"Asian"

Blisterman

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.

kaizersoze1980

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

Guy:Incognito

This may be one for Asian reporter Trisha Takinowa

Kold

An Asian is someone from Asia.

orestes

Kold wrote: »

An Asian is someone from Asia.

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

ironictoaster

I assume a Chinese person.

dlofnep

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

Rb

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

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...

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.

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

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

Sherifu

Asians = slanty eyes.

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!

Pythia

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

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.

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?

Tigrrrr

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

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.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

robinph wrote: »

What about Hong Kong?

Part of China.

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.

Mossy Monk

I think Pakistani/Indian

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.

monkeyfudge

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Big Chief

Stekelly wrote: »

This may be one for Asian reporter Trisha Takinowa

funniest thing ive read in ages

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

nkay1985

"Oh my God, it's Jackie Chan"

Definitely think Chinese etc.

robinph

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Part of China.

It was in reference to immigrants to the UK allegedly not coming from east Asia due to the former colonies being in the India/ Pakistan area rather than China/ Japan area. Just noting an ommision is all.

Sherifu

Kim Jong-il wrote: »

I just call 'em all chinks and pakis.

Quality username.

kaizersoze1980

Kim Jong-il wrote: »

I just call 'em all chinks and pakis.

reported

kaizersoze1980

Kim Jong-il wrote: »

Is there something wrong with what I said?

:rolleyes:

humanji

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.

I was talking with a girl who was half Japanese and I made the mistake of saying she was oriental. It's apparently an incredible insult as "oriental" is only used when refering to objects, not people.

Thirdfox

As a Chinese I don't really care about the term Oriental - personally makes me think of the railway line (Orient Express for those who don't know). Haven't heard that in a while now though.

Chinaman - tends to be a derogratory remark but if someone genuinely doesn't know then not a terrible faux pas (just imagine calling a black person a "negro"). I would gently inform them about it though.

C**nk - don't need to go there - I think everyone knows that it can be highly offensive, although there are different uses of the word "chinks in the armour"

As for the OP's question - I voted for SE Asians e.g. Chinese/Japanese/Indonesian etc.

Karoma

Kim Jong-il wrote: »

I just call 'em all chinks and pakis.

I've had enough of your crap. Banned.

TerrorFirmer

For me Asian would generally mean Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand etc. All those countries. Doesn't matter if they're technically Asian or not, that's just how I think - that besides, they all look vaguely similar (I could tell, obviously, the difference between Philippines and Japan, but probably not China and Japan), whereas Indian and Pakistani are completely distinguishable from said appearance. I don't think most people refer to Pakistani/Indian people as Asian, I'd call them just that - Pakistani and Indian - and everyone I know would too.