Current Events > Why is it acceptable to do shitty Jamaican and Italian immigrant accents?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Literally everyone does the same terrible Jamaican and Italian immigrant accents and we all think it's funny. But the second we do an Asian immigrant accent we all know it's fucked up. Why is that? If one immigrant accent isn't okay, they're all not okay.
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I dont like it
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Thats dumb

*hits a goats head with a baseball bat*
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I think all three are funny tbh
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I don't know why doing any accent is okay, tbh. Like when is it ever used non-mockingly? Lol.

Like, even when people do an "English" accent (usually just Cockney-ish).. why is it a thing?

Edit: Saying this as someone who has had fun with accents in the past, as I'm sure most have. But you never really stop to think about it.
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who was the asian guy's favorite president

balack obama.
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Conflict posted...

The difference between imitations of "Asian accents" and Jamaican/Italian/English accents is that the Asian accent imitiations just boil down to improper English and it's lazy af

And Cockney accents or adding an -o or -a to the end if every word aren't?
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codey posted...

Conflict posted...

The difference between imitations of "Asian accents" and Jamaican/Italian/English accents is that the Asian accent imitiations just boil down to improper English and it's lazy af

And Cockney accents or adding an -o or -a to the end if every word aren't?

asian accents are usually done with the subtext that they're imitating a person who doesn't speak english very well -- a whole other stereotype
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I mimic a hard Pittsburgh accent to make fun of my coworkers all the time.
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Why is it acceptable to do a funny accent and not a racist accent? Gee I wonder why.
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All of them are fine to do and acceptable so...
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gatorsPENSbucs posted...

Why is it acceptable to do a funny accent and not a racist accent? Gee I wonder why.

You think mimicking Asians is racist but not Jamaicans?
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from what i see, it's because when you are doing other accents, you still construct an English sentence compeltely
but usually people just say "ching chong" and try to imply chinese cannot even talk one sentence in english and that's where people find it more unacceptable

I never realized it a-before, but the thing a-missing from the Mario universe is a Jamaican a-sidekick.

I and I says he can have Luigi's spot, mon.

I don't know, Jamaicans and Italians tend to be more proud and unapologetic. When people imitate their accents, it's more of a form of endearment. When people imitate the Asians they're often mocking the polite old lady working at a Chinese restaurant.
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I don't really have an issue with any accent unless the subtext is to imply unintelligence or something like that. Not speaking fluent English is not inherently a sign of unintelligence, and it's a very Western-centric way of thinking to apply that logic to every accent. Instead, the context of the accent's usage dictates whether it is unreasonable and offensive.
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codey posted...

You think mimicking Asians is racist but not Jamaicans?

I can honestly say that I've never heard someone imitate an Italian or Jamaican accent where it came across as racist, whereas with imitating, say, a Chinese accent it almost always comes across that way.
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Conflict posted...

The difference between imitations of "Asian accents" and Jamaican/Italian/English accents is that the Asian accent imitiations just boil down to improper English and it's lazy af

I think this might be it. Also, the character that people put on with these accents can vary.

Like, there was that old commercial that got a whole bunch of professionally offended kids upset because some white guy was talking with a Jamaican accent. But some Jamaican group publicly said they liked the commercial and were proud f the image it gave Jamaica of this peaceful, happy, laid back culture.

Similarly, Italian accents can often take the piss out of Italian culture but it usually is done with this weird sort of reverence for stereotypical passion and boisterousness that most Italians seem to be proud of

Asian accents are a lot of the times punching down, making fun of them for bad English and generally not fitting into Western society.

I have heard some funny Asian accents though that didnt do that though.
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one should consider how such a thing as an "asian" accent exists, considering there are 48 countries in Asia.

That's kind of the problem.

I blame Mickey Rooney
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The only time a shitty italian accent ever bothered me was Summer of Sam
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t30JzS0LHpk" data-time="
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Highwind07 posted...

Fam_Fam posted...

one should consider how such a thing as an "asian" accent exists, considering there are 48 countries in Asia.

That's kind of the problem.

They typically mean like a stereotypical Chinese accent characterized with things like the R pronounced as Ls and the long drawn out words.

yes but its not used exclusively for Chinese people, is it?

and how do you tell if someone is Chinese or not?

Fam_Fam posted...

yes but its not used exclusively for Chinese people, is it?

and how do you tell if someone is Chinese or not?

You're overthinking things here. Normally, when someone's mocking an Asian accent, it's almost guaranteed to be Chinese or Japanese, the latter typically incorporating lots of Engrish. They're the most imitable due to pop culture and media.
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Fam_Fam posted...

Highwind07 posted...

Fam_Fam posted...

one should consider how such a thing as an "asian" accent exists, considering there are 48 countries in Asia.

That's kind of the problem.

They typically mean like a stereotypical Chinese accent characterized with things like the R pronounced as Ls and the long drawn out words.

yes but its not used exclusively for Chinese people, is it?

and how do you tell if someone is Chinese or not?

Its usually pretty easy. They look a little different from Japanese people but Korean people look way different from both of them. And the languages dont sound similar at all
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codey posted...

If one immigrant accent isn't okay, they're all not okay.

Gotta agree with this. It just boils down to people being hypocrites.
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