Have you ever abbreviated Japanese into “Jap?” It’s more common in writing, but it is actually a very derogatory ethnic slur against the Japanese. Unfortunately, a large number of people use it without noticing. A High School Japanese program in my area calls its courses “JAP10”, “JAP20”, and “JAP30”, and the program at that school is not taught by people of Japanese ethnic origin. There are two other High School Japanese programs in my city, both taught by actual Japanese, and they are abbreviated “JPN.”

A Japanese man I know, who immigrated about 7 years ago now, learned English when he came. The teacher would call him a “Jap,” but not in a mean way because nothing was meant by it – it was just an easier way to say “Japanese”. Of course, my Japanese friend found it offensive, and went up to the teacher and said that calling him a “Jap” was almost as bad as calling a black man a “nigger”.

So the point of the matter is: if you’re going to abbreviate “Japan” or “Japanese,” do it “JPN” and not “Jap.”

As a side note, I’m not sure if all Japanese find this offensive in this day and age because it was mostly in use during the Second World War by the Americans. Now, a lot of countries haven’t let go of that War yet, but my Japanese friends say “It’s in the past, we weren’t born yet. It’s good to learn about, but countries are not the same as they were back then.”

But just to be safe, it would be a good idea not to say it around anyone Japanese, even if they don’t find it offensive, as it still has negative meaning (much like the slur “Gyped” has lost it’s original meaning, but still means “cheated” as in “got Gyped” means “got cheated”).

Has anyone ever used “Jap” as an abbreviation? Heard it used? I know there are a number of other articles on this subject, so you might have heard this before.

Here’s an interesting one I’ve found if you want further reading:
“JapJapJapJapJapJapJap” by Gil Asakawa