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"Asian"

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  • 05-05-2008 10:43pm
    #1
    Blisterman
    Registered Users Posts: 7,450 ✭✭✭


    Here's something I find interesting.
    When I was growing up in Ireland, if someone was referred to as "Asian", I'd assume they meant an east Asian, e.g. Chinese, Japanese Korean etc.

    However, I've noticed in England, "Asian" tends to mean West Asians or Middle Easterners i.e. Pakistani, Indian etc.

    Of course, they're both Asian. But it's funny how we assume things.

    So I want to know, what's the first thing that comes to people's heads, when they hear "Asian". As, in for example, someone tells you to "Go talk to John, he's the Asian guy working at reception". On this description, are you expecting a Chinese, Japanese etc guy, or a Pakistani etc. guy?

    Just to note, there's nothing racist about thinking this, so don't feel like you have to click either, just to be politically correct.

    When you hear someone referred to as Asian, what do you initally expect (honestly)? 140 votes

    West Asian i.e Indian Pakistani
    0% 0 votes
    East Asian i.e Chinese, Korean, Japanese.
    8% 12 votes
    My first thought is that it could be either.
    78% 110 votes
    Asian Jaguar
    12% 18 votes


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    #2
    kaizersoze1980
    Closed Accounts Posts: 732 ✭✭✭kaizersoze1980


    Yes, in england, asians tend to be pakistanis, indians.
    Here if you hear asian you think chinese.


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    #3
    Guy:Incognito
    Registered Users Posts: 38,247 ✭✭✭✭Guy:Incognito


    This may be one for Asian reporter Trisha Takinowa


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    #4
    Kold
    Registered Users Posts: 12,778 ✭✭✭✭Kold


    An Asian is someone from Asia.


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    #5
    orestes
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,972 ✭✭✭orestes


    Kold wrote: »
    An Asian is someone from Asia.

    Nah, that's way too obvious, it's gotta be a trick question


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    #6
    ironictoaster
    Registered Users Posts: 4,115 ✭✭✭ironictoaster


    I assume a Chinese person.


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    #7
    dlofnep
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,759 ✭✭✭✭dlofnep


    Bruce Lee, Jacky Chan and the likes.. Chinese and Japanese.


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    #8
    Rb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,277 ✭✭✭✭Rb


    I refer to Chinese/Japanese as Asians and Indians/Pakistanis as Indian/Pakistani.


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    #9
    Princess Consuela Bananahammock
    Registered Users Posts: 33,017 ✭✭✭✭Princess Consuela Bananahammock


    It's a cultural thing: the UKs Asian community tends to come from former colonial states, ie Pakistan and India, therefore, Asian to them means Pakistan and India.

    Most of our Asian friends come from China, so to us Asian means Chinese.

    Of course, dude, Asian-Irish is the prefered nomenclature...

    Everything I don't like is either woke or fascist - possibly both - pick one.



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    #10
    Red Hand
    Registered Users Posts: 4,986 ✭✭✭Red Hand


    Hmmmm...this debate was in Humanities and one poster got his nappy in a twist.:)

    For me, Asian would be China, Korea, Japan, India, Nepal, Tibet, and Pakistan. Central Asian would be Kazakstan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan (sp?) etc. Mid Eastern is obviously Mid Eastern which would be Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran and Turkey.

    Screwy, I know, but that's the way I classify countries.


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    #11
    El Weirdo
    Registered Users Posts: 11,646 ✭✭✭✭El Weirdo


    Ikky Poo2 wrote: »
    It's a cultural thing: the UKs Asian community tends to come from former colonial states, ie Pakistan and India, therefore, Asian to them means Pakistan and India.

    Most of our Asian friends come from China, so to us Asian means Chinese.

    Of course, dude, Asian-Irish is the prefered nomenclature...
    The china-man is not the issue here!:D


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    #12
    af_thefragile
    Registered Users Posts: 7,171 ✭✭✭af_thefragile


    To me:
    Asian = Chinese, Japanese, Korean, anyone from east asia.
    Indian/Pakistani = Indian/Pakistani
    Persian = Iranian (could go the other way around too)
    Arab = Middle Eastern


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    #13
    Sherifu
    Registered Users Posts: 17,727 ✭✭✭✭Sherifu


    Asians = slanty eyes.


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    #14
    Dave!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,857 ✭✭✭✭Dave!


    East Asian for me..... If I don't know where someone's from, but suspect it's Japan, China, Korea, or around that area, then I'll call them Asian. If I suspect they're from Syria, Lebanon, Iran, etc., I'll call them Arab.

    Dunno if I'm technically correct with either, but I don't much care, either!


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    #15
    Pythia
    Registered Users Posts: 7,469 ✭✭✭Pythia


    India etc would be South East Asia to me, I would think of Asia as the Far East.


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    #16
    robinph
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,066 Mod ✭✭✭✭robinph


    Blisterman wrote: »
    However, I've noticed in England, "Asian" tends to mean West Asians or Middle Easterners i.e. Pakistani, Indian etc.
    Not in my experience.

