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While I 100% applaud the effort - and I absolutely love the idea of languages in non-English languages - you should be aware that phonetically (and if you drop

While I 100% applaud the effort - and I absolutely love the idea of languages in non-English languages - you should be aware that phonetically (and if you drop the 'h'), the name is a racist term in the UK at least.

yowlingcat 6y ago
This is an ignorant statement. Pakhi means "bird" in Bengali. Check the translation. Edit: To all the downvoters, I truly hope that ignorance is bliss for you. Maybe learn another language before you project your ressentiment tinged identity-politics idiocy onto something you don't even understand. [1] https://translate.google.com/?sl=bn&tl=en&text=pakhi&op=translate https://translate.google.com/?sl=bn&tl=en&text=pakhi&op=tran...
- bellyfullofbac 6y ago
  You're probably being downvoted for the 1st sentence. And for the Edit. Why is it ignorant? OP is just stating a fact. Is OP the PC police, or is he the canary trying to warn that the "cancel mob" might attack this project if they took offense at the name, I can't tell. You saying it means "bird" is also just a fact...
  - darkhorse13 6y ago
    I wouldn't go so far as to say it is ignorant, but just imagine if some english speaking person named their programming language or product "Bird", and one of the top comments brought up the fact that it was similar to a racial slur in their language. I'm not saying it is wrong to point this out, but it must be slightly disheartening for the author of the language. And more importantly, Bangladesh was literally called East Pakistan, so I'm sure whoever made this is aware of the actual racial slur. Also please note, I'm actually Bangladeshi, so I'm not speaking for a group I don't represent here.
  - alex_smart 6y ago
    It is ignorant because the concern stems from ignorance of the fact that many languages that are used by billions of people in the world treat the aspirated and non-aspirated versions of consonants as completely different consonants.
    - yowlingcat 6y ago
      Well said. If I can add a final point, it's that it is nonsensical and inappropriate to judge how a word sounds in one language based on how it sounds in one which is only very distantly related (PIE at best).
naeemtee 6y ago
Pakhi means bird in Bangla. Bangladeshis also used to be Pakistani, so they're probably fine. ;)
- selimthegrim 6y ago
  Also in Urdu “pankhi” - bird/winged thing. Speaking as one, I think the P***s will be fine with this one.
FlyingSnake 6y ago
One more casualty of the absence of retroflex consonants in English. Before you jumped the gun, you should’ve taken into account the difference between ‘Ka’ and ‘kha’ consonants.
- alex_smart 6y ago
  Erm, I think you are confusing retroflex consonants with aspirated consonants. "Kha" is just the aspirated version of "Ka". English doesn't have two different alphabets for these two different sounds and which one is used depends on the context (king vs sink). Indic languages on the other hand treat these as completely different sounds and there are many pairs of words which differ only in the non-aspiration/aspiration of one particular alphabet. Interestingly, even though the IPA has the aspiration modifier letter, the transcriptions that you find in dictionaries seldom care to use them. For instance, the Cambridge dictionary lists the pronunciation of the word king as /kɪŋ/ but almost everyone actually says /kʰɪn/. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/king https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/king
rayiner 6y ago
It doesn’t sound the same spoken. Pakhi (bird) is pronounced like “pa” (as in dad) + “khee” (as in “fee” but starting with an aspirated k). It’s not pronounced like the racist term, which is pronounced in Britain like “pack” + “e.”
u801e 6y ago
There are plenty of terms in languages that are common words in that language but may sound like different and possibly offensive words in other languages. But that doesn't mean we should avoid using those words.
vr46 6y ago
Yes, non-white Englishman here cringed when I saw the name having been on the receiving end of the term many times.
ksaj 6y ago
I think it is we who decided it is a racist word. I was a guest instructor in a university class in Islamabad, and people there used that word quite casually. It surprised me how often I heard it, but also that it was never treated in a negative manner. An important differentiator is that they weren't using it as a label to call each other maliciously, but more to denote that something is from Pakistan. Perhaps at least in this case, intent has everything to do with its interpretation. I still don't use the word because that nuance is too easily missed. Probably both cultures (which apparently are directly related, in terms of overlapping histories) are aware of words like this, and not likely to confuse them for ill intent. A little like how Canadian Anglophone children make fun of the French word for 'seal', but Francophones who also use the English swear word that it sounds like clearly know when you're swearing, versus when you're talking about a seal.
_s 6y ago
Isn’t “Paki” just shortened for “Pakistani”? I never knew the word itself to be considered racist; but it’s definitely been used often in a racist / degenerative context and manner.
shafin_ 6y ago
Pakhi means bird in bangla. I was not aware it was a racist term when i named it.
asdswe 6y ago
The thing is that nobody should care about what is considered racist term by some people in the UK or the US. Customs of the anglosphere most definitely shouldn't define and limit language and culture in rest of the world.

