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[Marmaladefire]

Wait, a guy who apprenticed years in Japan and runs a traditional Japanese restaraunt is a weab for using Japanese words? Oh, no he said 'omakase', weeeab!
People order hamachi and sake. Not young yellowtail tuna and rice wine.

I'm not about to defend this guy but it IS a shame that interest or participation in anything with a Japanese origin = weeb. You can't blame people for their vigilance though, I suppose. The trajectory of Japanese exports to the US has created some infamously questionable subculture. We kind of deserve it on some level.


It would be nice to be able to talk about legit Japanese alt fashion, food, and non wota music, etc without people thinking I add -chan to the end of my name and meow in between sentences though. I even studied it for realsies in university!

 

[Replicant]

Wait, a guy who apprenticed years in Japan and runs a traditional Japanese restaraunt is a weab for using Japanese words? Oh, no he said 'omakase', weeeab!
People order hamachi and sake. Not young yellowtail tuna and rice wine.

I think if you're gonna speak Japanese and can do so proficiently then don't just stick to typical catchphrases. And in his case obviously doing so lead him to do stupid shit like imitating the accent.

I've been to Japan and seen many foreigners speak Japanese while working at a restaurant, etc. Even though they use polite Japanese form/keigo, none of them try to act like Asian guy/girl who's struggling with English language.

 

[[boots]]

Please point out the overwhelming number of posters being racist against Asians?

I'm guessing you're not Asian and don't really see a lot of it as all that serious or hateful in nature, cause I remember avoiding off-topic like the plague during my early lurker years on GAF because of the obvious casual racism towards Asians with no consequence and general apathy towards any topic involving our problems with racism.

"Well every Asian I've known is racist..."

Seen this in three different threads by three different posters, and always to justify racism towards Asians. I'll just say one of them was a favorite poster of mine and kinda made me view GAF with a raised eyebrow afterward.

 

[ViviOggi]

I don't know, I can laugh about myself, I feel I can laugh about others as well. I have no problem with being the victim of a joke either.

Let's keep it to accent for now... you don't happen to speak your native language in a way that is considered the 'standard' in your country do you?

 

[KillLaCam]

Why make fun of others for their accent in the first place?

I always find it funny when people try to imitate my accent or figure out where I'm from. I'd do it back to them too.

You can joke about things without being racist or being offended. You can also make any type of jokes be offensive too. It just depends on how you do it and what the situation is.


Even when I speak other languages people will occasionally joke about my pronunciation and accent on somethings.

If I was in a situation where someone was trying to be offensive about my accent I'd just ask them how many languages are they fluent in.

 

[DeliciousDoc]

I like how its ok for chinese to imitate the japanese accent because its taking back a slur while most asians, especially chinese ( the other chefs doing it) dont naturally have that accent and hate the japanese.

 

[Shaanyboi]

There was a gyoza bar that opened in downtown Vancouver a couple years back. My girlfriend stepped inside and it was the most hipsterish white dude take on a Japanese restaurant she had ever seen. Run by a full white staff. But by far the part that broke her was that they still would do the "Irasshaimase!" greeting in unison as people would enter. Her Korean friend was laughing so hard, she was in tears.

 

[Ratrat]

I'm not about to defend this guy but it IS a shame that interest or participation in anything with a Japanese origin = weeb. You can't blame people for their vigilance though, I suppose. The trajectory of Japanese exports to the US has created some infamously questionable subculture. We kind of deserve it on some level.


It would be nice to be able to talk about legit Japanese alt fashion, food, and non wota music, etc without people thinking I add -chan to the end of my name and meow in between sentences though. I even studied it for realsies in university!

Yeah, the word is used so much now its lost all meaning. Well, the meaning seems to be to just demean anyone who has an interest in Japan. Who cares if they ligit went to school and have credentials? The weab stuff needs to be kept to otaku shit.

I think if you're gonna speak Japanese and can do so proficiently then don't just stick to typical catchphrases. And in his case obviously doing so lead him to do stupid shit like imitating the accent.

I've been to Japan and seen many foreigners speak Japanese while working at a restaurant, etc. Even though they use polite Japanese form/keigo, none of them try to act like Asian guy/girl who's struggling with English language.

