2011年ESL之日常生活 12 Making Ethnically or RaciallyOffensive Remarks

12 Making Ethnically 2 or RaciallyOffensive Remarks

GLOSSARY 3

mick – a word for an Irish person, usually offensive

* Don’t call me mick. I’m Irish, but that word is an insult!

decade – a period of 10 years

* Which wars were fought in the same decade as the Vietnam War?

ignorant – without knowledge of something; unaware 4 of something; neverhaving been taught about something

* Blake has never traveled outside the United States and he’s completelyignorant about other cultures.

offensive – hurting someone’s feelings in a rude way; insulting

* Several of the employees have complained that you were telling offensive jokesduring your lunch break.

to add insult to injury – to make a bad situation worse; to do something thatworsens the current situation, which is already negative

* I lost my keys and sat on my glasses. Then, to add insult to injury, I spilled hotcoffee on the front of my shirt.

on behalf of – for someone else; as a representative for another person or groupof people

* Craig accepted the award on behalf of his team.

How dare (one) – a question asked when one is very angry over anotherperson’s inappropriate and rude behavior

* How dare you tell my brother to leave your house because he wasn’t invited?

presumptuous 5 – doing something that is inappropriate because one does nothave a right to do it; assuming that one may do something when one actuallyshould not

* It was very presumptuous of Dan to ask how old the clerk is, implying that sheis too young for the job.

to make a point – to do something deliberately 6 to demonstrate or provesomething else

* The protesters are trying to make a point about what’s wrong with the new law.

to get carried away – to do too much of something, usually because one wasvery excited and wasn’t able to realize he or she should have stopped

* Ingrid loves baking, but sometimes she gets carried away and makes way toomany cakes and cookies.

insulting – hurting someone’s feelings in a rude way; offensive

* Harold is a genius, but he can be very insulting when he assumes other peoplearen’t as smart or well educated as he is.

to give (someone) the benefit of the doubt – to assume that someone said ordid something with good intentions or for a good reason, even though the resultswere negative; to assume that someone did something for the right reasons

* I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that when hecommented on your weight, it was because he was genuinely concerned aboutyour health.

magnanimous – very kind, forgiving, and generous

* Chi-Young made a magnanimous offer to help his friend pay for college.

ethic 7 slur 8 – an insult based the social or cultural group that one is identified with;an offensive word or phrase about a person’s ethnicity

* Ethnic 1 slurs 9 are allowed under freedom of speech, but that doesn’t mean weshould use them.

politically correct – using words and phrases that are chosen very carefully sothat they do not offend anyone

* Some people who are trying to be politically correct refer to short people as“vertically challenged,” but that seems silly to me.

behind the times – old-fashioned; outdated 10; not related to what is happeningnow in modern times; seeming to be more appropriate in an earlier time

* Lyonne’s knowledge of computers is really behind the times. He doesn’t evenknow how to use email or search the Internet.

to catch up – to reach the same position, place, or level as other people afterone has been behind or below them

* Our book club will be discussing the end of the book and I haven’t finished thesecond chapter yet. I need to catch up before our next meeting.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What was Dan referring to when he called Mike a mick?

a) His hairstyle.

b) His age.

c) His ethnicity.

2. What does Patti mean when she says that Dan’s “a little behind the times”?

a) He’s always running late.

b) He has outdated ideas.

c) He speaks too slowly.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to get carried away

The phrase “to get carried away,” in this podcast, means to do too much ofsomething, usually because one was very excited and wasn’t able to realize heor she should have stopped: “While redecorating their home, they got carriedaway and painted all of the rooms bright pink.” The phrase “to be carried alongby (something)” means to be excited and determined 11 to continue to dosomething: “Even though the runner was very tired, he was carried along by thecheers of the crowd.” Finally, the phrase “to carry (something) off” means to beable to do something that is very difficult or that seems impossible: “Nobodythought he could carry it off, but his first performance in a movie won an Oscar.”

to catch up

In this podcast, the phrase “to catch up” means to reach the same position,place, or level as other people after one has been behind or below them: “Ourcompetitor’s sales are growing 20% faster than ours, but with the right marketingstrategy, we can catch up.” The phrase “to catch (someone) up” means to givesomeone the information he or she needs in order to know as much as everyoneelse: “I had to step out of the meeting for a few minutes. Can you catch me upon what was discussed while I was gone?” Finally, the phrase “to not catch(something)” means to not hear or understand what was said: “I didn’t catch that.

Could you please repeat what you said a little more loudly?”

CULTURE NOTE

Unacceptable Racial SlursLanguages change over time, and some terms that were “once” (in the past)“acceptable” (okay to use) are no longer acceptable. This is especially true forterms used to refer to “minority groups” (people with a race that is less than 50%of the larger population).

