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What words can you think of that mean more or less hapa, in any language? You don't have to stick to the gentle aloha ones, rough is ok too.
One Chinese person said "Ni shi hunxue!" (literally, mixed blood) Wonder if that is a literal translation from the English term, or something Chinese had all along?
One Chinese person said "Ni shi hunxue!" (literally, mixed blood) Wonder if that is a literal translation from the English term, or something Chinese had all along?
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SF Bay Area
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Re: In other words
Wed, March 3, 2004 - 1:35 AMWhen I was a kid , my mother would tell people who asked we were Heinz 57 or part United Nations. As a teenager I also, told people I was an all-American mutt. The look I would get - it was worth a thousands laughs. ^_^
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Re: In other words
Thu, March 4, 2004 - 6:42 AMI was a bit intrigued by the documentary "Doubles," which uses "double" to refer to mixed Japanese and American children--meaning we have two complete cultural backgrounds, while "hapa" implies having only two halves...
globalfilmnetwork.net/doubles.html
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Re: In other words
Thu, March 4, 2004 - 1:23 PMThere's also the slang I grew up with.
A friend once said she thought I was an "oreo" (as in cookie). Black on the outside, white on the inside.
I said I was a "banana". Yellow on the outside, but white on the inside.
Disparing terms to be sure, but at the time I was a teenager, and I thought it was comical. -
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Re: In other words
Sat, May 1, 2004 - 8:59 AMWhen I went to live in Hawaii in high school, I was known as the coconut - brown on the outside, white inside. I actually kind of liked that :-)
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Re: In other words
Sat, March 6, 2004 - 4:19 PMmestiza/mestizo (used in Spanish and Tagalog)
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Re: In other words
Fri, April 9, 2004 - 2:41 PMi've also proudly and endearingly called myself a mutt.
at one point i used "banana" as well. but that was when i went through a confused state in regards to my okinawan backgound.
when i was younger i really did feel yellow on the outside but white within. for one, my parents chose to raise me in the states. because my older brother had a hard time adjusting to the US public school system when we moved here, they figured it was a linguistic thing and raised me english speaking. to this day i am fluent in spanish but NOT japanese. (i read/write japanese like a two year old and have the communication skills of a three year old). so i guess i felt i appeared more asian than i was.
but i have since realized how much culture was infused in me. i now feel more like an egg - white on the outside...you get the picture.
i am also intrigued by Elina Moriya's term nibai. -
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Re: In other words
Mon, April 12, 2004 - 2:14 PMIt may be a generational thing, but I always thought of "mutt" as meaning 'origins unknown' - and thought it was only used by people who were predominantly [exclusively?] European in background. (And even at that, it seemed like a way to add spice without really having to go looking for any actual roots.) It's one thing to have no discernable cultural roots, and another thing entirely to be too lazy to count those roots, or to be so ashamed of them to just dismiss them - or completely disconnected from them because of an institutional severing of any documentation of heritage.
To find folks claiming to be mutts, when they actually know what their ethnicity is, just seems sad - on the other hand, I recognize that people will reclaim those terms that were formerly used disparagingly (like 'oreo,' 'banana,' & 'coconut' [for us 'white-acting' Latinos]) in order to remove their sting.
It's an unfortunate by-product of English (and many other languages) that bi- & multi-lingualism & -culturism still seem to produce the self-description in fractional terms - that, for example, having 'Mexican' lineage via one parent & 'American' via the other would mean that I was "logically" half & half. This translated readily into the Spanish "mitad e mitad," but was always a conceptual speedbump that left my Mexican family wondering which half was which. (Long before I ever saw the movie "Zelig," it was easy for me to claim a nationality based on proximity - I was Mexican there, and American here....)
I'd be very intrigued by what linguistic constructions would be produced by cultures that neither subjugated others nor had been subjugated by others - would reduced levels of a cultural xenophobia have a measureable effect on naming conventions? -
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Re: In other words
Tue, April 13, 2004 - 1:09 PM>> It may be a generational thing, but I always thought of "mutt" as meaning 'origins unknown' - and thought it was only used by people who were predominantly [exclusively?] European in background. (And even at that, it seemed like a way to add spice without really having to go looking for any actual roots.) It's one thing to have no discernable cultural roots, and another thing entirely to be too lazy to count those roots, or to be so ashamed of them to just dismiss them - or completely disconnected from them because of an institutional severing of any documentation of heritage.