Hmm..not really sure what you are saying. Maybe its my english.

There was a gyoza bar that opened in downtown Vancouver a couple years back. My girlfriend stepped inside and it was the most hipsterish white dude take on a Japanese restaurant she had ever seen. Run by a full white staff. But by far the part that broke her was that they still would do the "Irasshaimase!" greeting in unison as people would enter. Her Korean friend was laughing so hard, she was in tears.

The horror.　/s

 

[sir_kevith]

There was a gyoza bar that opened in downtown Vancouver a couple years back. My girlfriend stepped inside and it was the most hipsterish white dude take on a Japanese restaurant she had ever seen. Run by a full white staff. But by far the part that broke her was that they still would do the "Irasshaimase!" greeting in unison as people would enter. Her Korean friend was laughing so hard, she was in tears.

You should be careful judging people too harshly that are just doing their job. There's been a number of Izakaya's opening in the PNW owned by Japanese corporations but employing staff that aren't Japanese. Even if the place was white owned, it's fucked up to laugh at people just doing their job.

You bring shame to yourself, your family, and Korean friend (Koreans in Vancouver are ALL experts on the ancient art of Japanese restaurant greetings). Honor and shame is a big part of Japanese culture.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I used to hang out with this guy when he was in Japan. The chefs he worked with had a very non-pc way of talking. Basically he's using the racist jokes they would make about each other in the kitchen. He probably should have dropped that habit when he opened his NYC restaurant since these jokes don't work in the US especially when used with customers.

 

[Neverforget]

Imitating the accent of a minority that has history of being made fun of because of it, is racist and damn disrespectful.

My friend has an accent, she certainly doesn't find it funny when people imitate it for shit and giggle, it hurts her and makes her feel self conscious about communicating with others.

If you are not a minority yourself it's not your place to tell people it's not a big deal. Of course it's not a big deal to you. Are you Asian? No? Than who are you to tell them how they should feel and what is or what is not offensive to them.

If you cannot muster empathy at least have some decency.

 

[maxcriden]

Funny accent imitations = racist piece of shit now? So we all boycotting that new Mario game?

The new Mario game has accent imitations?

 

[Kenstar]

It would be nice to be able to talk about legit Japanese alt fashion, food, and non wota music, etc without people thinking I add -chan to the end of my name and meow in between sentences though. I even studied it for realsies in university!

did you just use wo and not o in your otaku abbreviation

ya weeb sympathizer

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

For people saying they would be okay if their accents were mocked- I used to be like you thinking it's just for laughs, but over the three years I've been studying in UK that shit has gotten old very fast especially when it's used to shut down a discussion... And while I can still fall back on having better English than some of the locals, I can't imagine what it's like for someone struggling to learn the language.

 

[Forkball]

There was a gyoza bar that opened in downtown Vancouver a couple years back. My girlfriend stepped inside and it was the most hipsterish white dude take on a Japanese restaurant she had ever seen. Run by a full white staff. But by far the part that broke her was that they still would do the "Irasshaimase!" greeting in unison as people would enter. Her Korean friend was laughing so hard, she was in tears.

I've been to Japanese restaurants in Korea and Taiwan, and they still say irasshaimase despite no one working there being Japanese.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

There was a gyoza bar that opened in downtown Vancouver a couple years back. My girlfriend stepped inside and it was the most hipsterish white dude take on a Japanese restaurant she had ever seen. Run by a full white staff. But by far the part that broke her was that they still would do the "Irasshaimase!" greeting in unison as people would enter. Her Korean friend was laughing so hard, she was in tears.

That's normal. It's like whatever shout or command you give during Karate or Taekwondo.

 

[NewGame]

I once tied my hair back, put on a bath robe and then waved around a broom sick while making "asian noises" from Japanese cartoons I saw on television.

Am I a bad person GAF??

 

[riotous]

Source: phonetics

Maybe it was a dialect thing; but my Japanese teacher, who was Japanese, used an english sounding r in place of l sounds when speaking English.