For example, in the past it was acceptable to refer to blacks or African Americansas “colored” people, but this term isn’t heard very often anymore, and mostpeople consider it to be rude. Similarly, in the past people referred to anyonewith Asian “heritage” (background) as an “oriental,” but this isn’t acceptable now,either. It is better to refer to the specific race or country of origin, or just to say“Asian American.”

In the past, Native Americans were often called “redskins.” This term is generallyconsidered inappropriate, but there is a major exception – the “WashingtonRedskins” are an American Football Team. For years, some people have tried tomake the team change its name and “mascot” (an animal or figure representing ateam) because they think it is inappropriate. Other people argue that althoughthe word “redskin” was used in a “defamatory” (hurtful and rude) way in the past,the team now uses the name as a way to honor Native Americans.

Some terms refer not only to someone’s race, but also their beliefs and sense of“identity” (how one identifies or categorizes oneself). For example, an “apple” isa rude term sometimes used to describe a Native American who has been“assimilated into” (become part of) “white” culture, because an apple is “red” (aninappropriate reference to Native Americans’ skin color) on the outside and“white” on the inside. A “banana” is a rude term sometimes used to describe anAsian American who is “yellow” on the outside and “white” on the inside.

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT 12

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast episode 698: MakingEthnically or Racially Offensive Remarks.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 698. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Go there to download a Learning Guide for thisepisode to improve your English even faster.

This episode is called “Making Ethnically or Racially Offensive Remarks.” Let’sget started.

[start of dialogue]

Mike: Did you hear what Dan said? He called me a mick. What decade is heliving in?

Patti: He’s just ignorant. I’m sure he wasn’t trying to be offensive.

Mike: Well, I take offense 13. And to add insult to injury, did you hear what else hesaid?

Patti: What?

Mike: He said that he was speaking on behalf of the Irish in the community whenhe said he liked the plan. How dare he speak for other people? It’spresumptuous.

Patti: He was trying to make a point and probably just got carried away. I agreethat what he said could be insulting, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.

Mike: You can be magnanimous if you want to be, but I know an ethnic slurwhen I hear one.

Patti: It wasn’t an ethnic slur. It wasn’t the politically correct term, that’s all. He’sa little behind the times.

Mike: Behind the times?! He’d have to live to 150 to catch up to the present!

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Mike saying to Patti, “Did you hear what Dan said? Hecalled me a mick.” A “mick” (mick) is an old term for someone who was fromIreland or had relatives from Ireland. It is an insulting term, what we would call a“derogatory” term. It is not a compliment, but an insult to someone. There aremany, as you probably know, words that are used to describe people fromdifferent countries, different ethnicities, as well as different races: white, black,Asian, and so forth 14. We’re not going to go over those here on the podcast otherthan to use this one as an example. A “mick” was someone who, as I said, wasIrish.

Mike continues, “What decade is he (is Dan) living in?” A “decade” is a period of10 years. If someone says, “In the past decade we have had many good thingshappen at our company,” they mean in the past 10 years. Decade is related to10; usually it refers to 10 years, but it can refer to 10 other things as well.

Patti says, “He’s just ignorant,” he doesn’t have the knowledge of something, hewas never taught some particular thing. When you say someone is “ignorant,”

you say they don’t know something. They’re not necessarily a bad person, theyjust don’t know. Patti says, “I’m sure he wasn’t trying to be offensive.” “To beoffensive” here means to be insulting, to be rude, to try to hurt someone else’sfeelings.

Mike says, “Well, I take offense.” “To take offense” says that you are botheredby – you are offended by something someone did or said. Mike says, “And toadd insult to injury, did you hear what else he said?” The expression “to addinsult to injury” means to make a bad situation worse, to do something to make asituation more negative that was already a negative situation or a bad situation.

Patti says, “What?” Mike says, “He said that he was speaking on behalf of theIrish in the community.” “On behalf of” means representing someone else orsome group of people. “I’m speaking on behalf of everyone in my family when Isay thank you for all the help you have given us.” I’m speaking on behalf ofthem; they’re not speaking, I’m speaking for them – on behalf of. Mike says thatDan said he was “speaking on behalf of the Irish in the community when he saidhe liked the plan. How dare he speak for other people?” The expression “howdare you” or “how dare she” is the beginning of a question you ask when you areangry at what someone has said; you think what they said or did was wrong.

Often, the expression is used when you think that person has somehow donemore than they had the right to do. “How dare you throw water at my cat whenhe was in your backyard.” He was in your house, how dare you? You don’t have a right to do that, that’s what you’re saying. You’re wrong, but that’s what you’resaying!

