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English musicologist and archeologist, Julian Cope has just prodeced an authoritve book called Japrocksampler. There is no negative connotation, just a cool sounding contraction! [mangonorth]]] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.228.152.208 ( talk) 11:47, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
Removed the part about use of Jap in english classrooms. I live in England and it's a definate taboo. It's on par with saying something like "paki" - -- Wavetwista 22:42, 9 October 2006 (UTC)
On the other hand, in my Canadian classrooms, it has been used in a completely non-pejoritive sense.
Quit arguing in the damn page. There is no citations or proof of Japanese people calling each other "Jap" in Japan. - GZAdmin
This site is full of racial discrimination against us Japanese. Delete it as soon as possible!
I live in Canada, and in any of my classes saying anything like "Jap" is never tolerated, it's taboo and would result in some form of punishment whether the teacher said it or a student. Autumn Veil ( talk) 08:25, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
I live in Canada as well (Nova Scotia) and the term "Jap" is definitely seen as derogatory. I'm going to remove " In Canada the term is also generally accepted as a contraction of the adjective "Japanese".[citation needed]". SSurette ( talk) 06:09, 16 April 2011 (UTC)
Thanks Tokek! Good extra link that is informative. JungleCat 13:14, 30 June 2006 (UTC)
Out of interest, is "Jap" considered a racial slur in Japan? Thanks. PizzaMargherita 05:57, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
From the article: "In Japanese dictionaries, the term "Jap" is only defined as a disparaging term used against the Japanese people, like it is the case in many English language dictionaries." The answer would be yes (it's mainly considered as an English word).— Tokek 17:11, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Ah, sorry, I stopped at the introduction. I have promoted that sentence to the intro and done some cleanup, I hope it's ok. A link to another Japanese online dictionary for "Jap" would be nice. Thanks! PizzaMargherita 17:24, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
I have added a link to an online dictionary provided by Yahoo! Japan, which is definitely a more recognisable brand in the English speaking part of the world than Goo. If you have specific ideas about finding more sources yourself, I might be able to assist you, however right now I don't see the need for too many references because dictionary definitions tend to be easily verifiable and available. — Tokek 05:19, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
No, I think two is adequate, thanks very much! PizzaMargherita 08:15, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
I take issue with this term being reported exclusively as a derogatory slur.
In Australia, the term Jap has of course a strong history of usage as a derogatory term. In light of this socio-political context as a slur - and I suggest this without being trite or disingenuous - there is evidence in (Australian) society that "jap" is also used as a simple contraction, one that in my humble opinion (having lived in Australia and Japan), has gained acceptance in recent years, now that closer relations between Japan and Australia are moving on from the context of WW2. A simple case in point: In Australia, the Japanese Pumpkin variety is popularly referred to as "Jap Pumpkin" No, not by redneck racist farm labourers, but by everyone familiar with the vegetable. ..Even radical left wing student organic co-operatives use the term!
It would be ridiculous to try and assert that the Japanese themselves use this contraction. although, as you can see at the following link, the Japanese are aware of the western contraction for their beloved pumpkin: http://fruitbat.at.webry.info/200608/article_11.html
The term is [also in Australia] often used in reference to Japanese made cars and equipment, often without rascist connotation, but with reverence for their excellent engineering and reliability, without any racist undertones. The manner of it's use more often like a term of endearment than a sneering or patronising slur. The culture of political sensitivity/correctness (whichever you prefer) has kept the contraction from reentering mainstream use. Yes, All of this is incredibly hard to establish in an cyclopaedic format, but for any one researching this term, and reading this discussion, I hope it provides a different perspective... mangonorth--—The preceding comment was added by 210.189.164.104 ( talk • contribs) December 15, 2006.
