View source for Asian people

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{{race}}
'''Asian people''',<ref>"[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Asian Asian]".  ''[[Merriam-Webster]]'s Online Dictionary.</ref> '''Asiatic'''<ref name="MESH"/> or '''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'''<ref name="MESH">United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 2006.[http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2004/MB_cgi?mode=&term=Asian+Continental+Ancestry+Group&field=entry]</ref> is a [[demonym]] for people from [[Asia]].  However, the use of the term varies by country and person, often referring to people from a particular [[region]] or [[subregion]] of Asia.<ref name=autogenerated4>Aspinall, Peter J. Oxford Journals.  Journal of Public Health. 2003. [[October 26]] [[2006]]. [http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/25/2/91]</ref><ref name=autogenerated3>Lee, Sandra S. Mountain, Joanna.  Barbara, Koening A. The Meanings of Race in the New Genomics: Implications for Health Disparities Research. Yale University. 2001. [[October 26]] [[2006]]. [http://www.yale.edu/yjhple/volume_1/pdf/033%20(koenig).pdf]</ref>  Though it may be based on residence, it is also often considered a "[[Race (classification of human beings)|racial group]]"<ref name="USCensus2000Asian">Barnes, Jessica S. and Bennett, Claudett E. The Asian Population:2000. 2002. [[September 1]] [[2006]].  [http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-16.pdf#search=%22Asian%20Census%20PDF%22]</ref> or an [[ethnic group]].<ref name=StatUK /> 

In the [[United States]], [[Canada]], and [[Australia]], the term refers most commonly to people of predominantly [[East Asia]]n, [[South Asia]]n, and [[Southeast Asia]]n ancestry; however in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Anglophone]] [[Africa]], the term refers most commonly to [[South Asia]]ns.<ref name=autogenerated2>Color Q World. Clarifying the Definition of Asian. 2005. [[October 1]] [[2006]]. [http://www.colorq.org/PetSins/article.asp?y=2005&m=5&x=5_7]</ref><ref name=Oxford1>''[[Oxford English Dictionary|The New Oxford Dictionary of English]].''  2001.  New York: Oxford University Press.</ref> In other countries, the term is applied to all people from Asia in general. In the US, however, [[Middle East]]ern and [[Central Asia]]n people are usually not considered Asian peoples.<ref name="SharonLee ">Lee, Sharon M. Population Reference Bureau. Asian Americans Diverse and Growing. 2006. [[September 10]] [[2006]]. [http://www.prb.org/Template.cfm?Section=Data_by_Country&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=9862#search=%22Middle%20East%20%22is%20not%20asian%22%22]</ref> 
==Definitions by country==
===United States===
{{main|Asian American|Racial classification of Indian Americans}}

Earlier Census forms from 1980 and before listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups along with ''White'' and ''Black or Negro''.<ref>[http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/items1980.shtml 1980 Census: Instructions to Respondents], republished by Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota at www.ipums.org Accessed 19 Nov 2006.</ref> Previously, Asian Americans were classified as "other". <ref name=GordonLee>Lee, Gordon. Hyphen Magazine. "The Forgotten Revolution." 2003. January 28, 2007.[http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/features/issues/summer03/theforgottenrevolution.php]</ref>  But the 1980 census marked the first general analyses of Asians as a group, combining several individual ancestry groups into "Asian or Pacific Islander."  By the 1990 census, ''Asian or Pacific Islander (API)'' was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry.<ref>[http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/items1990.shtml 1990 Census: Instructions to Respondents], republished by Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota at www.ipums.org  Accessed 19 Nov 2006.</ref><ref>Reeves, Terrance Claudett, Bennett. United States Census Bureau. Asian and Pacific Islander Population: March 2002. 2003. September 30, 2006.</ref> <ref>http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-540.pdf#search=%22asian%20definition%20difference%22</ref> 

