Indeed, the word yuon is a Cambodian word to refer to Vietnamese (English), Vietnamien (french), Voatnam (Chinese Chao Zhou), Yieknam (in Vietnamese language) or Yia Nam (Chinese mandarin). Therefore in each language, each nationality has their word to call something differently. Your media accusation to Mr Sam Rainsy is indeed very provocative and inciting of hate rather than helping to promote cultural diversity.
Op-Ed: Meng Ly
Dear Editor,
I am writing this email to you because of the accusation made by your media to Mr Sam Rainsy of racism for calling Vietnam as yuon. I would like to declare to you that I am not a supporter of the Sam Rainsy Party or a supporter of any group at all. My background is that I have a father of chinese origin and a mother who was half Cambodian and half Vietnamese. So I am a supporter of diversity and multicultural society.
Indeed, the word yuon is a Cambodian word to refer to Vietnamese (English), Vietnamien (french), Voatnam (Chinese Chao Zhou), Yieknam (in Vietnamese language) or Yia Nam (Chinese mandarin). Therefore in each language, each nationality has their word to call something differently. Your media accusation to Mr Sam Rainsy is indeed very provocative and inciting of hate rather than helping to promote cultural diversity.
I call on you to make a public apology for making a wrong judgment and inciting hatred among Vietnamese citizens and Cambodian opposition party members.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Meng Ly
A good paper makes a bad decision about the meaning of yuon
Op-Ed: Patrick Chum
Dear Editor
I’ve been a loyal Phnom Penh Post reader for more than 10 years because of your ethics in news reporting. You care about our community and report news as is and unbiased.
In reference to the article “Sam Rainsy declares border victory” (February 2, 2010), I am very offended by Meas Sokchea’s description of the word yuon as a racist word.
Meas Sokchea should educate himself before saying such things. And you should read, then double check, for references before this slips to the printing room. We Khmers call the Vietnamese yuon freely.
For the record, yuon is never a racist word. Sir, I can prove it.
Patrick Chum
Los Angeles
35 comments:
Ah Meng Ly,
You have Vietnamese's blood but you support the word Youn. The parent of your mother side will condemn you to hell.
Go to hell, motherfucker Meng Ly.
Very great perspective Meng Ly. Though you have Vietnamese blood but your mentality is standing with the right thing and working towards justice and human dignity.
Let work together...
A Khmer Youth
Meng Ly is a brave person who has courage to speak his mind about what PP Post did recently. Good on you Meng Ly, I take my hat off to your action in writing to demand an apology from the editor of PP Post.
Let's forget the debate about using the word "YOUN". Let move on to a productive subject of building Cambodia a better and stronger nation for the sake all of us, don't we.
1:02 and 1:06 are the same racist person from CPP group. This is proof that CPP group are racist themselves. They never appreciate, show respect to the opposite view. That's why khmer never live in peace at each other. Meng Ly, I appreciate your honesty and frank comment.
It just sound so weird to say ក្ដិតវៀតណាម rather than ក្ដិតយួន ។
Forget the word "Youn", call them ah Youn mother fucker, scavenger, predator, butcher, thief, encroacher, ah ho chi minh fuck....these are racist terms, it is the fact about ah youn. I am for Lon Nol.
Last but not least, I screwed mi youn.
Thank you Meng Ly for speaking out about the true use of the word "YOUN". I myself part Chinese, Cham, Vietnamese, and Khmer. I share the same view like you. To those people including the foreigners and the Vietnamese people to say that the word "YOUN" is a racist word are unknowingly promote instability and racial hatred,racial prejudice, racial segregation, and racial inharmonious between the Khmer and the YOUN people.
So far the editor for Phnom Phen Post is such a coward and choose to hide behind a wall of silence! I am also looking forward to hear from the editor of Phnom Phen Post!
In my personal thought, perhaps one hundred percent is accurate the Phnom Penh Post editor was bought out by the youn to stir up the controversial on youn encroached Cambodia territory .
The same game that Hun Sen got ordered from big boss youn to lure Cambodian a bout Preah Vihear which is the solution very easy like abc just report to UN or appeal to the INTERNATIONAL COURT that problems is over .
