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Hi all.
I need some language-related advice.
***NOTE: POSSIBLE RACIALLY OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE FOLLOWS***
...yes, this is the point.
I realise more and more that certain terms to indicate ethnicity that might be considered acceptable in British English have a negative connotation in North America.
The point is, I am writing a story that features some US and Canadian characters, and I need some advice on some ethnicity-related terms that they may or may not use. As this is the only place I frequent where several North Americans post, I thought of asking for some advice.
Sorry if the topic offends anyone, I guarantee that it is only for a precise reason and I will NOT be abusing anybody because of their ethnic background.
1) is "colo(u)red" a proper term for a person of African descent? I can not use "African-American" as the character is NOT American, and I don't intend to use his country of birth as his appellation. It is important that the ethnicity of this character is mentioned, as it becomes relevant in the story. Especially: would a person, in a polite and professional conversation, refer to another as "colo(u)red"? An example would be this: two or three executives of a company are discussing which of a certain number of candidates to hire. There have been several candidates, only one of which is of African descent. Would someone, to identify him to another executive who can not recall his name, mention him as "the colo(u)red one"? If not, and being "African-American" not an option, which term can be used?
2) would a Jewish person refer to themselves as "a Jew"? I need this character to reiterate his religious beliefs, is there any other term he could use?
3) I apologise again if I ask, but I'd need an offensive term to refer to an East Asian (Chinese/Japanese, the person involved can not and doesn't want to tell the difference). I realised I can't think of any except for "Chink", which I think is probably unpleasant but relatively mild.
Sorry if the topic bothers someone, and thanks.
I need some language-related advice.
***NOTE: POSSIBLE RACIALLY OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE FOLLOWS***
...yes, this is the point.
I realise more and more that certain terms to indicate ethnicity that might be considered acceptable in British English have a negative connotation in North America.
The point is, I am writing a story that features some US and Canadian characters, and I need some advice on some ethnicity-related terms that they may or may not use. As this is the only place I frequent where several North Americans post, I thought of asking for some advice.
Sorry if the topic offends anyone, I guarantee that it is only for a precise reason and I will NOT be abusing anybody because of their ethnic background.
1) is "colo(u)red" a proper term for a person of African descent? I can not use "African-American" as the character is NOT American, and I don't intend to use his country of birth as his appellation. It is important that the ethnicity of this character is mentioned, as it becomes relevant in the story. Especially: would a person, in a polite and professional conversation, refer to another as "colo(u)red"? An example would be this: two or three executives of a company are discussing which of a certain number of candidates to hire. There have been several candidates, only one of which is of African descent. Would someone, to identify him to another executive who can not recall his name, mention him as "the colo(u)red one"? If not, and being "African-American" not an option, which term can be used?
2) would a Jewish person refer to themselves as "a Jew"? I need this character to reiterate his religious beliefs, is there any other term he could use?
3) I apologise again if I ask, but I'd need an offensive term to refer to an East Asian (Chinese/Japanese, the person involved can not and doesn't want to tell the difference). I realised I can't think of any except for "Chink", which I think is probably unpleasant but relatively mild.
Sorry if the topic bothers someone, and thanks.
I AM the evil bastard!
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