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University of Warwick

Coventry

Chinese people

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Reply 20

username489478

Buxtons

I don't think i'd be able to tell the difference tbh between an oriental and a chinese. :/ what are the differences physically so i can try and prevent my ignorance in future? Cheers.

I know you're trolling... which I admire greatly, but just in case. :smile:

Google Define:

"Oriental means “of the Eastern World” or the region of the world reached by early European explorers after they circled around Africa. It is still in use even though it is considered by many to be an out-of-date word."

Even better...

"the term is regarded as offensive by Asians (especially by Asian Americans)"

'Oriental' belongs in the category of terms that are frowned upon due to its lack of relevance to the world of today. (ie. third world country)

University of Warwick

Coventry

Reply 21

Buxtons

bnpkns

I know you're trolling... which I admire greatly, but just in case. :smile:

Actually i wasn't trolling, i was being deadly serious, so get your facts right before you make presumptions.

And oh, it's political correct nonsense, well, i wish i was trolling now.

Reply 22

username489478

Buxtons

Actually i wasn't trolling, i was being deadly serious, so get your facts right before you make presumptions.

And oh, it's political correct nonsense, well, i wish i was trolling now.

I presumed you were well-versed in the arena of... whatever the feck this is. Sorry I was wrong?

Lol... political correct nonsense, aside... it doesn't make people who use the term any less funny.

Reply 23

Lamptastic

bnpkns

lol

as a Chinese person... it is hilarious to see so many people refer to us as 'Orientals'. oh good god, please stop.

I am actually guilty of this. Didn't realise it was hideously offensive!

I tend to use the umbrella terms as I don't want to assume someone is from China and they are actually Thai/Japanese/Burmese/ etc etc.... though when I meet people I generally ask where they are from as I'm curious about other cultures. :smile:

Reply 24

asparkyn

I'm pretty sure it's the language barrier. People naturally like to stick together with those who speak their language. I'd assume the people moving from China are i) not so motivated to learn English, ii) missing their home, iii) bloody scared of the country they're staying in. In my school, there are ginormous Korean cliques roaming about, and some can't even speak English despite having lived here in Malaysia for many, many years. However, those who actually are determined to learn the language usually try not to stay within their social comfort and will try to mix with other people. That isn't usually the case, however.

You'd be guilty of it too, if you were thrown into China without knowing a word of Mandarin. I actually think you'd be running to the first Englishmen/American you see to breathe a sigh of relief, no? :smile:

~~Not gonna argue that it's sad that people do that, though.~~

Reply 25

asparkyn

I<3LAMP

S'not offensive to me ...

Just call as Asian. :smile:

bnpkns

lol

as a Chinese person... it is hilarious to see so many people refer to us as 'Orientals'. oh good god, please stop.

This. I find it quite amusing, really. To most people in Britain, someone's either "Asian", "Oriental" or "Arabs". I think I asked someone here what they'd call South-East Asians, and I am quite quite sure they replied with "Orientals", although hardly makes any sense geographically (and physically)!

Buxtons

I don't think i'd be able to tell the difference tbh between an oriental and a chinese. :/ what are the differences physically so i can try and prevent my ignorance in future? Cheers.

Political correctness aside, I actually think you people refer to Orientals as anyone from the Eastern side of the world -- China, Japan, Korea. There are a lot of physical differences (sometimes hard to tell, but usually it's quite apparent), that only someone exposed to every culture can tell. I don't want to hijack this thread by blabbing away :ahee:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 26

Lamptastic

asparkyn

S'not offensive to me ...

Just call as Asian. :smile:

We do that, anyways. Somehow, Orientals makes us sound segregated from Asia, somewhat. It's too sad that Asians in Britain generally mean people from South Asia, although it should be a term to describe anyone from Asia.

This. I find it quite amusing, really. To most people in Britain, someone's either "Asian", "Oriental" or "Arabs". I think I asked someone here what they'd call South-East Asians, and I am quite quite sure they replied with "Orientals", although hardly makes any sense geographically (and physically)!

Political correctness aside, I actually think you people refer to Orientals as anyone from the Eastern side of the world -- China, Japan, Korea. There are a lot of physical differences (sometimes hard to tell, but usually it's quite apparent), that only someone exposed to every culture can tell. I don't want to hijack this thread by blabbing away :ahee:

I honestly believe it is a cultural thing...but Asian it is!

Reply 27

Narev

Actually..I've always thought describing yourself as Asian means people thinking you are automatically Indian.

Reply 28

TheTallOne

bnpkns

I know you're trolling... which I admire greatly, but just in case. :smile:

Christ, I'm chinese and I didn't know this :colonhash:

I need a word to describe the people from East/South-East Asia. Asian is simply too general and I also think that in the UK today, Asians refer to people from South Asia.

Come to think of it, the radio station BBC Asian Network doesn't help either, along with the fact that for every Chinese person in Britain there seems to be more than 10 South Asians.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 29

Lady Justice

Zweihander

I don't think the issue is simply that Chinese foreigners gravitate to other Chinese, but rather that once they've formed their little clique they don't even try to socialise with anyone else. I've noticed it at unis in London, Chinese people tend to be the most insular.

This. It was so bad in my corridor in Rootes that felt it necessary to move accommodation in order to be able to socialise with my own flat. They weren't all Chinese though, but all Asian.

Reply 30

TRS-T

I<3LAMP

If I saw an East Asian person walking down the road, I would refer to them as Chinese as most East Asians in the UK are from China, and I can't really tell the difference between people from China, Japan, South Korea etc...

Reply 31

jedpea

Ah youv probably gone to china. Thats where chinease people originated from so you have seen the phononemon.

Reply 32

G550NDH

funny how Asians is generally thought to be chinese koreans japanese in USA rather than South Asia ( India Sri Lanka etc ) however in Britain its the opposite

Reply 33

brokenheroes

lol at all the chinese people in this thread who didn't know 'oriental' was offensive. i didn't either. i use it to describe me and my azn friends all the time

Reply 34

doubledot

bnpkns

lol

as a Chinese person... it is hilarious to see so many people refer to us as 'Orientals'. oh good god, please stop.

Haha, I get you on this. As part Chinese, I realize the racial history behind it and so I never use that word unless referring to inanimate items.

Reply 35

Dnator

I was thrown into a Chinese university right now I would probably gravitate towards any English speakers - but if I had made the choice to go there I would have made a concerted effort to try and learn the language. I mean I was thrown into a school in germany and couldn't speak any german - it was probably a good thing there were no english kids as it forced me to learn german very quickly. Even so I can understand it initially, but as zweihander said they never seem to come out of their cliques even after a while.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 36

KPV

It's the same as when British people move to Spain and only keep to themselves and learn the bare minimum Spanish - also not all of them, but they do exist. The parallels exist for every group of people and I'm sick of hearing people complain about the Chinese.

Reply 37

Lady Justice

KPV

I will complain because the 5 Asian people on my floor bringing all their friends back into my kitchen but refusing to go out with/ speak to me made my first term at university the most depressing stage of my life to date.

Reply 38

GodspeedGehenna

To be honest, I think it's more to do with the fact that Chinese students arn't particularly here out of choice (e.g. for the 'cultural experience' that students often seek when they go abroad), but due to the harshly competitive nature of higher education in China.

Subsequently, when they are here in the UK, they are here for education, not culture. Therefore they are not particularly interested in integrating whereas EU students are often here out of choice for the reason of culture and experience. Hence it is the Chinese especially that have this reputation whereas other countries do not.

Internationals, correct me if I'm wrong.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 39

Zweihander

TheTallOne

Christ, I'm chinese and I didn't know this :colonhash: