Ask HN: Why can't I call myself “a Japanese”?

Re:Ask HN: Why can't I call myself “a Japanese”? by lioeters on Thursday October 07, 2021 @08:09PM (#28793850)

This is because of the "-ese" ending.

For country names ending with "-ese", it's usually an insult to call someone "a" something, like: Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, Portuguese, or Vietnamese.

With these countries, it sounds better to say "I am from X" or "I am X", such as "I am Japanese".

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why can't I call myself “a Japanese”? by schoen on Thursday October 07, 2021 @08:15PM (#28793912)

I'm slightly unpersuaded.

"Have you ever met a Sudanese?"

"She married a Senegalese."

?"He's a Guyanese."

To me the risk of an offensive or disparaging connotation appears especially with East Asian and maybe South Asian -ese terms, but probably not with African or South American -ese terms (and not for "an East Timorese", as I pointed out in another post). I think this connotation arose in English in the 20th century especially with East Asian demonyms, and native speakers may differ in our perceptions of how widely the connotation spread.

[ Parent | on HN ]