Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan,sci.lang.japan,sci.lang,alt.usage.english,alt.charlie.rules.rules.rules
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!gatech!csulb.edu!hammer.uoregon.edu!news-peer.gsl.net!news.gsl.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!metro.atlanta.com!uunet!in1.uu.net!202.232.2.100!np1.iij.ad.jp!nf0.iij.ad.jp!nr0.iij.ad.jp!news.iij.ad.jp!news.tcp-net.ad.jp!hamamatsu-pc!news
From: ishimaru <ishimaru@c.hamamatsu-pc.ac.jp>
Subject: Re: Gaijin vs -san  (was Re: If you hate ... )
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: mac101.ishimaru.c.hamamatsu-pc.ac.jp
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-2022-jp
Message-ID: <3327E876.47AC@c.hamamatsu-pc.ac.jp>
Sender: news@hamamatsu-pc.ac.jp (Usenet News System)
Reply-To: ishimaru@c.hamamatsu-pc.ac.jp
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Organization: Hamamatsu Polytechnic College
References: <3315E32B.79AB@ix.netcom.com> <E6AIsw.CvC@info.uucp> <3316BA11.2781@iisc.com> <33179391.3CC0@spam.diet> <rte-2802971805350001@135.25.40.118> <AF4237F396685A168@nk-04-156.gol.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 11:43:52 GMT
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01 [ja] (Macintosh; I; PPC)
Lines: 42
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu sci.lang.japan:40943 sci.lang:72192

Jeffrey A. Hawkins wrote:
> 
> It's cool if you all don't find "gaijin" offensive, but when a Japanese
> person says it, it is meant to be offensive.

I use "gaijin"  as an abreviation of "gaikokujin" because of
the easy pronounciation.  There is no offensive intension for
me.  The offensiveness depends on the presonality, and 
context.

> 
> The most accurate translation I have heard is "alien". It has connotations
> of "unwelcome", even if the denotative meaning is just "outsider".

I havel heard "alien" so often when I was in Pennsylvania.
I did not percept as being offensive.  Maybe, my perception was
wrong.  Incidentally, in Kansas, I have not heard
"alien" to refer to a student from abroad.


> 
> Foreigners calling eachother "Gaijin" is a little like black people calling
> eachother "nigger" The only difference is that many of the foreigners don't
> know it's an insult when it comes from non-foreigners.

This is a wrong perception.   "Gaijin", simply, refers to a person
from abroad.$B!!(JWhat do you percept if I say "salesman? 
Do you think I have a prejudice over female.  Is "fe-male" offensive?
Whether or not being offensive depends on the cotext under which
the term is used, and the personality involved-in.



-- 
Kiyoto Ishimaru
Dept. of Comp. Sci.
Hamamatsu Polytechnic College
Norieda 693
Hamamatsu 432
JAPAN
phone:053-441-4444
e-mail:ishimaru@c.hamamatsu-pc.ac.jp
