I have a Viet friend, and Americans of Euro descent have often said things they've learned in Chinese or Japanese to him (not saying that this behaviour is exclusive to any ethnic group, it just happened this way to him). It pisses him off to no end. AFAIK, no one has yelled at him, but it's still offensive to him.
Would you be offended...
- Thread starter BTBF
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i was working one day and this man comes in and he looks at me and starts speaking rapidly in japanese! he thought i was japanese.
-____________- i think japanese, and korean. those are the two ethnicities i'm sometimes mistaken for.
and i'm chinese.
but it's all good, i just laugh because i sometimes can't tell whether someone is chinese, japanese, korean, etc.
same goes with pple from europe. blood lines get mixed to so different features can be decieving.
no one has tried to speak to me in cantonese though, that's my first language
-____________- i think japanese, and korean. those are the two ethnicities i'm sometimes mistaken for.
and i'm chinese.
but it's all good, i just laugh because i sometimes can't tell whether someone is chinese, japanese, korean, etc.
same goes with pple from europe. blood lines get mixed to so different features can be decieving.
no one has tried to speak to me in cantonese though, that's my first language
Most people think I'm Asian [I'm really Hispanic] and call me "Jackie Chan"... but I just brush it off and don't let it get to me.
Or when I used to be a waiter, I couldn't hear some people sometimes... Like this one time, I was at a table with people drinking... I couldn't hear one of them and said "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Then they got frustrated and said "A beer? Cerverza?" and stuck 1 finger up and rolled their eyes and continued laughing with their friends...
Or when I used to be a waiter, I couldn't hear some people sometimes... Like this one time, I was at a table with people drinking... I couldn't hear one of them and said "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Then they got frustrated and said "A beer? Cerverza?" and stuck 1 finger up and rolled their eyes and continued laughing with their friends...
LOL That reminds me of friends from Central America who get asked where they're from, and when they answer, the people ask "So what part of Mexico is Honduras in?"
And it also makes me think of that All Look Same website, the last time I suggested it to somebody, they required registration, but it was a brilliant idea!
I think the offense comes from the idea that the person who starts talking in a different language assumes that the other person is a FOREIGNER just because of the way they look.
A few ppl said that they appreciate it when they are abroad and ppl make an effort to speak to them in English or whatever their native tongue happens to be, based on the fact that they LOOK American or what not. Yes well, I can see how that works since you are in fact a foreigner, but to have someone assume you are a foreigner when you aren't, assume you aren't American just because you look 'different' is offensive.
If the person is just asking for directions or what not, that's a different story...
A few ppl said that they appreciate it when they are abroad and ppl make an effort to speak to them in English or whatever their native tongue happens to be, based on the fact that they LOOK American or what not. Yes well, I can see how that works since you are in fact a foreigner, but to have someone assume you are a foreigner when you aren't, assume you aren't American just because you look 'different' is offensive.
If the person is just asking for directions or what not, that's a different story...
Can you post that site please?
I have people think I'm anything from French (my name), swedish or irish (light skin) to german (which I am & look). Probably all of us could pass as some other culture. I think this really shows us how connected we all are to one another.
Sure! The url is AllLookSame
They've gone a little "big time" now, and expanded, sadly, they make you register to take the original and classic All Look Same test, which has photos of people from different countries in Asia (excluding the South Asian subcontinent), and the test-taker must choose which country the person is from.
The current test only has people from China, Japan, and Korea, but if I remember correctly, they used to include other countries. For a long time, it was a very popular site, especially with teachers, "sensitivity course" instructors, etc who worked with non-Asians, really anybody, Asians included, who would like to see how they would do on the test.
If you are not an anti-registration hardliner, you can click on over. The classic test is called "Faces," they now have a whole long list of other tests.
Don't have that issue in Singapore especially, since most people are bilingual - English and their own mother tongue.
I'm Chinese, and speak both English and Mandarin, so I wouldn't be offended if anyone spoke to me in either of those 2 languages
The bf's ethically Chinese, but doesn't understand Mandarin, cos he grew up in the US. He gets people speaking to him in Mandarin sometimes, but doesn't take offense at it, cos in Singapore, people would assume that you speak English, and your mother tongue.
Guess it's also dependent on where you are, geograpically.
I'm Chinese, and speak both English and Mandarin, so I wouldn't be offended if anyone spoke to me in either of those 2 languages
The bf's ethically Chinese, but doesn't understand Mandarin, cos he grew up in the US. He gets people speaking to him in Mandarin sometimes, but doesn't take offense at it, cos in Singapore, people would assume that you speak English, and your mother tongue.
Guess it's also dependent on where you are, geograpically.
Or when I used to be a waiter, I couldn't hear some people sometimes... Like this one time, I was at a table with people drinking... I couldn't hear one of them and said "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Then they got frustrated and said "A beer? Cerverza?" and stuck 1 finger up and rolled their eyes and continued laughing with their friends...
I have faced incidents like that at work. I am Chinese and people just assume that I don't know English or can only speak it at a basic level so they speak it extra slow like I'm English illiterate and I find that frustrating
.Anyways, back to the topic, I wouldn't find it offensive if someone greeted me in my language.
Well said! Why on earth would I be offended by this? I wish people would just lighten up a little and not run around looking for things to be offended by. Especially (IMO) silly things.
For me, I find it a little annoying because I only speak English even thou my ethinicity is chinese. and it goes a bit further than that when they assume all chinese are from China because a lot of china chinese in New Zealand behave really badly, they dont follow the road code, they cut queues, talk as loudly as possible AND SPIT anywhere they feel please. So it is offensive in that sense to be grouped as one of them.
