Is it time to stop saying 'aloha' and other culturally sensitive words out of context?
"'Aloha.' 'Hola.' 'Shalom.'
These are ways to say 'hello' in Hawaiian, Spanish and Hebrew, respectively. But just because you can say something doesn't mean it's always appropriate.
On the surface, simple greetings and phrases from other races and cultures may seem fine to sprinkle into our vernacular. Inclusive even.
But did you know that 'aloha' doesn't just mean hello or goodbye? "It's a greeting or a farewell, but the meaning is deeper," says Maile Arvin, the director of Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Utah. 'One of my Hawaiian language teachers taught it to me as 'Aloha means recognizing yourself in everyone and everything you meet.''If you're not Hawaiian and you say it, it could come off as mockery. And that's just one word to think about.
The use of certain words requires education, knowledge and the foresight to understand when they should – or shouldn't – come out of your mouth.'
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Sorry, but the only thing that comes off as mockery is articles like this and endless attempts to ban every word we use! Just stop already.
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