4 ms·
> Many Japanese will always consider them "less Japanese" or outsiders. Isn't this true of other nations?
by sridca 7y ago
> Many Japanese will always consider them "less Japanese" or outsiders.
Isn't this true of other nations?
- Tor3 7y ago> Isn't this true of other nations? Not as a general rule, no. What makes the distinction for me is the dialect they speak and their way of speaking. Then I'll have them firmly identified as 'from that town', or 'that particular part of the country' and there's no way for me to think of them differently. Where their parents came from has no part of it for me or for most people. It's just not possible for my mind to think of somebody who speaks like a native (as they will, when they were born here or moved here as a child) as being any kind of "outsider". In my experience small children never make any distinction either, anywhere in the world. That comes later, and they learn it from their parents. That's when the problems start.
- sridca 7y ago> In my experience small children never make any distinction either, anywhere in the world. Are you familiar with The Clarks' doll experiments? The doll experiment involved a child being presented with two dolls. Both of these dolls were completely identical except for the skin and hair color. One doll was white with yellow hair, while the other was brown with black hair. The child was then asked questions inquiring as to which one is the doll they would play with, which one is the nice doll, which one looks bad, which one has the nicer color, etc. The experiment showed a clear preference for the white doll among all children in the study. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_and_Mamie_Clark#Doll_experiments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_and_Mamie_Clark#Doll_e... Though the effect was less intense for children from integrated schools.
- Tor3 7y agoYes, I'm aware of it. And I think it backs up what I mentioned - the Clark experiment was made with young children attending schools. That's way past the time when they've had time to soak up the attitudes around them. How does the experiment work with 1-year (or 2, up to maybe three year) old children? That's where my anecdotal experience comes from: they don't care. But I once heard a five year old boy complaining "I don't want to have to see naked people!" or some such thing. But he was from a country where that (nudeness) is made an issue. From other countries children of that age don't even notice or care. In other words, the complainer learned that from someone. That episode really stuck with me because I had never in my life heard a child opiniate about that before.
- mter 7y agoJapan is extra special in this regard. My brother who is japanese, married a japanese national, speaks japanese and lives in japan is not "Japanese". That's what the article is referring to.