Hun Sen makes him self like the hero but in the reality he have been committing the treason .
THANKS YOU MENG LY ,
With all my company respecting ,with people like you dare stand up for what is right and wrong ,please pass by at the same site and the same blog writing more , love your demand .
khmer express
If the word "YOUN" has change then tell me the change in what way?
There are plenty of words that Khmer people borrow from the foreigners such in Science and technology already because Cambodian don't have those words! But if Cambodia have enough vocabulary or words already and why do Khmer people need to borrow or change the word such as the word "YOUN"?
It seems that the Vietcong government is waging all out war on Cambodian people in every imaginable ways to deter Cambodian people and to make Cambodian people to surrender their identity, their culture, and their history and their language to every Vietcong government demand!
When the Vietcong breed injustice on Khmer people and they demand justice for themselves? How can this be? Up to now the Vietcong government still oppress million and million of Khmer people in Khmer Kampuchea Krom(Southern Vietnam) and nobody including the foreigners and the Vietnamese people called the action of the Vietcong government as a racist!
So for Vietcong government to oppress million of Khmer people is not a racist but for the Khmer people to use their language is called a racist? Do you see how twisted this logic is and it is so twisted and I can't begin to comprehend but to feel sad for all Khmer people who are a victim of the Vietcong government relentless naked aggression!
Khmer must take a stand!
What about "កូនកាត់ខ្មែរយួន"
Will one of us say "កូនកាត់កម្ពុជា វៀតណាម"
If I say ចុយកន្តួយVietname is like ចុយ Ho chiminh and ចុយកន្តួយយួន is more like having sex with a real girl, why? because the word យួន is already in My blood, can't be changed easily, so calling យួន as យួន for anything for យួន is not racist but very close and intimate. Please stop confusing yourself and start ចុយកន្តួយយួន for a change, just don't want to see uncle Ho's face while I am doing my business.
1:02 and 1:06 is a kantop, you say it
2:30 PM, no khmer support this kind of act you know. But often yuons can play it to win Khmer over diplomatic ground even in lon nol time because among lon nol gov and army there are a bunch of yuons ready to sabotage lon nol gov to full fill yuon political tactics in order to take over Cambodia. It is one among yuon political strategies to take and colonize Cambodia
Foreigners cannot understand the word when it is translated into English or French. Khmer Rouge say " ah yuon" to convey their anger. When it is translated into English it is only " Vietnamese" and " ah" is omitted because it has no equivalent English word for "ah."
Even with " ah" only Khmers can understand correctly. "Ah" is not necessarily " contemptible" or derogatory. Some ignorant Khmers try to translate "ah" into English, especially those work at ECCC. Ah could mean good or bad depending on its usage.
Ah for friends; ah for the younger; ah for anger; ah for impersonal; ah for people of the same age; ah for intimacy; and so on.
I suggest foreigners to learn the word " ah " first before they can understand the word " yuon." Dont' pretend that you know Khmer well.
ah Yuon = Khmer
ai Yuon = Thai
buk Yuon = Lao
Year of the Tiger 04/14/10.
Everybody misses the point here. It's not up to Khmers to judge whether the word is racist or not but up to Vietnamese. And almost every single Vietnamese of the Phnom Penh community agrees that this word is an insult. Same as N-word in US. If Khmers find the word Cao Mien or whatever Vietnamese use to designate Khmers offensive they have full write to complain and demand use of Kho Me or Khmer whichever is more appropriate. What's the fuck wrong with you guys bringing old dictionary for quotation? Is that dictionary has words like "cellphone" or "internet"? Language and the words have tendency to change and the word Y**n already changed its meaning and its meaning now an insult to Vietnamese. Yes, it was used to describe Vietnamese and was the only word in use until recent. BUT NOW IT CHANGED. Now there's word VIETNAM and the more Khmers insist on using Y##n the more Westerners will see it as a clear racist sign. It's that simple! If there's problem with Vietnam use the word Vietnam, be civilised.
