I really use one Japanese Term alot. Hikikomori.
Because of my phobia, I use that term alot. xD

I really tend to use french, sweedish, and a little more Japanese in my terminology. you will not see me going around going "OMG KAWAII BAKA-CHAN DESUUUU"

I do on occasion use bits and pieces of other languages, since I'm unfortunate enough to know so little of any language but English. However, I like to know what exactly I'm saying before i go using it, as well as some general idea of the correct annunciation.

i feel if people are to use things from another language they should at least know enough to do it correctly. i sometimes use some japanese terms. but i don't do it very often cause i don't know very much about the language. like the only time i use -chan or -sama or -kun it's only if it's part of a nickname that i call the person. like my friend blade-kun or my friends inu-chan. other than that i might every now and then use the word kawaii (not very often though) the term i actually use the most is nani?

To see people who are not American indulge in the ways they think Americans act, I do not find it offensive. I find it quite humorous actually.
But if I was to put myself in the shoes of other cultures, if I hear something used improperly, then I would find it offensive.

For example, years ago, when I was in that whole "all anime, I'm japanese [I'm technically able to say that I am since I'm Korean and Koreans are of Japanese/Chinese descent] so I'm gonna use all these cute little terms and words" stage, I would address my teachers as -san, my friends as -onee -chan and -oni depending on how I saw them and whether or not they were older than me. I would also use some katakana spellings and references when talking to my peers just to show them how "freaking awesome" I was sine I could speak another language. But then when I arrived at high school [sophomore year], I saw so many freshman [who were visiting the school for whatever reason] act the same way I did. Only difference was that they didn't understand the meanings behind what they were saying and they were whiter than me [mind you, I'm 1/4 Korean, 3/4 European]. It infuriated me so much, I dropped everything I knew about Japan and refused to take part in the Japanese culture the way I used to all those years before. So now, I find it offensive when I see these weebos [I think as they are called nowadays, not sure] acting like they're all "ninja" and are so cool because the can say "kawaiidesu" in the same sentence and still make no sense.
I do, however, think it's cool for some Americans and other cultures who actually take time to study the Japanese culture and actually take time to forge a different variety of sentences together in the Japanese language.

On the other hand, some cultures I have taken part in nowadays are cultures of the Irish, the British, and the Australians.

I like using slang from the three and, I will admit, I like to imitate the way they talk and sound and how they go about doing things such as literature and music [music more towards the Irish], and whatnot. But when I'm out in public, I dare not show others what I take part in just so I don't show myself as some idiot in society by doing things wrongly. All the things I do involving these different cultures are usually just within my household when I'm alone or my mom is home.

Which I think people who do not know a lot about a culture but want to take part in it should. Just until they get better at knowing the culture and don't have to get mean comments/looks from other people.

Apologies if no sense was made.
:sweat:

I don't find it offensive when people misuse/mispronounce words from another culture/language. I'm one of those people who would be like all embarrassed for the person about to say or saying the wrong things. I'd say WAAAAAAAHHHH!!! or Oh no!!! and raise my hands to my head or run and hide behind a pillow or something (if I'm watching them on the TV or internet that is). And when I'm out in public and overheard someone, I'd be one of those people that would give them a weird look when they're not looking and look away if they turn their heads. :P

Originally Posted by jellysundae

It's the flip-side of the coin for me really, but I find it extremely perculiar to be an English person and to be addressed as "jelly-chan" by an American. It completely baffles me as to why people do that. Especially as (from what I've been told) Chan is an honorific for a child or a young girl. So to call me (a 38 year old) it is offensive in Japanese culture. But then, these people aren't Japanese nor do they know about the culture...it's also said to be particularly arrogant and wrong to call yourself chan, but we have over 700 users who've done just that.

*shrugs* Being English and as such not immersed or intersted in Japan as the majority of the US seems to be I honestly don't understand the obsession :sweat:

But I find it rude in a way that I can't really explain that people abuse another country's language in such ignorance. These Japanese terms are reverences and shouldn't be thrown around willy-nilly because people think it's cool or cute to use them. It's offensive to the Japanese culture and just makes people look silly : /

i understand where you're coming from. And you're right, its really messed up for some1 to not only use the wrong slang on you but to not even have the decency to research the topic they use so often(honorifics and such). But really, u cant be that mad at them for their ignorance. it's not like it's intentional. sure they lack the knowledge they could so easily get, but they're just watching tv for pete's sake. and besides, how seriously do the japanese take it? you see them regularly substituting chan for kun all the time, just for the sake of a laugh. y should we take it seriously when THEY don't? its kinda like expecting them to be reverent of the former president George W. Bush when we all laughed at him the whole time he was pres.

When I'm talking to my boyfriend I sometimes use German or French. Ja, nein. Oui, non. Simple stuff like that. Buuut I think that's all.

