Calling Scottish people 'Jocks' is fine, rules TV watchdog - but 'Taff' IS offensive

It is a term that has divided Scotland for centuries - with some viewing it as a friendly nickname and other condemning it as an insult.

But the word 'Jock' has been deemed of 'limited concern' and on par with calling someone a 'Nazi' or 'Hun' by the communications watchdog Ofcom.

They were all viewed as less shocking than referring to a Welsh person as a 'Taff' - a slang term which derives from the River Taff which runs through Cardiff.

The regulator has published a document that ranks offensive terms on a scale from 'mild' to 'strongest'.

Ofcom's rankings have raised eyebrows, especially concerning how the word 'Jock' is no more or less offensive than the word 'Nazi', which Ofcom also deemed 'mild'.

'Hun', which Rangers fans have lobbied to make a hate crime when used in a footballing context, was also deemed 'mild'.

The report, Attitudes to Potentially Offensive Language and Gestures on TV and Radio, was based on a survey of 248 people in the UK.

'Ginger' is deemed funny and described as 'mild language, generally of little concern… typically viewed as a humorous insult, however, more aggression or specific intent to hurt heightens impact'.

The term 'Hun', sometimes used as a derogatory term for Rangers fans, is described as 'mild language, generally of little concern… however, seen as less acceptable by those familiar with the history and use of the term as a sectarian insult'.

The report states that some interviewees who were unaware of its use as an insult assumed it was an abbreviation of 'Honey'.

'Taff', a derogatory term for a Welsh person, is considered more offensive than 'Jock' and is described as 'medium language, potentially unacceptable... uncertainty outside Wales about how offensive it is to Welsh people'.

The Ofcom report states: 'Participants in the research found it hard to make overall judgments about individual words or gestures without taking into account the specific context.

'In some cases, they gave their views on the acceptability of words without being provided with detail about how a specific word might have been used.'

Last week, the BBC was accused of racism after 'Jock' appeared in a headline in a story about the Scottish economy.

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