Mentality

**lexico** · Aug 9, 2005, 15:50

Mentality seems to be used often in a negative or condescending context. So I looked up the word in Merriam-Webster's, and it says 1. mental power or capacity: INTELLIGENCE 2. mode or way of thought: OUTLOOK.

My question is this. Do US native English speakers often discuss each other's mentality ? For example, could I, as a mainlander, causally ask a Hawaiian, "What do you think is unique about Hawaiian mentality ?"

Or I could I comment on a people living in a distant part of US; "I am from the East Coast, and I find the mentality of people living in Seattle quite different from that of where I come from."

If I comment on the mentality of a person's cultural/religious/ethinc group, isn't it rather insulting ?

Apri1 · Aug 12, 2005, 13:45

As long as you dont say it in an insulting way it's not insulting. And as long as you mention not EVERYBODY thinks the same. If you dont point that out somebody will. So annoying. anyway we dont usually SAY "mentality" we say it differently .... like ...

the hawaiian way of life
the hawaiian's way of doing things
the hawaiian's views
how many hawaiians think ....

mentality just seems like a very formal .. carved in stone word. that's just my opinion though =o)

I think people do ask about that stuff =)

nice gaijin · Aug 12, 2005, 14:14

i use mentality when I mean "way of thinking" regarding a certain subject. So just saying "so-and-so's mentality" is a bit vague, I'd rather say "so-and-so's mentality about/regarding/concerning this problem."

**lexico** · Aug 12, 2005, 15:21

Thanks, Apri1, Nice Gaijin. Your explaining and examples make it more unerstandable, cause I haven't heard much of that word 'mentality.' I also gather from your posts that

1) there are other, more neutral or positive words that can be used
2) when 'mentality' is used, it is often good to be specific about who's mentality, or mentality regarding what,
3) but without generalising on a whole group of people.

Nice of you to help out !

Tsuyoiko · Aug 12, 2005, 19:18

I agree with your original comment that 'mentality' has a negative connotation. It is like 'unfortunately, that is their way of thinking'.

Bucko · Aug 20, 2005, 18:55

I think 'mentality' is more often used negatively than positively. It is frequently used to describe different ways of thinking which are usually arrogant or ignorant. For example, "then mentality of British people is that they think they are better than everyone else". Mentality can, however, be used in a positive way, for example "British people are very kind. Kindness is in their mentality."

Limonette · Aug 20, 2005, 21:14

Hm...I don't use that word. Men...ta...li..ty I like that word. MEn ta lity

I think my mentality is such that I have a new favorite word now....

**lexico** · Aug 22, 2005, 04:41

Tsuyoiko,

Thanks for illustrating the negative tendencies that might characterise 'mentality' in the majority of usage; I fear the negative possibility can be realised as 1) classification 2) symbolisation 3) (mild) dehumanisation 4) (planned or accidental) organisation 5) polarisation and 6) identification. (and in the context of extreme cases of racist regimes, a pretext to 7) extermination and 8) denial). All these possibilities are there because the simple distinction between the mutually exclusive groups 'we' and 'they' can make anything possible.

Bucko,

I also appreciate your anaysis of triggers, either real or imagined, that might cause the verbal reaction of mentality; arrogance or ignorance of either party. You also pointed out that 'mentality' may be used to refer to a positive difference in thoughts or customs.

Limonette,

Your word play gives an interesting folk etymology that I can connect to a variant of the Jamaican song, Day-O.

Mista tally man, tally tea...

So if I work on a coffee or coco plantation, but they on a tea plantation, I can tag the other tally men as men (representative of men and women) who tally tea. As long as I don't drink much tea, but not because I hate tea, there needn't be anything negative abut tallying tea. That would be a neutral-to-positive MEN-tally-Tea. Hmm, it worked !

Limonette · Sep 1, 2005, 17:29

Men tallying tea? LOL That took me a while to figure out, but when I did - very good Lex! But...what about the banana? I love that song.

**lexico** · Sep 1, 2005, 19:45

sounds sweeter than men-tally-tea that can get quite bitter !

Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)

Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Work all night on a drink of rum
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Stack banana till de mornin' come
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day...
Daylight come and me wan' go home

A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Hide the deadly black tarantula
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day...
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and me wan' go home

Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home
Day, me say day, me say day, me say day
Me say day, me say day-o
Daylight come and me wan' go home

http://www.lyricsdownload.com/harry-...-o-lyrics.html

I also love the adaptation piece in Beetlejuice lobster dinner scene !

Limonette · Sep 2, 2005, 13:24

Aha - so that is what that song is about. I can karaoke it now. Bettlejuice lobster scene - I don't recall it.

**lexico** · Sep 2, 2005, 15:46

O, sorry, it was prawns actually. Beetlejuice is a corruption of Betelgeuse, alpha Orion, but here it refers to the ghost in the comedy-horror which isn't scary at all. He haunts this house and doesn't want to share it with the new propsective buyers. But the new lady really likes the looks of it, and invites a number of high-profile guests to impress them, and that's where Beetlejuice plays a trick by having the dinner dish of prawns dance about. Of course eveyone is under the spell, and starts dancing along to the Day-O tune. Here is the jacket (a bit scary to see !); the piece titled (20) Weird Dinner.

nice gaijin · Sep 2, 2005, 17:06

my god I thought Michael Keaton burned every copy... how do you know this movie lexico? ^_^

Personally I would think that bobcat goldthwait would have made a better beetlejuice, but i guess there are some movies he should be thankful he didn't get (*cough* Down Periscopes *cough*)...

