Options
Is it politically correct to refer to someone as Oriental?
[Deleted User]
Posts: 87
Forum Member
✭
Having lived in Australia, when I first arrived there, I noticed that people of eastern origin are referred to as Asian, and if the word Oriental is used, it is frowned upon.
It doesn't really bother me to be honest, but isn't Oriental a bit politically incorrect with Asian being the more accepted turn of phrase?
This is not an attack at Rex at all, I actually like him and hope he'll do well, I just noticed a difference in the language used here and in Australia and wondered what the opinion of the forum is......
Oriental or Asian....
Which one, you decide.
It doesn't really bother me to be honest, but isn't Oriental a bit politically incorrect with Asian being the more accepted turn of phrase?
This is not an attack at Rex at all, I actually like him and hope he'll do well, I just noticed a difference in the language used here and in Australia and wondered what the opinion of the forum is......
Oriental or Asian....
Which one, you decide.
0
Comments
i wouldnt say oriental is bad, its just a tad old fashioned, a bit turn of the century (the last one, not this one)
But from what I gather 'Oriental' is still acceptable in Britain, presumably because here, the word 'Asian' is used to describe people from the Indian sub-continent
:D:D
To describe a person as Oriental is considered to be impolite and politically incorrect by some in the United States; the term Asian is now widely used. In the United States Oriental refers to objects and material good such as rugs and teapots. However, the term Oriental does not carry any such connotations in the United Kingdom, where the word Asian commonly refers to people of Indian/Bangladeshi/Pakistani/Sri Lankan descent. (These people are called South Asians in the United States.)
and id say middle eastern
That's my take on it.
Yeah, this. I try and use South Asian/East Asian if I'm posting somewhere that has a mix of Yanks & Brits because they do find it really weird. I think oriental is supposed to be used for objects, not people.
Occidental = western
Nothing PC or not PC about it.
My OH (born and raised in the UK, but his parents are from HK) really doesn't like being called Asian, much prefers Oriental. He says to him Asian refers to Indian/Pakistani.
Yes, I think that's right
'oriental' to me is chinese/japanese/thai.
So yeah, it's fine imo - more specific than 'asian'
Surely it's just being more specific, as in Scandinavian
v European. Asia does cover a large area. If you refered to someone as oriental, people would think that you were refering to someone of Chinese or Japanese origins as opposed to Indian, Russian, Arabic and others(?).
:mad::mad::mad:
When I was a young person the Australian government would not allow anyone of Asian origin into the country. For good reasons imo.
Times change.
Oriental only means of the east.