I later leaned that she had taught us what was considered a sort of archaic Japanese dialect commonly only used in rural areas.

Other Japanese people I've spoken to used different r sound when speaking "l" words; but I wouldn't say it "doesn't come close" to the English r sound. I can spot the difference for sure, but the english r is closer than the english l to a layman like me.

Either way imitating it is offensive and this story is gross, but I found your post a little odd. Obviously you are an expert, but that might just mean you are over thinking it bit and your definition of "not close" is far different from the norm.

 

[Rentahamster]

Either way imitating it is offensive and this story is gross, but I found your post a little odd. Obviously you are an expert, but that might just mean you are over thinking it bit and your definition of "not close" is far different from the norm.

Odd? How so. I'm trying to make a comparison using objectively measurable characteristics derived from the study of linguistics. It's hard to objectively compare feelings. Especially in the realm of language when much of the behavior is a mix of innate and learned behavior, and everyone has a distinct and individual combination of both.

 

[Yellowflashdude]

It feels like it's more acceptable to be "casually" racist towards Asian compared to other race, if casual is the right word. I can't imagine racist doing this to another race and only get pretty tame backlash like this. Reminds me of that racist ninja song.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

There was a gyoza bar that opened in downtown Vancouver a couple years back. My girlfriend stepped inside and it was the most hipsterish white dude take on a Japanese restaurant she had ever seen. Run by a full white staff. But by far the part that broke her was that they still would do the "Irasshaimase!" greeting in unison as people would enter. Her Korean friend was laughing so hard, she was in tears.

I'm a ginger, as I take after my very white father. But my mom is half-Japanese, and her first-gen migrant mother was a huge influence in how we all grew up.

It was always hilarious when I was a sushi chef, because bigoted folks like you would see me, then see my Viet sushi chef coworkers, demand to be sat in front of the guy who's Japanese, and the server would put you in front of me.

 

[rykomatsu]

The JPN pronunciation for "ri/li" is closer to an "r" sound than an "l" sound.

Source: myself.

Don't know what the other dude is smoking.

 

[clarknova156]

Instantly what I thought of. Bravo.

 

[Bubble Metropolis]

I've been to Japanese restaurants in Korea and Taiwan, and they still say irasshaimase despite no one working there being Japanese.

Why didn't you make a thread, bro.


The article makes it seem like he's trying to replicate authentic sushi chef banter, which would very likely include a Japanese sushi chef saying "delicious!" to some foreign customers because it's a common English word every Japanese person knows, rather than 'mocking' an accent. The word 'delicious' is within the Japanese lexicon, and it's written and pronounced 'derishyasu' when incorporated into the language.

I live in Japan and my native language is English. There are dozens of times a day where I have to use English words which have been incorporated into Japanese, but if I say these words in a typical English way then they won't be understood. If I tell the taxi driver to take me to "Bandai bus terminal," the reaction would be a puzzled look because it's "Bandai basu taminaru" in Japanese. Those words are English in origin, but they have been incorporated into Japanese and effectively become a new word. I'm not putting a Japanese accent on English words, I'm just speaking Japanese words.

If you find me a random guy who doesn't know any better that's just swapping l's with r's with zero context, then I'm with the outrage. This guy just seems to be speaking Japanese.

Edit: I get that what he did may be offensive to some, but the current trend of hit piece articles that are obviously written just to get someone fired is becoming gross. "This guy WHO WORKS AT THE EXXON STATION AT THE CORNER OF APPLING AND HIGHLAND was very rude when I saw him yesterday at the Gap."

 

[Izuna]

It is something that Japanese audience would probably enjoy.

Not great for AsAm, I'm suspecting.

Like, my partner gets a kick out of MI RA KU RU but would otherwise hate tf out of breakfast at tiffany's.

There's this stupid gaijin talent in Japan popular for basically doing this thing for the better part of a decade :|

 

[Seductivpancakes]

As an Asian-American, I find this lame as fuck.

Co signed. Shit was never funny when i was a child and it sure as hell isn't now.

 

[PixelatedBookake]

Nah I don't think this is cool. Out of respect for the culture your whose food your making, maybe let's not do that.