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Comment by the__alchemist | Hacker News Reader

I disagree emphatically with this statement. I encourage you to insert colloquial expressions used by various cultures as a replacement for "bro" in your comment, and assess the validity and other characteristics that may be ascribed to these statements.

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I am interested in this discussion, I would have described 'bro' as a culture some people self select in to, i.e. choose to be a 'bro'. I think it is very different than, for example, an expression like 'y'all' which comes from a regional culture. Do you disagree?

I'm born & raised in east-bay California. Bro, hella, tryna, finna - all words that everyone in that region use as naturally as my Granfolk in the Ozarks use y'all.

Young woman use it. It’s also very common in black culture for at least the past 50 years.

Sorry, what "culture" do crypto bros belong to exactly? The culture of crime?

I think GP means that saying "bro" is akin to saying "y'all". It's more an indication of regional dialect than personality. It's not wise or appropriate to discriminate on that basis.

Specifically: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bro_culture

That article does not document a coherent culture, but rather a nebulous stereotype; essentially a list of traits that other people typically associate with men who either attended fraternities, drink alcohol, or wear boat shoes.

Proof of Wikipedia’s decline.

The word "bro" predates cryptocurrency.

Originating of course with Brolaf from League of Legends.

Lehman Bros.

Salomon Bros.

Warner Bros.

Brooks Bros.

Etc.

Those aren't examples of "bro". Those are examples of abbreviating "brothers".

What do you think bro is short for?

I don't think it is short for anything, the way it is used by some, including the specific context that we're discussing. It has become a distinct term.

I don't really see what makes it different or distinct

The way words are used gives them their meaning. If "bro" is used differently than "brother" in certain contexts, then they have different meanings in those contexts.

In my experience, it does have different meanings.

One usage makes me think of: "friend", "close friend", "homie", "my guy", "dude", "someone I trust", etc.

Another usage is: "immature", "douchey", "fake", "asshole", etc

But is it actually used differently than brother in this context?

Understand that bro also has a pejorative connotation in some context, but that is not the case here.

If the quote was "we are operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA brother." how is the meaning different?

I can see that they have slightly different connotations like thanks versus thank you, but that doesn't mean it it's no longer an abbreviation, which is what the parent poster was claiming

I was pointing out that "Bros" in a company name is exactly an abbreviation for "brother". It is, in effect, a different word than "bro" used in slang.

The usage of [abbreviation for brother, as in company names] is very different than the slang "bro" used to describe undesirable people, but it's not very different than the slang "bro" used in the statement quoted in this tweet -- just literal brothers versus metaphorical brothers.

Ah, yeah with the company names, I think it is simply an abbreviation for "brothers". A bit of miscommunication.

I think bro is always an abbreviation for brother, but sometimes the act of abbreviating is done to save space (like company names) and sometimes to specifically impart informality/metaphor (like TFA). But that doesn't mean the unabbreviated version can't be used metaphorically as well.

In day-to-day use, you would not hear people saying "brother", instead. It just doesn't happen. "Bro", in this context, has evolved.

I have definitely been greeted with "what's up, brother?" several times. And I took it exactly the same as when other people have greeted me with "what's up, bro?" -- the former came from someone a bit older than me, and the latter came from someone my age. Intent was 100% identical as far as I could tell.

That may have been the case, but it does not mean that all such uses are 100% identical.

I get that it is an abbreviation, but does it have new meaning? What meaning or connotation would be lost if a user of the word said brother instead of bro? Would there be confusion?

>Would there be confusion?

No, but it would be unusual. You don't hear people using a term like "crypto brothers", for instance. "Bro" carries a different connotation, and it isn't a positive one in this example.

I don't think it is simply an abbreviation in this case.

In this example, do you think the speaker of the quote was using it in a negative connotation? I think it's pretty clear that that is not the case.

Precisely. The speaker might happen to be "a bro" in the derogatory sense of the word (especially given involvement in an activity that may have a significant population of those people), but that's fairly distinct from simply calling someone "bro" as used in this quote. But I do say "fairly" because bros (in the derogatory sense) probably also call each other "bro" (in the sense that someone is close like a brother) at a rate that exceeds baseline. That elevated rate is probably pertinent to the etymology of the derogatory sense, come to think of it.

"Bro" started in slang as a way of indicating you consider someone a brother in spirit, precisely because it was an abbreviation for "brother".

But it ceased being used that way a while ago. Now, it's largely used to indicate a certain personality type (at least in my neck of the woods).

I think perhaps the usage has split, with dual meanings, depending on the social identity of the user.

It is still often used by many people for friends (like the quote in the link), with the original meaning.

Some people also use it as a pejorative, usually against people they don't know or like.

I think it is an error to think that the second usage the only one, or even the predominant connotation. I would guess a small portion of english speakers hold negative opinions about "bros", and the concept isn't even on most people's radar.

How often does the word bro get used, and in which context? I would guess that bros use the word in the positive sense more often than other people spend talking talking about bros in a negative sense.

If someone claims that there is only one meaning of bro and that it is negative, I think that reflects more on their social bubble and social leanings than reality.

Mario Bros.

Dutch Bros.

Marx bros.

Meh, “bro” is for anyone not mature enough to realize that the world isn’t a college frat and it’s hardly appropriate to use in a professional context.

You would be surprised to see what the older generations think about what we consider to be formal and professional, and how much of our lexicon started out as more informal vocabulary imported by upper classes. Are you sure your opposition to certain terms are completely unrelated to your expectations about different backgrounds, geographies and cultures?

I honestly don’t care enough what the older generations think since the context is contemporary and cosmopolitan and that’s how “bro” is used in such settings. Feel free to falsify that if the word matters that much to you.

I bet you're a real hoot at parties

huh? Are you saying it's culturally insensitive to disparage the use of "bro?" Seems unprofessional at the very least.

Let's try one particular USA-specific culture, translated using the well known and currently popular family-friendly AI:

"Ayo, we be runnin' this bit** ass unlicensed stock game in the U.S, my n**!"

Imagine your chief compliance officer talking like that. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell am going to assume all sorts of stuff about that person.

yeah, bro.

bruh

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