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Was I out of line posting this meme?

Is this offensive?

  • Yeah, I can see it upsetting people

    Votes: 55 31.6%

  • No, it's clearly a joke

    Votes: 50 28.7%

  • Sorry I don't speak wrong

    Votes: 69 39.7%
  • Total voters
    174
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

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Oct 28, 2017
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Context: it was in a meme group for teaching English as a second language in Japan. JTE is "Japanese Teacher of English"

8akyi4Q.jpg


It was meant as a friendly jab at British English, (the joke being that British English and Japanese-English are equally wrong) but to my surprise, people took it really seriously and started leaving comments like "don't you feel superior now!?" and angry reacts. Not everyone, but enough people to make me feel bad.

I thought it was really obvious it was just a joke. Now I don't know, and I half expect this thread to surprise me too
 

Deleted member 6263

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It can come across as being a bit condescending. These types of jokes really only work in person because it's hard to interpret your intended tone over the internet.
 
Kingpin Rogers

Kingpin Rogers

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Maybe it's just me but I'm struggling to even understand what it's trying to say. It's not clear at all.
 

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SolVanderlyn said:
I guess I just couldn't imagine anyone posting it in a seriously condescending way. Guess I should be more careful from now on.
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Really depends on if you know the people too - people online are typically just on edge and can feel personally attacked by anything. I wouldn't worry too much about it though, you were making a harmless jab.
 
Skade

Skade

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Oct 28, 2017
8,980
British English wrong ? It's the murican english that is wrong ! You philistine !
 
Waggles

Waggles

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Oct 26, 2017
3,180
Kingpin Rogers said:
Maybe it's just me but I'm struggling to even understand what it's trying to say. It's not clear at all.
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im imaging op getting upset that them foreigners aren't speaking 'murican and it's making me chuckle.

op needs to enlighten the rest of us ignorant folk to what he's referring to in the meme. Im assuming he means particular phrases or phrasing?
 
OP
OP
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

I love pineapple on pizza!
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Oct 28, 2017
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Waggles said:
im imaging op getting upset that them foreigners aren't speaking 'murican and it's making me chuckle.

op needs to enlighten the rest of us ignorant folk to what he's referring to in the meme. Im assuming he means particular phrases or phrasing?
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We work for a dispatch company that sends us to schools. One person replaces another. Since we come from all over the world, sometimes they get an American, sometimes a British person, or someone from New Zealand etc. So all of his students had learned British English and British spelling. My predecessor was British.

I dunno I just feel really bad that I offended people
 
The Albatross

The Albatross

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Oct 25, 2017
39,473
When memes require more words than the point you're trying to make ... I ... just don't get the point of the meme.

Y'know they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but like... in this case, it's also requiring a thousand words to explain it.

jem said:
Huh?
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I dunno if this is the point OP is making, but nobody owns English, there's no right or wrong way to speak English. Some people try to own it or put down rules to try to make it like a language like French, which has an official body that oversees and approves of the French language, but nobody agrees with that in English and so anybody trying to own it or argue there's some proper way to speak English is just wrong. Why? Because any English speaker is as much an authority on English as any other, by design.
 

BAD

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Oct 25, 2017
9,570
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It's not funny and it digs at people trying to learn and teach second languages.
 
Bio

Bio

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It's more confusing than offensive but it's close enough to the stereotype of "mocking foreign person for not speaking English well" that so many Americans, who can barely speak English, let alone a second or third language, are fond of that you should probably have expected some negative reactions.
 
jem

jem

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Oct 25, 2017
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The Albatross said:
When memes require more words than the point you're trying to make ... I ... just don't get the point of the meme.

Y'know they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but like... in this case, it's also requiring a thousand words to explain it.



I dunno if this is the point OP is making, but nobody owns English, there's no right or wrong way to speak English. Some people try to own it or put down rules to try to make it like a language like French, which has an official body that oversees and approves of the French language, but nobody agrees with that in English and so anybody trying to own it or argue there's some proper way to speak English is just wrong. Why? Because any English speaker is as much an authority on English as any other, by design.
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OP's joke seems to making the exact opposite point though.