I think it should be mentioned that the term is frequently used as a non-racist abbreviation on the internet, especially when referring to different versions of software. When the 2.0 update came out for the PSP, forum users were often frustrated that the word “JAP” was automatically censored, even though they were merely trying to identify which version of the update they were talking about. (JAP version as opposed to US version) Xargon666x6 07:03, 09 May 2006 (UTC)
In Australia, 'Jap' is a common, casual neutral term - completely unlike the word 'nigger' - like pom, kiwi, brit or yank. Kipwatson ( talk) 14:26, 8 August 2009 (UTC)
Australia is mentioned only once in the article, so if anyone would like expand on it with proper source that would be more informative. However I would assume that with the exception of a small number of knowledgeable Australiaphiles, citizens of both US and Japan are largely unaware of any neutral non-accidental usage of the term.
This also raises a question if racist terms can ever knowingly and respectfully become non-derogatory. I assume such cases are rare. How do you measure the level or derogatoriness one implied or did not imply when s/he uses a term with racist usage, though?
With regard to abbreviation, one could alternatively use ISO abbreviations JA (for the language) and JP, JPN (for the country) instead. — Tokek ( talk) 04:05, 9 August 2009 (UTC)
You say "can any racist term become non-derogatory", but that's begging the question!! It's not a racist term, it's simply a contraction. It's not like 'nigger', which has a history of being a term of explicit racial inferiority. Jap has a history of being used as a colloquial term, part of that history took place during the war. It's never been a racist term - at least not until this recent artificial attempt to inflate it into one. Kipwatson ( talk) 04:44, 10 August 2009 (UTC)
To equate the term "Jap" with " nigger" is off the mark, they are not on the same level at all - african americans do refer to themselves as "niggers" both ironically and explicitly. A far better example (and fitting) is to draw a parallel with the term " gaijin", which has a similar derogatory history, and confused acceptance at present. If anyone cany refute this change, lets talk! mangonorth --—The preceding comment was added by 210.189.164.104 ( talk • contribs) December 15, 2006.
I know for a fact that jap is used totally without any discriminatory meaning in Australia, it's even used by High School teachers to refer to the language and the people. No connotations implied. Not sure how to source this though. Any ideas? + Hexagon1 ( t) 08:27, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Generally, Australia is more "accustomed" to racial slurs. For example, "Nigger" is used as a friendly greeting, especially among friends. This would be completely unacceptable elsewhere. Yongke 04:38, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
The following statement has no value in this article:
Some in the United States Marine Corps also tried to combine the word "Japs" with "Apes" to create a new description, "Japes", for the Japanese. However, this new word never became popular.
Seems like a sorry attempt by someone to create verbal ammunition for lame racists. Panda
How about this: "Jap" is an abbreviation of the word Japanese or Japan, depending on the context. It can also be shorthand for referring to a Japanese person. I guess the term "Afro" should now be considered racist, along with "Aussie" and "Brit." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.58.29.180 ( talk) 04:59, 18 February 2009 (UTC)
I think most ethnic/racist slurs can be used in a non-racist manner. paki-shop, chink-food, sup nigger, jap car. however I would put the usage down to ignorance of the offense caused, rather than acceptability of the word. gaijin is a little different, it only causes offense to a minority (my opinion) and whereas Japanese people often refrain from using the term, foreigners refer to themselves as gaijin constantly. I also think people try to justify their usage of the word by claiming it was not their intention to offend, when they knew all along it was offensive. If a school in a certain country allows the use of the word, then its down to their ignorance or intention to offend, rather than due to the word be OK to use. Sennen goroshi 04:42, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
The article injects POV that the Japanese are "apathetic," followed by mentioning that Jap.com is registered to a Japanese. The fact that Jap.com's domain name is registered by a Japanese does not indicate apathy on the registrar's part nor apathy on the Japanese population in general. — Tokek ( talk) 13:18, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
Since there is constantly vandalism from IP-address-only users, couldn't the article be locked or editing restricted to logged in users? -- Hydenobuyuki ( talk) 14:50, 5 September 2008 (UTC)
Still no one has commented on this. Are people opposed to applying for Semi Protection ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-protection) so users not logged in cannot vandalize the article? -- Hydenobuyuki ( talk) 15:41, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
I’m not Japanese and I don’t know any Japanese people, but I was not aware that “Jap” was offensive until I read this article (And I’m in my 30s).
