Canada Customs Border Guards

Started by Nexus, Sep 16 07 12:04

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Michel


P.C.

I think that this change has only taken place in the last decade or two.  I know, growing up, it was used....and I don't believe it was used in a derogatory way, but now I don't know for certain.
Sir Isaac Newton invented the swinging door....for the convenience of his cat.

Michel


P.C.

It IS a little confusing.  According to that article, they refer to the term as being 'antiquated'....(I never considered myself old enough to have been present when 'antiquated' terms were used...lol)

  I think it's mostly confusing, because on the surface, it doesn't SEEM like it would be a derogatory term.  A person from Canada is Canadian....so it could easily be assumed that a person from the Orient would be Oriental.  (NOT that I'm arguing whether it IS or ISN'T correct.....just stating where the confusion may stem from)
Sir Isaac Newton invented the swinging door....for the convenience of his cat.

Michel


P.C.

It's always nice to know what is correct.
Sir Isaac Newton invented the swinging door....for the convenience of his cat.

Sportsdude

Asian is now strongly preferred in place of Oriental for persons native to Asia or descended from an Asian people. The usual objection to Oriental—meaning "eastern"—is that it identifies Asian countries and peoples in terms of their location relative to Europe. However, this objection is not generally made of other Eurocentric terms such as Near and Middle Eastern. The real problem with Oriental is more likely its connotations stemming from an earlier era when Europeans viewed the regions east of the Mediterranean as exotic lands full of romance and intrigue, the home of despotic empires and inscrutable customs. At the least these associations can give Oriental a dated feel, and as a noun in contemporary contexts (as in the first Oriental to be elected from the district) it is now widely taken to be offensive. However, Oriental should not be thought of as an ethnic slur to be avoided in all situations. As with Asiatic, its use other than as an ethnonym, in phrases such as Oriental cuisine or Oriental medicine, is not usually considered objectionable.

American Heritage Dictionary

Although when my cousins use the word oriental they are using it as a racial slur.
 
"We can't stop here. This is bat country."

P.C.

However, Oriental should not be thought of as an ethnic slur to be avoided in all situations.

  Well, I've always wondered why it's necessary to identify one by their race anyways.  I find THAT offensive.

I never refer to my friends as Asian or Japanese or anything else but my friend.  
Sir Isaac Newton invented the swinging door....for the convenience of his cat.

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