Is www.engrish.com racist?

Yes, but who cares? Free speech!

2 (9.1%)

Yes -- it should be moderated

2 (9.1%)

No! Its not racist at all...

5 (22.7%)

No! Its just funny at the expense of non english speakers...

13 (59.1%)

Other: Reply to thread

0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 11

[mark4freedom331]

 

[oatmealicious]

I love Chinks.

[freeAgent]

It's not racist.  It's making fun of specific instances of the misuse of the English language.  I don't think the point of the site is to denigrate the societies or races where these originated or to make generalizations about them.

[Phant]

It's not racist at all!

It doesn't make fun of all Japanese, just the people who cannot pronounce words not built from their very limited native syllabary even though their public schools have been trying to teach them to since late 40s!  I mean, most industrialized countries can deal with the foreign languages of their neighbors, especially in Europe.  The Dutch and the Finns speak like four languages on average, in many cases with no accent!  There are 100 mil English-speakers in India, 79 mil in Nigeria, 45 mil in the Philippines, 36 mil in Germany (world's #3 economy after US and Japan), and even France is starting to come around with 16 mil!

And Anglo-American culture had tremendous influence on Japan ever since Commodore Perry in the 1850s and especially after WW2, far more so than any other culture!  They adopted like 2000 characters and most of their vocabulary from the Chinese, but what are we, chopped liver?!  No one is expecting anyone to memorize the English dictionary or recite Shakespeare, just learn to distinguish some very basic sounds.  I won't hold all nations to this standard, but, heck, through our trade policy we deliberately buy half our cars from them to support their economy!

Russians and Japanese are particularly guilty of this ineptitude, because of their ideological isolation and ethnocentrism in the 20th century.  There's a flip-side to this, however.  In a few decades, people who cannot hear or pronounce Chinese tones will start being made fun of as well, and justly so.  Take your kids for some Chinese lessons sometime, it's fun and it'll lay the foundation in place if they'll want to learn the language later in life.

[wytworm]

It doesn't make fun of all Japanese, just the people who cannot pronounce words not built from their very limited native syllabary even though their public schools have been trying to teach them to since late 40s!  I mean, most industrialized countries can deal with the foreign languages of their neighbors, especially in Europe.  The Dutch and the Finns speak like four languages on average, in many cases with no accent!  There are 100 mil English-speakers in India, 79 mil in Nigeria, 45 mil in the Philippines, 36 mil in Germany (world's #3 economy after US and Japan), and even France is starting to come around with 16 mil!

So here you agree with me. If you take any developing brain and expose it to a syllabary until the age of 7, then drop it into a culture where the native syllabary does not overlap, the brain has a struggle to replicate the non-overlapped phonemes accurately. To make it easier for you to understand, consider the difference in listening to the speech of someone deaf from birth vs someone who lost their hearing at the age of 20. There is a huge difference in the way they shape the sounds when speaking for the same reason.

As for the concept of considering non-english syllabary 'limited' -- i think you are suffering from cultural relativism here. I am sure it was and is pretty damned efficient for communicating in Japanese! In Europe, all the languages are coming from the same phoneme root so the problem doesn't exist.

The brains capacity to accurately phonemes is discreet from an individual's ability to speak languages.  If the Finns speak four languages it is because their culture sees some value with it. Most Americans don't speak english as well as some non-native english speakers do and typically know not even one other language.

[alkanen]

I mean, most industrialized countries can deal with the foreign languages of their neighbors, especially in Europe.

Yeah, partly because all of us (except for the Finns and Hungarians) speak different derivatives of Indo-european.  I have no problems communicating with Norwegians, a bit when talking to Danes because their language is a lot more slurred than the other Scandinavian languages, I get some German and Dutch and obviously know how to get around in English.  But this doesn't mean I'm particularly good at languages, just that all the languages over here are very similar compared to say Japanese or any of the Chinese variants.

Even worse, of course, are the issues brought up by wytworm.  I'd love to hear you try to make the click sounds of various African tribes.  Using your tongue is cheating, they actually click with their vocal chords.

[wytworm]

Is that true? Wild!

[alkanen]

Is that true? Wild!

Is what true?

[wytworm]

About the clicking...didn't know that.

[AntonLee]

you know you're absolutely right. . . I believe that it is a racist site.  And I don't care. . . everyone gets it sometime, and it's a pasttime, people will always have differences, and people will always poke fun at those differences. 

