"necoandjeff" <spam@schrepfer.com> wrote in message
news:Evw0d.14078$QJ3.4113@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
> "Dale Walker" <dale@sorted.org> wrote in message
> news:3845k0tuo9uj6af8lo055rbp492da1668o@4ax.com...
> > On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 22:51:35 GMT, "necoandjeff" <spam@schrepfer.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > >"Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote in message
> > >news:2qempnFtp9kgU8@uni-berlin.de...
> > >> necoandjeff wrote:
> > >> > "Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote in message
> > >> > news:2qcmltFtp9kgU3@uni-berlin.de...
> > >> >
> > >> >>Curt Fischer wrote:
> > >> >>
> > >> >>
> > >> >>>necoandjeff wrote:
> > >> >>>
> > >> >>>
> > >> >>>>"Musashi" <Miyamoto@Hosokawa.co.jp> wrote in message
> > >> >>>>news:%610d.14217$FV3.7873@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com...
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>>>"Just for your information, the term Eskimo is now considered
> > >> >>>>>derogatory and has been
> > >> >>>>>replaced by the more acceptable term Inuit. Eskimo is used in
this
> > >> >>>>>website only as a reference
> > >> >>>>>term for our international customers who may not be aware of the
> term
> > >> >>>>>Inuit."
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>>On the scale of racially derogatory terms, where the "N" word is
at
> > >> >>>>the high end (i.e. the most widely understood to be derogatory),
I
> > >> >>>>think the word Eskimo would be at the low end, below even the
words
> > >> >>>>Oriental and Black (both of which are still widely used) but
> probably
> > >> >>>>a little bit higher than the word White.
> > >> >>>>
> > >> >>>>Jeff
> > >> >>>
> > >> >>>
> > >> >>>What's so offensive about "Black"?  Is it the unneeded capital
> letter?
> > >> >>
> > >> >>I never understood the big deal about "oriental", either. Neither
> does
> > >> >>my oriental wife.
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >> > All depends on where you are (back to my point about words and
> meaning
> > >and
> > >> > collectives). Here in San Francisco (or LA for that matter) if you
> were
> > >to
> > >> > refer to Asians as "Orientals" you would sound like some uneducated
> hick
> > >> > from the Midwest.
> > >>
> > >> Well, thank God that we have educated California sophisticates like
> > >> Barbra Streisand and Rosie O'Donnell to enlighten us rubes.
> > >
> > >You obviously haven't visited. What is unique about California isn't
our
> > >sophistication (well there's that too), it is the number of Asians and
> Asian
> > >Americans we have living here.
> > >
> > >> See, I mentioned God with a straight face. That shows what an
> uneducated
> > >> hick I am.
> > >
> > >Unfortunately, the God stuff isn't confined only to uneducated hicks in
> this
> > >country. Although there does appear to be some sort of correlation
> between
> > >strong religious beliefs and both lower levels of education and
> ruralness.
> > >
> > >> That aside, your post is not responsive. I understand that some
people
> > >> get their dander up ("get upset" for you sophisticates in California)
> > >> when they hear "oriental" used to refer to a human being. My
statement
> > >> questioned why.
> > >
> > >I don't know but who cares? The reason why certain words come to
conjure
> up
> > >certain images is sometimes difficult to trace. But the negative image
> that
> > >is conjured up in the minds of many out here (and I don't think this is
> > >confined to California by any means) when someone uses the word
> "Oriental"
> > >is unmistakable. What I want to know is what someone gains from
> continuing
> > >to use a word that some people may consider offensive?
> >
> > In the UK, 'Asian' is reserved for south asian peoples like those from
> > India and the other more easterly asians are all more often than not
> > called 'oriental' unless they're often mistakenly just called
> > 'Chinese' which from my experience significantly pisses off more non
> > chinese asians than anythnig else I can think of.
>
> Well, Brits are forgiven for using words like Oriental because they say it
> in such a charming way. Plus there's no chance of being thought of as some
> hick from the Midwest or the South.
>
> By the way, I did a wife check (Japanese national) on this one just for
the
> heck of it. We have never discussed the topic of Asian versus Oriental,
and
> she confirmed afterwards that she's never discussed it with anyone else
> either. She lived in Massachusetts for a year and half many years ago but
we
> have been in San Francisco for 6 years now which has obviously had the
> biggest influence on her English. This is basically how the conversation
> transpired:
>
> Q: How would you translate 東洋人. A: Asian.
> Q: Do you consider yourself Asian? A: Of course.
> Q: What would you think if someone called you Oriental? A: Can you say
> Oriental for people? I thought it was just culture.
>
> Jeff

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