Philip Brogadir writes:
“As a Jew (getting my bona fides in early), I’ve often had negative reactions to hearing or reading the word ‘Jew’ of the type you describe in your January 20 column. The reasons you give for this reaction are all well taken. However, you omit one that is, in my opinion, as responsible for the negative reactions as any — the sound of the word ‘Jew.’ I hear it as harsh and curt, on a par with words like ‘Jap’ or the four-letter pornographic terms. Unlike words like ‘Russ’ or ‘Finn,’ it has no softening vowels or consonants to alleviate its hardness and confrontational qualities. Compare ‘Jew’ with ‘Judean,’ a much more pleasant term to hear and live with and one that I wish had been adopted by the English language. What do you think?”
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