Basically, André Boisclair, who is the leader of the Parti Québécois in Quebec, used the French phrase "les yeux bridés" to refer to the Asian students he saw at Harvard University. I guess the phrase translates to "slanted eyes" or "slanting eyes" in English.
He was later questioned by reporters about the use of the phrase and refused to apologize even after being told what it meant in English and how offensive it is to Asians.
What?! Does "Asian" not translate in French? I guess he said people in Quebec would understand him. Yes, I'm sure people would know what he meant, but that doesn't excuse such ignorance and idiocy.
Here's a link to the radio show:
CBC Radio Show Program Logs, March 15, 2007 (I couldn't get it to work, though.)
Listen to Part 2 of the program, should be toward the end of the segment. It includes Boisclair responding to reporters' questions. A synopsis is also below:
Les yeux bridés -- "slanted eyes".
That's the expression André Boisclair used yesterday to describe Asian students. The Parti Quebecois leader was campaigning in Trois Rivières when he made the comment.
Boisclair was referring to the number of Asian students he saw while studying at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He told the Quebec students he was surprised that about one-third of the Harvard students had what he called "slanting eyes."
Today, when questioned by reporters, Boisclair refused to apologise for the comment, which he says is common in French.
I just found an article about Boisclair and his response to some homophobic comments. Article states that he is openly gay ...
"Boisclair responds to homophobic slurs"
So he said, "Homophobia exists, but I feel these words are very insulting for the people of Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean."
Then I see on the side this related news story: "Boisclair defends derogatory comments"
The article includes the statement in which he used "les yeux bridés" ...
"'The reality is these countries are not just working to create jobs in sweatshops," he said. 'When I was in Boston, where I spent a year, I was surprised to see that on campus, about one-third of the students doing their bachelor degrees had les yeux bridés (slanting eyes).'
"Boisclair stood his ground Thursday, and said he will not withdraw the comment, which he said is an acceptable expression in French.
'If the translation in English has a different meaning than the one in French, then I didn't use the word in English, I used it in French, and no way will I excuse myself.'"
So I guess it was too difficult for him to say "about one-third of the students doing their bachelor degrees were Asian."
2 comments:
I will repeat what as been said again and again. There is no offense saying "les yeux brides" in french. It is the same as saying "asian". Because you are so used to the expression in english doesn't mean that a french speaking will think the same when saying things...
Hmm, interesting "anonymous" comment. Well, it doesn't mean you have to keep using the expression even though it's commonly known to refer to Asians in French, especially after learning it is offensive to the group in question and since it was refering to Asian Americans. In the U.S., it has become inappropriate to use the N-word even though people know it refers to African Americans, not to mention the F-word for homosexuals (as the Isaiah Washington and Ann Coulter incidents show).
Too politically correct? Perhaps, but these days the distribution of news is just a mouse click away with the Internet, sending a little news story from Quebec around the world in seconds (BTW, Asians make up more than 60% of the global population). And as societies and countries becomes more and more diverse, let's hope languages -- all languages -- evolve with them.
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