factoryconnection: So we're supposed to be upset about a Japan-market-only car with a name that Americans might associate with gardening or racial themes? News flash: Japanese people have their own, entire language with attending epithets. They don't usually dig to the back of the rack for colloquialisms in non-markets.

This is the type of thing that is used to build the limp-wristed, liberal straw man. Whatever "derp" is for us, this is it.

Japan loves Western culture, but they don't really understand a lot of it. They love Christmas -- the ultimate consumerist orgy, from their perspective (and they're not really wrong about that, are they?) -- but they don't really get it. You can go to Japan at Christmastime and see Santa Claus crucified on a cross. I'm not even kidding. I'm sure they don't have the faintest clue about what 'spade' might mean to some Americans in some contexts.

SurelyShirley: Waitaminnit. Toyota is not supposed to use that name for a van sold in Japan, because racists in the US used it 100-150 years ago?
Ok then, just call that damn thing "Toyota, Please".

They already have a car by that name. They just pronounce it funny. (And spell it funny, too.)

Mayhem of the Black Underclass: Don't you guys know anything about romanization of Japanese words? The 'a' is a short a as in ha-ha, and the 'de' at the end is pronounced 'day', so the name of the car is Spa-day. It's a perfect fit for overweening pampered soccer moms. I'm personally waiting for the special Porte Monki 4LF to be released.

As best as my feeble and all-too-brief Japanese education informs me..

A Japanese person *reading* English "Spade" would probably parse it as "S(u)-PAH-deh" (スパデ). There are few consonant clusters in Japanese, and s-p is not one of them, so they will probably add their default long-u vowel to the initial 'S'. At best they might come up with "S'pa-de," which would actually sound almost exactly the same to most Western ears. The resulting construction probably would sound a lot like 'spa-day' to Americans, but a Japanese person would still probably see it as a three-syllable word.

A Japanese person *hearing* the word "Spade" might imagine it as "S(u)-PE-I-d(u)" (スペイヅ), a *four* syllable word. There are no vowel diphthongs in Japanese. Rather, each vowel in what we could consider a diphthong is its own syllable. English long-a ("ay") becomes "e→i". And since all Japanese syllables are open (ending with a vowel), they'll add the customary nearly inaudible long-u to the terminal "d".

John Buck 41: EABOD.

Ay, ay biatch lemme ask you this. So since you think the word Nova was automatically split into two words and then translated for some reason, do you scream at someone about to go into a counseling session like this..

"You're going to see THE RAPIST?? And you're paying for it????"

You enjoy calling people out for being ignorant, even when it isn't that big of a deal. Don't dish it out if you can't take it you ancient twat.

elffster: Ya know, with all the money Lemmy has, he should get those...things on his face taken off. Unless they are the source of all his power.

The man has his own signature Rickenbacker. I don't think he worries much about what anyone thinks of his face. Besides, moles can be attractive.

Johnny Lemonhead: Is it weird that I didn't know that was a slur?

Frankly, I no longer find it weird if anyone doesn't know anything. Sad, but not weird.

Sylvia_Bandersnatch: Mayhem of the Black Underclass: Don't you guys know anything about romanization of Japanese words? The 'a' is a short a as in ha-ha, and the 'de' at the end is pronounced 'day', so the name of the car is Spa-day. It's a perfect fit for overweening pampered soccer moms. I'm personally waiting for the special Porte Monki 4LF to be released.

As best as my feeble and all-too-brief Japanese education informs me..

A Japanese person *reading* English "Spade" would probably parse it as "S(u)-PAH-deh" (スパデ). There are few consonant clusters in Japanese, and s-p is not one of them, so they will probably add their default long-u vowel to the initial 'S'. At best they might come up with "S'pa-de," which would actually sound almost exactly the same to most Western ears. The resulting construction probably would sound a lot like 'spa-day' to Americans, but a Japanese person would still probably see it as a three-syllable word.

A Japanese person *hearing* the word "Spade" might imagine it as "S(u)-PE-I-d(u)" (スペイヅ), a *four* syllable word. There are no vowel diphthongs in Japanese. Rather, each vowel in what we could consider a diphthong is its own syllable. English long-a ("ay") becomes "e→i". And since all Japanese syllables are open (ending with a vowel), they'll add the customary nearly inaudible long-u to the terminal "d".

Isn't terminal D usually considered do with loan words? And why would they put 'i' in? If they're trying to get the word spade they'd use the 'long a' so S(u)-Pe-do (スペド) or they'd double the vowel, depending on how they hear it, to S(u)-Pe-E-do (スペード)

Fat-D: I am Mexican/Irish/German.

I would buy a car called a Spikkity Kraut Coal Cracker with theGreen Bean package without a single fark given.

I am still trying to figure out who was offended by the use of the name Spade....

CSS:

In Providence, there's a restaurant (Wes' Rib House), that happens to be on Dike Street in the west-side village of Olneyville. Their radio ads used to always end with "..in Olneyville, on Dike Street!" -- followed by some ambiguous stinger, such as, "Not my Barbie, too!" These stingers suddenly stopped. As it happened, I went there with some friends, and we asked them about it. They told us that the stingers had been considered offensive to lesbians, so they dropped them. I told them I'm a dyke, and not offended at all -- I thought they were funny, and it was too bad some people were offended, but I accepted it. A few months later, the stingers started up again, and again we were there and I asked about that. They said that it turned out no *actual* lesbians were offended. Rather, some busybodies had decided to be offended on our behalf -- when in fact, a number of us went out of our way to tell them the opposite.

I'm also reminded of the Far Side / Jane Goodall Institute incident.

None of which is to say that it's always wrong to be offended on someone else's behalf. Only that one should be absolutely sure of obvious and intentional offence.

John Buck 41: GFY.

No thanks biatch, I use ya girls for that.

John Buck 41: Yer pritty clevah wen it cumz ta insultz. Nawt.

Lolololololol this coming from the ancient coont that so far has used "EABOD" and :GFY" as weak ass comebacks. Just shut the fark up old man. I'd tell ya to go sit by the window, but shouldn't you be getting your ass to that menial job you had to take because of bad life choices?

Everyone gets old biatch, but it doesn't have to be done in the bitter pissy old man style you seem to have adopted. Or maybe you were just a biatch your whole life.

So next time you decide to call someone out because they are SO much less intelligent than you are, think back to this thread, and realize you're wrong at least once a day, every day. Then maybe learn to shut the fark up.

bel4sucks & John Buck 41, please don't threadjack with your little spat. Take it to email or something and hook up for the hate sex. Thank you.

This supposed to be about shiatty ass cars with shiatty ass names.