Limonette · Sep 2, 2005, 18:53

Oh, well I haven't seen that one in years. Aha so it is a Tim Burton movie - I thought it seemed his style. I like his films alot. Bobcat Goldthwait, lol, yeah that makes sense.

**lexico** · Sep 4, 2005, 23:15

Originally Posted by nice gaijin

my god I thought Michael Keaton burned every copy... how do you know this movie lexico? ^_^

I don't get it; that movie has Michael Keaton at his best ! No other actor could have done it better; he really brings alive the mischief of the ghost ! And all the tiny gimmicks work quite well. Esp. the guy with the shrunken head in the doctor's office !

I own a VHS edition of Beetlejuice; Hurray !

Limonette · Sep 5, 2005, 01:11

I just saw Michael Keaton in 'Herbie' and he was excellent in it. I actually enjoy that one - didn't think I would.

Aug 9, 2005, 15:50	#1
lexico Chukchi Salmon Join Date: Dec 22, 2004 Location: Sunny South Korea Posts: 2,223	Mentality Mentality seems to be used often in a negative or condescending context. So I looked up the word in Merriam-Webster's, and it says 1. mental power or capacity: INTELLIGENCE 2. mode or way of thought: OUTLOOK. My question is this. Do US native English speakers often discuss each other's mentality ? For example, could I, as a mainlander, causally ask a Hawaiian, "What do you think is unique about Hawaiian mentality ?" Or I could I comment on a people living in a distant part of US; "I am from the East Coast, and I find the mentality of people living in Seattle quite different from that of where I come from." If I comment on the mentality of a person's cultural/religious/ethinc group, isn't it rather insulting ?

Aug 12, 2005, 15:21	#4
lexico Chukchi Salmon Join Date: Dec 22, 2004 Location: Sunny South Korea Posts: 2,223	Thanks, Apri1, Nice Gaijin. Your explaining and examples make it more unerstandable, cause I haven't heard much of that word 'mentality.' I also gather from your posts that 1) there are other, more neutral or positive words that can be used 2) when 'mentality' is used, it is often good to be specific about who's mentality, or mentality regarding what, 3) but without generalising on a whole group of people. Nice of you to help out ! Last edited by lexico; Aug 12, 2005 at 16:43.

Aug 12, 2005, 19:18	#5
Tsuyoiko DON'T PANIC! Join Date: Mar 11, 2005 Location: In my cerebral cortex Age: 34 Posts: 1,598	I agree with your original comment that 'mentality' has a negative connotation. It is like 'unfortunately, that is their way of thinking'. __________________ "Hurrah for the electric speed of thought!" Fyodor Dostoevsky Currently playing: Star Ocean: Second Evolution on PSP Currently reading: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Aug 22, 2005, 04:41	#8
lexico Chukchi Salmon Join Date: Dec 22, 2004 Location: Sunny South Korea Posts: 2,223	Tsuyoiko, Thanks for illustrating the negative tendencies that might characterise 'mentality' in the majority of usage; I fear the negative possibility can be realised as 1) classification 2) symbolisation 3) (mild) dehumanisation 4) (planned or accidental) organisation 5) polarisation and 6) identification. (and in the context of extreme cases of racist regimes, a pretext to 7) extermination and 8) denial). All these possibilities are there because the simple distinction between the mutually exclusive groups 'we' and 'they' can make anything possible. Bucko, I also appreciate your anaysis of triggers, either real or imagined, that might cause the verbal reaction of mentality; arrogance or ignorance of either party. You also pointed out that 'mentality' may be used to refer to a positive difference in thoughts or customs. Limonette, Your word play gives an interesting folk etymology that I can connect to a variant of the Jamaican song, Day-O. Mista tally man, tally tea... So if I work on a coffee or coco plantation, but they on a tea plantation, I can tag the other tally men as men (representative of men and women) who tally tea. As long as I don't drink much tea, but not because I hate tea, there needn't be anything negative abut tallying tea. That would be a neutral-to-positive MEN-tally-Tea. Hmm, it worked ! Last edited by lexico; Aug 22, 2005 at 05:21.

