Calling All Coconuts!

Noun 1. Asian - a native or inhabitant of Asia
Asiatic
denizen, dweller, habitant, inhabitant, indweller - a person who inhabits a particular place
person of color, person of colour - (formal) any non-European non-white person
coolie, cooly - (ethnic slur) an offensive name for an unskilled Asian laborer
Oriental, oriental person - a member of an Oriental race; the term is regarded as offensive by Asians (especially by Asian Americans)
Indian - a native or inhabitant of India
Eurasian - a person of mixed European and Asian descent
Afghanistani, Afghan - a native or inhabitant of Afghanistan
Altaic - any member of the peoples speaking a language in the Altaic language group
Armenian - a native or inhabitant of Armenia
Bangladeshi - a native or inhabitant of Bangladesh
Bengali - (Hinduism) a member of a people living in Bangladesh and West Bengal (mainly Hindus)
Bhutanese, Bhutani - a native or inhabitant of Bhutan
Burmese - a native or inhabitant of Myanmar
Byzantine - a native or inhabitant of Byzantium or of the Byzantine Empire
Cambodian, Kampuchean - a native or inhabitant of Cambodia
Chinese - a native or inhabitant of Communist China or of Nationalist China
East Indian - a native or inhabitant of the East Indies
Malay, Malayan - a member of a people inhabiting the northern Malay Peninsula and Malaysia and parts of the western Malay Archipelago
Hindoo, Hindu, Hindustani - a native or inhabitant of Hindustan or India
Hmong, Miao - a people living traditionally in mountain villages in southern China and adjacent areas of Vietnam and Laos and Thailand; many have emigrated to the United States
Indonesian - a native or inhabitant of Indonesia
Irani, Iranian, Persian - a native or inhabitant of Iran; "the majority of Irani are Persian Shiite Muslims"
Iraki, Iraqi - a native or inhabitant of Iraq; "the majority of Iraqi are Arab Shiite Muslims although Sunni Muslims control the government"
Israelite - a native or inhabitant of the ancient kingdom of Israel
Israeli - a native or inhabitant of Israel
Japanese, Nipponese - a native or inhabitant of Japan
Jordanian - a native or inhabitant of Jordan
Korean - a native or inhabitant of Korea who speaks the Korean language
Kurd - a member of a largely pastoral Islamic people who live in Kurdistan; the largest ethnic group without their own state
Kuwaiti - a native or inhabitant of Kuwait
Lao, Laotian - a member of a Buddhist people inhabiting the area of the Mekong River in Laos and Thailand and speaking the Lao language; related to the Thais
Lebanese - a native or inhabitant of Lebanon
Malaysian - a native or inhabitant of Malaysia
Maldivan, Maldivian - a native or inhabitant of Maldives
Nepalese, Nepali - a native or inhabitant of Nepal
Pakistani - a native or inhabitant of Pakistan
Parthian - a native or inhabitant of Parthia
Singhalese, Sinhalese - a native or inhabitant of Sri Lanka
Sherpa - a member of the Himalayan people living in Nepal and Tibet who are famous for their skill as mountaineers
Syrian - a native or inhabitant of Syria
Taiwanese - a native or inhabitant of Taiwan
Tadzhik, Tajik - a native or inhabitant of Tajikistan and neighboring areas of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan and China
Tai, Thai, Siamese - a native or inhabitant of Thailand
Tibetan - a native or inhabitant of Tibet
Turki - any member of the peoples speaking a Turkic language
Kazakhstani - a native or inhabitant of Kazakhstan
Annamese, Vietnamese - a native or inhabitant of Vietnam
Singaporean - an inhabitant of Singapore

Why does the term "asian" tend to belong to Indians?

I know but if i don't get that i won't be able to get into any uni for dentistry whereas i could still get into a not so good uni for economics lol

Yeah it sucks, there isn't any point in using 'asian' unless people are referring to people from across the whole continent, it is annoying having to guess what someone means when they say asian. But I don't agree that 'asian' belongs to Indians. It's typically used when talking about either south asian or oriental people although it's WRONG!

I think the OP defines a coconut as a person who prefers the company of people with different ethnicities/cultures rather than sticking with south asians, but people have already mentioned different meanings of 'coconut' and tbh I don't think anyone should be labelled like that. Hardly anyone is 100% english in their way of living (I'm not talking about skin colour) and hardly anyone is 100% desi. What does being British/Indian/Pakistani/Bagladeshi/Sri Lankan etc even mean anymore, when everyone is essentially picking and choosing parts of any culture that they find appealing? Not that that's a bad thing, it means we have more control over our lifestyles...it also makes it harder and more wrong to label people 'coconuts' or 'freshpots'.

