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From: Rodney Webster <rgw_news001@knot.mine.nu>
Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan
Subject: Re: children in japan: difficulty with school system, culture, and language
Date: Wed, 02 Jun 2004 09:36:55 +0900
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In article <2i3tuhFifgc8U1@uni-berlin.de>,
 "Elbow" <VIRUS LIKES MY MAIL@gol.com> wrote:

> I use 'double' for my kids and any others. Much more positive.

Considering the fact that in almost all cases the word "haafu" is being 
used in a positive sense - as in pointing out how cute, or how "lucky" 
kids are to be half - the interpretation of the word "haafu" as being 
negative (or not as positive as "double") is one that you are making, 
and not the speaker.

If the speaker were using "haafu" with a negative connotation, you could 
be sure that they would be implying the same even if they used "double", 
or in fact any word.

The problem I have with complaints about the word "haafu" is that you 
are ignoring completely what the person using that word is saying, 
putting your *own* interpretation on the word "haafu" and then getting 
upset about it.  Kind of like a dog chasing its own tail.

Of course, you can interpret words however you want, and react 
accordingly, but if that interpretation has little or no relation to 
what the person using the word meant, then don't be surprised if they 
don't understand when you get upset.  (In fact you'll be making the 
situation worse, IMHO, because you'll just get labeled as an irrational 
gaijin).

> And as the above poster said half of what?

Half of nothing.  The word is not being used with the meaning of 1/2, 
just to indicate that a person has mixed heritage.

-- 
Rodney Webster
http://knot.mine.nu/