"Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote in message
news:2qn42pFvt0tkU29@uni-berlin.de...
> necoandjeff wrote:
>
> > "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?
>
> Yes, I don't.
>
> > 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
> > class      ifymyfriend,letalonetheirson.
>
> I don't feel a particular need to classify them. Do you? Then again, I
> am more oriented towards the individual than the group.

Of course not. But there are some who do, including our esteemed government.