why do some white people act like idiots when it comes to saying ethnic names?

Question

i saw a clip of jades mum on big brother and she was making a big deal out of the asian womans name, this is not the first time i have come across a white person acting like they are trying to climb a friggin mountain, when they come across a new name, and the whites have admitted this to be true - i seen it on little britian

Answer 1

because they want to demonize everything people do, differently from them. ( in general)

Answer 2

If I run across a name I am not sure of, I always flat out ask how to say it. It is not because I'm being rude. It is because I know that names are important and I don't want to butcher it when I say it. I have also seen people from other countries do the same with my name --and I didn't think they were acting like an idiot.

Answer 3

It's a classic case of ethnocentrism, a me-centred way of looking at the world. It's saying,"The way *I* talk is right and everyone else is wrong. Anything I've never experienced before is strange, unacceptable, "wrong."" The same thing applies when people think foreigners will understand if they're shouted at, or get angry when people from another country speak their own language because it's "rude", while those same people who get angry go to other countries and talk loudly in English!
Little tip though: this usually only applies to people with a low cultural level, and as such, it happens the world over. I've lived in Spain for 25 yrs and run into this same attitude all the time, on the part of a certain ignorant sector of society.

Answer 4

What a mug you are . Just because Jade's mum is stupid and white don't mean that all white people are idiots. What about the Kumars when the grand parents mis-pronounce words/ names etc, it's an individual thing nothing to do with race. And noone looks down their nose on others more then the French do if you try to speak their lingo.

Answer 5

First of all, please do not generalise all white people to be on the same wave length as Jades mom. You are insulting an entire race. Secondly, I work in a bank and I have to always use a customers name and sometimes it is just impossible, some ethnic names are just really hard to pronounce. It is not ignorance.

Answer 6

I don't think racism or ignorance is a 'white' thing at all.
I speak, read & write Japanese & it took a hell of a lot for me to learn it. We had some Japanese people come to the college & we all introduced ourselves to them in Japanese which was extremely nerve wracking. Most of the Japanese people were lovely but alot of them sat giggling at our efforts of speaking in their language. It made us even nervous. I am pleased to say that it did not put me off but that was just an example of sheer ignorance towards people who were making a real effort.
I also have a South African friend who is teaching how to speak Afrikaans but I cannot pronounce ALOT of the words simply because of the difference in the way we pronounce letters. I cannot pronounce R's & G's the way he does so I therefore have great difficulty in saying alot of words - but thats down to pronunciation, not ignorance.

Answer 7

I suppose it's like the ethnics speaking English where letters are missed out of words, and it's influenced a lot of whites to try and latch on to that way of
talking. Ya Nah whot I mean

Answer 8

Oh yes - that well known documentry Little Britain!

Anyway, you can't group all "whites" together. Not everyone has this problem. And so what if someone can't pronounce an Asian name? I've been on the phone to call centre's in India and they can't pronounce my name - Sharon - so should I ridicule them?

So us "whites" don't have to admit anything.

Answer 9

I would NOT call it ignorance but more like insecurity. It is not just "white" people either. I have often heard the mumbling of names going on from people in what you have said are ethnic groups. If you can't pronounce something it is embarrassing. And if you act stupid about it I take it to mean that you are concerned about what the person will think if you mispronounce their name. I think the "whatever" attitude is way worse.

Answer 10

SO funny this particular poster just asked a question bout racism coming from white people to black, but look how racist they are! I think maybe you have a few personal issues, muppet.
And I have read a few of the answers, half of you are ignorant, you cant tar all white people with the same brush the same as you cant tar all black people with the same brush, we are people not colours...and thats the first mistake your making, as you think in ethnicity not actual real people.

Answer 11

Ummmm .....

I see some pretty racist answers. Oh well I guess only whites are fair game in our brave new world.

Have you actually heard people who speak in other native languages speak? How about a monolingual Asian person trying to say an English name?

English is a pretty monotone language, it can be spoken vary plainly. Many other languages are spoken so over the top. All kinds of crazy tone and inflection changes.

It's not easy for a native English speaker.