Lo, a Chinese American caller from Oak Park, Illinois, learned English as a second language and uses Oriental for herself without taking offense, but wonders why others object. Applied to people, Oriental can sound dated or condescending because it defines Asia from a European point of view, the “East” as seen from the “West,” and some people reserve the word for objects such as rugs. Objections to this use became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s, as Asian gained ground in North American English. That replacement is not perfectly tidy, though. In the United States and Canada, Asian often suggests East Asian, while in the U.K. it commonly includes people with roots in India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of ““Oriental” Can Sound Diminishing Because It Centers a European West”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, this is Lo calling from Oak Park, Illinois.
Welcome to the show.
Thank you.
How can we help you?
Well, recently I have a friend who is Caucasian asked me whether I would be offended if someone refers me as an Oriental woman. And I said, no, should I be offended? And my friend then explained to me that she used to have a colleague from the Philippine Islands who believed that using the word Oriental to describe Asian people is condescending. And now I am Chinese American, and I have learned English as second language. And I sometimes do use the word Oriental to describe people from East Asia, including myself. So could you explain to me why this word can be offensive and in what context?
So you don’t take offense at the word Oriental, even though you’re Chinese American.
Right. I don’t. Have you met others? Are there others in your family who do find it to be offensive?
No, that’s interesting because after my friend asked me that question and I asked around my family members and also some of my friends. Now, most of my friends are from Hong Kong, and I myself, I grew up in Vietnam, and nobody took that word as offensive at all. So that’s why, you know, am I missing something?
What a great question. It’s a fantastic question. Now, let’s just keep in mind here that Martha and I are Caucasian, and you are Chinese American, so it’s a little weird for us to be discussing this matter, but we can go to some other experts and kind of report what they’ve said.
And I guess the best thing to say about this is that it’s kind of an undecided question, but like a lot of the questions that we get when it comes to referring to groups of people, it’s up to the people who are being talked about to decide whether or not it is offensive. It is up to each individual, and there’s not a universal that applies here.
Okay.
And I know that makes it difficult, and I know that outsiders sometimes resent that they don’t get to choose what to call another group of people, and that’s just tough cookies to them because that’s not how it works. It’s low. It’s up to you. If you decide not to be offended, it’s completely your prerogative.
But I think that the reason that some people might think that it’s offensive is because Oriental has to do with Orient and the East. And so you’re sort of getting oriented, if you will, by what’s in what’s West of the East, if that makes sense.
Does that make sense?
Like it’s a European perspective.
Yeah, it’s a Europeanism. It’s definitely one of those words that presumes that European and therefore Caucasian culture, and let’s just call it the West in general as we know it, is somehow the norm, and those people over there to the East, they’re other.
Right, like the white Europeans are the center.
Yeah, they’re nonstandard. They’re different.
And in that way, it’s a diminishing of this other group of people. And so it’s definitely an intellectual argument. It’s an academic argument. It sometimes filters down into day-to-day conversation.
I have met other people who believe Oriental should not be applied to them just because they’re from that part of the world. I’ve heard some people say Oriental should be used only in the context of rugs.
Oh, yes.
And nothing else.
I also heard that.
Oh, really?
Referring to things, but not people.
Not people.
-huh.
Yeah, I’ve heard that argument as well.
Well, this first comes up as a possible area of dispute in the 1970s or 1980s. People began to write about this and to think about this. There’s plenty of evidence that has been collected that shows that some people are offended by Oriental.
And the word Asian really started to come into play in the 60s and 70s and 80s. And in North America, Canada, and the United States, when we speak English, we use Asian typically to refer to people from East Asia and not to people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
Whereas in the U.K., they use Asian often to refer to people from anywhere in Asia, including Pakistan and India and Bangladesh.
Yeah, that could be confusing.
It’s very confusing.
But we tend to specify their nationality, or we’ll say South Asian, even though Pakistan isn’t very far in South Asia. It’s mostly West Asia.
So I think I still can use that word, but I really should be sensitive about it, right, when I use that word referring to another group of people.
Yeah, I think so.
I think so.
I’ll just say that you’re a great caller and be done with it.
Okay.
All right, great.
Thank you so much.
You’re welcome.
Thank you, Lo.
I hope we added clarity.
That’s a great question.
Yes, you sure did.
Great.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you, Lo.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
What are the strange predicaments that you encounter in language?
Martha, we get them all the time, and we love to talk about them, don’t we?
We do, whether we know anything about it or not.
877-929-9673 or send it all in email to words@waywordradio.org.