I have been involved in many online communities concerning various Japanese artforms (such as videogames, anime and porn). Within these communities, I have seen “Jap” used many times. In all these years, I have never been aware of anyone either taking offense to the word, or warning others not to use it. And most of us have the greatest of respect for the Japanese because we love their work.
I can’t argue that the word should not be seen as offensive because you can’t tell people what to take offence to (even though it seems ridiculous to me that shortening a country’s name to three letters could ever be offensive). My real point here is that I think this article should note that a great many people are simply not aware that the abbreviation is offensive. Especially online, it would seem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Grand Dizzy ( talk • contribs) 16:34, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
I don't know any sites that use the word 'Jap' but I know television shows that do. Sailor_Moon ( talk) 13:59, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
What about Nip? Only one small, minor mention of it in the article when this should be more derogatory. Helpspoke ( talk) 20:01, 24 November 2009 (UTC)
File:Halftrack-fort-knox-4.jpg is a picture of a halftrack named "Jap-Jabber." I took a look at this article so to see if the image could be used as an example of how "Jap" was used in 1942 but see that it already has a fair number of pictures. -- Marc Kupper| talk 03:46, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
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Contrary to popular belief, Jap is NOT an ethnic or racial slur. It can be used in a derogatory way like redneck or even monkey is, but it's not the same as Paki or the N-word. In fact, Jap doesn't compare with any slurs in terms of vulgarity or other forms of offensiveness or rudeness. I have just discovered that there is an automotive event called the Japfest. Much like Euro/Brit or Aussie/Murican, you can use Jap as a way of abbreviating things (particularly cars but also to some certain extent food and media), but I would advise to only use it around close friends because not everyone can distinguish context between a word. Political correctness has made white-oriented words of disparage not "official" slurs. 2601:204:C603:EA80:5DF2:640:B8CF:82B ( talk) 21:19, 27 June 2022 (UTC)
![]() | This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
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English musicologist and archeologist, Julian Cope has just prodeced an authoritve book called Japrocksampler. There is no negative connotation, just a cool sounding contraction! [mangonorth]]] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.228.152.208 ( talk) 11:47, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
Removed the part about use of Jap in english classrooms. I live in England and it's a definate taboo. It's on par with saying something like "paki" - -- Wavetwista 22:42, 9 October 2006 (UTC)
On the other hand, in my Canadian classrooms, it has been used in a completely non-pejoritive sense.
Quit arguing in the damn page. There is no citations or proof of Japanese people calling each other "Jap" in Japan. - GZAdmin
This site is full of racial discrimination against us Japanese. Delete it as soon as possible!
I live in Canada, and in any of my classes saying anything like "Jap" is never tolerated, it's taboo and would result in some form of punishment whether the teacher said it or a student. Autumn Veil ( talk) 08:25, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
I live in Canada as well (Nova Scotia) and the term "Jap" is definitely seen as derogatory. I'm going to remove " In Canada the term is also generally accepted as a contraction of the adjective "Japanese".[citation needed]". SSurette ( talk) 06:09, 16 April 2011 (UTC)
Thanks Tokek! Good extra link that is informative. JungleCat 13:14, 30 June 2006 (UTC)
Out of interest, is "Jap" considered a racial slur in Japan? Thanks. PizzaMargherita 05:57, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
From the article: "In Japanese dictionaries, the term "Jap" is only defined as a disparaging term used against the Japanese people, like it is the case in many English language dictionaries." The answer would be yes (it's mainly considered as an English word).— Tokek 17:11, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
Ah, sorry, I stopped at the introduction. I have promoted that sentence to the intro and done some cleanup, I hope it's ok. A link to another Japanese online dictionary for "Jap" would be nice. Thanks! PizzaMargherita 17:24, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
I have added a link to an online dictionary provided by Yahoo! Japan, which is definitely a more recognisable brand in the English speaking part of the world than Goo. If you have specific ideas about finding more sources yourself, I might be able to assist you, however right now I don't see the need for too many references because dictionary definitions tend to be easily verifiable and available. — Tokek 05:19, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
No, I think two is adequate, thanks very much! PizzaMargherita 08:15, 27 August 2006 (UTC)
I take issue with this term being reported exclusively as a derogatory slur.
