Politically correct term for 'chinese whispers'

[rubberduck]

This came up recently. Everyone knows this expression but is unacceptable to use in the work place, eleven more so around Chinese people. There really needs to be a modern term that portrays the same meaning, is understood by people but is not offensive. They are constant adding new expressions to English language so why not make one up??!

 

[Burnsy2023]

Everyone knows this expression but is unacceptable to use in the work place, eleven more so around Chinese people.

Why? Do they find it offensive?

 

[Lysander]

Everyone knows this expression but is unacceptable to use in the work place

Only woke people care. I and others have used it in my workplace and no-one has batted an eyelid.

 

[Rroff]

Where I work it causes some consternation - someone mentions it in a formal context now and again and there is a moment of everyone drawing their breath, bit of looking around uncertainly, no one quite sure if it is a problem or not.

It is sad in this day and age people can't figure out whether there is intent to be offensive or not.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

In most work places you might get disciplined for it now offensive or not.

 

[andy_mk3]

Broken telephone.

 

[Roar87]

Yes I think anyone mentioning the phrase "Chinese whispers" should be fired so their family are put into abject poverty, only then can we live in a more progressive and free society

 

[explicit4u]

Always gone with 'broken telephone', baffles some of my US friends that we call it 'Chinese whispers'

 

[Narj]

Wonder if we'll be banned from using the term, "Chinese Walls" as well.

Jesus.

 

[stockhausen]

I take it that you are not talking about Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours"?

 

[Burnsy2023]

In most work places you might get disciplined for it now offensive or not.

Source?

I don't think I'd be disciplined within my organisation and we're firmly on the PC side of the spectrum.

Phrases like "it's all Greek to me", "going Dutch" and other expressions like these are in the lexicon and aren't associated with negative connotations. I actually support moving away from terms such as "master/slave", and other things that get me accused of being "woke" but I simply don't see the need here. Simply referencing other nationalities isn't in itself a problem IMO.

 

[arknor]

feels like with a lot of stuff history is rewritten to make it offensive
google says
"Origin: The notion of "Chinese whispers" stems from a racist idea in the 1800s that Chinese people spoke in a way that was deliberately unintelligible. It associates the Chinese language with "confusion" and "incomprehensibility". Now, the game is more commonly referred to as "the telephone game" in the United States."

really? maybe it's because Chinese people struggle to pronounce the sounds of the english alphabet..... and nothing racist at all it's just not easy as to understand them when they speak english.

like how most Germans can't make the TH sound when speaking English.... is it racist? no....

most english people trying to speak foreign languages struggle anyway is that racist against english people?... it's hard to lose your accent when you speak a foreign language so it's harder for them to understand you.

what has it got to do with being racist? people just offended at the obvious


all english people have bad teeth, whys that not racist? oh sorry the english people aren't a race just a nationality... yea so are chinese people... it's not their skin colour that makes them hard to understand is it, it's the bloody accent

obviously not all of them I guess it's just specific accents from some parts of asia


maybe we could change it to "welsh whispers", "geordie whispers", "yorkshire whispers" or somewhere else english people can easily be misunderstood based on their accent being so thick

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Can we still call it the Chinese virus?

 

[BUDFORCE]

I give up.......


Ban everything. Everything is racist.

 

[dlockers]

Surprising this is so polarising. I mean, it stems from the wrong place and therefore deserves its place in the history books. It isn't a big deal to switch to 'bad telephone' is it, really.

 

[drakulton]

Apparently the Great wall of Telephone can be seen from space.

 

[arknor]

Surprising this is so polarising. I mean, it stems from the wrong place and therefore deserves its place in the history books. It isn't a big deal to switch to 'bad telephone' is it, really.

but does it? or is the Chinese accent just one of the more difficult ones to understand when they speak english quietly.

there's probably a reason so many non native english speakers have such a loud volume when they speak english

 

[Rroff]

I have never heard broken telephone used in that context.

 

[dlockers]

but does it? or is the Chinese accent just one of the more difficult ones to understand when they speak english quietly.

there's probably a reason so many non native english speakers have such a loud volume when they speak english

Well yeah, just because you are tempering the description, it is still in bad taste.

 

[The Running Man]

Loose lips sink ships