Dander raising issues

So, I was just poking around on Facebook (which is more and more a rarity these days). And I came across a comment on an acquaintance's photo. The photo was in an album of things and people this acquaintance, who lives in the Tokyo area, has seen on the train. The photo in question was of a middle aged gentleman snoozing on the train with a fairly impressive straw hat. He happened to be wearing a T-shirt that read "Japon." And the comment made by this acquaintance's friend was about the spelling, implying that it was wrong. Which it is...if you are an English speaker. But that's the funny thing about the alphabet. It isn't the exclusive domain of the English language. In fact, many of the European languages, as well as a few other languages around the world, use the same characters to write words.

And "Japon" happens to look perfectly normal to a resident of Paris or Montreal. Because that is exactly how you should write the name of the country if you are a French speaker. Sure, I don't expect all English speakers to know that, but it is a good example of coming across as a bit of an English language snob.

Another example I came across recently pertains to what the majority of Americans call "Hawaiian shirts." In the Japanese language, said garment is known as the easily understandable "Aloha shirt." Now, sure, most American's wouldn't use this phrasing, but I also imagine that many could probably guess as to the meaning. And, what do know, a tiny bit of digging on the internet turns up the fact that the term "Aloha shirt" originates in Hawaii of all places. It seems to be a brand name for that variety of clothing. While I can't vouch for the accuracy because it comes from Wikipedia, but it seems that perhaps in Hawaii, the shirts are, in fact, still referred to by at least some locals as "Aloha shirts."

I could go on with more examples (the word "prepone" which is commonly used in Indian English), but I guess the point I'm getting at is this - I'm not one to suffer ignorance very much in the first place, but when you couple ignorance with condescension, it really gets my dander up. I know that not everyone was raised in a household where dictionaries and encyclopedias and almanacs were always within easy reach, but in the age of the internet, you really don't have much excuse for not checking on things.

Sorry for the mini-rant. But it really bugs me.