Ramadan: Would these be considered backbiting/gossiping?

[stein74]

Here is the definition of backbiting according to the Prophet Muhammad (saw):

Prophet Muhammad said :"Do you know what backbiting is?" They said, "God and His Messenger know best." He then said, "It is to say something about your brother that he would dislike." Someone asked him, "But what if what I say is true?" The Messenger of God said, "If what you say about him is true, you are backbiting him, but if it is not true then you have slandered him." (Muslim)

So would these be considered backbiting? ---
1) If, in a discussion about allophones with my friend, I mentioned that certain people of Indian/Pakistani origin mix up the sounds "v" and "w" a lot.
2) If I mentioned to my friend that I saw a guy in the computer lab having "cherry blossom" as his gmail theme (without any additional comments).

I know that this seems like an extremely trivial question, but I've always wondered about the precise definition of backbiting. I mean, how would I know if the person/people I talk about would have disliked the "facts" that I state about them? Everyone is different. Do I just put myself in their shoes and use that as a standard? If any knowledgeable person could answer me, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

[roche]

I don't know if I'm very knowledgeable, but the way I think of it is, would I be embarrassed or guilty if the person (or, in the case like your first, one of the people) I was talking about overheard what i was saying? The answer dictates the intention with which I am making those comments
Whilst I can't put my finger on why, I don't think generalizations about people that are true and could not be resented by any reasonable person (such as your allophone example) count as backbiting.
I hope this helped, God willing.

[shen86]

Salaam. Your 1 and 2 don't seem to be rude,ill,or addressing something negative about the people you're talking about. I wouldn't considering them backbiting or slander.It's not so serious.Don't stress so much about backbiting and slander.It's important not to do so of course,but remember god judges us by our intentions are there are much bigger sins that we need to watch out for.Just try to be a good person.

[demarco]

use ur common sense..

:) he he.
just imagine what u would dislike to be said about and u there's ur answer :P