fade

Staff member
I also have noticed a fair bit of xenophobia in pronunciations. Like the little Nguyen cartoon above. I've heard this kind of exchange as a third party more than once, and it sure sounds to me like both parties are saying the exact same thing, but the person whose name it is is still insisting it's wrong. I wonder how much of that is some insistence on the part of the native speaker that there's no way an American could possibly get it right. Like when my 7 year old won't eat the exact same food in a different shape, even though it's the exact same food. I have an odd last name, and no one pronounces it right, but I've caught myself overcorrecting before just out of the assumption they were doing it wrong.
 
I doubt there's much xenophobia to it. I've been on the other end of that, where someone says something in English that is clearly mispronounced, yet when I pronounce it correctly to them, they declare that is exactly what they just said. There are certain nuances to language that are difficult to pick up on unless you are a talented linguist.
 
I doubt there's much xenophobia to it. I've been on the other end of that, where someone says something in English that is clearly mispronounced, yet when I pronounce it correctly to them, they declare that is exactly what they just said. There are certain nuances to language that are difficult to pick up on unless you are a talented linguist.
cunning linguist?
 
I doubt there's much xenophobia to it. I've been on the other end of that, where someone says something in English that is clearly mispronounced, yet when I pronounce it correctly to them, they declare that is exactly what they just said. There are certain nuances to language that are difficult to pick up on unless you are a talented linguist.
cunning linguist?[/QUOTE]

Well, you certainly need to know how to use your tongue.
 

North_Ranger

Staff member
I am something of a hard-ass when it comes to the pronunciation of my first name. If you get it wrong, you call me a.) that raccoon from Pocahontas or b.) a female Japanese-American porn star. Neither of which is applicable to yours truly.
 
M

makare

My last name has three letters and it is spelled phonetically. People still fuck it up.
 

fade

Staff member
I doubt there's much xenophobia to it. I've been on the other end of that, where someone says something in English that is clearly mispronounced, yet when I pronounce it correctly to them, they declare that is exactly what they just said. There are certain nuances to language that are difficult to pick up on unless you are a talented linguist.
That'd be a different situation that the one I described, though.

---------- Post added at 01:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:54 AM ----------

Of course there are subtle nuances. Everybody knows that, but getting hung up on shades has a tint of cultural ... maybe pride...xenophobia is probably too strong a word. I realize a shade is not always a shade to both speakers, but then again ...
 
M

makare

Well the geography classes back then were pretty lousy.

I joke of course (before someone gets in a snit). I don't see anything insulting about the word Indian. The people who landed here may have done a lot of stupid and/or cruel stuff to the native peoples but using the word Indian was just an honest mistake. I don't think it is an insult and I don't think they were stupid.
 
Oh man that would be. Chinese-American Sodakkian Yokels. ... CASYs i guess...
see the funny thing is, the last time I met someone named Wang who grew up in Canada and I pronounced it properly, they were pretty happy about someone not making a retarded joke about their name that they have heard a million times in their lives. The funny thing is, like calling the inhabitants of N. America Indians, it is more of a joke on the retard saying it than anything else.
[/QUOTE]

Depending on my mood, being called an "Indian" is mildly annoying to full out irritating.[/QUOTE]

What do you prefer to be called?[/QUOTE]

Native American or Aboriginal. But if you really garner respect and show that you aren't ignorant at the same time, referring to us by our tribe is best. Mine would be Ojibwe.

The word "Indian" could be considered an insult, because the people who named us so didn't bother to amend it, even after they were told, and even when they realized they didn't land on India.

It's a cheap way to label a group of people with the same physical features yet have differing customs and traditions.

I don't begrudge anyone here who uses Indian to describe our people, just bear in mind that they are better ways to refer to any one of our tribes.
 
M

makare

That's really interesting. Maybe it is just a Lakota thing not giving a shit about using the word Indian. Good to know.
 
That's really interesting. Maybe it is just a Lakota thing not giving a shit about using the word Indian. Good to know.
I can't speak on behalf of the Lakota. But I get a slight feeling that apathy is very common on many reservations nowadays, especially when it comes to our traditions, customs etc. So I doubt the proper address would matter to them.
 
M

makare

I don't know I know a lot of traditionalists even fluent Lakota speakers who are dedicated to conserving traditions and they still say Indian. I've been texting my friend who is white and she said that she thinks the whole native american thing is just something white liberals came up with, which has always been my experience with the term. Although when I told her about this conversation on here she said that maybe just other tribes use different terms she is only familiar with tribes in Sodak and New York.

I'm trying to get ahold of my friend who is Navajo to see what she says about it because she is married to a Lakota so she might have perspective on any kind of differences there.
 
I don't know I know a lot of traditionalists even fluent Lakota speakers who are dedicated to conserving traditions and they still say Indian. I've been texting my friend who is white and she said that she thinks the whole native american thing is just something white liberals came up with, which has always been my experience with the term. Although when I told her about this conversation on here she said that maybe just other tribes use different terms she is only familiar with tribes in Sodak and New York.

I'm trying to get ahold of my friend who is Navajo to see what she says about it because she is married to a Lakota so she might have perspective on any kind of differences there.
Most are reasonable while they are sober. Now when they're drunk, I'm almost certain it would be another story.
 
M

makare

I don't know I know a lot of traditionalists even fluent Lakota speakers who are dedicated to conserving traditions and they still say Indian. I've been texting my friend who is white and she said that she thinks the whole native american thing is just something white liberals came up with, which has always been my experience with the term. Although when I told her about this conversation on here she said that maybe just other tribes use different terms she is only familiar with tribes in Sodak and New York.

I'm trying to get ahold of my friend who is Navajo to see what she says about it because she is married to a Lakota so she might have perspective on any kind of differences there.
Most are reasonable while they are sober. Now when they're drunk, I'm almost certain it would be another story.[/QUOTE]

now you lost me. what are you referring to now?
 
I mean to say, most Anishnabek will be reasonable while they are sober. So calling them an "Indian" won't be insulting, however, they may not feel the same way while they are under the influence of alcohol.
 
M

makare

I was thinking it might also matter the context. If it seems intentionally condescending I think anyone would get offended.
 
M

makare

Ok so my Navajo friend just got back to me and she said that saying Indian is a common thing in SD but in AZ, where she is from, they usually say native. She said that sometimes she says Native American. So I know you were all waiting for that. lol.
 
Re: "Indian," I imagine it differs greatly from place to place. "Eskimo" is pejorative to Canadian Inuit, but Greenland Inuit will call themselves "Eskimos" when addressing English speakers.

I grew up being told that "Indian" was incorrect and occasionally offensive, so it's rarely a word I default to. I would probably use the term "Native Americans" or "Aboriginal Americans" while discussing various/differing native peoples of the Americas as distinct from the others who later emigrated. It's useful to have a label that you can throw on a myriad of cultures like that, in much the same way as when we talk about "Europeans" or "Asians."
 
I'm not sure what I was dreaming last night. Maybe it was something about Harry Potter in the Unseen University or Mustrum Ridcully in Hogwarts
 
Ok so my Navajo friend just got back to me and she said that saying Indian is a common thing in SD but in AZ, where she is from, they usually say native. She said that sometimes she says Native American. So I know you were all waiting for that. lol.
Ah, no worries Makare, it's not as though anyone stepped forward to tell you. Besides, it's as Rob stated; it's incorrect and occasionally offensive. If the person you're addressing isn't offended by it, there's no need to make a big deal out of it.

Now then, this matter has taken enough space, back to the Random crap!
 
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