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I was recently out with friends and also with someone I didn't know too well. At some point during the night, I was imitating English spoken with a Mandarin speaker's accent for humorous effect, and the individual I didn't know went off on me, calling me racist.

Now, I know perfectly well that finding humor in an accent or in grammatical mistakes is not in fact racist. That was never in question.

What is in question for me is whether there is in fact a word for this, making light of commonly true things about a group of people, like Australians saying mate or cat owners thinking their cat is really unique and unlike every other cat ever.

Is there a word aside from stereotyping? Which doesn't seem accurate to me, since it suggests I'm implying these things are true of all people in that group or even a majority, which isn't the case.

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  • I think you mean "universal" rather than "ubiquitous".
    – Jay
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:51
  • Probably both work but universal is a better choice, I agree.
    – temporary_user_name
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 20:52
  • Traits? Not usually as nuanced as "stereotypes".
    – Catija
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 21:00
  • You can simply say the trait is characteristic, and multiple such a traits are characteristics. They characterize such people. But of course, any given individual or sub-group may be uncharacteristic (uncharacteristically tall, e.g.).
    – Dan Bron
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 21:01
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    There is a big difference between the question in the title ("word for referring to") and in the body ("word for... making light of"). Answers are coming in for both. Please could you make clear which you want?
    – Avon
    Commented Jun 25, 2015 at 23:26

7 Answers 7

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to ape, according to The Oxford Dictionaries means:

Imitate the behavior or manner of (someone or something), especially in an absurd or unthinking way

And from Oxford Learner's Dictionaries:

ape somebody/something (especially North American English):
to copy the way somebody else behaves or talks, in order to make fun of them synonym mimic We used to ape the teacher's southern accent.

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It was a caricature

noun
1. a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.
verb
1. make or give a caricature of.

based on a generalization

noun
a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases.

(Google)

I think it is safe and fair to say that any and every caricature of a race will be based on a generalization so the latter goes without saying.

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A term used to describe linguistic and cultural differences is peculiarity, ( distinctive feature, distinguishing characteristic) :

  • a trait, manner, characteristic, or habit that is odd or unusual. (The Free Dictionary)
  • Linguistic and cultural peculiarities.

Ngram: linguistic peculiarities, cultural peculiarities.

  • Through cross-cultural experiences, we become more broad-minded and tolerant of cultural “peculiarities.” When this is coupled with some formal study of the concept of culture, we not only gain new insights for improving our human relations, ...Managing Cultural Differences

  • ... albeit of Gallo-Romance origin, is nonetheless not a dialect of Provencal. It is Ibero-Romance by virtue of its geographic position, but cannot, because of its history and linguistic peculiarities, be counted among Ibero-Romance languages. Cultural and Linguistic Factors in Word Formation:

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Clique: a group of people with shared interests or other features in common and do not readily allow others to join them

Coterie: a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people

Source: NOAD

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cultural quirks

cultural: relating to the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a society

quirk: a peculiar aspect of a person's character or behaviour

Source: ODO

Examples showing how 'cultural quirks' is used in the literature:

'Befuddling citizenship requirements expose cultural quirks', WSJ Blog, 16 Feb 2015

'An uncommon history of common courtesy: customs, quirks and social snafus around the world': NGS, 2011

Please note that I have answered your question as expressed in the title.

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Let’s just say that you were, without malicious intent, “lampooning” the stereotypical characteristics of a social group.

lampoon verb: 3rd person present: lampoons; past tense: lampooned; past participle: lampooned; gerund or present participle: lampooning

1. publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule, irony, or sarcasm.

• "the senator made himself famous as a pinch-penny watchdog of public spending, lampooning dubious federal projects"

synonyms: satirize, mock, ridicule, make fun of, caricature, burlesque, parody, tease

(Google)

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The word you seek is “metanym” Naming a group for a common characteristic, like calling hippies “longhairs” or business people “suits.”

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    Commented Feb 23 at 16:02

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