In Australia, the term Jap has of course a strong history of usage as a derogatory term. In light of this socio-political context as a slur - and I suggest this without being trite or disingenuous - there is evidence in (Australian) society that "jap" is also used as a simple contraction, one that in my humble opinion (having lived in Australia and Japan), has gained acceptance in recent years, now that closer relations between Japan and Australia are moving on from the context of WW2. A simple case in point: In Australia, the Japanese Pumpkin variety is popularly referred to as "Jap Pumpkin" No, not by redneck racist farm labourers, but by everyone familiar with the vegetable. ..Even radical left wing student organic co-operatives use the term!
It would be ridiculous to try and assert that the Japanese themselves use this contraction. although, as you can see at the following link, the Japanese are aware of the western contraction for their beloved pumpkin: http://fruitbat.at.webry.info/200608/article_11.html
The term is [also in Australia] often used in reference to Japanese made cars and equipment, often without rascist connotation, but with reverence for their excellent engineering and reliability, without any racist undertones. The manner of it's use more often like a term of endearment than a sneering or patronising slur. The culture of political sensitivity/correctness (whichever you prefer) has kept the contraction from reentering mainstream use. Yes, All of this is incredibly hard to establish in an cyclopaedic format, but for any one researching this term, and reading this discussion, I hope it provides a different perspective... mangonorth--—The preceding comment was added by 210.189.164.104 ( talk • contribs) December 15, 2006.
I think it should be mentioned that the term is frequently used as a non-racist abbreviation on the internet, especially when referring to different versions of software. When the 2.0 update came out for the PSP, forum users were often frustrated that the word “JAP” was automatically censored, even though they were merely trying to identify which version of the update they were talking about. (JAP version as opposed to US version) Xargon666x6 07:03, 09 May 2006 (UTC)
In Australia, 'Jap' is a common, casual neutral term - completely unlike the word 'nigger' - like pom, kiwi, brit or yank. Kipwatson ( talk) 14:26, 8 August 2009 (UTC)
Australia is mentioned only once in the article, so if anyone would like expand on it with proper source that would be more informative. However I would assume that with the exception of a small number of knowledgeable Australiaphiles, citizens of both US and Japan are largely unaware of any neutral non-accidental usage of the term.
This also raises a question if racist terms can ever knowingly and respectfully become non-derogatory. I assume such cases are rare. How do you measure the level or derogatoriness one implied or did not imply when s/he uses a term with racist usage, though?
With regard to abbreviation, one could alternatively use ISO abbreviations JA (for the language) and JP, JPN (for the country) instead. — Tokek ( talk) 04:05, 9 August 2009 (UTC)
You say "can any racist term become non-derogatory", but that's begging the question!! It's not a racist term, it's simply a contraction. It's not like 'nigger', which has a history of being a term of explicit racial inferiority. Jap has a history of being used as a colloquial term, part of that history took place during the war. It's never been a racist term - at least not until this recent artificial attempt to inflate it into one. Kipwatson ( talk) 04:44, 10 August 2009 (UTC)
To equate the term "Jap" with " nigger" is off the mark, they are not on the same level at all - african americans do refer to themselves as "niggers" both ironically and explicitly. A far better example (and fitting) is to draw a parallel with the term " gaijin", which has a similar derogatory history, and confused acceptance at present. If anyone cany refute this change, lets talk! mangonorth --—The preceding comment was added by 210.189.164.104 ( talk • contribs) December 15, 2006.
