Evil_the_Nub wrote:People are too sensitive over childish insults and that reaction only strengthens the word's power. I don't think Hasbro should have to research what every word means in every country just so they won't offend someone who decided to let bother them. What will happen if someone decides that Soundwave if offensive to deaf people, or Bulkhead is offensive to people with ample craniums?
Razorclaw0000 wrote:Or Erector to people with ED? Or Windbreaker to people with irritable bowel syndrome?
Shall I go on?
Jimmy Drift wrote:Razorclaw0000 wrote:Or Erector to people with ED? Or Windbreaker to people with irritable bowel syndrome?
Shall I go on?
Please do
NewFoundStarscreamLuv wrote:me and my friends combine all the time. Sometimes I even combine by myself if no one is around.
Razorclaw0000 wrote:It's the same (as Counterpunch pointed out earlier) as with "fag". It's totally OK in the UK, but over here, it's incredibly offensive.
Jimmy Drift wrote:And the flaming continues.
Why can't you guys accept that a lot of people from UK/Ireland/Australia find this word offensive?
NewFoundStarscreamLuv wrote:me and my friends combine all the time. Sometimes I even combine by myself if no one is around.
Evil_the_Nub wrote:People are too sensitive over childish insults and that reaction only strengthens the word's power. I don't think Hasbro should have to research what every word means in every country just so they won't offend someone who decided to let bother them. What will happen if someone decides that Soundwave if offensive to deaf people, or Bulkhead is offensive to people with ample craniums?
Counterpunch wrote:Mykltron wrote:Counterpunch wrote:Comparing the n-word to "spaz" is a poor comparison. One was created with the intent to be demeaning the other was created with a non-offensive intent.
Not so. My theory was that, as many French people settled in the south (EG New Orleans, from the French town Orlèan), the N word was an Americanised pronunciation of the the French word for black people - nègre. Afterwards if became perjorative. According to Wikipedia I was close:wiki wrote:The word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning the color "black".
Add to that today's obsession with equal rights and political correctness and, well, maybe comparing the two isn't totally fair but for us Brits it's not THAT far off.
Like most other people who don't live in the US and/or are not African American, you clearly do not understand the difference between the word "Negro" and the N-word.
We aren't talking about a word that was co-opted by a 1980's television show here, we're talking about an entirely different thing here. Of course there is a Latin root to it all and of course there is some derivative from past languages, but the word was used entirely to set aside a group of people and set them aside in a derisive way.
When those slaves were brought to the Americas, they were not seen as Africans or as any name specific to where they came from, they were bundled into one word that defined their new station.
Again, the situation with that word and "spaz" is entirely different and there is NO comparison between the situation.
Pretender Skywarp wrote:Have we seen the bio for this one yet?
I would be very interested in seeing if his character is described as "clumsy" or "oafish". If I understand correctly, that would fit in contextually with the US use of the word?
Evil_the_Nub wrote:Jimmy Drift wrote:And the flaming continues.
Why can't you guys accept that a lot of people from UK/Ireland/Australia find this word offensive?
Words only have the meaning that people give them. If they let a word offend them then that word will remain offensive. It's nothing more than calling someone a poo head, they're just words that only bother someone if they let them. I don't see why everyone has to watch what they say because some people can't deal with a few syllables.
Evil_the_Nub wrote:Seaspray to people with motion sickness
Mykltron wrote:kirbenvost wrote:I dunno, isn't the n-word just as offensive over there?
Not in areas I've lived. Maybe in run-down city areas with lots of black people. KKK didn't really happen here. I shall ask my black friends when I see then what they think about it.
Mykltron wrote:Counterpunch wrote:Mykltron wrote:Counterpunch wrote:Comparing the n-word to "spaz" is a poor comparison. One was created with the intent to be demeaning the other was created with a non-offensive intent.
Not so. My theory was that, as many French people settled in the south (EG New Orleans, from the French town Orlèan), the N word was an Americanised pronunciation of the the French word for black people - nègre. Afterwards if became perjorative. According to Wikipedia I was close:wiki wrote:The word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning the color "black".
Add to that today's obsession with equal rights and political correctness and, well, maybe comparing the two isn't totally fair but for us Brits it's not THAT far off.
Like most other people who don't live in the US and/or are not African American, you clearly do not understand the difference between the word "Negro" and the N-word.
We aren't talking about a word that was co-opted by a 1980's television show here, we're talking about an entirely different thing here. Of course there is a Latin root to it all and of course there is some derivative from past languages, but the word was used entirely to set aside a group of people and set them aside in a derisive way.