I'm a Polish American, and by stating my last name, complete with the S-K-I . . I get every douche, guido, mick, halfrican, redneck, yokel, socialite, dweeb, nerd, dork, asshole to tell me the greatest polack joke I'll ever hear.

yes screen doors, I get it
well they do have solar powered flashlights
I don't believe the polack would do anything but go to church, those babooshkas are like 99% Roman Catholic

I can take it, I know a lot of people can. . . Irish know they're going to get bagged for their drunkenness, Italians. . Godfather, nuff said.  Polacks are all stupid, the french are all cowards, the english boil absolutely everything they cook and never brush their teeth (not to mention the one bath a week, father gets to use the water first).  So the asian community gets hassled because they have a billion character language, and translation of those characters is funny to us.  They should be proud that the only thing we can really laugh at is that they can't get their R's and L's together. . . and. . .as a thickly boston accented gentleman. . . I have been told I have problems with my R's too. 

everyone should just laugh, there is no perfect person, so make fun of them for what they are.  lol

[AntonLee]

About the clicking...didn't know that.

ha me either. . . all this time making fun of it I was clicking my tongue. . . lost something outta my repertoire now.

[hellbilly]

you know you're absolutely right. . . I believe that it is a racist site.  And I don't care. . . everyone gets it sometime, and it's a pasttime, people will always have differences, and people will always poke fun at those differences. 

I'm a Polish American, and by stating my last name, complete with the S-K-I . . I get every douche, guido, mick, halfrican, redneck, yokel, socialite, dweeb, nerd, dork, asshole to tell me the greatest polack joke I'll ever hear.

yes screen doors, I get it
well they do have solar powered flashlights
I don't believe the polack would do anything but go to church, those babooshkas are like 99% Roman Catholic

I can take it, I know a lot of people can. . . Irish know they're going to get bagged for their drunkenness, Italians. . Godfather, nuff said.  Polacks are all stupid, the french are all cowards, the english boil absolutely everything they cook and never brush their teeth (not to mention the one bath a week, father gets to use the water first).  So the asian community gets hassled because they have a billion character language, and translation of those characters is funny to us.  They should be proud that the only thing we can really laugh at is that they can't get their R's and L's together. . . and. . .as a thickly boston accented gentleman. . . I have been told I have problems with my R's too. 

everyone should just laugh, there is no perfect person, so make fun of them for what they are.  lol

...you left out blacks. just wondering why.

[alkanen]

About the clicking...didn't know that.

Ah, yeah.  Them clickies should be just about impossible to learn as an adult.  I believe they're the hardest phoneme out there.

[AntonLee]

you know you're absolutely right. . . I believe that it is a racist site.  And I don't care. . . everyone gets it sometime, and it's a pasttime, people will always have differences, and people will always poke fun at those differences. 

I'm a Polish American, and by stating my last name, complete with the S-K-I . . I get every douche, guido, mick, halfrican, redneck, yokel, socialite, dweeb, nerd, dork, asshole to tell me the greatest polack joke I'll ever hear.

yes screen doors, I get it
well they do have solar powered flashlights
I don't believe the polack would do anything but go to church, those babooshkas are like 99% Roman Catholic

I can take it, I know a lot of people can. . . Irish know they're going to get bagged for their drunkenness, Italians. . Godfather, nuff said.  Polacks are all stupid, the french are all cowards, the english boil absolutely everything they cook and never brush their teeth (not to mention the one bath a week, father gets to use the water first).  So the asian community gets hassled because they have a billion character language, and translation of those characters is funny to us.  They should be proud that the only thing we can really laugh at is that they can't get their R's and L's together. . . and. . .as a thickly boston accented gentleman. . . I have been told I have problems with my R's too. 

everyone should just laugh, there is no perfect person, so make fun of them for what they are.  lol

...you left out blacks. just wondering why.

I did say halfricans. . . which means they're half black. . . but if it makes you feel better darkies are definately included.  There's a black guy we all give him crap, mostly about being fat, but once in a while we'll say smile we can't see you it's too dark in here.  He gives it right back to us. 

[Harry Tuttle]

Okay, I think we all agree that non-native English speakers will be at a disadvantage when they attempt English. Is it racist to laugh at someone's innocent mistake? My Mexican wife and her family often laugh at my poor Spanish (Spanglish). Did I marry into a family of racists?

What if I don't laugh at it. Is it racist to read one of those signs and decide that it was probably written by an asian?

If I laugh at "Y'all" am I redneckist? What if I just assume that someone saying "Y'all" is a redneck?

Is it simply wrong to classify or categorize anyone or anything.

"Sir, can you describe your assailant?"
"It seemed to be one of a category of violent types, I'm not racist enough to specify further."
"You are under arrest for categorizing"
"Do you have a special place for putting people like me"
"We're not allowed to answer that"
"We!!!!!, That sounds like you are claiming to be part of a group"
"You may go now"

I don't think we'll get very far in life without making the occasional classification.