Glossary entry

Swedish term or phrase:

blattarna

English translation:

the foreigners (derogatory)

Added to glossary by Anna Herbst
May 19, 2010 08:14
14 yrs ago
Swedish term

blattarna

Swedish to English Other Slang Book review
När han lyssnar på kompisens snack om att allt är blattarnas fel hamnar han i en ordentlig knipa.
References
Blatte
Change log

Jun 2, 2010 04:20: Anna Herbst Created KOG entry

Discussion

Viachaslau May 19, 2010:
Exactly, Anna! This is what i mean. Blatte is derogatory, whereas "foreigner" is neutral (more or less). Annabel now knows the meaning of the word, I assume, and I suggest that she use something equal to blatte (if any) or go for your elegant solution. But just because its register is neutral, i would think of adding an adjective in front of it. Then, it would be this descriptive attribute that would have this derogatory connotation. Smth like "those xxx foreigners"

Hope, my passage does not sound vague.
Anna Herbst May 19, 2010:
I thought... I had made it quite clear that "blatte" is a derogatory term for a migrant or foreigner with black hair and dark skin. The problem with answering with a pejorative in English is that there are different terms in use depending on which country you are in. As I said in my note, I would probably use "wog" in Australia, but in the UK a wog has a different connotation, and I don't think it is used at all in the US. However, once the meaning of the Swedish word is clear to asker, she should be able to find the corresponding derogatory term for her language variant.
Oh - and 25 years ago the pejorative was "svartskalle" which obviously could not be translated into "blackhead"...
Viachaslau May 19, 2010:
wiki is helpful, as usual

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_slur
Viachaslau May 19, 2010:
While blatte is clearly an ethnic slur, it is somewhat general (if we can put it this way), that is used to speak about a wide range of ethnic groups. "The foreigners", suggested by Anna does not have any explicit negative (pejorative) connotation, however it can be modified by an appropriate descriptive attribute to serve the function.

Proposed translations

+2
22 mins
Selected

the foreigners

The meaning of the word is derogatory for migrants with dark hair and skin living in Sweden.

According to wiktionary blatte is "now widely accepted as a term for people living in an Northern European country that are not of (Northern/Central) European descent."

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Note added at 33 mins (2010-05-19 08:48:42 GMT)
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Any derogatory commonly used term in your target language variant will of course be better still - in Australia I would suggest "the wogs" but there would be other colloquialisms for the UK and the US.
Peer comment(s):

agree Viachaslau
1 hr
Tack Viachaslau!
agree Christopher Schröder : or immigrants perhaps, though a more specific pejorative term might be appropriate in the context
2 hrs
Thanks Chris - I deliberately didn't enter a pejorative term as they tend to differ from country to country.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
2 hrs

Pakis

If your target language is British English -- this term is not used pejoratively in the US.

It is used by British racists as a catch-all terms for people with a South Asian background (not just from Pakistan).
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1 day 4 hrs

the ragheads or rag heads

n. An offensive term for Muslims, Arabs, or all Middle-Easterners, referring to the turbans that some wear.

See also sand nigger

This is the American version
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Reference comments

24 mins
Reference:

Blatte

Swedish word/slang for an individual who's an Arab. A blatte is usually annoying, somewhat chavvy and fail to properly speak the Swedish language. A blatte is not a 'nigga' as some people choose to call them. They usually have tendencies on being violent whilst hanging out with their blatte friends, although when they're on their own they're professional suck ups.
Helvete, inte den där blatten igen! Enkelbiljett till Turkiet, någon?

Swedish term for NOT just Arabs, but anyone who isnt of Western European descent, could be anything from Eastern European to African to Middle Eastern. Blatte can also be a culture, in this case anyone can be a Blatte. Blattecultur is much like African American Street Culture, they speak in slang, (such as Sho Bre, meaning Sup Bro) listen to Hip Hop, eat Kebabs and annoy others. Some live in Ghettos such as Bergsjön, others are rich and educated. They are the African Americans and Hispanic Americans of Scandinavia.
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