It has been suggested to me (and rightly so) that an effort be made to steer people away from the three-letter abbreviation used occasionally for Japanese when talking about Japanese maples, i.e., J-- maple. The three-letter abbreviation for Japanese is a pejorative term. Please use Japanese maple or JM when talking about these plants.
What the heck is a pejorative?, can't even find it in my dictionary. Well I hope it wasn't me using that 3 letter word.
[WIKI]Pejorative[/WIKI]. You can also search Wikipedia for the term, where it outlines how the word is derogatory. I should state for the record that I'm certain no one here uses the word out of malice, but rather ease of communication. However, it is / was used by some in other places / times as an insult, so we'll all steer clear of it. JM is a perfectly acceptable substitute, and it's even shorter!
Oops. I'm sure I've been guilty of that. Did you fix it for me???? I'm sure my JM thread had a subject line like that. No disrespect intended, just lazy typing fingers. :) But you can call me shell, or she or sh for that matter. I won't be offended. ;)
Daniel, thanks for taking care of this. Seeing the term caused me to blink a little, although as you I assumed there was no negative intent. Personally I'd rather we call a palmatum a palmatum, a japonicum a japonicum, and that way we'd all be on the same page right away! (end pedantic ... :) -E
Ditto for Japanese Larch, etc. Same please for 6-letter spellings of 'Scots' in e.g. Scots Pine, Scots Broom, etc. The word 'scotch' means whisky, and nothing else. Other uses are considered very offensive in Scotland.
Being of Japanese descent I really appreciate Daniel's request in this thread. When I was growing up, when people used the term they usually meant Jewish American Princess... but I still knew it was a hurtful word liked to sad memories for my father and his family when they lived in BC during the war. And thanks Michael F, for the reminder about the proper use of Scotch vs. Scots! But what about Butterscotch? <evil grin>
>The word 'scotch' means whisky, and nothing else.< "'Scotch' should only pertain to specific products, usually food or drink, such as scotch whisky, scotch pie, scotch broth or scotch eggs." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch
just for my knowledge so how would you refer to the people of Scotland? Scottish? I have heard "Scotch" used a lot and (apologetically) never really thought anything of it, but it does make sense that it is offensive if it isn't the correct way to refer to someone. "Scots" is the correct way, right? Thanks.
Thank you very much, as I'm a Wallace and Hubby's ancestry is from Scotland. I am not a drinker so that really helps me to know what is proper and what isn't. Also, I remember when J-- Flaps were a popular term and now they are called Flip Flops. But I still call 'thongs' thongs. Refering to the protective sole apparatus. Which does throw my children for a loop. They are adult age, except for a 16 year and he thinks he is and adult. LOL
"JM" might be an ineffective choice, being slang for both "Jedi Master" and a person who is overly defensive. So easy to write Japanese maple. Maybe consider filtering "JM" also, leaving the full name as the alternative.
I've been to two separate hardware stores recently that wrote "J-- Maple" right there on the price tag. And I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where people are just looking to be offended. It is a little uncomfortable to see it or say it, so I just use "Acer palmatum", or Ap. Both are shorter than "Japanese Maple".
Why shorten what are beautiful tree names? What is more confusing is Acers and Japenese Maples. I am thinking England for Acer Palmatum Bloodgood etc and Japenese Maples in Canada??