Yeah it sucks, there isn't any point in using 'asian' unless people are referring to people from across the whole continent, it is annoying having to guess what someone means when they say asian. But I don't agree that 'asian' belongs to Indians. It's typically used when talking about either south asian or oriental people although it's WRONG!

I think the OP defines a coconut as a person who prefers the company of people with different ethnicities/cultures rather than sticking with south asians, but people have already mentioned different meanings of 'coconut' and tbh I don't think anyone should be labelled like that. Hardly anyone is 100% english in their way of living (I'm not talking about skin colour) and hardly anyone is 100% desi. What does being British/Indian/Pakistani/Bagladeshi/Sri Lankan etc even mean anymore, when everyone is essentially picking and choosing parts of any culture that they find appealing? Not that that's a bad thing, it means we have more control over our lifestyles...it also makes it harder and more wrong to label people 'coconuts' or 'freshpots'.

oh no totally i agree with you...my phrasing often lends itself to correction...but I in no way implied any elitism to "real culture" what I mean is that even if someone may not want to maybe adopt their native culture then at least there ought to be a line from which that individual stands to say: I may not want to adopt this culture but I respect it none the less for what it is. Don't you think its important to not disregard any culture for some social idea of it not being "cool" or somthing rediculous like that? I think (again I'm not saying I'm totally right here) but for quite a few asians who shut out their culture its because their peer groups have made a choice that its not cool to embrace their native culture and through that idea they reject it than because of an autonomous decision they have made? Then again you could say i have been inlfuenced to adopt my culture, but I would not criticise someone who autonomously refuses to adopt indian culture for an intelligent reason. I'm not saying Indian culture is perfect...I believe in the essence of it, not the frivolous narrow-minded dogma that it has been shrouded in (aka arranged marriages etc etc) but for those british asians and even native asians who write off their culture because western culture has been popularised and perceived to be superior...I can't really agree with that. I believe there are a lot of good thinsg in western culture too, unlike many of my cousins I'm able to accept other races and classes for who they are not what they are. I like the forwardness and freedom of thought and speech attached to Western culture which is sadly lacking in Indian culture. But there are also certain uglier sides to it as there are in Indian culture. Like I said I prefer to find a balance between the two where the fusion of west meets east combines the best of both worlds, drawing on the essence of good that is within both.

I would like to think that my train of thought is not allied to the narrow minded crux's of the BNP party.

...

Where I live (se London) "asian" definitely belongs to Indians.
I can't say I'm half asian because I'm not half Indian.

Why is it wrong for an oriental person to be described as asian lol?

Coconuts that are too embarassed of their roots are a disgrace to the desi culture. We need to invent a coconut sensor which detects coconut babies at birth so we can sterilize them before they destroy our heritage!! POWER TO THA PEOPLE!!

Really? I'm from Greater London..maybe it's just the people we talk to :dunno: & it's not wrong to describe an oriental person as asian, but it's wrong to use 'asian' to mean Oriental....if that makes sense?

it's not 'wrong' its just wierd, because:

when we say:
chinese = chinese, taiwanese hong kong korean. until the person says or you ask them, then they are all grouped as chinese unless told otherwise by the person... and then japanese.
So when describing someone who is chinese japanese or any of the above, we just say ''they're chinese or japanese'' we dont call them asians because:
asians = indian, pakistani, bangladeshi, sri lankan etc.

geographicall all of the above are asian

infact, arabs, afghans, iraqi's are all asian aswell

in america, you say asian, you only associate it with chinese and the rest of them, taiwanese etc.

this post made very little sense! lol

Who's we?

it's not 'wrong' its just wierd, because:

when we say:
chinese = chinese, taiwanese hong kong korean. until the person says or you ask them, then they are all grouped as chinese unless told otherwise by the person... and then japanese.
So when describing someone who is chinese japanese or any of the above, we just say ''they're chinese or japanese'' we dont call them asians because:
asians = indian, pakistani, bangladeshi, sri lankan etc.

geographicall all of the above are asian

infact, arabs, afghans, iraqi's are all asian aswell

in america, you say asian, you only associate it with chinese and the rest of them, taiwanese etc.

this post made very little sense! lol

Thank goodness my year mixes with different people of different colours. I don't pick my friends.

Yeah I can't speak a word of Punjabi :/ Can understand simple Punjabi otherwise.

And I hate how you need to live up to something to show you're from India- eg hang out with people of your own heritage whilst saying "ennit" all the time. That's not being Indian.

And I hate how my Grandparents tell me to speak more Punjabi, as I was never brought up speaking it and they hardly spoke to me, plus I was never brought up in India. I want to learn more about my heritage, but I can't because I don't live in India!

Go to Temple,Gurdwara,Masjid?