I hate weeaboo kids. :I
and I'm not gonna change my mind.
I've met waaaay too many of these annoying little weirdos going O HAI U LUK SO KAWAII NANCHAAAAN. KYA KYA!!
it's not cute. D: especially if you were to look at these chicks. >_____>
one thing that really sticks out to me is an episode of Made ((that mtv thing where kids try to make radical changes, from nerd to hiphop dancer, and stuff like that :p ))
This girl started crying cos her coach made her get rid of her FMA wall scroll. D:<
AHHH. D8

I'm hispanic, so I'll help people with their spanish homework if they ask. I've taken french, so I'll say a sentence or two if a person's curious. But I'm not gonna go and pretend I'm something I'm not. >O> Esp if it makes others feel left out cos they don't understand. :(

I don't have a problem if people substitute a word or two. Maybe to say thank you or please. But it bugs me when they go BAKA BAKA!! or HAHAH YOU'RE SUCH A PUTO!! all the time. >O>

Honestly, I'm okay when you use terms like "kawaii" and honorifics from Japanese occasionally or as jokes. Also when you know what the word means and it's correct pronunciation.

Like for example, my friend Lynzel often uses the German word for "thank you" and I sometimes use the Spanish for "what?". Then again, I see nothing wrong with people using Spanish words because I come from an area that has a lot of Hispanics, and I'm studying Spanish.

The thing that gets me is the whole "it's cool to use _____ words!" idea. I use "¿Qué?" sometimes because it's what I'm used to hearing because one of my friends was also Hispanic. I don't do it much anymore because it's not what I hear most of the time.

I think words that have naturally bled over into english are perfectly okay. That would catch things like "Que?" and "S'il vous plait", "Danke Shoen" etc. When you start to use words and phrases to be cute or look superior that's when it gets annoying. I mean, I'll throw out an "opa!" now and then from my own ethnicity, but I'm not going to do much else out of a group that would naturally speak that way. I'm also not keen on people who speak in their own language in front of people who don't speak the language at all. I mean, I'm used to it, especially from my cross cultural childhood, but I still think it's rude. (Not to mention stupid, when people think that the average person hasn't picked up Spanish or somesuch.)

I use Korean even though I am not Korean. D: I know, I am a shame to my country. I use some of my country language but i think it's just natural for people to do that if they are so interested in another country language. :D I totally would want to learn Korean, German and etc more! ^^ Learning is awesome...except when you have to get up early to do it. D:

Where I'm from, people usually throw Spanish words in with their English and English in with their Spanish. I don't think it's in any way annoying or offensive, but I'm a difficult person to bother. I don't personally mix in Japanese terms, but I've seen many people do it on the net. It doesn't really phase me, although I could see how it would annoy someone who spoke the language. As long as people pronounce the words they're using properly, I don't care what they say. I just hate to hear languages completely ripped apart by improper pronunciation.

I live in California, and Spanish is part of my cultrue. Sometimes I'll say hola instead of hello to my friends. I am studying to learn Spanish, so I don't see a problem with it.

The whole Japanese thing bothers me. My friends do it sometimes, but I always roll my eyes at them. It gets repetitive and annoying.

Originally Posted by Guivre

I'm also not keen on people who speak in their own language in front of people who don't speak the language at all. I mean, I'm used to it, especially from my cross cultural childhood, but I still think it's rude. (Not to mention stupid, when people think that the average person hasn't picked up Spanish or somesuch.)

My Spanish professor has a funny story about that. When he went to Spain one time awhile ago, he was on a train in a car with a bunch of Spanish ladies. They pegged him as a tourist and began to talk about "girl stuff" like their boyfriends and kids, but Dr. Bynum didn't acknowledge that he could understand. At least, he didn't until one of them said something that made him laugh out loud. All of the women immediately realized that he had understood their entire conversation, and didn't speak for the rest of the trip!

I don't find it offensive to borrow words from other languages and cultures, seeing as I do it.

Few of the worlds I've taken are, "Kawaii, Gomenasai, and Kowai".

Languages blend all the time, even though our language is Germanic and has its won original words, English uses a lot of words directly taken from Latin, French, Arabic, and some Caribbean languages.

@ Feral Fantom: You do have a good point there. It's possible that in twenty years "kawaii" will become an accepted part of the English language. Doubtful about the honorifics though.

You know, that's a funny thought to kick around. In twenty years, our kids may be using words that annoyed the heck out of us when we were college age. Wouldn't that be something to tell them? Of course, they'd probably just roll their eyes at us. XD

I don't normally use words from other languages, and it doesn't really bother me when people do. I don't really see how it should be considered offensive, since the person doing it usually has an interest in and likes the culture they're taking the words from. They don't mean for it to be offensive at all; normally, the very opposite, actually.

