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Asian people

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Asian people[1] 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.[2][3] Though it may be based on residence, it is also a "race"[4] or an "ethnic group".[5]

Synonyms include Asiatic[6], or Asian Continental Ancestry Group.[6]

Definitions in Asia

Korea and Japan

As early as 1920, Japanese and Korean elites had a conception of Asia as the civilization of the East in contrast to Europe.[7]

Malaysia and Singapore

In Malaysia and Singapore, their three largest ethnic groups, Malays, Chinese, and Indians, are all considered Asian.[8][9]

Definitions in anglophone countries

In the United States, Canada and Australia, Asian refers most commonly to people of predominantly Northeast Asian or Southeast Asian ancestry; however in the United Kingdom and Anglophone Africa, Asian refers most commonly to South Asians.[10][11] The U.S. courts have grouped Indians as Asians since 1921 and the U.S. census followed suit in the 1980s,[12] but this is not reflected in common usage.[citation needed].

In the US, Middle Eastern and Central Asian people are usually not considered as Asian people,[13] though the term Asian originally referred to the ancient Near East. This term's modern application varies by region, but people described as Asian generally inhabit or have origins in the countries listed below (not including those of Southwest or Central Asia).

According to the definition that includes East Asia at 23.7%, the Indian Subcontinent at 22.5% and Southeast Asia at 8%, a total of 54.2% of the world's population would be included in this category.[14] The region to which the term applies includes the two most populated states in the world; the People's Republic of China[15] and the Republic of India.[16] The term Asian also includes the largest single ethnic group in the world, the Han Chinese.[17]

Table

Template:Common definition of Asian box

Definitions by country

United States

Main article: Asian American

For purposes of the U.S. Census, the term "Asian" is a race defined as "people who have origins in the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian Subcontinent. [4] Respondents can also report more specific ancestry, such as Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Pakistani, Laotian, Thai, Asian-Indian, Cambodian, and so on, including "Other Asian". Someone reporting these ancestries but no race will be classified as "Asian". Central Asian Americans were classified as "Asiatic" on the 1910 US Census which legally hindered their immigration along with other Asians. Central Asian Turkish Americans were the targets of anti-Asian hysteria during the "yellow race crisis".[18]

Template:Regions-Asia.png United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind 261 U.S. 204 (1923)[19] was a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided that Bhagat Singh Thind, a native of India, could not be a naturalized citizen of the United States, despite the fact that a number of anthropologists had defined members of the Indian subcontinent as being members of the Caucasian race. The ruling followed a decision in Takao Ozawa v. United States where the same court had ruled that a light-skinned native of Japan could not count as "white", because "White" meant "Caucasian",[20] establishing White and Caucasian to be interchangeable terms for a single people of whom neither Japanese Americans nor Indian Americans are included.[21]

According to a social scientist Rosanne Skirble, the term Caucasian is becoming less frequently used in favor of White American or European American.[22] Although the restrictions on immigration and naturalization of East and South Asians were later repealed, the practice of classifying East and South Asians in an "Asian" category has its roots in this period. West Asian Americans were classified as White since they never constituted a large immigrant group that had significant physical difference from European Americans.[23]

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 immigrants into the United States.[13] Today, with the increasing demographic of Korean Americans, South Asian Americans and Southeast Asian Americans the definition among United States citizens of who is Asian American is expanding,[24] but in common usage Asian has only additionally included Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and Korean Americans.[25]

United Kingdom

Main article: British Asian

In the United Kingdom, the term "Asian", though it can refer to the continent of Asia as a whole,[26] is more commonly associated with people of South Asian origin, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans.[27] The UK usage of the term "Asian" is reflected in the "ethnic group" section of UK census forms, which treat "Asian" and "Chinese" as separate (see British Asian).[5] 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.[28]

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[29] or when the content of its parameters may become mistakenly conflated with those of East Asian descent. [30]

Canada

Main article: Asian Canadian

In Canada, Asian refers to people from the Far East, Southeast Asia,[31] South Asia,[32] and West Asia[33]. Like the United States, in Canada the term Asian generally refers to the East Asian Canadians since they were the first Asian immigrant groups into Canada.[34]

Template:RegionsofAsia-Central.png

Australia

Main article: Asian Australian

Notably, the Australian Census includes Central Asia, a region that is often considered to be part of the Greater Middle East.[35] The Australian Census includes four regions of Asia in its official definition. Defined by the 2006-2011 Australian Census, three broad groups have the word Asian included in their name: Central and Southern Asian, South-East Asian and North-East Asian. Russians are classified as Southern and Eastern Europeans while Middle Easterners are classified as North African and Middle Easterners.[36]

Anglophone Africa and Caribbean

Further information: Asians in South Africa and 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,[37] is more commonly associated with people of South Asian origin, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans.[38]

The United Kingdom, Anglophone Africa,[39] 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.[40]

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.[41]

Norway

Statistics Norway considers people of Asian background to be people from all Asian countries, including Turkey.[42][43]

