Arms and Armor in the works of Albrecht Dürer

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Victrix

In the US apparently the word oriental was considered to be a racial and derogatory term in the 1970s (perhaps due to the Vietnam war?) and its use has been phased out.
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Interesting to note the changing fashions in some ethnic labels in American English usage. In the 19th cent., the term "Dutchman" was often applied to Germans (who after all hailed from Deutschland), and it became a somewhat pejorative term.

For most of our history, African Americans were officially labeled Negroes (from Latin niger, "black" ) but aside from continuing usage in reference to Negro spirituals (songs) and the former Negro League (baseball) it has fallen out of general usage due to its phonetic similarity with its repugnant derivative. However, the term Negro is still used in common speech, along with Black, in Europe and the UK perhaps because of differing historical realities. I don't know anyone from across the pond who uses the term "African-American".

As I noted in another post, the term Oriental has not been universally condemned in US Asian communities. It's still used among Asians in Hawaii, and to identify products and organizations (including churches) among Korean and Filipino immigrant communities. However, some "progressively minded" people do bristle... I recall one ChineseAmerican female author, during an interview, indignantly blurt out "...well, I am NOT a carpet!" PC can be a minefield...

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by Philip

PC can be a minefield...

Indeed.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Philip

... I recall one ChineseAmerican female author, during an interview, indignantly blurt out "...well, I am NOT a carpet!" PC can be a minefield...

Well, if the interview took place in my (European) neck of the woods, the lady would be Asian, having finished eating in an Asian Restaurant, which was situated in the Oriental part of the city .