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In China, "Asian (people)" is rarely used. We usually say Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, Indians etc. Orientals/Easterners is sometimes used.
Nowadays it is used more, probably due to influence from America.
It is only because of US influence, trust me. We have the same issue in "Latin America", too. Nobody ever uses Hispanic or Latin American outside of the US, but it's starting to become more prevalent now because of the US. Only Asian-Americans and "Asians" that have lived in the US ever say "Asian"
Japan sometimes pretends it is part of Europe. It would physically move to Europe if it could.
What's interesting about Japan is that they've been in an arms and technological race against the West ever since the Portuguese first landed in the Japanese archipelago 500 years ago. It's not a bad thing, I think in many ways they are already bettering the West, but they also did evil things like the white man did, like colonial expansion
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
haha. Asians...
Let me ask this: does it make sense to call Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, Cubans, Costa Ricans etc "North Americans"?
No, it doesn't. But, ask a Spaniard, and (s)he'll say yes. To the Spanish, a norteamericano is someone from the United States (also called estadounidense) or Canada, but an americano is someone from anywhere in the Americas.
No, it doesn't. But, ask a Spaniard, and (s)he'll say yes. To the Spanish, a norteamericano is someone from the United States (also called estadounidense) or Canada, but an americano is someone from anywhere in the Americas.
Some spanish-speaking people like to say that, in English, to Americans.
But, generally speaking, they will call Colombians as colombianos, not Americanos. They will call Brazilians as brasileños, not Americanos. Occassionally they'll call Americans as norteamericanos, but I usually hear them refer to them as Americanos more than anything.
It is only because of US influence, trust me. We have the same issue in "Latin America", too. Nobody ever uses Hispanic or Latin American outside of the US, but it's starting to become more prevalent now because of the US. Only Asian-Americans and "Asians" that have lived in the US ever say "Asian"
People in the Philippines have a sense of a shared Asian identity, specifically East and Southeast Asian. You hear a lot of people referring to themselves as Asian.
People in the Philippines have a sense of a shared Asian identity, specifically East and Southeast Asian. You hear a lot of people referring to themselves as Asian.
Usually "Asian" means people from east Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia) or SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam all the way to Singapore) - because they share more of less similar culture and are all highly influenced by China in history. More importantly, they look alike.
It makes absolutely no sense to use Asians while referring to everyone residing on the Asian continent (which includes the middle east, South Asia, even a large part of Turkey etc.)
Asia is an arbitrary concept to begin with. Europe and Asia are literally on the same continent. Europeans share more biological and cultural traits with Middle Easterners than East Asians do.
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