Definition by individuals

Paul Thomas Welty

Paul Thomas Welty in his book The Asians Their Evolving Heritage claims that Asians refer exclusively to people of the "South Asian Subcontinent", "Southeast Asia" and "East Asia", (Welty, pp. 21).[44] The staple food of Asians is rice or wheat (Welty, pp.30).[44], but other common foods include barley, millet, corn, sorghum and sweet potatoes.[44] Asian culture was predominately influenced by the great civilizations of India and China and the influence of Islam, (Welty, pp.54).[44] Similarly, Sudha Ramachandran claims that China and India vie for the status of Asia's "mother civilization"[45], but Idrani Bagchi claims that India is the heart of Asian civilization because it is the origin of Buddhism.[45] Asians frequently live in the "big family system" often incorporating three generations under one roof, (Welty, pp.55).[44] Asians have long valued education and literacy and have lived in societies led by a scholar class, (Welty, pp. 365). [44]

South Asians share a lot in common, (Welty, pp. 61).[44] South Asians are a very religious people who share the commonality of having been under British rule, (Welty, pp. 61).[44] Due to their location between the Middle East, Europe and other parts of Asia, they have come into contact with various other cultues, making their culture an amalgam of different cultures, (Welty, pp. 61).[44]

East Asians share some characteristics in common, (Welty, pp. 153).[44] East Asians are connected by the commonality of Chinese cultural influence as well Indian philosophy, (Welty, pp. 158).[44] East Asians are also mostly farmers except for modernized Japan, (Welty, pp. 158).[44]

Southeast Asians share characteristics in common, (Welty, pp. 323).[44] Southeast Asians are influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Confucism, (Welty, pp. 326).[44] Southeast Asians share the family system, poverty, and respect for teachers and learning, (Welty, pp. 327).[44] Due to their many islands and coastal territory, Southeast Asians have been influenced by Indian, Japanese, Chinese and recently US cultural influences, (Welty, pp. 329).[44].

Orientals and the Orient

The term "Oriental" (from the Latin word for "Eastern")[46] 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,[47] 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 identities,[48] which critics have derided as political correctness.[49]

Marginal Inclusion

West Asians

Template:BBC News World Divisions map

The name Asia is probably derived from ancient Assyrian.[50] It therefore originally referred to the regions now called "West Asia" and "Central Asia", the Sinai Peninsula to Persia and Asia Minor to Arabia. To the ancient Greeks, Asia usually referred to the Persian Empire, while to the Romans, Asia was a small region or, later, province at the Western end of Anatolia (now Turkey).

Clovis Maksound, 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.[51] In English parlance, Western Asians like Turks, Iranians, Cypriots, and Arabs,[52] and the Central Asians of the former Soviet Republics are not referred to as "Asian" by United States government agencies.

Russians

Most of Russia's huge territory is in Asia, though the majority of its population is in Europe and ethnically Slavic. Depending on context, Russian people may be considered European or mixed according to their individual ethnic nationality, ancestry, or appearance[citation needed]. The word Eurasian is also often used to describe Russia's position in the world. See also transcontinental nation[53]. Russians are generally not included in the term "Asian".[54]

Pacific Islanders

In normal usage Asian does not refer to the people from the Pacific Islands who are usually called Pacific Islanders.[55] The term "Asians and Pacific Islanders" or "Asia/Pacific" was used on the 1990 US Census.[56] As late as 2001, they were consided by most Americans to be the same racial group as Asians due to a perception of their implicit contrast to "whiteness".[57] However, in the 2000 US Census, many Pacific Islanders did not consider themselves the same social identity as Asians, and classified themselves separately.

