In the U.S., when someone says asian, do they usually mean someone only from east Asia like China, Japan, Korea, etc.? This confuses me because India, Pakistan, and the middle East are also included in Asia but they are only grouped as Asians for formal events. Should the rest of Asia (besides Russians) be called Indian then? I was just curious because in Britain, people from east Asian countries are called oriental so what are the others called in both Britain and the U.S? Indian? I am super confused. PLEASE HELP
2007-03-10 11:46:29 · 6 answers · asked by ? 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Webster's dictionary definitions help clarify this. "Asian" means ancestry anywhere on the continent of Asia; that includes India, Russia and the Middle East.
"Oriental" is more specific and means someone of East Asian descent -- China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
So "Asian" will apply for anyone descended from non-oriental people -- Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the other "stans."
The term "Indian" means *only* people from India (excluding American Indians and West Indians, of course). The term "South Asian" includes Indians, Pakistanis and Iranians.
The Middle East today runs from Libya through Iran. A few generations ago though, when sea routes mattered most, the Middle East actually included India, Afghanistan, and even Tibet and Burma.
2007-03-10 12:30:51 · answer #1 · answered by will_o_the_west 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's good to be sensitive to what people want to be called, but one of the side-effects is just this kind of confusion. The word "Oriental" means nothing but "Of the East," but many people find the word offensive and prefer Asian. As you point out, the problem with this is that "Oriental" refers to a specific part of the world, more-or-less, while "Asian" doesn't. So, in the US:
You can call anyone from the continent of Asia, "Asian."
You can call people from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal "South Asian.'
You can call people from the Orient, "East Asian."
Southeast Asian pretty much explains itself.
My habit is to call people by their specific ethnicity if I know it, and if I don't to just call them "Asian" to minimize my chances of offending anyone. Whew!
2007-03-10 11:53:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
well, i am from south korea, and i usually prefer to be called "Asian" (if not "South Korean").
& yes, asian usually does only refer to east asia when here in the US. yes, it's geographically incorrect, but nobody really is picky about that.
however, it annoys me terribly when people ask me "are you japanese?" and then go on to guess "chinese," "vietnamese," "filipino" as i keep saying "no, no, no..."
when someone tells me "oh, sorry, i can't tell the difference" i kinda just have to go all AZN on their assYEAHH. lol...
x]
2007-03-10 13:17:50 · answer #3 · answered by answers, answers 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Oriental" should only be used when describing a carpet.
Asian is unlikely to offend anyone from any part of Asia, and you should probably try to avoid calling Pakistanis, Afghanis and people from Bangladesh "Indians"!
2007-03-10 11:51:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
just say oriental on rare times you need a term or be specific if your talking about an individual. 99% of the time you dont need a term.
2007-03-10 11:49:28 · answer #5 · answered by rostov 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
o asian people don't care. just don't call them a chink cause thats just meann. hahaha but im no chink.. yay... people usually say asian. and then they say oriental for food.. oriental.. idunno. sorry
2007-03-10 11:49:50 · answer #6 · answered by indecisive 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