I know for a fact that jap is used totally without any discriminatory meaning in Australia, it's even used by High School teachers to refer to the language and the people. No connotations implied. Not sure how to source this though. Any ideas? + Hexagon1 ( t) 08:27, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Generally, Australia is more "accustomed" to racial slurs. For example, "Nigger" is used as a friendly greeting, especially among friends. This would be completely unacceptable elsewhere. Yongke 04:38, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
The following statement has no value in this article:
Some in the United States Marine Corps also tried to combine the word "Japs" with "Apes" to create a new description, "Japes", for the Japanese. However, this new word never became popular.
Seems like a sorry attempt by someone to create verbal ammunition for lame racists. Panda
How about this: "Jap" is an abbreviation of the word Japanese or Japan, depending on the context. It can also be shorthand for referring to a Japanese person. I guess the term "Afro" should now be considered racist, along with "Aussie" and "Brit." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.58.29.180 ( talk) 04:59, 18 February 2009 (UTC)
I think most ethnic/racist slurs can be used in a non-racist manner. paki-shop, chink-food, sup nigger, jap car. however I would put the usage down to ignorance of the offense caused, rather than acceptability of the word. gaijin is a little different, it only causes offense to a minority (my opinion) and whereas Japanese people often refrain from using the term, foreigners refer to themselves as gaijin constantly. I also think people try to justify their usage of the word by claiming it was not their intention to offend, when they knew all along it was offensive. If a school in a certain country allows the use of the word, then its down to their ignorance or intention to offend, rather than due to the word be OK to use. Sennen goroshi 04:42, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
The article injects POV that the Japanese are "apathetic," followed by mentioning that Jap.com is registered to a Japanese. The fact that Jap.com's domain name is registered by a Japanese does not indicate apathy on the registrar's part nor apathy on the Japanese population in general. — Tokek ( talk) 13:18, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
Since there is constantly vandalism from IP-address-only users, couldn't the article be locked or editing restricted to logged in users? -- Hydenobuyuki ( talk) 14:50, 5 September 2008 (UTC)
Still no one has commented on this. Are people opposed to applying for Semi Protection ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-protection) so users not logged in cannot vandalize the article? -- Hydenobuyuki ( talk) 15:41, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
I’m not Japanese and I don’t know any Japanese people, but I was not aware that “Jap” was offensive until I read this article (And I’m in my 30s).
I have been involved in many online communities concerning various Japanese artforms (such as videogames, anime and porn). Within these communities, I have seen “Jap” used many times. In all these years, I have never been aware of anyone either taking offense to the word, or warning others not to use it. And most of us have the greatest of respect for the Japanese because we love their work.
I can’t argue that the word should not be seen as offensive because you can’t tell people what to take offence to (even though it seems ridiculous to me that shortening a country’s name to three letters could ever be offensive). My real point here is that I think this article should note that a great many people are simply not aware that the abbreviation is offensive. Especially online, it would seem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Grand Dizzy ( talk • contribs) 16:34, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
I don't know any sites that use the word 'Jap' but I know television shows that do. Sailor_Moon ( talk) 13:59, 30 November 2008 (UTC)
What about Nip? Only one small, minor mention of it in the article when this should be more derogatory. Helpspoke ( talk) 20:01, 24 November 2009 (UTC)
File:Halftrack-fort-knox-4.jpg is a picture of a halftrack named "Jap-Jabber." I took a look at this article so to see if the image could be used as an example of how "Jap" was used in 1942 but see that it already has a fair number of pictures. -- Marc Kupper| talk 03:46, 14 December 2012 (UTC)
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Contrary to popular belief, Jap is NOT an ethnic or racial slur. It can be used in a derogatory way like redneck or even monkey is, but it's not the same as Paki or the N-word. In fact, Jap doesn't compare with any slurs in terms of vulgarity or other forms of offensiveness or rudeness. I have just discovered that there is an automotive event called the Japfest. Much like Euro/Brit or Aussie/Murican, you can use Jap as a way of abbreviating things (particularly cars but also to some certain extent food and media), but I would advise to only use it around close friends because not everyone can distinguish context between a word. Political correctness has made white-oriented words of disparage not "official" slurs. 2601:204:C603:EA80:5DF2:640:B8CF:82B ( talk) 21:19, 27 June 2022 (UTC)