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Wannabe?....me? | ||
Tags: Cultural Identity | Accent | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Lasciel Groupie United States Joined 5373 days ago 55 posts - 81 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Japanese | Message 25 of 34 16 May 2010 at 4:40am | IP Logged | |||||
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I've seen the term weeaboo lobbed at people indiscriminately as well. I don't care when people call me that; indicating any interest in Japan at all is enough to make you a weeaboo in the eyes of many people, so fine, I'm a weeaboo. I'm interested in Japan and it's language.
Then again, I'm not an elitist. I have no problems with being lumped in with the ~*kawaii desu*~ kids. They're better company than many of their peers, who don't bother with even toying with learning a foreign language or becoming interested in any bit of another culture I had no idea Spanish had some of those negative associations in Brazil... here, I've had some friends express distaste for studying Spanish because of the immigration issue. They have a "I'd rather die than be forced to learn Spanish!" attitude and it makes them very set against the Spanish language ): 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Luai_lashire Diglot Senior Member United States luai-lashire.deviant Joined 5828 days ago 384 posts - 560 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto Studies: Japanese, French | Message 26 of 34 16 May 2010 at 4:56pm | IP Logged | |||||
I resent the implication that it's elitist of us to not want to hang out with some of these people. The type of person I was describing as "OMG KAWAII" types is interested in Japanese culture, sure, but not in REAL Japanese culture; they don't actually want to learn anything about THAT at all. These are the type of people who think they already know everything about Japan because they watch anime. These are the type of people who never do any research but still think they know more than you- and will try to lord it over you- even though you've put hundreds of hours of effort into your studies. I generally don't care what other people think of me; but I don't enjoy hanging out with people who have such a disrespect for the pursuit of knowledge, or people who try to establish some kind of hierarchy with them at the top. I don't hate them, I just have no common ground with them, and don't particularly enjoy being around them, and that does not come from elitist feelings of me somehow being superior. I'm not superior to anyone, just different, and when the difference is big enough, it's not easy or fun to be friends in spite of it. There are definitely TONS of people who love Japan and Japanese culture, and respect it, and know very little about it. There are tons of people who say "omg that's so kawaii desu" and eat onigiri and watch anime and are nice and not arrogant or disrespectful. I'm not describing these people when I talk about "OMG KAWAII" types. I think that may be where you misunderstood me. I apologize for the lack of clarity in my previous posts (I'm actually very bad at communicating what I mean, ironically). I guess basically what I'm saying is that it's not how much the person knows- or wants to know- about a foreign culture that determines if I like them or not. It's how much they respect that culture, and the process of learning, that determines whether I like them or not. Generally I don't get along with people who are disrespectful of pretty much anyone or anything. Which is 99.9% of the population. I'm kind of a loner. ^_^; 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Lasciel Groupie United States Joined 5373 days ago 55 posts - 81 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Japanese | Message 27 of 34 16 May 2010 at 11:08pm | IP Logged | |||||
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@Luai-thank you for the clarification. I get taken the wrong way a lot of the time too. It sounds like you just don't like A-holes.
I wasn't directing my statement at any of you guys; it was more in reference to what lynx said, that some Japanese learners look down on other Japanese learners and think they're above them for arbitrary reasons. I will say I much prefer the term weeaboo to "Japanophile". It sounds cuter and less creepy, even if it is a more loaded word :3 Finnaboo sounds cute to me too. If people want to insult me they'll have to come up with nastier terms, because weeaboo and finnaboo sound like something off of a PBS kids' show. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Luai_lashire Diglot Senior Member United States luai-lashire.deviant Joined 5828 days ago 384 posts - 560 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto Studies: Japanese, French | Message 28 of 34 17 May 2010 at 1:52am | IP Logged | |||||
Yeah.... you're right, I just don't like A-holes. ^_^; I agree with you, ending anything in "aboo" is kind of adorable. I guess a lot of men wouldn't be OK with that though, what with our cultural taboo on men liking cute things. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ManicGenius Senior Member United States Joined 5481 days ago 288 posts - 420 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, French, Japanese | Message 29 of 34 17 May 2010 at 7:45am | IP Logged | |||||
That's a cultural taboo? Damn... I always shout "KITTY" towards Tigers and regular kittehs. Tiger is in a cage. I'd doubt I'd yell KITTY at a tiger in the wild. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Luai_lashire Diglot Senior Member United States luai-lashire.deviant Joined 5828 days ago 384 posts - 560 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto Studies: Japanese, French | Message 30 of 34 17 May 2010 at 10:26pm | IP Logged | |||||
Well, it's generally taboo but depending on what social groups you hang out with you can break it sometimes. I think geeks generally have the most lenience towards "effeminacy". Also internet memes seem to be allowed to break the anti-cute rule. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ManicGenius Senior Member United States Joined 5481 days ago 288 posts - 420 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, French, Japanese | Message 31 of 34 19 May 2010 at 4:23am | IP Logged | |||||
I'll put it this way. I'm Male. Therefore: When with guys: Beer! When with girls: Kitteh! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| galindo Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5207 days ago 142 posts - 248 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish*, Japanese Studies: Korean, Portuguese | Message 32 of 34 23 August 2010 at 4:38pm | IP Logged | |||||
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This topic is a bit old, but I felt like adding some of the experiences I've had while learning Japanese. One thing I've become more aware of is that (in American culture at least) it seems to be one of the last few countries that it is ok to make fun of or laugh at, even by people who otherwise consider themselves liberal and politically correct.
Especially on the internet, there are often posts and articles that basically boil down to, "Look at those crazy Japanese! Isn't their culture wacky?" The people posting these and commenting would normally be very dismissive of people who judge others superficially, or promote stereotypes. Yet they don't see a problem with judging all Japanese people (or people who want to learn Japanese) based on their limited exposure to a bit of pop culture. It's like they think only their own culture is normal, and anything different is strange and deviant, and not worth trying to understand. Even proper media outlets often take a random little tidbit and try to make it seem like a nationwide trend in Japan, just because their readers find it titillating. This bothers me a lot more than the label 'weeaboo' or Japanophile. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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