Sep 1, 2005, 19:45	#10
lexico Chukchi Salmon Join Date: Dec 22, 2004 Location: Sunny South Korea Posts: 2,223	Men-tally-banana... sounds sweeter than men-tally-tea that can get quite bitter ! Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) Day-o, day-o Daylight come and me wan' go home Day, me say day, me say day, me say day Me say day, me say day-o Daylight come and me wan' go home Work all night on a drink of rum Daylight come and me wan' go home Stack banana till de mornin' come Daylight come and me wan' go home Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana Daylight come and me wan' go home Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana Daylight come and me wan' go home Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch Daylight come and me wan' go home Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch Daylight come and me wan' go home Day, me say day-o Daylight come and me wan' go home Day, me say day, me say day, me say day... Daylight come and me wan' go home A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana Daylight come and me wan' go home Hide the deadly black tarantula Daylight come and me wan' go home Lift six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch Daylight come and me wan' go home Six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch Daylight come and me wan' go home Day, me say day-o Daylight come and me wan' go home Day, me say day, me say day, me say day... Daylight come and me wan' go home Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana Daylight come and me wan' go home Come, Mister tally man, tally me banana Daylight come and me wan' go home Day-o, day-o Daylight come and me wan' go home Day, me say day, me say day, me say day Me say day, me say day-o Daylight come and me wan' go home http://www.lyricsdownload.com/harry-...-o-lyrics.html I also love the adaptation piece in Beetlejuice lobster dinner scene !

Aug 12, 2005, 13:45	#2
Apri1 I didnt do it Join Date: May 24, 2005 Posts: 40	As long as you dont say it in an insulting way it's not insulting. And as long as you mention not EVERYBODY thinks the same. If you dont point that out somebody will. So annoying. anyway we dont usually SAY "mentality" we say it differently .... like ... the hawaiian way of life the hawaiian's way of doing things the hawaiian's views how many hawaiians think .... mentality just seems like a very formal .. carved in stone word. that's just my opinion though =o) I think people do ask about that stuff =)

Aug 12, 2005, 14:14	#3
nice gaijin Resident Realist Join Date: Aug 8, 2005 Posts: 3,686	i use mentality when I mean "way of thinking" regarding a certain subject. So just saying "so-and-so's mentality" is a bit vague, I'd rather say "so-and-so's mentality about/regarding/concerning this problem."

Aug 20, 2005, 18:55	#6
Bucko Master of the Universe Join Date: Feb 4, 2005 Location: ロンドン Posts: 788	I think 'mentality' is more often used negatively than positively. It is frequently used to describe different ways of thinking which are usually arrogant or ignorant. For example, "then mentality of British people is that they think they are better than everyone else". Mentality can, however, be used in a positive way, for example "British people are very kind. Kindness is in their mentality."

Aug 20, 2005, 21:14	#7
Limonette Regular Member Join Date: Aug 7, 2005 Posts: 172	Hm...I don't use that word. Men...ta...li..ty I like that word. MEn ta lity I think my mentality is such that I have a new favorite word now....

Sep 1, 2005, 17:29	#9
Limonette Regular Member Join Date: Aug 7, 2005 Posts: 172	Men tallying tea? LOL That took me a while to figure out, but when I did - very good Lex! But...what about the banana? I love that song.

Sep 2, 2005, 13:24	#11
Limonette Regular Member Join Date: Aug 7, 2005 Posts: 172	Aha - so that is what that song is about. I can karaoke it now. Bettlejuice lobster scene - I don't recall it.

Sep 2, 2005, 15:46	#12
lexico Chukchi Salmon Join Date: Dec 22, 2004 Location: Sunny South Korea Posts: 2,223	O, sorry, it was prawns actually. Beetlejuice is a corruption of Betelgeuse, alpha Orion, but here it refers to the ghost in the comedy-horror which isn't scary at all. He haunts this house and doesn't want to share it with the new propsective buyers. But the new lady really likes the looks of it, and invites a number of high-profile guests to impress them, and that's where Beetlejuice plays a trick by having the dinner dish of prawns dance about. Of course eveyone is under the spell, and starts dancing along to the Day-O tune. Here is the jacket (a bit scary to see !); the piece titled (20) Weird Dinner.

Sep 2, 2005, 17:06	#13
nice gaijin Resident Realist Join Date: Aug 8, 2005 Posts: 3,686	my god I thought Michael Keaton burned every copy... how do you know this movie lexico? ^_^ Personally I would think that bobcat goldthwait would have made a better beetlejuice, but i guess there are some movies he should be thankful he didn't get (cough Down Periscopes cough)...

Sep 2, 2005, 18:53	#14
Limonette Regular Member Join Date: Aug 7, 2005 Posts: 172	Oh, well I haven't seen that one in years. Aha so it is a Tim Burton movie - I thought it seemed his style. I like his films alot. Bobcat Goldthwait, lol, yeah that makes sense.

Sep 4, 2005, 23:15	#15
lexico Chukchi Salmon Join Date: Dec 22, 2004 Location: Sunny South Korea Posts: 2,223	Originally Posted by nice gaijin my god I thought Michael Keaton burned every copy... how do you know this movie lexico? ^_^ I don't get it; that movie has Michael Keaton at his best ! No other actor could have done it better; he really brings alive the mischief of the ghost ! And all the tiny gimmicks work quite well. Esp. the guy with the shrunken head in the doctor's office ! I own a VHS edition of Beetlejuice; Hurray ! Last edited by lexico; Sep 5, 2005 at 23:25. Reason: gr.

Sep 5, 2005, 01:11	#16
Limonette Regular Member Join Date: Aug 7, 2005 Posts: 172	I just saw Michael Keaton in 'Herbie' and he was excellent in it. I actually enjoy that one - didn't think I would.

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