{{Regions-Asia.png|float=right}} 

The US Census Bureau definition includes people who originate in the original peoples of [[Southeast Asia]] and the [[Indian subcontinent]]. In 1930 and 1940, Indian Americans were a separate race, ''Hindu'', and in 1950 and 1960, they were racially classified as ''Other Race'', and in 1970, they were classified as ''White''. Since 1980, Indians, and all other South Asians, have been classified as part of the [[Race (United States Census)|Asian race]]<ref>Campbell Gibson and Kay Jung, [http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076.html Historical Census Statistics On Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For Large Cities And Other Urban Places In The United States] Working Paper no. 76 (2005); see footnote 6 in paper</ref>.  Sociologist Madhulika Khandelwal "''described how, as a result of activism, South Asians came to be included as 'Asians' in the census only in the 80's. Prior to that, many South Asians had been checking 'Caucasian' or 'Other'.''"<ref>Chandy, Sunu P. What is a Valid South Asian Struggle? Report on the Annual SASA Conference. Accessed August 8, 2008. [http://way.net/sawa/desiaspora/02conf.html].</ref>  Respondents can also report their specific ancestry like Okinawan, etc. Someone reporting these ancestries but no race will be classified as "Asian". [[Turkish American]]s were the targets of anti-Asian hysteria during the "yellow race crisis".<ref name=autogenerated1>Arab American Institute. Not Quite White:Race Classification and the Arab American Experience. 1997. [[September 29]] [[2006]]. [http://www.aaiusa.org/foundation/355/not-quite-white]</ref>  Unlike South Asians Middle Eastern Americans and Central Asian Americans have not lobbied to be included as Asians by the [[Race (United States Census)|US Census]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />

According to Sharon M. Lee in her 1998 publication, for many non-Asian Americans in the United States (in 1998) Asian American means [[Oriental]], [[Chinese American]] or [[Japanese American]].  This is due to the Chinese and Japanese immigrants being the first Asian immigrants into the United States.<ref name=SharonLee />  Today, with the increasing demographic of South Asian Americans and Southeast Asian Americans the definition among United States citizens of who is Asian American is expanding.<ref name="SharonLee " />

===United Kingdom===
{{main|British Asian}}

In the [[United Kingdom]], the term "Asian", though it can refer to the continent of Asia as a whole,<ref name=autogenerated2 /> is more commonly associated with people of [[South Asia]]n origin, particularly [[India]]ns, [[Pakistan]]is, [[Bangladesh]]is and [[Sri Lanka]]ns.<ref name=autogenerated5>British Sociological Association. Equality and Diversity. Language and the BSA:Ethnicity & Race. 2005. [[October 26]]. [http://www.britsoc.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/4E70B7F7-58A1-43AB-A414-77F929A954D2/534/EqualityandDiversity_LanguageandtheBSA_RaceMar05.doc]</ref>  The UK usage of the term "Asian" is reflected in the "ethnic group" section of [[United Kingdom Census 2001|UK census forms]], which treat [[British Asian|"Asian"]] and [[British Chinese|"Chinese"]] as separate (see [[British Asian]]).<ref name=StatUK>National Statistics.  Ethnicity. 2005. [[August 27]] [[2006]]. [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=764&Pos=3&ColRank=1&Rank=176]</ref>  Most respondents to the UK 2001 Census of non-Chinese East Asian and Southeast Asian descent chose to write-in their ethnicity in the "Other Ethnic Group" category rather than the "Other Asian" category, reflecting the association of the word Asian in the UK with South Asian.<ref>Gardener, David. Who are the Other Ethnic Groups. 2005. [[October 27]] [[2006]]. [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/other_ethnicgroups.pdf]</ref> 

The United Kingdom, Anglophone Africa and Anglophone Caribbean are places in the Western world where the word "Asian" is used primarily to identify people from the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Due to the term's contested definition in British English, the use of the term "South Asian" is used for clarity in discussions in the United Kingdom on colonialism, discrimination, and migration<ref name=autogenerated4 /> or when the content of its parameters may become mistakenly conflated with those of East Asian descent. <ref name=autogenerated5 />

===Canada===
{{Main|Asian Canadian}}
The Canadian Census' list of Visible Minorities includes "''West Asian''", "''South Asian''" and "''Southeast Asian''".<ref>'2001 Census Visible Minority and Population Group User Guide' [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Reference/tech_rep/vismin.cfm ]</ref>.