I will occasionally use a few Latin words with friends from my Latin class, but that's mainly just because we have a lot of inside jokes from that class. And, we can insult our friends who haven't taken it yet without them knowing what it means. xD

Most of the time if somebody does it because they think it's cool then it tends to get anoying. But I took japanese in high school and my friends and i all had nicknames for eachother that usually ended in kun or chan. But again, we were taking that language as a class and we called our teacher sensei because we had to. and i only took japanese because i refused to take spanish and conform and my sisters took french and german.

I plan on going into robotics so i will actually need to know how to speak japanese and or chinese eventually since those two countries deal with most technology.

Sure when i was in high school i wanted to go to japan and all, but you have to wake up and realize that it costs a fortune just to visit. my japanese class went to japan for a class trip and each student had to have at least $2,000 or so and that didn't include spending money. Just immagine trying to go on your own. not to mention the cost of living there. and i don't mean to be a downer but for those of you who say you are going to japan, get real. a dream like that is just a dream.

It's funny, how many people will cringe when someone uses Japanese honorifics with their English-speaking friends, even properly, yet...an hour later, when they turn on the news and hear of a tsunami in Florida, they don't give it a second thought; all they think about is "Oh, those poor people." How many people even realize it's a loan word anymore? From the very same language many people turn up their noses at because it's so horribly abused?

Me, what determines whether or not I mind people using words or terms from languages other than their own is whether or not they're used properly. Pronunciation is also rather important (going back to my example - I HATE the Americanized pronunciation of "tsunami!" There is no stress on the middle syllable - or any syllable!), but not quite as important as proper use, since...well, some people just have a hard time wrapping their tongues around certain sounds. I can understand that, considering I have a HELL of a time speaking my own native language for that reason. :gonk: Still, people should at least make an effort to use the words properly and pronounce them correctly - true, while I don't speak or understand most languages in this world, I can kinda tell when someone is way off. :| And it really bothers me when it's a language I DO know and I see people abusing it - and sadly I do speak the most abused one out there. Ouch. :gonk:

I'd be a hypocrite if it automatically bothered me when I heard people using words from other languages or regional dialects - I think in three languages; sometimes a loan word fits my situation better (even if I have to explain it to everyone the first time), or sometimes something just slips; also I talk to people from all across the country, and a handful of people from other English-speaking countries...so sometimes their way of speaking just kinda rubs off on me, whether I realize it's happening or not. So why should I say others shouldn't be allowed to do the same? Language is a wonderful thing, and people shouldn't be restricted to one at a time - more words can only mean more expression. Just...make sure you're doing it right. ;)

I'm apathetic. I don't usually use words from other cultures, and what not. But it will occasionally slip out. I'll find it offensive if someone is making fun of the way I talk or the things I say, though. That's the only thing I'd find offensive that might be relevant to this topic.

I use a lot of Brit-isms, and quite a bit of Yiddish... because I think it's cool. Frankly, it's not a huge deal. American English is packed with loanwords anyway, why not introduce some more?

I use the Japanese honorifics with a few of my elders that are Japanese and they really appreciate it as it typically includes a bow of respect.

As for using words and phrases that are not of my own culture, I don't think it's possible to completely avoid it! I live in California and there's an amazing melting pot of cultures/races/religions here in my area.

Considering there are just as many Spanish speaking people here in SoCal as there are English speaking people, I cannot get away from using some basic Spanish phrases from time to time. A couple of the Oaxacan gentlemen that work with my father typically greet me with a Spanish greeting which I will reply with as well. ^_^

In general I don't find it offensive if people were to attempt speaking English if it wasn't a very familiar language to them. At least it shows they're trying to break a language barrier. (Or at least that's how it appears to me).

In another example, J-pop music has a relatively decent amount of artist that will use English words in some songs here and there to perhaps express words that may not have made as much sense in Japanese? (I can't say that's the case entirely but it seems like it could be). Utada Hikaru's songs, for instance, frequents word/phrases from the English language. :heart:

I started studying Japanese because of (ehyup) anime. I was about as horribly wapanese as they come, so studying the language was just sort of the next step. I passed two of the JLPTs, and the language is more like an investment and a skill now.

I more or less grew out of anime and all that, but studying a language, even as cliched as Japanese is now, is still something valuable. Especially if you can use something that you love (anime or music or finding underground videos on Japanese file shares) as a catalyst for your study; it'll keep you interested and motivated when language BS gets boring.

I do it too.
I use bits and pieces from different languages and use them in daily conversation. I'm American, but I may call a sweater a jumper or use Cockney one day, speak 'Spanglish' another day, and then use a few Japanese words the next. I like the variety. However, whatever I borrow I try to use correctly. I won't use it if I'm not sure if I'm saying it right, for that exact reason.. I don't want to offend anyone or sound like an idiot.