Is it time to stop saying 'aloha' and other culturally sensitive words out of context?

https://www.yahoo.com ^ | January 13, 2023 | David Oliver

[Red Badger]

"Aloha." "Hola." "Shalom."

These are ways to say "hello" in Hawaiian, Spanish and Hebrew, respectively. But just because you can say something doesn't mean it's always appropriate.

On the surface, simple greetings and phrases from other races and cultures may seem fine to sprinkle into our vernacular. Inclusive even.

But did you know that "aloha" doesn't just mean hello or goodbye? "It's a greeting or a farewell, but the meaning is deeper," says Maile Arvin, the director of Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Utah. "One of my Hawaiian language teachers taught it to me as 'Aloha means recognizing yourself in everyone and everything you meet.'"

If you're not Hawaiian and you say it, it could come off as mockery. And that's just one word to think about.

The use of certain words requires education, knowledge and the foresight to understand when they should – or shouldn't – come out of your mouth.

'We live in a multilingual world' Of course, not all uses of language outside someone's culture are problematic.

"We live in a multilingual world where we're always influencing one another's language practices hand where we might come into contact with a variety of terms or language practices that we have not grown up in," says Nikki Lane, cultural and linguistic Anthropologist.

Intention matters most. Dropping "hola" or "shalom" to someone you know who speaks Spanish or Hebrew, for example, isn't something to worry about. Actively don a fake, exaggerated accent and say those words? Therein lies the problem.

Like saying "ni hao" to someone Asian American who isn't Chinese; this could be both othering and a microaggression.

[Red Badger]

If ‘THEY’ want to blame somebody, they can blame HOLLYWOOD for all this stuff.

It’s their buddies fault, not ours................

[moovova]

I took two years of Spanish, for the heck of it, at a local community college...twice (total of four years).

I never really got to be what I would consider good enough at it until I was in Spain for a several weeks...and then only after having a several cervezas!

Still, it was a lot of fun.

[rwilson99]

How dare you be friendly!

[Reno89519]

Tribalism. Only certain people can say, do, eat, wear, work, and breath. Sad, especially on the day celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

So we are going to re-rename Mt. Denali back to Mt. McKinley?

Following this “logic,” wouldn’t we have to stop using offensive native names for all places? There are probably a million such place names in the USA. Here are a few common place names offensively derived from Indian words.

Alabama: may come from Choctaw meaning "thicket-clearers" or "vegetation-gatherers."

Alaska: corruption of Aleut word meaning "great land" or "that which the sea breaks against."

Arizona: from the Indian "Arizonac," meaning "little spring" or "young spring."

Arkansas: from the Quapaw Indians.

Let’s go one step further. Using an alphabet is a racist, evil, white male, hegemonic construct. It seriously demeans the natives who never developed an alphabet. We need to abandon the use of alphabets and start learning pictographs. Here is our first new lesson. Commence using immediately…

[bert]

Black....... African Heritage peoples unable to cope in a white world

[Red Badger]

I am not Buddhist or Hindu, but I do get annoyed when I see people who are not of these two 'faiths' doing a namaste when meeting an Asian person. But it is a good way to spot a libtard......................

[rlmorel]

In case you were curious, this is the creature telling us what is okay to say, and what isn't okay to say:

[Red Badger]

I never took a single class of German, although it was offered in my HS along with French and Spanish.

When I went to Germany in 2000 as part of my job, I quickly learned a lot of German just by being there and necessity..............

[Red Badger]

I wasn’t....................😜

[Political Junkie Too]

Gesundheit!

-PJ

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Whatever happened to “To the Victors Go the Spoils”?

One of the spoils was that Victors get to rename things and select the words used. If you are defeated or vanquished, you pay a price.

[Red Badger]

GM will have a problem.....................

[EinNYC]

What about America being a “melting pot”? Makes for plenty of cross-fertilization of culture and language. Those two libtards can take a short dive off a long dock. We have so many more important things to worry about.

[BitWielder1]

So much for inclusion and embracing diverse cultures.
If anybody can say this word belongs to our culture alone and anyone else using it is offensive, how can we ever get along?

But I can play too, there are many words that other people use incorrectly and in their mouth they don't mean what they are supposed to mean.
For example, logic, logical, rational, common sense, science, scientific, fairness, patriotism, normal, man, woman, freedom...

[Red Badger]

If ever there was a ‘universal’ Language, English is it.

It borrows words from other languages and makes them part of its own. It enriches the language and allows other people to learn it more quickly. The syntax and grammar may be a bit difficult for some but they always make it...................

[ProtectOurFreedom]

So their great big SUV will now be offensive for two reasons.

As we all know, Land O’Lakes easily solved their problem.

[rlmorel]

I live in an extremely blue state. I often drive down the highway and see cars like this:

When I do, I feel an urge to see what the driver looks like. Often, as I pass the car, I will glance over to look.

The glove never fails to fit the hand, or the shoe, the foot. It is a peculiar thing that you can often spot them once you know what to expect...:)

[Red Badger]

I do that, too!.........................

[Tess1]

About 35 years ago my husband and I traveled to Hawaii. I absolutely fell in love with the culture. I would go live there if I could afford it. The professor is trying to make himself relevant. He is being noninclusive, is racist and just plain annoying.

I'm a Christian so I’m not worshiping the goddess Pele. If he wants to go throw himself in a volcano and prove how “authentic” he is I will rent him a helicopter. No, he is just a phony person who likes to tell others how they feel and if they are sincere and what to do. Oh that's right, he can read my mind, heart and soul. You know …like God.