Re; Oriental

[Mark A. Mandel]

Natalie Maynor <maynor at CS.MSSTATE.EDU> writes:

>>>>>
Indigo Som wrote:

> If non-Asians use the word "Oriental" to/at me, I do more than grimace.
At
> bare minimum, I *glare*. Unless they have a really, really, really good
> excuse (such as being over 70, or being non-native English speakers, &c.)

     [...]

I've sometimes asked
classes whether they were aware that "oriental" was unPC.  Almost a hundred
percent of the students I've asked were unaware of it.  A colleague I
was talking with about this subject one time said, "That's a west coast
thing."  In other words, it may be common knowledge in California that
"oriental" is unPC, but it's not common knowledge yet everywhere.
<<<<<

Right, except that "knowledge" is the wrong word here; something like
"opinion" or "belief" or "attitude" would be better. "Knowledge" is best
reserved for propositions like "Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit at
sea level", or "The United States has two major political parties as well
as a bunch of smaller ones", or "George W. Bush is now President of the US,
though there are still a lot of strong feelings about the election." A
statement like "'oriental' is unPC" is as much a matter of opinion as is
"The Republican Party stole the 2000 election". (N.B.: I neither espouse
nor oppose either of these; they are here as examples only. Exceptions and
omissions excluded. All trademarks reserved to their owners. I Am Not A
Lawyer. Void where prohibited.)

   Mark A. Mandel : Dragon Systems, a Lernout & Hauspie company
          Mark_Mandel at dragonsys.com : Senior Linguist
 320 Nevada St., Newton, MA 02460, USA : http://www.dragonsys.com