Chinky

In the United Kingdom, chinky (or chinky chonky,[1] in parts of northern England known as a chinkies, always in the plural) is an offensive slang word for a Chinese takeaway restaurant or Chinese food. However, along with 'chink', they are named among TV's most offensive words.[2]

This article is about the British slang. For the ethnic slur, see Chink.
A Chinese takeaway in Birkenhead, Merseyside, seen here in March 2012.

After several campaigns by the Scottish Executive, more people in Scotland now acknowledge that this name is indirectly racist.[3] However, the Broadcasting Standards Commission held in 2002, after a complaint about the BBC One programme The Vicar of Dibley, that when used as the name of a type of restaurant or meal, rather than as an adjective applied to a person or group of people, the word still carries extreme racist connotation which causes offence particularly to those of East Asian origin.[4]

In a document commissioned by Ofcom titled "Language and Sexual Imagery in Broadcasting: A Contextual Investigation"[5] their definition of chink was " a term of racial offence/abuse. However, this is polarising. Older and mainly white groups tend to think this is not usually used in an abusive way—e.g., let's go to the Chinky—which is not seen as offensive by those who aren't of East Asian origin; however, younger people, East Asians, particularly people of Chinese racial background and other non-white ethnic minorities feel the word 'Cinky, Chinkies or Chinkie' to be as insulting as 'paki' or 'nigger'."

However, a year earlier, the commission's counterpart, the Radio Authority, apologised for the offence caused by an incident where a DJ on Heart 106.2 used the term.[6] Ofcom, the successor organisation of the two, classifies it as a derivative of the racist term "chink" but notes that the degree to which the term is deemed offensive varies according to age or ethnic origin of the listener.[7]

The term gained renewed attention in 2014 after a recording emerged of UKIP candidate Kerry Smith referring to a woman of Chinese background as a "chinky bird".[8]

See also
  • Ching chong – another ethnic slur used against Chinese people

References
  1. Ray Puxley (2004). Britslang: An Uncensored A-Z of the People's Language, Including Rhyming Slang. Robson. p. 98. ISBN 1-86105-728-8.
  2. "TV's most offensive words". 21 November 2005 – via The Guardian.
  3. Scottish Executive (2006-09-13). "One Scotland Many Cultures 2005/2006 — Waves 6 and 7 Campaign Evaluation" (PDF).
  4. "The Vicar Of Dibley" (PDF). The Bulletin. Broadcasting Standards Commission. 56 (56): 19. 2002-07-25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-01-04.
  5. The Fuse Group (September 2005). "Language and Sexual Imagery in Broadcasting: A Contextual Investigation" (PDF). Ofcom.
  6. "Radio Authority Quarterly Complaints Bulletin: April – June 2001" (PDF) (42). Radio Authority. June 2001: 25. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2004-01-04. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Language and Sexual Imagery in Broadcasting: A Contextual Investigation" (PDF). Ofcom. September 2005. p. 85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-12.
  8. "Farage defends 'rough diamond' former UKIP candidate". BBC.
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