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Re: Self-Use of Ethnic Insults (was: Re: Ebonic Christmas )

From:Steg Belsky <draqonfayir@...>
Date:Monday, January 17, 2000, 22:49
On Mon, 17 Jan 2000 22:09:01 +0100 BP Jonsson <bpj@...> writes:
> >I had a Torah > >teacher freshie-year in highschool who specifically addressed the > class > >as "jews!" for a vocative, *in English* even though the class was > >conducted in Hebrew, for the specific purpose of getting us used to > the > >sound of it. The Hebrew word _yehudim_ sounds completely > value-neutral.
> But that's insider use!
. That's why it's unusual that it's still disconcerting.
> BTW it occurred to me today that the fact that _Schikse_ means > 'whore' in > German slang suggests a somewhat tarnished usage of the word among > Yiddish > speakers in bygone times... Or am I wrong that the Hebrew etymon of > the > word (dang! where *is* that German etymological dictionary?) was > originally > value-neutral, just as was _barbaros_ in Greek, or at least more so > than > what it has become.
. In this case, the word's etymology is very much *not* value-neutral. It comes from the Hebrew word _shiqutz_ or _sheqetz_, which means something like "disgusting thing" and is used in some Biblical books to refer to deities of neighboring nations (most of which involved human sacrifice, if i remember correctly). It's similarity to the word _sheretz_, "small creeping animal" probably doesn't help much, either.
> "Buddhist" is hardly value neutral to Buddhists, or to non-Buddhist > fundamentalists of various descriptions.
. I just used that as an example because previously someone else had used it as an example of an ethnic/religious/nationality/etc. name that doesn't have a built-in shock value.
> /BP > > B.Philip Jonsson <mailto: bpj@...> <mailto:
-Stephen (Steg) "Vorks or miles, it will make no difference when the Stars come out." ~ _nightfall_