"Musashi" <Miyamoto@Hosokawa.co.jp> wrote in message
news:%610d.14217$FV3.7873@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com...
>
> "Marc Adler" <marc.adler@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:WK00d.181$XW.36@twister.socal.rr.com...
> > Musashi wrote:
> >
> > > You know, I don't think people in Japan are aware that the word
"eskimo"
> > > (which is the same in Japanese) is derogatory.
> > > At least I didn't.
> >
> > What?! How can it be derogatory? That's where we get our word for
> > 'skiing,' for chrissake.
> >
>
> As I said, I had no idea but the site given (
> http://www.freespiritgallery.ca/ )
> states;
>
> "Just for your information, the term Eskimo is now considered derogatory
and
> has been
> replaced by the more acceptable term Inuit. Eskimo is used in this website
> only as a reference
> term for our international customers who may not be aware of the term
> Inuit."

On the scale of racially derogatory terms, where the "N" word is at the high
end (i.e. the most widely understood to be derogatory), I think the word
Eskimo would be at the low end, below even the words Oriental and Black
(both of which are still widely used) but probably a little bit higher than
the word White.

Jeff