11:06 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Khmer Socialist,
Well said. I am Khmer too, and I know how this word Youn can be neutral like samlor majo Youn, but it is not neutral or can be use for insult, express hatred, and disgust when use in a context that Vietnam or vietnamese can be use properly but instead we use to use the word Youn to express our hatred.
you guys..are so stupid,,we're (khmers) safed by the vietnam's soldiers in the late 1979,,if vietnam wanna take over khmer's country..they would let khmer people flooded into thailand already,,wake up stupid khmer..stop being a hatred toward vietnamese..
I am also khmer-chinese-vietnamese. People here are racist. Eventhough I am not 100% khmer, but I love khmer 100%. I called my vietnamese girlfriend, "srey youn". she knows the word YOun. I have no problem with her. if i called her viet, she did not response. so, youn is the right word for vietnamese.
Sam Rainsy had found out that posts of Cambodia-Vietnam border are BAD.
Yuons agree about that and remove all of the remaining posts from border.
The traitors CPP members, you still deney that Khmer lands are Yuons' ? That is treason.
measthes@yahoo.com
Youn,
Kills khmer, steal khmer' land, and want to take more khmer' land.
Now, they call us racist?
What about THEM YOUNS ? They not racist ?
youns are hippocrit.
i think the ones to complain about khmer word "youn" is the one who try hard to make cambodia stop using this word. that's not right! whether the usage is negative or not, khmer people reserve the right to keep on language. yes, get used to it! learn to live with it!
7:53pm, good point. yes, like i said before khmer language is rich in usage because the word "ah" itself means different in tone, depends on its usage alright. yes, in english there is no translation for this khmer word "ah". like you and many other khmer people are saying, "ah" can be use as commeraderie, friend, enemies, hate, love, fondness, same age group, derogatory, etc, etc... you almost have to be khmer and understand khmer language fluently to understand its rich usage, really. so, naturally, when "ah" is used, it all depends on the state of mind of that person using it, e.g, is that person angry, sad, friendly, related, peer, etc... i think this is what foreigners, especially western society need to learn more and get educated more about this unique khmer language in this sense, really! stop mixing everything together to infuriate and dictate to khmer language that we don't know how to use our own language, here! it has nothing to do with being civilized, or whatever they want to called us, it has more to do with the state of mind of the person using it, really. now state of state, everyone on the planet has on, and sometime they can't control it sometimes they can too, so get used to it already!
12:37 AM
You're pure KHMER! We've been using it for centuries and YUONs are hyprocrite.
the ppp editor may not be aware of this negative consequence as he tries to please youn at khmer people's expense. he needs to be educated about khmer cultural sensitivity here. man, he has the guts to operate this newspapers in cambodia, then not taking local culture sensitivity into consideration. something is not right with the editior, really!
we need the editor to be on khmer side, not youn side. is that too much to ask? after all, editor is in cambodia, not srok youn, please learn more about cambodian culture, language, etc before you accuse cambodian language of racist, etc... or at least mention that the usage is versatile, not just negative all the time, you know!
To 10:38PM
You Vietcong bitch doesn't know anything about the Vietcong history and I suggest you shut the fuck up! In fact it was not the Vietcong and there would be no Khmer Rouge and at one point Mr. Pol Pot even work for Uncle Ho the father of all Vietcong!
The Khmer Rouge was created in the 1930 and the original name was called Indochina Communist Party(ICP).
We Khmer know all your Vietcong tricks...more Vietcong trick to come!
Now Chinese have just found out that the Viet Namese have use a word Tao to call Chinese people it is RACIST!
How the Viet Namese explain themselves to the Chinese?
You are deep shits youn.
Its true that it can be argue that what really matter is what the Vietnamese in Phnom Penh felt towards this word rather then what it is, just a word to mean an ethnic people from Vietnam.
But who made it hateful? or "racist", I would blame these Vietnamese citizens themselves who live in Phnom Penh whose attitude is to ignore local culture and customs and stay ignorant and then because of their ignorance demand other to accommodate for their attitude.
This is unacceptable. This attitude of coming to Khmerland and having Khmer change Khmer language because you don't know or understand it it offensive. Even if we live in America. Don't compare with the N- word. Its not even in the same category in any dimension.
The Youn people in Phnom Penh who are ignorant of the Khmer language and susceptible to political games to victimize Khmer language actually helps cause the racial hatred. Not Khmer towards Vietnamese but rather Vietnamese towards Khmer because they have come to misunderstood or mis characterized and redefined the Khmer language just because they have a look down mentality towards Khmer and don't want blend into the culture and understand us.
