The word 'Asian'

[Flatfrog]

I've recently been thinking about the word 'Asian' which, at least in the UK, is used mostly to refer to people from West Asia (India/Pakistan/Bangladesh), and not to Chinese or other East Asian countries. But in this article it seems to be being used to refer also to people from Arabic countries, and to me this is just getting a bit weird. What seems to be happening is that it's becoming a racial term that is just a euphemism for 'brown-skinned', and that just seems misleading - especially given that the vast majority of actual Asians are Chinese!

I think we need an unambiguous, non-racist word to refer to the mostly Muslim and Hindu brown-skinned population that inhabits West Asia and the Middle East. 'Brown' would work (and before you say it's racist, 'black' appears to be fine), but in the US, it seems to be mostly used to refer to Hispanics (I noticed it particularly in The West Wing). So is there any other word we can use?

I'm tempted to suggest we should revive the good old-fashioned 'dusky'

 

[Toasty Virus]

When I hear asian i think Chinese/Japanese.

and i'm from scotland.

 

[Palademon]

When I think of Asians I think of anyone from Asia.

If I want to be specific I say West or East.

 

[Anjel]

I thought Asian meant you were from a country in Asia. Go figure

 

[Flamezdudes]

I just class Asian's as people from Asia. The middle east is part of asia, china, japan, all the countries around there, the phillipines etc. They are all asian.

 

[Flatfrog]

I thought Asian meant you were from a country in Asia. Go figure

Well, I'd have thought so too, but that's the point of the question - look at the article, they're not using it to mean that at all, and I don't think this is exclusive to them. 'Asian' to the British press has meant for a while a brown-skinned person who likes Bollywood movies and Bhangra. (Slight exaggeration...) I think it may date back to Goodness Gracious Me, which was supposed to represent 'the Asian experience' in Britain, but was mostly talking about India and Pakistan.

 

[New Troll]

Asians are to Asia like Europeans are to Europe and Africans are to Africa and Americans are to.. uh.. The States.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Here in Scotland asian mainly refers to Chinese/far eastern asians
but back when i lived in England it was like you said, mainly referring to Indian(ish) Asians.. So it was a little confusing at first.

I agree some different words might avoid confusion, or we could just use asian for both.. seeing as they're both from asia..

 

[Coldie]

"Asian" is, obviously, anywhere in Asia, but mostly used to refer to central and west Asia. East Asia - China, Japan, etc - can be unambiguously referred to as "Oriental".

 

[Thaluikhain]

I get more confused on where Europe and Oceania start and Asia stops.

Vladivostok, on the Pacific ocean...is that an Asian or an Eastern European city?

Is Indonesia part of Asia or Oceania?

 

[Arrrgh_Bruce]

In Australia we usual refer to asians as most of asian with the exception of indians being called indians. Well at least in the circles I move in.

 

[gertmenkel]

European: someone from Europe
Asian: someone from Asia
(North) American: someone from (North) America (including Canada and Mexico, although usually the word is just referring to someone in the US.

So anyone living in the geographical continent Asia is Asian.
Makes sense, doesn't it?
I mean, the UK is not really connected to the main continent of Europe, they're still called Europeans, aren't they?

I really don't know how you call someone from the Middle East, but certainly not Asian, as they don't come fron Asia.

 

[Anjel]

I thought Asian meant you were from a country in Asia. Go figure

Well, I'd have thought so too, but that's the point of the question - look at the article, they're not using it to mean that at all, and I don't think this is exclusive to them. 'Asian' to the British press has meant for a while a brown-skinned person who likes Bollywood movies and Bhangra. (Slight exaggeration...) I think it may date back to Goodness Gracious Me, which was supposed to represent 'the Asian experience' in Britain, but was mostly talking about India and Pakistan.

I'll elaborate.

Personally I use the word Asian to describe the ethnicity of anyone who is from a country in Asia that I cannot narrow down to a country without asking. For example, I work with many people in an Indian call centre - I know they are Indian, so I call them Indian. Guy in my office wears a turban - Pakistani (he did tell me this himself though). Girl with 'those' eyes - Asian, as I don't know if she is Chinese, Japanese, Korean or what.

The correct use of the word Asian is to describe someone from an Asian country.

I'd just like to add that I am in no way racist, I just wanted to use simple language and despise the use of the word 'slitty' to describe the eye shape of people from some Asian countries. I use it here to explain this, not to describe aforementioned girl

 

[Redingold]

European: someone from Europe
Asian: someone from Asia
(North) American: someone from (North) America (including Canada and Mexico, although usually the word is just referring to someone in the US.

So anyone living in the geographical continent Asia is Asian.
Makes sense, doesn't it?
I mean, the UK is not really connected to the main continent of Europe, they're still called Europeans, aren't they?

I really don't know how you call someone from the Middle East, but certainly not Asian, as they don't come fron Asia.

Middle Eastern?

 

[Srdjan Tanaskovic]

I think we need an unambiguous, non-racist word to refer to the mostly Muslim and Hindu brown-skinned population that inhabits West Asia and the Middle East. 'Brown' would work (and before you say it's racist, 'black' appears to be fine), but in the US, it seems to be mostly used to refer to Hispanics (I noticed it particularly in The West Wing). So is there any other word we can use?

We do.

it called Arab

and seeing how the middle easy is just a big mixture of ethnic groups then I don't really think they need one

 

[Tharwen]

It really shouldn't be a confusing term. It means exactly what it says: 'of Asia'. It should refer to people who are from Asia, and nowhere else.

'Brown' would work (and before you say it's racist, 'black' appears to be fine).

Yeah, but black people are actually brown, so it would be ambiguous.

 

[F'Angus]

I usually think of China, Japan, Korea. That sort of area when I hear the word Asian. Never really use it for India.

 

[Heartcafe]

I've been living in the Middle East for 8 years now (though I'm East Asian originally) and all my dark-skinned Muslim friends call themselves Arab or just Muslim.
Technically, we can call them Asians since they are part of Asia, but why not Easterners? or something like that?