Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Japanophile

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The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was Keep. Essjay (Talk) 10:08, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Japanophile

Japanophile (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs)

Made up Internet Insult Slang Duhman0009 22:38, 16 December 2006 (UTC)


After someone on a message board called me a Japanophile, I decided to Google to see what that meant. Of course, one of the first link proposed on Google was Wikipedia. I was shocked that a made up Internet insult slang had it's own article here. Japanophile is a made-up word with no positive background, it was obviously made up as a last defense resort for debates Japanese Vs English language in Anime and Games.

I would like to nominate this article for deletion since the background of this word holds no water. I would bet $10 that a slang such as Americanophile would be removed from Wikipedia if it was created, so there's no room for Japanophile here either. Duhman0009 22:39, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

IMPORTANT: Please list in your comment, if you as an individual is considered by others to be a Japanophile and why. Duhman0009 13:18, 18 December 2006 (UTC)


  • Delete neologism. Danny Lilithborne 22:49, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Keep Articles such as Anglophile or Francophile exist, so why shouldn't this one. Besides, it gets about 100k hits, so it isn't that obscure. TSO1D 22:52, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
Oh, so they did make others, I stand corrected. Bah, either way, Wikipedia is no place for made up slangs, that's why we have UrbanDictionary. Duhman0009 22:55, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
It gets a lot of hits because it's used a lot on message boards, which is the main reason why the Google test doesn't establish notability. Also, the article itself states that the term is derogatory; Anglophile and Francophile are not, so that is apples and oranges. Danny Lilithborne 23:12, 16 December 2006 (UTC)
The part about the term always being derogatory seems incorrect. For instance look at the results from a search for the word on Google Scholoar here. As you can see, Japanophile can also be used in a neutral context, simply describing one's admiration of Japan and its culture. TSO1D 01:16, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Delete - I thought this was a common term, but after reading the article, it appears that it has no reliable or verifiable sources in it. Anomo 00:32, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Keep and clean up to remove the Internet slang. The word is in Merriam-Webster and Oxford English Dictionary (see the entry for Japano-), and Encyclopaedia Britannica uses it (see the article on Kumamoto). "Japanophile" is not a made-up word; it has a positive background. The Internet slang synonyms, by contrast, have no place in this article. Fg2 01:15, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
    • I'm changing my vote to a Weak Keep per Fg2's edits. I'd like to see more sources, though. Danny Lilithborne 02:07, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Keep, legit term Alf photoman 23:12, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Note: This debate has been included in the list of Japan-related deletions. -- Sbfj 02:59, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Keep — Japanophile is a legitimate English word, listed in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (18 Dec. 2006) - subscription required. Here's the Merriam-Webster dictionary entry:
Main Entry: ja·pan·o·phile
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -s
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Japano- + -phile
: one who especially admires and likes Japan or Japanese ways
--Endroit 19:10, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Keep I remember first stumbling over this article a while ago and being shocked to find that a legitimate, neutral word had an article where it was described as merely a synonim of otaku, wapanese, and yellow fever, all of which are derogatory. A great deal of the shock was of course stemming from the fact that as a scholar of Japanese studies, I consider myself a Japanophile, in the neutral meaning of the word, of course. The article is much improved, and if it manages to stay the way it is now, does not merit deletion. However, I do think that if the word has gotten a negative connotation in certain circles, this should be clearly stated as well. No use turning a blind eye to a fact, painful to the "real" Japanophiles among us. TomorrowTime 19:23, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
Suggestion: I read through the talk page and flicked through the history of the article. Seems there is a lot of interest in this article and a lot of people out there relentlessly trying to push their own understanding of the word as purely derogative and/or trying to enforce some silly vanity pictures. Maybe the article should be semi-protected? TomorrowTime 21:25, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Keep — Anglophile, francophile, &c. are all valid terms and are not considered slang.[1] (On the other hand AfD hasn't always elected to keep all of the [otherwise valid] -phobe articles.) As always, It's not what you say, it's how you say it that makes the word an insult. :-) — RJH (talk) 20:31, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Strong keep. This has nothing to do with the Internet, although that may be the main place it is used in a derogatory way. Is this a good-faith nom? Dekimasu 02:04, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
    • I think it's a good-faith nomination. When nominated, the article had some pretty questionable Internet stuff in it. Fg2 02:07, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Delete This should be in the dictionary if anywhere.ERTalk 07:31, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Keep Whether it is a pejorative term or used as a pejorative is irrelevant to its inclusion in Wikipedia. Since the term has found its way into several respected dictionaries, it is a notable neologism. And finally, if the term is to be transwikied to Wiktionary, then so should all of the other -ophile terms for consistency. --TheFarix (Talk) 13:38, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
  • Comment In my view, it isn't presently a dictionary definition, and it has plenty of potential for additional encyclopedic content. The caption of the photo of Hearn hints at the possibilities. Japanophiles influenced painting and museum collections, spread ideas and history, popularized food and religion. This takes it well into the realm of the encyclopedia. It's now a stub; Wikipedia encourages stubs to grow. Fg2 00:58, 23 December 2006 (UTC)
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.