===Australia===
{{main|Asian Australian}}
Notably, the [[Australian Census]] includes [[Central Asia]],  a region that is often considered to be part of the [[Greater Middle East]].<ref>World Atlas.com The Middle East. [[September 30]] [[2006]]. [http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/me.htm]</ref> The [[Census in Australia|Australian Census]] includes four regions of Asia in its official definition. Defined by the 2006&ndash;2011 Australian Census, three ''broad groups'' have the word Asian included in their name: [[Central Asia|''Central'']] [[South Asia|''and Southern Asian'']], [[Southeast Asia|''South-East Asian'']] and [[East Asia|''North-East Asian'']].  Russians are classified as ''Southern and Eastern Europeans'' while Middle Easterners are classified as ''North African and Middle Easterners''.<ref>Australian Bureau of Statistics.  Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups Second Edition. 2005. [[August 20]] [[2006]]. [http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/8D2B70A9563E9970CA257036008072B8/$File/ascceg%202nd%20ed%20classification%20structure.xls]</ref>

===Anglophone Africa and Caribbean===
{{see|Asians in South Africa|Indo-Caribbean}}
In parts of [[anglophone]] [[Africa]], especially [[East Africa]] and [[South Africa]], and in parts of the [[Anglophone Caribbean]], the term "Asian", though it can refer to the continent of Asia as a whole,<ref name=autogenerated2 /> is more commonly associated with people of [[South Asia]]n origin, particularly [[India]]ns, [[Pakistan]]is, [[Bangladesh]]is and [[Sri Lanka]]ns.<ref name=autogenerated5 />

The United Kingdom, Anglophone Africa,<ref>Sinha, Gayatri. Diatribe or art? The Hindu. 2002. [[September 29]] [[2006]]. [http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2002/09/01/stories/2002090100340200.htm]</ref> and Anglophone Caribbean are places in the Western world where the word "Asian" is used primarily to identify people from the [[Indian subcontinent]], although in South Africa, Asian can refer to East Asians as well.<ref>University of Maryland. Assessment for Asians in South Africa. 2003. [[September 29]] [[2006]]. [http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=56001]</ref>

===New Zealand===
[[New Zealand|New Zealand's]] census called [[Statistics New Zealand]] defines the Asian to include people of Chinese, Indian, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Sri Lankan, Cambodian and Thai ancestries.<ref name=StatNewZealand>Statistics New Zealand. Asian people. 2006. December 4, 2006.[http://www.stats.govt.nz/people/communities/asianpeople.htm]</ref>

===Norway===
[[Statistics Norway]] considers people of Asian background to be people from all Asian countries, including [[Turkey]].<ref>{{no icon}} [http://www.ssb.no/vis/english/subjects/02/02/20/innvutv_en/main.html Immigration and emigration<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{no icon}} [http://www.ssb.no/vis/samfunnsspeilet/utg/200604/10/art-2006-10-10-01.html SSB: Unge innvandrere i arbeid og utdanning - Er innvandrerungdom en marginalisert gruppe?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Definition by non-government sources==
===Keith Lowe===
Dr. Keith Lowe, race-relations expert for the Canadian government,<ref>Ontario Multicultural Association. "Speaker Biography: Dr. Keith Lowe." 2007. July 29, 2007.[http://www.omamo.org/speaker_lowebio.html]</ref> claims that Asian people refer to Central, South, Southeast and East Asians.<ref>Asian Heritage Month. "Credits." 2007. July 29, 2007. [http://asian-heritage-month.org/credits.html]</ref>
===Oxford English Dictionary===
The [[Oxford English Dictionary]], states that ''Asian'' is used in North America to refer to people originating from [[East Asia]] like [[China]], [[Japan]], [[Korea]], etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/asian?view=get|title=Asian|publisher=AskOxford.com|accessdate=2007-09-29}}</ref><ref>http://www.aasp.cornell.edu/courses.php Cornell Asian American Studies</ref>

==Orientals and the Orient==
The term "'''Oriental'''" (from the Latin word for "Eastern")<ref>Cawley, Kevin. University of Notre Dame. Oriental. 2004. [[September 29]] [[2006]]. [http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookit.pl?latin=oriental]</ref> was originally used in Europe in reference to the [[Near East]]. It was later extended to the rest of Asia, but came to refer to Northeast Asians and Southeast Asians in the 19th and 20th century US,<ref>Hu, Alan. Model Minority. On Asian and Oriental. 1993. [[September 29]] [[2006]]. [http://www.modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=183]</ref> where most Asians were Chinese (and later Japanese and Filipino). By the late 20th century, the term had gathered associations in North America with older attitudes now seen as outmoded, and was replaced with the term "Asian" as part of the updating of language concerning [[Social identity|social identities]],<ref>Bartleby.com The American Heritage Book of English Usage. 2005. [[September 1]] [[2006]]. [http://www.bartleby.com/64/C006/007.html]</ref> which critics have derided as [[political correctness]].<ref>Friedman. Haladina. The Politically Correct Handbook. 1992. [[September 1]] [[2006]]. In the UK however since the 'term' Asian is universally assumed to mean South Asian Oriental is regarded as an acceptable term for someone of East Asian descent.[http://webpages.marshall.edu/~hartwel1/humor/misc/politically_correct_handbook.html]</ref> In Europe however use of the term oriental for a east Asian has no negative connotations attached and is commonly used since here 'Asian' is taking to mean a South Asian.