When those slaves were brought to the Americas, they were not seen as Africans or as any name specific to where they came from, they were bundled into one word that defined their new station.
Again, the situation with that word and "spaz" is entirely different and there is NO comparison between the situation.
I still disagree. When wiki says 'The word originated as a term used in a neutral context' I understand this as meaning the N word was originally used neutrally, then became insulting later. Perhaps the article is badly written and I've misunderstood but if I understand correctly then both words started neutrally and evolved to become offensive. There lies the similarity, the difference being that one word was allowed to go much, much farther. I'm not taking any moral/immoral ground here, just discussing etymology! If someone can find evidence that the N word didn't begin neutrally than I shall revoke my argument.
Pretender Skywarp wrote:As an aside, I can't see them going to all the trouble to rename, re-trademark and repackage, given the way the European market is treated at the best of times, this'll be skipped.
Mykltron wrote:Pretender Skywarp wrote:Have we seen the bio for this one yet?
I would be very interested in seeing if his character is described as "clumsy" or "oafish". If I understand correctly, that would fit in contextually with the US use of the word?
Pretender Skywarp wrote:Mykltron wrote:Pretender Skywarp wrote:Have we seen the bio for this one yet?
I would be very interested in seeing if his character is described as "clumsy" or "oafish". If I understand correctly, that would fit in contextually with the US use of the word?
...and make it worse for people over here! Have you ever seen someone with cerebral palsy? They have no co-ordination. This is where your word spaz comes from. Playing like a spaz (Tiger Woods) means playing like someone with a mental problem.
Neurie wrote:Erm actually its probably more the rest of the world where English is the spoken language(IE ex-common wealth) as they all have the same dictionary used in England as a basic tool to describe the menaing of a word.
kirbenvost wrote:Mykltron wrote:Counterpunch wrote:Mykltron wrote:Counterpunch wrote:Comparing the n-word to "spaz" is a poor comparison. One was created with the intent to be demeaning the other was created with a non-offensive intent.
Not so. My theory was that, as many French people settled in the south (EG New Orleans, from the French town Orlèan), the N word was an Americanised pronunciation of the the French word for black people - nègre. Afterwards if became perjorative. According to Wikipedia I was close:wiki wrote:The word originated as a term used in a neutral context to refer to black people, as a variation of the Spanish/Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger, meaning the color "black".
Add to that today's obsession with equal rights and political correctness and, well, maybe comparing the two isn't totally fair but for us Brits it's not THAT far off.
Like most other people who don't live in the US and/or are not African American, you clearly do not understand the difference between the word "Negro" and the N-word.
We aren't talking about a word that was co-opted by a 1980's television show here, we're talking about an entirely different thing here. Of course there is a Latin root to it all and of course there is some derivative from past languages, but the word was used entirely to set aside a group of people and set them aside in a derisive way.
When those slaves were brought to the Americas, they were not seen as Africans or as any name specific to where they came from, they were bundled into one word that defined their new station.
Again, the situation with that word and "spaz" is entirely different and there is NO comparison between the situation.
I still disagree. When wiki says 'The word originated as a term used in a neutral context' I understand this as meaning the N word was originally used neutrally, then became insulting later. Perhaps the article is badly written and I've misunderstood but if I understand correctly then both words started neutrally and evolved to become offensive. There lies the similarity, the difference being that one word was allowed to go much, much farther. I'm not taking any moral/immoral ground here, just discussing etymology! If someone can find evidence that the N word didn't begin neutrally than I shall revoke my argument.
Where the Wikipedia article is unclear is when the word evolved from the neutral 'Negro' to the N-word as we know it. It evolved from a simple word used to refer to a group of people, to a derogatory term. In essence, the process is the same as the current topic at hand, but the big difference is that as it evolved it became a new word, one which is completely derogatory, whereas this transformer name is still used in some areas without any derogatory meaning.
Counterpunch wrote:Neurie wrote:Erm actually its probably more the rest of the world where English is the spoken language(IE ex-common wealth) as they all have the same dictionary used in England as a basic tool to describe the menaing of a word.
Isn't it the result of a British TV show that the word took on this meaning?
This is a localization of a word's use, nothing more.
Neurie wrote:I dont think so Counterpunch, but if it was when it would have aired it would probably have been braodcast to all the English speaking counties in the Common Wealth at that time, so would have have been very wide spread trough out English speaking countries.
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