There is a story in today's newspaper about a man in England who is being tried for racial harassment because, in an argument, he called his German next door neighbour a "Schweinhund".

(In case there is anyone who doesn't know, it translates literally as "pig-dog", although in terms of impact "you swine" would perhaps be a better translation.)

It is insulting, though, as a German speaker, I know far worse insults in the language. The thing that I wonder about is this. The case hinges on him using a term that he only knows from war movies as a deliberately racist insult. He could equally have used the much milder "Dummkopf" (lit. Dumb head, better translation "blockhead".) because that's another word you hear in the movies.

But what if he had used a genuinely extremely offensive German term, one that he would need to understand German to know, one that he couldn't have picked up from the movies? By the logic of why he is being tried that wouldn't have been racist because he was using an offensive term but NOT deliberately picking one associated with Nazis in war films.

I'm certain that he meant to be offensive but personally I have my doubts about the racism aspect.

Any views?

The problem with allowing civil authorities to determine when and what is a recial term is illustrated well by this story. It is all too easy for the prudish and ultra-sensitive to find fault with any comment and label it unlawful. Sometimes the same words used in an insulting manner can be inoffensive given the situation.

An example is the old joke:

"Hello, Billy, you g-d-d--n mother-f***r!"
"And hello to you, too, Reverend."

You cannot read people's minds.

race

I've always had a problem with the concept of race. In the narrow sense of the word, it refers to salient features that are genetically determined, skin color, shape of head, etc, but a lot of what seems to define a race as the word is used by most people seems to be more of a social construct or as the accident of the circumstances of one's birth, such as national origin, culture, language, etc. I don't see belonging to a political party (the Nazis) as being somehow related to race (the German "people").

Insulting people in a foreign language is a tricky business. I've never heard a German say Dummkopf, Schweinhund, jawohl, nicht wahr, or Donnerswetter. (I have heard them say Arschloch.) I don't doubt that some Germans use those words, though they have a somewhat archaic flavor. Like English 'sblood, whoreson, knave, etc.

Given that the English people are a Germanic tribe themselves, and given that it's a German family on the throne, I'd say they'll have a tough time selling the racism bit. Had he said, "Boche" or "Jerry," the case would have been a whole lot stronger.

You have to put a lot of things together for that word to be considered racist. It's like putting a square peg in a round hole.

On the other hand, there are offensive racist words, as we all know. From what I've read here, this isn't one of them. Since I don't know German, I have to rely on the comments here.