Information About ™Asian |
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Geographically and technically, both "Asian" and "Asiatic" indicates a person, place, thing, or idea original to Asia . In common English parlance, however, the term Asian is often used to indicate people from, and places in, only one part of Asia -- typically East Asia ( China , Japan , Korea , Mongolia ), Southeast Asia ( Cambodia , Indonesia , Laos , Myanmar , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , Thailand ) or South Asia ( India , Pakistan , Nepal , Bhutan , Bangladesh , Sri Lanka , The Maldives ), and sometimes also Central Asia ( Afghanistan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , Tajikistan , Kyrgyzstan , Kazakhstan ). Although the main use of the term Asian in everyday English is to describe people, in one way or another, when describing objects or concepts from Asia , the term Asian is usually understood to be more loosely defined, albeit perhaps still not fully synchronous with its geographic definition. 'ASIAN' IN UK AND ANGLOPHONE AFRICA In the , Pakistan , Bangladesh and Sri Lanka . Those of East Asian origin such as the Chinese or Japanese are usually not included in the term. This is reflected in the "ethnic group" section of UK census forms and other government paperwork, which treat "Asian" and "Chinese" as separate (see British Asian ). Some Britons carelessly use "India" to refer to the whole of South Asia, while others make a clear distinction between the various countries that form the region. The term Desi , which in the UK and Africa is synonymous with "Asian," is sometimes used to name a South Asian person in a manner that avoids any allusion to the specific state of origin. Many Chinese South Africans dislike the label 'Asian', which they associate with being Indian or South Asian. 'ASIAN' IN OTHER ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES In the United States and Canada , since approximately 1990 , "Asian" in colloquial speech has been used to refer to people from China , Japan , Korea and other East Asian and Southeast Asian countries. "Asian" is often considered a more polite (or, some would say, more Politically Correct ) alternative to " Oriental ". This is partially due to the perception amongst some in academia that the term " Orientalism " reflects a long outdated Eurocentric world view, in which Europe is Occidental (western), and Asia is Oriental (eastern) - with West Asia being the "Near East" (or "Middle East") and East and South Asia being the "Far East," the concepts of "near" and "far" being measured from Europe. To avoid the confusion that sometimes occurs, the term "East Asian" is used to distinguish people from Southeast Asia , China, Japan, and Korea and "South Asian" ( Desi ) for those from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. These relatively formal clarifications are used ''only'' when it is necessary to make a distinction between the groups. In recent years, South Asians, often erroneously labeled as all 'Indian', now more often see themselves as a distinct part of Asian America. 'Asian' in the U.S. Census For purposes of the U.S. Census , the term ''Asian'' means people whose ancestors came from East Asia , Southeast Asia , or South Asia . However, respondents are allowed to indicate more precise racial groupings, such as Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Burmese, Pakistani, Laotian, Thai, Bhutanese, and so on, including "Other Asian." The U.S. Census's definition of "Asian" is frequently criticised because it exploits a Sinocentric (China-centred) view of Asia by ignoring the peoples of West, Central, and North Asia. There can be no doubt that Turkish, Semites (Arabs, Syrians, Bedouins, Israelis, etc.) Uzbekistanis, and the indigenous peoples of Siberia, and so on, are ''all'' "Asians" in the continental sense, but they are not considered a part of the races of people named "Asian" for the purpose of the U.S. Census. WHEN IS AN ASIAN NOT AN ASIAN? Despite the fact that these people are technically 'Asians' by geographical location on the Map , they have generally not been labelled as such in West ern society. 'West Asians' The term " West Asia n" is now sometimes used to refer to people from Middle Eastern nations. Note that while Middle Easterner s rarely evoke the term "Asian" in most modern societies, the name Asia apparently derives from ancient Assyrian, and definitely originally meant the area now called "West Asia," from the Sinai Peninsula to Persia, and Asia Minor to Arabia. The term "West Asia" is popular with some who argue the term Middle East is a Eurocentric moniker denoting the in-between regions of Europe and East Asia. Russians and Russian Kalmyks Most of Russia 's huge territory is in Asia, though the majority of its population is in Europe and ethnically " East European ". Depending on context, Russian people may be considered European or mixed according to their individual ethnic Nationality , ancestry, or appearance; or may be considered European or Asian based on their current or recent place of residence; or may be considered European or Asian just as citizens of a state extending into Europe or Asia. The word Eurasian is also often used to describe Russia's position in the world. See also Transcontinental Nation . When "Asian" is used as a shorthand for "East Asian" or "South Asian", Russians of course are usually not included; one of the exceptions are Kalmyks , the only Buddhist Asians living in the East Europe in the republic of Kalmykia , which is the subject of the Russian Federation . ARE PACIFIC ISLANDERS ASIAN? Sometimes, Pacific Island ers, such as Native Hawaiians or Samoan s, who do not technically belong to the continent of Asia, may be classified or "clumped together" with the Asians as a group, often in Censuses , Surveys or studies. Thus, occasionally the term "Asians and Pacific Islanders" or "Asia/Pacific" may be used. However, in the 2000 US Census , many Pacific Islanders did not consider themselves the same race as Asians, and classified themselves separately. EXTERNAL LINKS
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