Asian = Oriental, etc.

[Bob Haas]

How so?  Recently, I objected to a term b/c of my visceral reaction to it,
but I was able to give some reasoning to it.  I'm not baiting you, Benjamin,
with my question, but I would like to know why Oriental "simply sounds
derogatory."

BTW, I'm young enough to have never really used this term much--I've always
used Asian- or Asiatic, or when the usage was preferred or proper, Japanese-
or Chinese- (never Sino-)--but I have read "Oriental" in plenty of texts
that are a little before my time.

I find nothing wrong with the term, but I enthusiastically agree that people
should be called whatever makes them comfortable or whatever they feel to be
correct and proper.  But I would like to know what makes Oriental "simply
derogatory."

BTW, as to Sino-, my intro to lit class looked at "The Garden of Forking
Paths" tonight, so Borges' use of "Sinologist" was on my mind.

bob

> From: Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 18:34:40 -0800
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Asian = Oriental, etc.
>
> That may be the PC objection, but there is another objection in that it
> simply sounds derogatory.