==Marginal Inclusion==
===West Asians===
Clovis Maksoud, Director for the Organization of Global South, argues that the term "Middle East" is a [[Eurocentric]] term denoting the region between Europe and East Asia, because it denies the Middle East's connection with Muslim North Africa.<ref>Katz, Elizabeth. Virginia Law. Democracy in the Middle East. 2006. [[September 9]] [[2006]]. [http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2006_spr/jb_religion.htm]</ref> In English parlance, [[Western Asia]]ns like Turks,Cypriots, and Arabs,<ref name="SharonLee " /> and the Central Asians of the former Soviet Republics are not referred to as "Asian" by United States government agencies.
The Canadian government uses "West Asian" in its statistics; however people from the Arab countries are counted in a separate "Arab" category. <ref>http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/89-621-XIE/89-621-XIE2007003.pdf</ref> <ref>http://www.google.com/search?q=west+asian+site%3Astatcan.ca</ref>

===Pacific Islanders===
In normal usage Asian does not refer to the people from the [[Pacific Islands]] who are usually called [[Pacific Islanders]].<ref>American Heritage Book of English Usage. Asian.  1996. [[September 29]] [[2006]]. [http://www.bartleby.com/64/C006/007.html]</ref>  The term "Asians and Pacific Islanders" or "Asia/Pacific" was used on the 1990 US Census.<ref>Census '90. Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States. 1990. [[September 1]] [[2006]]. [http://www.census.gov/prod/cen1990/cp3/cp-3-5.pdf#search=%22pacific%20islanders%20%22not%20asian%22%201990%20census%22]</ref>  
<!-- Misinterpretation of source
As late as 2001, they were considered by most Americans to be the same racial group as Asians due to a perception of their implicit contrast to "whiteness".<ref name=autogenerated3 /> 
-->
However, in the [[United States 2000 Census|2000 US Census]],  the Asian or Pacific Islander category was separated into two categories, "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander".
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/1997standards.html|publisher=OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET|title=Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity|quote=The Native Hawaiians presented compelling arguments that the standards must facilitate the production of data to describe their social and economic situation and to monitor discrimination against Native Hawaiians in housing, education, employment, and other areas. Under the current standards for data on race and ethnicity, Native Hawaiians comprise about three percent of the Asian and Pacific Islander population. By creating separate categories, the data on the Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander groups will no longer be overwhelmed by the aggregate data of the much larger Asian groups. Native Hawaiians will comprise about 60 percent of the new category.

The Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander population groups are well defined; moreover, there has been experience with reporting in separate categories for the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population groups. The 1990 census included "Hawaiian," "Samoan," and "Guamanian" as response categories to the race question. In addition, two of the major tests conducted as part of the current review (the NCS and the RAETT) used "Hawaiian" and/or "Native Hawaiian," "Samoan," "Guamanian," and "Guamanian or Chamorro" as response options to the race question. These factors facilitate breaking apart the current category.}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==See also==
*[[Asian Europeans]]
*[[Afro-Asian]] (African-Asian mixed ancestry)
*[[Amerasian]] &mdash; especially the offspring of a U.S. serviceman and an Asian
*[[Asia]] &mdash; includes boundaries of the continent.
*[[Asian pride]]
*[[Desi]]
*[[Eurasian (mixed ancestry)|Eurasian]] (European-Asian mixed ancestry)
*[[Hapa]] &mdash; Hawaiian term commonly referring to [[Eurasian (mixed ancestry)|Eurasian]]s
*[[Oriental]]
*[[Race and genetics]]

{{Asian Americans}}
{{Asians in the UK}}
{{Asian Canadians}}
{{Asian Australians}}
[[Category:Asian people| ]]

[[el:Ασία#Φυλές και Άνθρωποι της Ασίας]]
[[es:Asiático]]
[[ja:アジア系民族]]
[[pl:Azjaci]]
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[[ru:Азиаты]]
[[simple:Asian]]
[[sk:Ázijčania]]
[[sv:Asiater]]
[[vi:Người Châu Á]]