Ruski a slur like Pollack?

A court case is under way in Kielce to determine whether 'Rusek', 'Ruska' and 'Ruski' are ethnic slurs punishable by law in Poland. This akin to the situation of Pollack in the USA, since 'ruski' is a neutral term in Russian but pejorative in Polish.

thenews.pl/national/artykul146321_court-to-decide-if-ruski-is-ethnic-term-of-abuse-in-poland.html

Yeah it is for me. I wouldn't say rusek to anyone and when I use it to tell somebody about someone, it feels like an insult towards the person I'm telling about.

The Polaks in the USA are doing quite well for themselves. Can the Ruskies make the same claim about their fate in Poland among the multicultural, sensitive Polaks?

That word is neutral not a slur, it's simply an old fashioned way of calling a Russian from when Russia was Kievan Rus


And in English (once again) Pollack is always offensive, if you're speaking Polish or Russian or some other language where Polak means a Pole then its ok to say it.

It won,t be long before Brit is seen as an offensive word..!

Sometimes in small-town east Poland it can be used perjoratively against someone, maybe orthodox by religion.

right, "Kacap" is a slur, lol
I heard one of my friends saying it while in Poland and it sounded so funny that I still remember it.

That's only because some Poles are prejudice against Russians and they say Ruski angrily, but this is mostly the older folk or some dimwit. Right guesswho, Kacap is very offensive, funny how a Russian friend of mine explained to me that Kacap (Russian) and Hahol (Ukrainian) come from the hairstyles that men used to have hundreds of years ago like Cossacks with the hair up.

A bit of that, but you get it in villages near borders everywhere, Poles or not.

For me also.


Yes, I wouldn't say "rusek" to anyone either and I wouldn't use this word behind their back.


Are you sure? Maybe ask Russians living in Poland what they think about this word.


LOL

Oh but Americans also claim that Polack "is neutral not a slur" and everything depends on the context :)

A Russian guy posted a link to the article in Polish about it on one blog:

I think "Ruski" has got offensive meaning. of course it depends on intonation and intention :).
Some phrases aren't so offensive like "ruski miesiąc" ("russian month") - which means that sth takes a long time. It's used in polish language without negative meaning.

But generally it's offensive and the term "ruski" it hasn't got polish origin but russian. In polish should be "rosyjski". If we wanna say that sth is russian we should use "rosyjski".That's why "ruski" is rude, impolite

The historic context might be present, but it just feels degrading when you use it and I would allways use "Rosjanin" in "official" area.

"jebany Rosjanin" - 4 results in Google
"jebany Rusek" - 354 results in Google

And it's not because we are more pissed about the Kievian Rus than about the Tsarian/Soviet Russians

Pierogi ruskie?

Well if they feel like it's offensive maybe they should change it, the Polish word for Gypsy Cygan (same also in Russian) became offensive since Cygan is slang for liar, so they prefer to be called Roma.

This name is derived from Ruś Czerwona (Red Ruthenia), not from Russia (Rosja):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ruthenia


I don't follow articles and news that much, but one Pole claims that in Polish newspapers and on TV they're already replacing "Cyganie" with "Romowie".

Ha! Thanks, I always thought it was like Russian style pierogi, what about Chicken Kiev? :)

Blacks or Arabs getting beat up, people making monkey chants, or white power writen on blocks that's offensive, not being called Ruski a neutral word.

PennBoy, you don't live in Poland, do you?

Nope not any more, used to in Stalowa Wola. All i'm saying is I hardly remember anyone ever using the word Rosjanin always Ruski and it wasn't a bad word at all.

PennBoy, I also wasn't paying any attention to this word until I started discussing with Russians. After that I suddenly started to notice it and pay attention how it's used and why.

Remember that there was a time when antisemitism and calling someone "Żydek" was something normal and nothing out of the ordinary...
I know that Poles often say that it's just a "zdrobnienie" or "potoczne słowo", but why won't they call Russians like that in the face? You ever wondered why?

From what i've heard Żyd is offensive now in Russia. And i did notice twice from Russians when i called them Ruski they got mad, but since i never used it offensively in Poland it was normal to say that, i just figured they're overreacting.

Also, I might add to what you say, it doesn't matter what you feel or how you interpret the words you are using, it is how the person about whom you are talking takes it. I might say: "Hey Polack!" meaning "hey a guy from Poland" and nothing else, no hatred, not for fun. But how the guy I am talking to will take it? So it is not about what the sayer feels - nobody gives a dime what is in the head of the talker. If people to whom you refer consider it offensive, then it is offensive.

The standard Russian word for Jew (in Polish transliteration) is Iwrej. Żyd is standard in Polish but in Russian it means something like Kike, Hymie, Jewboy, etc..

So? What's your point? If someone in Russia is an antisemite it means Poles are allowed to be offensive to all Russians?


Was it in Poland?
Well, I would say they weren't overreacting. Poles' attitude towards Russians and Russia + calling them "Ruscy/Ruski/Ruska" = a very unpleasant mix for Russians.


Um... I would say completely the other way around.

I have nothing against Russians i have Russian friends i dated a Russian girl few years back, I just said i've never used it offensively nor most people in Poland, it was just an another way of saying Rosjanin, neutral.

Żyd itself is not so offensive but is with the right intonation.

Ruski is just an easy slang word for me :)

The problem is that word "Ruski/Ruska/Ruscy" is associated with the attitude of Poles towards Russians and Russia and I think it quite often stems from it. Not always, not in your case, but quite often it does.

By "attitude" I mean this:

Which - according to the general Polish stereotype - so we find the eastern border ? First of all - the Russians . The Russians , which include both the Russians and the Ukrainians and Belarusians , because the average Pole barely three nations from each other distinguish . Often the " Russian " we throw the bag yet - Polish generous hand - Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians , but recently it happens now - thankfully - less frequently. The Baltic States are together with us and the EU and Schengen , and the Estonian - which is the statistical information they already suppressed admiration assimilated - anything you can get on the Internet and pay for parking SMS - em.

And the "attitude" as shown in this quote from the article:


Even in Polish dictionaries this word is described as "disrespectful" ("lekceważący"):

sjp.pwn.pl/slownik/2518189/rusek

I've noticed that Russians tolerate this word only when it's coming from some hardcore rusophiles.

It is,in context,from a Yank its fair enough,from an Irishmen it holds far deeper meanings.
Isnt Moskaly the offensive term,surely not the russian for russian?

What about Yanks...is that offensive...?

To anyone south of the mason dixon I imagine :) But I dont hear anyone bleeping out the words to "Over There" or Yankke Doodle Dandy....