That said I'd contest that if any English is "correct" it'd be English from England...
 
Jag

Jag

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,705
Here is a handy flowchart:

Should I post this meme that could be misinterpreted?
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No
 
OP
OP
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

I love pineapple on pizza!
Member
Oct 28, 2017
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jem said:
OP's joke seems to making the exact opposite point though.


That said I'd contest that if any English is "correct" it'd be English from England...
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It is, but in a "nobody could seriously think like that" way. Obviously (or not I guess) I wasn't actually correcting British English.

Also, handing in my meme lord card now, the real offense is that it's not funny apparently
 
ElectricBlanketFire

ElectricBlanketFire

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Oct 25, 2017
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Why don't you reach out to the people you offended rather than us and ask them what you did wrong and how to correct it?
 
whatsinaname

whatsinaname

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Oct 25, 2017
15,144
SolVanderlyn said:
No, club activities is like, fake English that Japanese people use. Instead of saying "I belong to a club" they frequently say "I did club activities" which isn't necessarily wrong but also sounds awkward.
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1. It sounds awkward *to you*.

2. It was a clearly unprofessional meme tbh. If you said it to a British guy who you know well (or at least was an acquaintance), nothing wrong with it. But in the context of saying it to someone who is learning English as a second language, oof. You do realise you are in a work environment and not a TA/RA group at uni or something?
 
nsilvias

nsilvias

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Oct 25, 2017
24,591
op, the beauty of english is that you can make it bend to your will therefore no one is wrong
 
OP
OP
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

I love pineapple on pizza!
Member
Oct 28, 2017
13,557
Earth, 21st Century
ElectricBlanketFire said:
Why don't you reach out to the people you offended rather than us and ask them what you did wrong and how to correct it?
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I did, I eventually deleted it.
whatsinaname said:
1. It sounds awkward *to you*.

2. It was a clearly unprofessional meme tbh. If you said it to a British guy who you know well (or at least was an acquaintance), nothing wrong with it. But in the context of saying it to someone who is learning English as a second language, oof. You do realise you are in a work environment and not a TA/RA group at uni or something?
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I never thought of a meme group as a professional environment, but you might have a point.

nsilvias said:
op, the beauty of english is that you can make it bend to your will therefore no one is wrong
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I agree with this.
 
viral

viral

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Oct 25, 2017
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SolVanderlyn said:
It is, but in a "nobody could seriously think like that" way. Obviously (or not I guess) I wasn't actually correcting British English.

Also, handing in my meme lord card now, the real offense is that it's not funny apparently
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It just doesn't come off like that, especially since it's clearly about you because your predecessor was British. And I'm not convinced you didn't mean it in a negative way when you're saying Japanese people use "fake English" and stuff like that in this very topic.
 
RPTGB

RPTGB

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Oct 28, 2017
1,189
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Don't you be telling those students to take out the "u" in colour, either.

(wags finger)
 

Deleted member 16657

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This kind of joke relies too much on a very specific interpretation. From just reading without context it sounds like you're making fun of the teacher for being wrong, not also British English.
 
OP
OP
SolVanderlyn

SolVanderlyn

I love pineapple on pizza!
Member
Oct 28, 2017
13,557
Earth, 21st Century
viral said:
It just doesn't come off like that, especially since it's clearly about you because your predecessor was British. And I'm not convinced you didn't mean it in a negative way when you're saying Japanese people use "fake English" and stuff like that in this very topic.
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"Wasei eigo" (literally fake English) is a real thing, though. It refers to English loan words that aren't spoken that way in English, which aren't wrong in Japanese, but which you should teach against saying if you're going to speak English to a native speaker.

And yeah, I guess in retrospect, the tone is completely lost. I feel ashamed.
 
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