Governmental classification examples

References

  1. ^ "Asian". Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary.
  2. ^ Aspinall, Peter J. Oxford Journals. Journal of Public Health. 2003. October 26 2006. [1]
  3. ^ 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. [2]
  4. ^ a b Barnes, Jessica S. and Bennett, Claudett E. The Asian Population:2000. 2002. September 1 2006. [3]
  5. ^ a b National Statistics. Ethnicity. 2005. August 27 2006. [4]
  6. ^ a b United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 2006.[5]
  7. ^ Menon, Sridevi. Duke University. "Where is West Asia in Asian America?Asia and the Politics of Space in Asian America." 2004. April 26, 2007. http://socialtext.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/24/1_86/55.pdf
  8. ^ 44th IFLA 2007 World Congress - Malaysia -Truly Asia
  9. ^ The paradox of low body mass index and high body fat percentage among Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore
  10. ^ Color Q World. Clarifying the Definition of Asian. 2005. October 1 2006. [6]
  11. ^ The New Oxford Dictionary of English. 2001. New York: Oxford University Press.
  12. ^ Racial classification of Indian Americans
  13. ^ a b Lee, Sharon M. Population Reference Bureau. Asian Americans Diverse and Growing. 2006. September 10 2006. [7]
  14. ^ Brick, Gabrielle. News Voice of America. Asia - Home to Half the World Population - Is Graying. 2006. September 30 2006. [8]
  15. ^ CIA World Factbook. China. 2006. September 29 2006. [9]
  16. ^ CIA World Factbook. India. 2006. September 29 2006. [10]
  17. ^ Genealogy Blog. 1.16 Billion Han Chinese Make up the World's Largest Ethnic Group. 2004. September 9 2006. [11]
  18. ^ Arab American Institute. Not Quite White:Race Classification and the Arab American Experience. 1997. September 29 2006. [12]
  19. ^ PBS United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind 261 U.S. 204 (1923). 2000. September 1 2006. [13]
  20. ^ Find Law for Legal Professionals. Takao Ozawa v. the United States. 2006. September 1 2006. TAKAO OZAWA
  21. ^ Assissi, Frank. Desparades. Are Desis White? 2006. [14]
  22. ^ Skirble, Rosanne. New Voice of America. 2001. September 4 2006. [15]
  23. ^ Arab American Institute. Not Quite White:Race Classification and the Arab American Experience. 1997. September 29 2006. [16]
  24. ^ Lee, Sharon M. Population Reference Bureau. Asian Americans Diverse and Growing. 2006. September 10 2006. [17]
  25. ^ Katsiavriades, Kryss. Qureshi, Talaat. English Usage in the UK and USA. 1997. October 26 2006. [18]
  26. ^ Color Q World. Clarifying the Definition of Asian. 2005. October 1 2006. [19]
  27. ^ British Sociological Association. Equality and Diversity. Language and the BSA:Ethnicity & Race. 2005. October 26. [20]
  28. ^ Gardener, David. Who are the Other Ethnic Groups. 2005. October 27 2006. [21]
  29. ^ Aspinall, Peter J. Oxford Journals. Journal of Public Health. 2003. October 26 2006. [22]
  30. ^ British Sociological Association. Equality and Diversity. Language and the BSA:Ethnicity & Race. 2005. October 26. [23]
  31. ^ Asian Canadian. 2000. September 29 2006. [24]
  32. ^ South Asian Observor. Asians take Longest Route to Enter Spain Illegally. 2006. September 29 2006[25]
  33. ^ '2001 Census Visible Minority and Population Group User Guide' http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Reference/tech_rep/vismin.cfm
  34. ^ Aspinall, Peter J. Oxford Journals. Journal of Public Health. 2003. October 26 2006. [26]
  35. ^ World Atlas.com The Middle East. September 30 2006. [27]
  36. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups Second Edition. 2005. August 20 2006. [28]
  37. ^ Color Q World. Clarifying the Definition of Asian. 2005. October 1 2006. [29]
  38. ^ British Sociological Association. Equality and Diversity. Language and the BSA:Ethnicity & Race. 2005. October 26. [30]
  39. ^ Sinha, Gayatri. Diatribe or art? The Hindu. 2002. September 29 2006. [31]
  40. ^ University of Maryland. Assessment for Asians in South Africa. 2003. September 29 2006. [32]
  41. ^ Statistics New Zealand. Asian people. 2006. December 4, 2006.[33]
  42. ^ http://www.ssb.no/vis/english/subjects/02/02/20/innvutv_en/main.html
  43. ^ http://www.ssb.no/vis/samfunnsspeilet/utg/200604/10/art-2006-10-10-01.html
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Welty, Paul Thomas. The Asians Their Evolving Heritage Sixth Edition. New York:Harper & Row Publishers, 1984. ISBN 0-06-047001-1
  45. ^ a b Ramachandran, Sudha. Asia Times. "India has its own soft power: Buddhism." 2007. July 9, 2007. [34]
  46. ^ Cawley, Kevin. University of Notre Dame. Oriental. 2004. September 29 2006. [35]
  47. ^ Hu, Alan. Model Minority. On Asian and Oriental. 1993. September 29 2006. [36]
  48. ^ Bartleby.com The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. 2005. September 1 2006. [37]
  49. ^ Friedman. Haladina. The Politically Correct Handbook. 1992. September 1 2006. [38]
  50. ^ Think Baby Names. Origin and Meaning of the name Asia. 2006. September 9 2006. [39]
  51. ^ Katz, Elizabeth. Virginia Law. Democracy in the Middle East. 2006. September 9 2006. [40]
  52. ^ Lee, Sharon M. Population Reference Bureau. Asian Americans Diverse and Growing. 2006. September 10 2006. [41]
  53. ^ Russia in Global Affairs. Russia as a European Nation and Its Eurasian Mission. 2005. September 30 2006 [42]
  54. ^ American Heritage Book of English Usage. Asian. 1996. September 29 2006. [43]
  55. ^ American Heritage Book of English Usage. Asian. 1996. September 29 2006. [44]
  56. ^ Census '90. Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States. 1990. September 1 2006. [45]
  57. ^ 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. [46]

See also

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