    If referring to "Asians" from the India/ Pakistan area then people would tend to be more specific and actually use Indian/ Pakistani or the relevant racist term in use at the time. Japanese/ Chinese etc might all get lumped in together as "Asians" or more often than not just all be called Chinese.

    Which term nationality actually ever got used would be based entirely on the name above the local ethnic take-away though. If it had funny squiggily lines then everyone was Chinese, if it was in normal text that we could just about figure out how to say then everyone was Indian, and if there were not any take-aways near by then everyone was Pakistani as they all worked in the corner shop.


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    #17
    robinph
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,066 Mod ✭✭✭✭robinph


    Ikky Poo2 wrote: »
    It's a cultural thing: the UKs Asian community tends to come from former colonial states, ie Pakistan and India, therefore, Asian to them means Pakistan and India.
    What about Hong Kong?


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    #18
    Tigrrrr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 91 ✭✭Tigrrrr


    Asian to me always suggests Indian, Pakistani or Bengali... no idea why, or why this interests me!


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    #19
    Fanny Cradock
    Registered Users Posts: 10,245 ✭✭✭✭Fanny Cradock


    As far as I know, Asia encompasses every country across from Turkey to Japan, and down from Kazakhstan (maybe parts of Russia) to East Timor. That said, I would generally think of Asians as people from the Far East.


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    #20
    Princess Consuela Bananahammock
    Registered Users Posts: 33,017 ✭✭✭✭Princess Consuela Bananahammock


    robinph wrote: »
    What about Hong Kong?

    Part of China.

    Everything I don't like is either woke or fascist - possibly both - pick one.



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    #21
    flanum
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,107 ✭✭✭flanum


    without being derogatory but as the ops question, if i was to look out for an asian person, id be looking out for a very indian /pakistani type person, if i was asked to look out for a "chinesy lookin person" (sorry for offence) then id be looking for a japanese/chinese type person.
    this wasnt meant to offend, just an honest backward boggers observation.


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    #22
    Mossy Monk
    Closed Accounts Posts: 28,128 ✭✭✭✭Mossy Monk


    I think Pakistani/Indian


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    #23
    LovelyTom
    Closed Accounts Posts: 662 ✭✭✭LovelyTom


    I'd would think eastern asian.

    I'd say Indian or Pakistani or the likes would be an Indian, despite where they're really from.


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    #24
    monkeyfudge
    Registered Users Posts: 23,216 ✭✭✭✭monkeyfudge


    I think we've been left with something of a vacuum in the language since the word 'oriental' became socially unacceptable.


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    #25
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,046 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Is oriental socially unacceptable now? Since when did that happen. I really hope that's a joke otherwise the world just became a stupider place.


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    #26
    monkeyfudge
    Registered Users Posts: 23,216 ✭✭✭✭monkeyfudge


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    Is oriental socially unacceptable now? Since when did that happen. I really hope that's a joke otherwise the world just became a stupider place.

    Since the 70s I believe.

    Don't blame political correctness though... blame the Neanderthals that use these terms in a derogatory fashion thus rendering them unusable by all of us.


    ooopps.... I just used Neanderthal in a derogatory manner, didn't I? Oh well... they're all dead, hopefully no one will get upset.


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    #27
    Manic Moran
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,227 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    just used Neanderthal in a derogatory manner, didn't I? Oh well... they're all dead, hopefully no one will get upset.

    You need to go youtube the "Geico Cavemen"

    I still use "Oriental" for far East specifically, and "Asian" for anyone east of Iran, to include the far East. The word means "East". (Actually, it originally came from an archaic word meaning "Rising in the Sky", which effectively means "East". To "Orientate something" means to turn it to face East.)

    NTM


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    #28
    Chunky Monkey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 923 ✭✭✭Chunky Monkey


    Well any 'East Asian' person I've asked about it says that they don't give a flying ****.

    I don't get the East Asian term. A fairly large part of China is as central as India.


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    #29
    Big Chief
    Registered Users Posts: 3,754 ✭✭✭Big Chief


    Stekelly wrote: »
    This may be one for Asian reporter Trisha Takinowa

    funniest thing ive read in ages :)


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    #30
    Mahatma coat
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,869 ✭✭✭Mahatma coat


    for me, Asian is anyone from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam etc - basicly SE Asia as the world refers to it.

    the main grouping of category is a general yellow tinge to the skin and the fact that some of those ethnicities have slanty eyes.

    Indians/Paki's etc are much much darker skinned with the big round eyes usualy.

    then theres Arabs and Persians, ethnicaly the Persians are our closest genetic relatives in that region (by us I mean white Europeans) and the arabs are much sallower in complexion

    then of course theres the Jews and the Black Pacific Islanders both living in the OP's specified area but neither fittin into any neat demographic pigeonhole.

    so all in all the simplest solution is - Anyone who comes from the wrong side of the Parish boundary is a foreignist as far as I'm concerned


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    #31
    nkay1985
    Registered Users Posts: 6,975 ✭✭✭nkay1985


    "Oh my God, it's Jackie Chan"

    Definitely think Chinese etc.


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