italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
aside from whether the term is offenive or not, I'm interested in the
etymology.
There are a number of explanations; the Without Papers is one, and POW
backwards is another: but both presuppose different periods of genesis (i.e.
early 20th century US immigration or WW2, depending).
Another explanation is that since the majority of immigrants/POWs were
Southern Italians, they all became identified as "guappi" or "guaparielli".
Americans pronounced this as "wop". There is a similar example in the
literature: in 1943, American parachutists hiding near Sarno (NA) were told
by local partisans to use the word "wallyo" as as code word in case of
trouble. Unbeknown to the US soldiers who wrote the book later (Doyle and
Stewart (1988)), they were simply transcribing the southen "Guagliņ" -
"kid".
Can someone at least confirm that "WOP" predates WW2?
Simon
-----Original Message-----
From: claudia clemente [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 05 April 2004 09:29
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [I-S] Just curious: Italophobia,respectable bigotry or just no
bigdeal
italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
I understand that this discussion centers around the weight or value of
certain words in contemporary context and any action that could be taken. I
just wanted to point out that I can confirm that Giancarlo's definition of
WOP is probably correct, though I had been under the impression that it
meant "Without Passport." Both understandings have the same general
meaning. Other Italian Americans with grandparents who came through Ellis
Island should be able to confrim.
I think in New York at least the term WOP might have lost a lot of its
offensive value over the second half of the 20th century; people of my
father's generation (he was born in 1929) still react to it and might use
it, but I hardly ever hear it in common speech.
Regards,
Claudia Clemente
Filippo Sabetti <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
please note that the core issue is not the origin of certain words, but
whether expressions like "wop" and "wop accents" are offensive, and what if
anything can be done about it
For the context that sparked the posting, here is the link:
www.mcgill.ca/reporter
and then look for issue dated March 25, 2004 and article entitled "viva
richleriano" by Maria Francesca LoDico.
Hope this helps. And thanks to those who have written, particularly to Grace
Bullaro'for her thoughtful comments.
Filippo Sabetti
giancarlo lombardi wrote:
> italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
>
> da quel che so, "wop" e' l'acronimo per "without papers"...
>
> Giancarlo Lombardi
>
> On Apr 4, 2004, a! t 3:37 PM, massi : wrote:
>
> > italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
> >
> > Caro Filippo,
> >
> > personalmente non conosco le espressioni "wop" e "wop accent". E' la
> > prima
> > volta che le sento, probabilmente perche' essendo io italiano me le
> > avranno
> > dette alle spalle e non in faccia. Comunque, io penso in genrale che le
> > parole siano offensive o no in base allo spirito con cui vengono dette.
> > Insomma, si puo' essere politicamente corretti nei termini e pensare
> > dentro
> > di se' cose molto offensive, e viceversa. Mi piacerebbe sapere qual e'
> > l'etimologia di "wop", ad esempio.
> > Credo che in tedesco la parola per 'frocio' e' 'Schvule'. Ho visto una
> > rivista gay militante in Germania con questo titolo, per cui la
> > semantica
> > 'offensiva' viene us! ata dagli "umiliati e offesi" con un senso di
> > orgoglio e
> > provocazione, e ribaltamento connotativo.
> >
> > saluti,
> >
> > Massimiliano Chiamenti
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >Filippo Sabetti wrote:
> > >
> > > > italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of
> > Italian
> > studies
> > > > Dear List members,
> > > > some of my Italian Studies colleagues seem to think that
> > expressions
> > > > like "wop" and "wop accent" are no
> > manifestations of Italophobia (the
> > > > way Harney discussed it in his 1985 article in Studi
> > emigrazione)
> > or
> > > > respectable bigotry (the way Lerner highlighted in his 1969
> > article in
> > > > American Scholar) or even self-denigration (the way Cattane! o
> > wrote
> > > > about in 19th century).
> > > >
> > > > Are really expressions like "wop" and "wop
> > accent" not scandolose,
> > > > offensive, at all? Would you dismiss similar expressions
> > about
> > Jews
> > > > or American Blacks in the same way?
> > > >
> > > > Welcome your reactions.
> > > >
> > > > My view is that such expressions are intrinsically offensive
> > to
> > any
> > > > group of people, be they Italians or Jews. I also think
> > that
> > > > colleagues in Italian Studies, no matter what university
> > context
> > they
> > > > are in, cannot remain indifferent or silent to bigotry or
> > self
> > > > denigration in academic and official university journals, no
> > matter!
> > > > how respectable such views may be in some quarters.
> > > >
> > > > Please feel free to agree or disagree with me.
> > > >
> > > > Filippo Sabetti
> > > >
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