italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
Incuriosita dalle etimologie suggerite, ho consultato l'Oxford English
Dict. , 2a edizione, 2000, Version 3.0 ed ecco quanto c'è scritto:
slang (orig. U.S.).
[Origin uncertain; perh. ad. It. dial. guappo bold, showy, ruffian, f. Sp.
guapo bold, dandy, f. L. vappa sour wine, worthless fellow.]
A. n. a. An Italian or other southern European, esp. as an immigrant or
foreign visitor (see also quot. 1914). Now considered offensive.
[1912 A. Train Courts, Criminals & Camorra ix. 232 There is a society of
criminal young men in New York City.+ They are known by the euphonious name
of ‘Waps’ or ‘Jacks’. These are young Italian-Americans who allow
themselves to be supported by one or two women.+ They form one variety of
the many gangs that infest the city.] 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab.
Criminal Slang 88 Wop, noun. Used principally in the east. An ignorant
person; a foreigner; an impossible character.+ Example: ‘You couldn't find
a jitney with a search warrant in this bunch of wops.’ 1915 Wodehouse
Psmith, Journalist xix. 138 He's a wop, kid.+ A wop. A dago.+ An Italian.
1924 E. Hemingway In our Time 17 Wops, said Boyle, I can tell wops a mile
off. 1930 G. B. Shaw Apple Cart ii. 78 Lysistrata. What they call an
American is only a wop pretending to be a Pilgrim Father. He is no more
Uncle Jonathan than you are John Bull. Magnus. Yes: we live in a world of
wops, all melting into one another. 1940 N. Mitford Pigeon Pie i. 7 Luke's
Italian was far more affected than that of any native wop. 1942 R.A.F.
Jrnl. 13 June 26 The pilots+suggested that the ‘Wops were yellow’ or that
they could not ‘take it through cloud’. 1952 E. F. Davies Illyrian Venture
ii. 26 We had breakfast in the mess tent, waited on by a cheerful wop.
1973 ‘I. Drummond’ Jaws of Watchdog ii. 26 Sandro dived into the pool.+
‘You great fat clumsy Wop,’ said Jenny, ‘you've put my cigarette out.’
Uncordiale saluto a tutti da un'emigrata in Irlanda dove, in oltre mezzo
secolo, non lo mai sentito usare.
At 10:47 05/04/04 +0100, you wrote:
>italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
>
>Dear Filippo,
>
>While at school (12+ years ago) I had to endure bullying which centred on my
>Italian descent, and 'wop' was fully understood by everyone concerned in the
>matter as very offensive and racist.
>
>Numerous list members have speculated on the origin of the term,
considering it
>to be an accronymn. My understanding is that the term is linked with the idea
>of the Mafia, through the word 'guappo'- a member of the Camorra.
>
>Mark
>
>
>Quoting Filippo Sabetti <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>> 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 Cattaneo 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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>
>
>--
>Mark
>
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>
Corinna Salvadori Lonergan,
FTCD, Associate Professor (Emeritus), Italian Department, Trinity College,
Dublin 2
Telephone: 353 1 608 1847 Fax: 353 1 608 2062
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