Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know this post is a bit old, but I cannot stand this sort of attitude towards others, especially when it isn't factually supported.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sadgirl80
I think they're asking about using it in in depth extensiveness and not what you find when you go to a Chinese restaurant in Siem Reap.
The problem with this question is that it's answered by people who know little about Asia.
Chopsticks is an East Asian/Sinosphere thing. Google Sinosphere and read it up yourselves. So you will find it the "East Asian cultural sphere" (you can Google this too), China Japan Korea vietnam and within Southeast Asia Singapore and Malaysia. You may take out cambodia, laos, thailand from the answer above, it's wrong. Cambodians are Khmer people, they dont use chopsticks, it's not used in Thailand except in the Chinatown in Bangkok. Laos are made of Lao, Hmong and Khmer. They don't use chopsticks and aren't in the Sinosphere.
And you people commit the white man fallacy thinking of concepts in asia in terms of nationality/countries. In Asia, we think in terms of race. East Asians move and after 3 generations still identify themselves by their ethnicity first. Chopsticks is widely used in Singapore (77% of Singaporeans are Chinese in race), and widely used in Malaysia in the Chinese eateries (23% of Malaysia is largely unmixed Chinese). The Chinese Malaysians control the pretty much the whole economy and 8 in 10 of the richest people in Malaysia are Chinese. International actress Michelle Yeoh is Malaysian (where she grew up) and is 100% Chinese. The Chinese in both Singapore and Malaysia are largely Chinese, they didn't undergo surname change, forced to give up their native Chinese tongue, these forced ethnic cleansing programs that the Chinese in Thailand and Indonesia were forced to undergo. So they remain largely Chinese in cultural identity.
Another thing whites don't get, I notice, is how when you white people discuss and say Chinese, you mean, Chinese like a passport carrying member of the PRC. In Asia, because of the large chinese diaspora, 70% of overseas Chinese are in Southeast Asia, Chinese can mean just as often race as it does nationality. It's NOT uncommon at all to meet Singaporeans and Malaysians who identify as Chinese when asked, because it's their race. I know a Singaporean who spent years in the US, answering that she's Chinese when asked by Americans where she's from, she only learned that all the people she said it to took it to mean she was born in the PRC years later when she got back.
The last part is hilariously off, at least for the US. Americans aren't stupid and know that it is possible for an ethnic group to have large diaspora. I mean, it would be silly otherwise, with all the Americans who claim to also be Irish or German or whatever else.
Yeah, if they hear that a person is Chinese, Americans will probably think the person is from the PRC (if not born within the US), but that is different from assuming the person is a PRC citizen or passport holder amd, also, guess what? The vast majority of Han Chinese people do, in fact, live in the PRC, a nation which historically has had a lot of emigrants, so the Americans' assumptions are somewhat supported by facts.
The issue your friend had is entirely because of herself and not because of Americans. Why would you say "I'm Chinese" in response to being asked "Where are you from?" People aren't "from" ethnicities or races, they are from towns, regions, cities, countries, or so on. That's like if I went to Singapore, just told people I was Korean when asked where I was from, and I expected the people to somehow take that to mean I'm a person of Korean descent who was born and raised in the USA. Unless I am basically wearing an American flag or something, it isn't a logical assumption or step to make.
Also, "Chinese" is NOT a race. It may be used in different ways, primarily to mean someone who is of the Han Chinese ethnic group (I include Chinese to separate the up from the Han Korean ethnic group) OR someone from "China," but it rarely is used to mean a race, especially by those better educated.
To the others above, in Korean culture, a person is expected to eat rice (which is "sticky") with a spoon and not chopsticks. However, using chopsticks for rice isn't too uncommon, as a lot of people find it easier to use chopsticks than to switch back and forth between chopsticks and a spoon.
^Yeah I have never heard of any Singaporean who identifies themselves as Chinese, they usually dislike being mistaken and are fiercely proud of Singapore. In fact Singaporeans are up there as one of the most nationalistic peoples to me, it's a bit scary.
And I would assume that second and third generation Asian-Americans all identify as American first, then their ethnicity. No?
^Yeah I have never heard of any Singaporean who identifies themselves as Chinese, they usually dislike being mistaken and are fiercely proud of Singapore. In fact Singaporeans are up there as one of the most nationalistic peoples to me, it's a bit scary.
And I would assume that second and third generation Asian-Americans all identify as American first, then their ethnicity. No?
Eh, that's sort of true. I know few Asian Americans whose families have been in the US for at least two generations, with the exception of people with Japanese or Chinese heritage. Generally, yes, they do identify as Americans first. Korean Americans have a tendency (not to say it is a good one or a bad one) to "stick together" and most of them, in my experience, identify as equally both, although I've met more who identify as Korean first than I have those who identify as American first. Regardless, by the next generation, they probably will, as you say, identify as American first.
Eh, that's sort of true. I know few Asian Americans whose families have been in the US for at least two generations, with the exception of people with Japanese or Chinese heritage. Generally, yes, they do identify as Americans first. Korean Americans have a tendency (not to say it is a good one or a bad one) to "stick together" and most of them, in my experience, identify as equally both, although I've met more who identify as Korean first than I have those who identify as American first. Regardless, by the next generation, they probably will, as you say, identify as American first.
The new Chinese immigrants in recent 20-30 years emphasize Chinese identity more than before. They often force their children to speak Mandarin at home and send them to Chinese schools on weekends. I know many such families, including my cousin. Their children all speak very good Chinese.
^Yeah I have never heard of any Singaporean who identifies themselves as Chinese, they usually dislike being mistaken and are fiercely proud of Singapore. In fact Singaporeans are up there as one of the most nationalistic peoples to me, it's a bit scary.
And I would assume that second and third generation Asian-Americans all identify as American first, then their ethnicity. No?
It is probably something that only Singaporeans can identify with due to our National Education in public schools.
A typical east And SE Asian restaurant won't offer forks, guys, for anything, rice, noodles or dishes. The forks are not part of the traditional Asian food culture. If you see them, that's because the restaurants cater to westerners.
My parents for example probaly never used forks in their lives. Go to a neighborhoid restaurant during breakfast hours in Shanghai and watch people: zero of them will eat noodles or anything will forks. If you ask for forks they might not even have them. It is very strange to have noodles with a fork. Spoons are common but primarily for soups. Only children eat rice with spoons because they can't handle chopsticks properly.
The truth is, if you see forks, that's only because you are in a westernized large city or restaurants which frequently serve western customers. Otherwise forks are as common as chopsticks at American burger joints.
East Asian, yes, but not across the board in Southeast Asia. China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Laos have it as their de facto utensils for the most part. The other southeast Asian countries generally use it for Chinese-derived dishes which aren't necessarily the most standard foodstuffs. Singapore uses chopsticks a lot more frequently than the other southeast Asian countries that aren't Vietnam or Laos on account of it being a majority ethnic Chinese country.
Forks aren't traditional, but the fork and spoon combination is common in a lot of southeast Asia, and increasingly less so, hands. This isn't just for Western dishes, but all dishes. It's pretty apparent when you travel in the region.
Personally, I like to use chopsticks for almost any cuisine except for soups (of course) and things that require cutting. Ain't nothing better to eat pasta with. I was also conceptually enamored with these chopsticks that were hollowed out so that they can be used as straws for soup-y dishes, but they were annoying as hell to clean especially as I like my soup noodles with a good slick of oil and I'd constantly have a bit of oil dripping down to my hands.
This thread has absolutely nothing to do with the country you mentioned.
I think he meant it as a joke. You've got to admit, a lot of people in the U.S. do use chopsticks though, even non-East Asians.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