To find folks claiming to be mutts, when they actually know what their ethnicity is, just seems sad - on the other hand, I recognize that people will reclaim those terms that were formerly used disparagingly (like 'oreo,' 'banana,' & 'coconut' [for us 'white-acting' Latinos]) in order to remove their sting.<<
I am proud to be an "All American Mutt". For me and my family we are proud of our various heritage and celebrate our culture. I do not see calling myself a 'mutt' as disparaging. I see myself as a true American by being a 'mutt' (mixed). What ever happen to the saying "the great American melting pot" - we are all part of this meting pot. I was taught at a very young age to welcome and enjoy who (or what) you are.
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Re: In other words
Tue, April 13, 2004 - 5:12 PMWhile some might not find "mutt" disparaging, that wasn't always the case earlier in our history - it used to be that "mixed breed" and "mutt" were NOT synonymous. To be called a mutt was like being called a mongrel, a bastard, or maybe even a son of a bitch.
Language changes over time, and not always at the same rate by all speakers. The phrase/concept of "melting pot" is perfectly fine to some 'Americans' at the same time that it is repugnant to others.
The melting pot was proposed as a metaphor for the elimination of our various identities that we were supposed to 'leave behind' when we came here. While it is very tempting to think that the plan was that we would all mix into each other and form a completely new people on these shores, the intent of our 'forefathers' was rather different: we were all supposed to become like them. As long as our souls became WASPy, and we contributed to their economic benefit, we would be welcome here. (Fortunately, things didn't exactly work out that way - on the other hand, with each successive generation of the descendents of immigrants, we lose sight of more & more elements of our cultural heritage.)
To this day, in the Great Culture Wars across this country, there are 'Americans' who ignore the fundamental importance of immigrants to the essence of being 'American.' Knowing (& acknowledging) our roots is the way to make it easier for those who follow us in striving for the 'American' dream - even if they're cool with being called "mutts" - to do so without cost to their identities. -
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Re: In other words
Wed, April 14, 2004 - 1:58 PM>>>While some might not find "mutt" disparaging, that wasn't always the case earlier in our history - it used to be that "mixed breed" and "mutt" were NOT synonymous. To be called a mutt was like being called a mongrel, a bastard, or maybe even a son of a bitch.<<<
True and I feel it is time to heal old wounds. As you comment "to be called a mutt WAS like being called....". Actually, when I was born not only was mixed breeds frowned upon but so was my parents married. In fact when part of my family (grandparents) arrived here (california) they were treated poorly by others. The Mexicans were the only one that welcome them with open arms. I am pround that my family was able rised above all this and make something of themselves without losing their identity and culture. It is wise acknowledge the past but one does learn from the past and move on (grow).
>>Language changes over time, and not always at the same rate by all speakers. The phrase/concept of "melting pot" is perfectly fine to some 'Americans' at the same time that it is repugnant to others.
The melting pot was proposed as a metaphor for the elimination of our various identities that we were supposed to 'leave behind' when we came here. .......While it is very tempting to think that the plan was that we would all mix into each other and form a completely new people on these shores, the intent of our 'forefathers' was rather different: we were all supposed to become like them. As long as our souls became WASPy, and we contributed to their economic benefit, we would be welcome here. (Fortunately, things didn't exactly work out that way - on the other hand, with each successive generation of the descendents of immigrants, we lose sight of more & more elements of our cultural heritage.)
To this day, in the Great Culture Wars across this country, there are 'Americans' who ignore the fundamental importance of immigrants to the essence of being 'American.' Knowing (& acknowledging) our roots is the way to make it easier for those who follow us in striving for the 'American' dream - even if they're cool with being called "mutts" - to do so without cost to their identities.<<
Interesting. America is a melting pot with sevaral different nationalities that are mixing. And waspy forefathers are not the only ones that have a narrow point of view regarding mixing races. Growing up, it was Asians that were quick to reject me. This rejection made me stronger and taught me you celebrate very is different. On a postive note - recently, I have notice a change in this point of view. ^_^ Remember, America is not the only country with indentity problems.
Here a person can be an American and both enjoy America's culture and celebrate their ancestor's culture. I do thank my family elder for teaching me this. At the same time I was taught to accept an individual's choose to consider themselves as American born and being American is their culture.
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