yowlingcat 6y ago

This is an ignorant statement. Pakhi means "bird" in Bengali. Check the translation. Edit: To all the downvoters, I truly hope that ignorance is bliss for you. Maybe learn another language before you project your ressentiment tinged identity-politics idiocy onto something you don't even understand. [1] https://translate.google.com/?sl=bn&tl=en&text=pakhi&op=translate https://translate.google.com/?sl=bn&tl=en&text=pakhi&op=tran...

bellyfullofbac 6y ago
You're probably being downvoted for the 1st sentence. And for the Edit. Why is it ignorant? OP is just stating a fact. Is OP the PC police, or is he the canary trying to warn that the "cancel mob" might attack this project if they took offense at the name, I can't tell. You saying it means "bird" is also just a fact...
- darkhorse13 6y ago
  I wouldn't go so far as to say it is ignorant, but just imagine if some english speaking person named their programming language or product "Bird", and one of the top comments brought up the fact that it was similar to a racial slur in their language. I'm not saying it is wrong to point this out, but it must be slightly disheartening for the author of the language. And more importantly, Bangladesh was literally called East Pakistan, so I'm sure whoever made this is aware of the actual racial slur. Also please note, I'm actually Bangladeshi, so I'm not speaking for a group I don't represent here.
- alex_smart 6y ago
  It is ignorant because the concern stems from ignorance of the fact that many languages that are used by billions of people in the world treat the aspirated and non-aspirated versions of consonants as completely different consonants.
  - yowlingcat 6y ago
    Well said. If I can add a final point, it's that it is nonsensical and inappropriate to judge how a word sounds in one language based on how it sounds in one which is only very distantly related (PIE at best).

naeemtee 6y ago

Pakhi means bird in Bangla. Bangladeshis also used to be Pakistani, so they're probably fine. ;)

selimthegrim 6y ago
Also in Urdu “pankhi” - bird/winged thing. Speaking as one, I think the P***s will be fine with this one.

FlyingSnake 6y ago

One more casualty of the absence of retroflex consonants in English. Before you jumped the gun, you should’ve taken into account the difference between ‘Ka’ and ‘kha’ consonants.

alex_smart 6y ago
Erm, I think you are confusing retroflex consonants with aspirated consonants. "Kha" is just the aspirated version of "Ka". English doesn't have two different alphabets for these two different sounds and which one is used depends on the context (king vs sink). Indic languages on the other hand treat these as completely different sounds and there are many pairs of words which differ only in the non-aspiration/aspiration of one particular alphabet. Interestingly, even though the IPA has the aspiration modifier letter, the transcriptions that you find in dictionaries seldom care to use them. For instance, the Cambridge dictionary lists the pronunciation of the word king as /kɪŋ/ but almost everyone actually says /kʰɪn/. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/king https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/king

rayiner 6y ago

It doesn’t sound the same spoken. Pakhi (bird) is pronounced like “pa” (as in dad) + “khee” (as in “fee” but starting with an aspirated k). It’s not pronounced like the racist term, which is pronounced in Britain like “pack” + “e.”

u801e 6y ago

There are plenty of terms in languages that are common words in that language but may sound like different and possibly offensive words in other languages. But that doesn't mean we should avoid using those words.

vr46 6y ago

Yes, non-white Englishman here cringed when I saw the name having been on the receiving end of the term many times.

ksaj 6y ago

I think it is we who decided it is a racist word. I was a guest instructor in a university class in Islamabad, and people there used that word quite casually. It surprised me how often I heard it, but also that it was never treated in a negative manner. An important differentiator is that they weren't using it as a label to call each other maliciously, but more to denote that something is from Pakistan. Perhaps at least in this case, intent has everything to do with its interpretation. I still don't use the word because that nuance is too easily missed. Probably both cultures (which apparently are directly related, in terms of overlapping histories) are aware of words like this, and not likely to confuse them for ill intent. A little like how Canadian Anglophone children make fun of the French word for 'seal', but Francophones who also use the English swear word that it sounds like clearly know when you're swearing, versus when you're talking about a seal.

_s 6y ago

Isn’t “Paki” just shortened for “Pakistani”? I never knew the word itself to be considered racist; but it’s definitely been used often in a racist / degenerative context and manner.

shafin_ 6y ago

Pakhi means bird in bangla. I was not aware it was a racist term when i named it.

asdswe 6y ago

The thing is that nobody should care about what is considered racist term by some people in the UK or the US. Customs of the anglosphere most definitely shouldn't define and limit language and culture in rest of the world.