Nekotalia fan-art.
Yandere:
1. (noun) A character which expresses affection through psychotic violence; from "yanderu" meaning "mentally unstable" and "deredere" meaning "expressing affection".
2. (noun) A character which is generally cheerful and agreeable, but hides a dark side.
This is what I have come to understand as the meaning(s) of "yandere". According to my research, the paraphrased definition above, seems to be the original meaning of the term. While the second definition seems to have evolved, during use in the fandom.
And I'm ok with that.
Sometimes, when I'm at anime conventions, there are people who are offended by other fans, who get terminology "wrong". There are those who believe that only the original or literal meanings are correct. These people tend to give the vibe of elitists, speak loud, deprecating, and give an unaccepting atmosphere, lacking in understanding of others. Not that they are wrong (sans the antagonistic airs). But then these people yell that one cannot make-up language to suit their needs, and that's where I can no longer agree.
Look at English. Old English sounds nothing like even what Shakespeare wrote. And present day people are making up slang everyday. Scholars have even had to recognize it with terms like "vernacular". "Cool" is often not used in the literal sense. And this practice seems to have made many words diverge far away from their original meanings, during the evolution of any language.
But that's okay. When we get down to it, language is just a tool to understand other people's thoughts and feelings. If someone is using the word "yandere", using the 2nd/newer meaning, our conversation isn't really going to go anywhere, if I insist on only understanding the word in its first meaning. Because that scenario isn't open to trying to understand what someone else's feelings/thoughts are. And if that other person's thoughts are not conveyed, then there's no real reason to bother attempting to get new ideas from outside one's own mind. Even if we are all speaking the same language, venacular introduces a secondary practice of "translating" from another person's "personal language". But that's just fine; all it means is that people are very diverse. Which is healthy. Also, interpreting someone else's thoughts, even from their use of the same language, is just the nature of trying to understand a different person. Philosophers are constantly citing how limiting and impossible it is to completely understand a whole other person's feelings/thoughts. Language can never truly express another's feelings/thoughts/experiences, not as completely as they themselves experience it. Language really can never be more than a permanently imperfect tool: falling short to convey truth, as well as introducing new confusions. But, it's what we got. And if we have to evolve it to make it better suit our needs, then I welcome the option to do so. Afterall, the goal is to *try* to understand someone else's thoughts (not refuse to try, because we can't speak/use the exact same language).
So the next time someone gives you flack about proudly calling yourself "otaku", just because the Japanese use that Japanese word as a derogatory term, tell them that the derogatory use of "otaku" in Japan, isn't even the original meaning of the word. "Otaku" originally was a formal form of "you". Geeks in Japan started using it to address themselves---just for fun, I might add, and probably also to identify comrades who will accept them. And as Americans, who have a unique history of minorities who internalize derogatory terms/symbols to empower themselves, it's very surprising whenever American geeks of anime/manga would be so unaccepting of their own kind, doing the same.
[See, Professor? Someone *did* learn something from your American social studies class! ^o^ ...With a little help from my dad's perspective as an immigrant in America.]
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