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How do you tell apart from different yet similar races? Can you usually tell if the person you see is Italian, German, or Polish? Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Mexican? Chinese, Japanese, or Korean? If so, how can you tell?
After that I'm not sure what to say without sounding insulting. To a large extent you can tell by name. Japanese phonology appears to have little or no use of the "ng" sound, which is unlike many Asian languages. Japanese also lacks the "l", as we pronounce it, while having a sound that's sort of "between" "l" and "r." (For some reason this led to a stereotype that all East Asian immigrants can't pronounce "L" to the point you get Chinese characters in movies like "Christmas Story" going "rah rah rah." This despite Chinese definitely having an "L" sound) Anyway names like "Ling", "Lee/Li", "Wong", etc are therefore not Japanese. However "Li/Lee" can be Korean so it may not always help. Still "Kim" and "Park" are surnames that are most associated with Koreans rather than Chinese. From when I was taking Chinese I don't think they have the "oy" as in "boy" sound. Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and some other Asian languages do. (Toyota, Choi, Hanoi, etc) Chinese surnames I think are more likely to be monosyllabic than Japanese ones. (Bai, Fu, Chen, etc compared to Koizumi, Mishima, Fukuda, etc)
Outside of that I'd say I generally or at least often can tell the difference between Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese by appearance but I'm worried about how to describe how. Japanese I think are often described as the most "delicately" featured of the three. Koreans, in my experience, often have more prominent cheekbones. China is much less homogenous than Korea or Japan so there's a wider variation there. Southern Chinese I think tend to be a bit more "tan" in skintone. The people around Manchuria look roughly like Koreans from what I've seen. None of this is exact and I worry about being offensive.
Last edited by Thomas R.; 08-31-2009 at 01:24 AM..
How do you tell apart from different yet similar races? Can you usually tell if the person you see is Italian, German, or Polish? Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Mexican? Chinese, Japanese, or Korean? If so, how can you tell?
Well the Whites are different. I mean their face skull is different. However sometimes I get them confused lol. German people tend to have red hair or blonde than the White Americans. Now, Hispanics people. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans look very alike. Sometimes it is hard to distinguished between the two until they speak Spanish lol. Most of the times the Mexicans look like Ecuadorians, Costa Ricans, Paraguayans, etc.. But Cubans, Dominicans, and Puerto Ricans look very similar.
Well I only answered because I've heard some Asians do get offended by being called "Chinese" when they're Japanese or vice versa. Or like that "King of the Hill" episode where they kept wondering whether Kahn was "Chinese or Japanese" and being confused by his being Laotian.
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I can't usually tell where in Asia someone is from. I've mostly been around Hispanics my whole life, other than Caucasians. I've noticed than Puerto Ricans tend to have lighter skin; some actually have very pale skin. Dominicans have much darker skin, most of the time. Of course I'm not 100% right. I teach in the Bronx, and 95% of my students are either PRican or Dominican, so I've noticed this through the years.
When it comes to Europeans, Italians and Greeks are the most distinquish apart. Most Western Europeans look the same to me, maybe because a lot of White Americans are mixed. When it comes to Asians, I usually tell by the sur name. Vietnamese are darker than Japanese, Koreans, and such. Hispanics are alittle more easier. Many Dominicans are mixed black/white or just black, so you can easily tell them apart from Mexicans. Puerto Ricans seem like mixed between White/black/Native, while Mexicans are usually Mestizo or just plain Native American.
I can't usually tell where in Asia someone is from. I've mostly been around Hispanics my whole life, other than Caucasians. I've noticed than Puerto Ricans tend to have lighter skin; some actually have very pale skin. Dominicans have much darker skin, most of the time. Of course I'm not 100% right. I teach in the Bronx, and 95% of my students are either PRican or Dominican, so I've noticed this through the years.
Yeah this is true. Puerto Ricans tend to be lighter than the Dominicans, but don't get me wrong there are Puerto Ricans that are darker as well.
I've noticed Puerto Ricans to often have black thick hair, black eyes, but a light olive complexion (Danny Pino). However, I've seen some that look more "Indian" (Jimmy Smitts). I think I've met only one Dominican in my life.
I can often tell Chinese and Koreans apart. Koreans' eyes are shaped a bit different, often "straight" rather than upturned. And I can often recognize Vietnamese and Cambodians from the Chinese; however, I cannot differentiate Vietnamese from Cambodians. (Does someone out there know the physical differences?)
Pretty good about differentiating Italians from Greeks, even Italians from Sicilians (however, I have known a couple of Sicilians with blue eyes and lighter hair). Not always but Greeks often have swarthier faces than Italians, and thick hair that gives way to distinguished hairlines when they go grey.
Guatamalans are often shorter than Mexicans, but the Spanish-Mexicans look like. . . well. . . Spaniards. But many Americans don't know this because Indian-Mexicans are who we're used to seeing for immigrants.
Filipinos tend to be average or short height with wide, very angular faces, "stubby" noses, and dark olive-skinned. Usually pitch black hair.
Portuguese and Romanians tend to look very much alike. However, when the Romanians speak English their accents sound more "French".
I can tell Middle Eastern Indians from Pakistanis. Pakistani features give away the Iranian influence and are often a little lighter-skinned.
All very beautiful people.
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