I think that this is Meng Ly's main point. The word being politicized and redefined as "racist" creates more hatred because it cause more ignorant Vietnamese in PPenh to stay ignorant of Khmer language and demand Khmer change their the term because they "believe" or "feel" "insulted".
Insulted based on what? Of course it has been based on UNTAC pressed in 91 that first begin to mislead people and the perpertuated by western journalist editor like Phnom Penh Post who insist that Khmer use Youn to mean racist insult.
the best place to learn about cambodia is at the source, that is in cambodia by educators and experts of the khmer language and so on. if you learn from viet/youn, it can be misleading, of course!
maybe youn wanted to be khmer too, give them a chance.
They were called yuons before i was born, they will be called yuons long after im dead. fuck them if they think they can choose how we Khmers speak.
its only offensive if we call them Ah Youn. Besides there are a lot of Yuons in Phnom Penh of course they will be against that word.
Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime
Members:
Pol Pot
Nuon Chea
Ieng Sary
Ta Mok
Khieu Samphan
Son Sen
Ieng Thearith
Kaing Kek Iev
Hun Sen
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka...
Committed:
Tortures
Brutality
Executions
Massacres
Mass Murder
Genocide
Atrocities
Crimes Against Humanity
Starvations
Slavery
Force Labour
Overwork to Death
Human Abuses
Persecution
Unlawful Detention
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime
Members:
Hun Sen
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka...
Committed:
Attempted Murders
Attempted Murder on Chea Vichea
Attempted Assassinations
Attempted Assassination on Sam Rainsy
Assassinations
Assassinated Journalists
Assassinated Political Opponents
Assassinated Leaders of the Free Trade Union
Assassinated over 80 members of Sam Rainsy Party.
"But as of today, over eighty members of my party have been assassinated. Countless others have been injured, arrested, jailed, or forced to go into hiding or into exile."
Sam Rainsy LIC 31 October 2009 - Cairo, Egypt
Executions
Executed over 100 members of FUNCINPEC Party
Murders
Murdered 3 Leaders of the Free Trade Union
Murdered Chea Vichea
Murdered Ros Sovannareth
Murdered Hy Vuthy
Murdered Journalists
Murdered Khim Sambo
Murdered Khim Sambo's son
Murdered members of Sam Rainsy Party.
Murdered activists of Sam Rainsy Party
Murdered Innocent Men
Murdered Innocent Women
Murdered Innocent Children
Killed Innocent Khmer Peoples.
Extrajudicial Execution
Grenade Attack
Terrorism
Drive by Shooting
Brutalities
Police Brutality Against Monks
Police Brutality Against Evictees
Tortures
Intimidations
Death Threats
Threatening
Human Abductions
Human Abuses
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Drugs Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Corruptions
Bribery
Embezzlement
Treason
Border Encroachment, allow Vietnam to encroaching into Cambodia.
Signed away our territories to Vietnam; Koh Tral, almost half of our ocean territory oil field and others.
Illegal Arrest
Illegal Mass Evictions
Illegal Land Grabbing
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Illegal Deforestation
Illegally use of remote detonation on Sokha Helicopter, while Hok Lundy and other military officials were on board.
Illegally Sold State Properties
Illegally Removed Parliamentary Immunity of Parliament Members
Plunder National Resources
Acid Attacks
Turn Cambodia into a Lawless Country.
Oppression
Injustice
Steal Votes
Bring Foreigners from Veitnam to vote in Cambodia for Cambodian People's Party.
Use Dead people's names to vote for Cambodian People's Party.
Disqualified potential Sam Rainsy Party's voters.
Abuse the Court as a tools for CPP to send political opponents and journalists to jail.
Abuse of Power
Abuse the Laws
Abuse the National Election Committee
Abuse the National Assembly
Violate the Laws
Violate the Constitution
Violate the Paris Accords
Impunity
Persecution
Unlawful Detention
Death in custody.
Under the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime, no criminals that has been committed crimes against journalists, political opponents, leaders of the Free Trade Union, innocent men, women and children have ever been brought to justice.
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