Sywash Derogatory?

[janilta]

Hello, Ray,

I do agree with your posting but I just wanted to add that even if
'sauvage' was not derogatory in itself when it was used by the French in
North America, it is considered as such in current French !
As for English, the French language is also victim of PC trends and f ex
the noun 'negre' (negro, not nigger !), just meaning Black people
originally, is clearly avoided now (except for racist statements)
whereas it was the normal word used in the 30's (cf the 30's movies).
It is obvious that some of the French/French speakers in North America
considered the Native as different, perhaps inferior, but I think this
was not reflected in the very noun 'sauvage' (savage, wild, untamed).
This should be checked but I think this is a word still used in Mitchif
f ex and I guess without any derogatory meaning.
'Sauvage' is another post-reconstruction I guess, giving to a word a
current meaning to an older one. This reminds me of our previous
discussion about 'squaw'. The words are often not doregatory in
themselves, it is the people who use them that can give this feeling.

Regards, Yann.