"Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote in message
news:2qmuh1Fvt0tkU26@uni-berlin.de...
> necoandjeff wrote:
>
> > "Musashi" <Miyamoto@Hosokawa.co.jp> wrote in message
> > news:_Wn1d.1487$Qv5.235@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
> >
> >>"necoandjeff" <spam@schrepfer.com> wrote in message
> >>news:dJn1d.19116$0j7.2718@newssvr27.news.prodigy.com...
> >>
> >>>"Musashi" <Miyamoto@Hosokawa.co.jp> wrote in message
> >>>news:Ewi1d.15968$ZC7.3364@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>Jeff, would you mind asking your wife what the difference is between
> >>>>a 東洋人　and an アジア人？
> >>>>
> >>>>ムサシ
> >>>
> >>>I asked her and she said she considers them to be the same. And I don't
> >>>think she's terribly far from the mark here either. I note the
following
> >>>from 大辞林:
> >>>
> >>>とうよう　―やう 1 【東洋】ユーラシア大陸の東部の地域。アジアの地方。特
> >
> > に
> >
> >>ア
> >>
> >>>ジアの東部および南部、すなわち中国・朝鮮・日本・インド・ミャンマー[sic]
> >
> > ・
> >
> >>タ
> >>
> >>>イ・インドネシアなどの地域をいう。
> >>>
> >>>Jeff
> >>
> >>Thanks very much Jeff. It's interesting that your wife and I define 東洋
人
> >
> > 　
> >
> >>differently.
> >>The definition above supports your wife's definition to the extent that
it
> >>has a wider range for
> >>東洋 than I would have guessed. On the other hand, clearly the "eastern"
> >>part of
> >>the Eurasian continent is mentioned, which certainly would exclude
places
> >>such
> >>as Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. These areas in English would be
considered
> >>"Asia" and
> >>people from there, "Asians".
> >
> >
> > In American English, I don't think people from Afghanistan would be
> > considered ethnically Asian by that many people.
>
> This is why I have a problem with geographic terms such as Asian or
> African being used as ethnic descriptors. Nelson Mandela is African, but
> so was Mr. Sadat. Hamid Karzai is just as Asian as Hu Jintao.

But yet you have no trouble using the word Oriental, even though at one time
it referred to a geographic region that encompassed something quite
different from just China, Korea and Japan?

Anyway, I agree. But it isn't just geographic terms that create problems.
Any attempt at classifying people by ethnicity is bound to run into trouble
sooner or later, whether it is by geography, nationality, religion or
whatever. And it is getting increasingly difficult. My best friend is half
Danish and half Burmese and a U.S. citizen who speaks native English, native
Dutch and damn good Japanese, and his wife is Japanese American who speaks
native English and native Japanese. I don't know how you would even begin to
classify my friend, let alone their son.

Jeff