Language:
English
Year of publication:
2001
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Sociolinguistics
Angaben zur Quelle:
5,3 (2001) 323-351
Keywords:
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Terminology
Abstract:
From a sociolinguistic perspective, compares terms currently used in the USA for the respective World War II experiences of Jews and Japanese Americans as evinced in various sources of public discourse (newspapers, library catalogues, book titles). In contrast to the variety of expressions used to describe the Japanese American experience, the term "Holocaust" has been widely accepted for the Jewish experience. Discussing the latter, notes that in the first postwar decades there was no single accepted term until various factors, including the television series "Holocaust, " popularized the word, especially in the USA, where it has helped to coalesce Jewish and American collective memory. Discusses also the terms "Shoah, "hurban, " and "genocide." Points to the differences in the use of the term "concentration camp" in the two contexts - for Jews it was aften equivalent to a death camp, while for Japanese Americans it meant imprisonment.
Note:
On terms used in American public discourse to refer to the experiences of European Jews and of Japanese Americans during World War II.
DOI:
10.1111/1467-9481.00153
URL:
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