Mike says how dare Dan speak for other people. He says, “It’s presumptuous.”

“To be presumptuous” (presumptuous) means doing something that is wrong,that is inappropriate, because, once again, you don’t have the right to do it.

You’re assuming that you can do something when, in fact, you should not bedoing it. So you walk into a bar and you start talking to this beautiful woman, andabout halfway 15 through your conversation you give her your phone number andyou say, “Well, let’s meet next Friday for a drink. Give me a call,” that would bepresumptuous; the verb would be “to presume.” You are presuming that thewoman is interested in you and wants to go on a date with you. That would bevery presumptuous, probably not very successfully either!

Patti says Dan “was trying to make a point.” “To make a point” is an expressionthat means to do something to demonstrate or prove something else. It’s oftenused simply to mean to make a statement or a strong statement, and sometimesyou can add the preposition “of” at the end when you want to say that youspecifically and purposely did something. For example: “I want to make a pointof arriving at work on time every day this week.” You are planning on doing it,probably because you want to prove something or demonstrate something, orsimply because you think it’s important. Patti says Dan was trying to saysomething important, “to make a point and probably just got carried away.” “Toget carried away” means to be so excited, so enthusiastic about doing somethingthat you do too much of it; you don’t realize you’re doing too much. To go backto our example at the bar, if the woman actually does call you, and you decidethat you’re going to buy her a dozen roses and a bottle of champagne 16 and get aspecial car – a limousine 17 to pick you up together at this restaurant, you go to thebest restaurant in the city, you might be getting carried away. You might bedoing too much – especially if it’s just your first date! If you bought her a ring, tomarry her, you would definitely be getting carried away.

Patti says, “I agree that what he said could be insulting (could hurt someone’sfeelings), but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.” “To give (someone) thebenefit of the doubt” is to assume that what someone said or did, they did for agood reason; they had good intentions even though the result was negative.

When you’re not sure why someone did something, and it seems like somethingbad happened, you can give them the benefit of the doubt; you can say, “Well,they probably didn’t realize they were talking so loudly on their cell phone in thecafé yesterday.” So, you’re not going to get angry at them, you’re going to givethem the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps there’s something they didn’t understand or you didn’t understand about the situation that would give it a differentmeaning.

Mike says, “You can be magnanimous if you want to be.” “To be magnanimous”

is to be very kind, very forgiving, very generous. “The businesswoman gave amillion dollars to her old university. It was a magnanimous gift,” a generous one.

Mike says, “I know an ethnic slur when I hear one.” A “slur” (slur) is an insultingterm or word, sort of like a swear word, but usually it’s directed at a person.

You’re saying something about that person. An “ethnic slur” would be like theterm “mick,” an insulting term about someone from a particular group or country.

A “racial slur” would be about someone’s skin color.

Patti says, “It wasn’t an ethnic slur. It wasn’t the politically correct term, that’sall.” “Politically correct” is using words and language carefully so that you don’toffend other people – to get other people mad at you. You often will change thewords that we perhaps used to use to describe someone and use language thatis less offensive to them. Some people use “politically correct” itself to be aninsulting term, saying that people are being too careful not to be offensive. Inany case, Patti says that Dan is “a little behind the times.” “To be behind thetimes” is to be old-fashioned, to be outdated; someone who’s not necessarilymodern, who is not doing things appropriate for the current times – the currentday.

Mike says, “Behind the times?! He’d have to live to 150 to catch up to thepresent!” “To catch up” is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to reach the sameposition or place or level as other people are. If you are in school and you don’tgo to class for two weeks, you’ll have to catch up to the other students. You’llhave to work to get to the same level they are at.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Mike: Did you hear what Dan said? He called me a mick. What decade is heliving in?

Patti: He’s just ignorant. I’m sure he wasn’t trying to be offensive.

Mike: Well, I take offense. And to add insult to injury, did you hear what else hesaid?

Patti: What?

Mike: He said that he was speaking on behalf of the Irish in the community whenhe said he liked the plan. How dare he speak for other people? It’spresumptuous.

Patti: He was trying to make a point and probably just got carried away. I agreethat what he said could be insulting, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.

Mike: You can be magnanimous if you want to be, but I know an ethnic slurwhen I hear one.

Patti: It wasn’t an ethnic slur. It wasn’t the politically correct term, that’s all. He’sa little behind the times.

Mike: Behind the times?! He’d have to live to 150 to catch up to the present!

[end of dialogue]

I speak on behalf of everyone at ESL Podcast in thanking our scriptwriter today,Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us again here on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2011 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.