Asian people (or Asians , sometimes referred to as Asiatic people ) are the people of the continent of Asia . The term may also refer to their descendants .
43-593: In parts of anglophone Africa, especially East Africa and in parts of the Caribbean , the term "Asian" is more commonly associated with people of South Asian origin, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans. In South Africa the term "Asian" is also usually synonymous with the Indian race group . East Asians in South Africa, including Chinese were classified either as Coloureds or as honorary whites . In
86-445: A political and skin color -based category for specific populations with a light to moderate brown complexion . In the 18th and 19th century, European and American writers proposed geographically based "scientific" differences among "the races". Many of these racial models assigned colors to the groups described, and some included a "brown race" as in the following: These and other race theories have been dismissed scientifically. As
129-421: A second language , estimates of the total number of Anglophones vary from 1.5 billion to 2 billion. David Crystal calculated in 2003 that non-native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of three to one. Besides the major varieties of English — American , British , Canadian , Australian , Irish , New Zealand English —and their sub-varieties, countries such as South Africa , India , Nigeria ,
172-413: A "bruine mens". In popular use, Brazilians also use a category of moreno m. [moˈɾenu] , morena f. [moˈɾenɐ] , lit. ' swarthy ', from mouro , Portuguese for ' Moor ', which were perceived as those with darker phenotypes than European peoples. Thus a moreno or morena is a person with a "Moorish" phenotype, which is extremely ambiguous as it can mean "dark-haired people", but is also used as
215-475: A "race" while Latino and Hispanic are an "ethnic group." Lee said, referring to the Hispanic or Latino category, that the category of Asian Americans, quite similarly, comprises different populations of diverse origins. Lee said that people of South Asian origin were categorically identified as " Hindu ," regardless of their religion, in the early 20th century. Lee said that the policy changed to classify people from
258-485: A 2012-human biology textbook observes, "These claims of race-based taxonomy, including [Carleton] Coon's claims for homo-sapienation, have been discredited by paleontological and genomic research showing the antiquity of modern human origins, as well as the essential genomic African nature of all living human beings." In the 19th century, the notion of a single "brown people" was sometimes superseded by multiple "brown peoples". Cust mentions Grammar in 1852 denying that there
301-674: A euphemism for pardo , and even "black". In a 1995 survey, 32% of the population self-identified as moreno , with a further 6% self-identifying as moreno claro ("light moreno"). 7% self-identified as "pardo". A comprehensive study presented by the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research found that on average, white Brazilians have >70-90% European genomic ancestry, whereas black Brazilians have 60% European genomic ancestry. It concluded that "The high ancestral variability observed in Whites and Blacks suggests that each Brazilian has
344-546: A pejorative and as a self-identifier in reference to Filipino Americans . Furthermore, some Americans of Southeast Asian or South Asian descent have used the terms "Brown Asian" or "Brown South Asian" to distinguish themselves from East Asian Americans, who are what the term "Asian American" usually refers to in the United States. Brown pride is a movement primarily in the United States among mestizo Latinxs to develop
387-476: A positive self-image by embracing the idea of being brown as a form of pride. Brown pride is a response to the racist or colorist narrative that white skin is more beautiful than brown skin. Brown pride first emerged among Mexican Americans in the United States alongside the Chicano and Black is Beautiful movement in the 1960s. In the United States, mainstream media has sometimes referenced brown as
430-783: A process of "lumping", whereby characteristics other than skin color, such as hair color or curliness, act as "triggers" for color categories "even when it may not be appropriate." In 1950s (and later) South Africa , the "brown people" were the Coloureds , referring to those born of multiracial sexual unions out of wedlock. They were distinct from the Reheboth Basters inhabiting Namibia , who were primarily of Khoisan and European parentage. The Afrikaans terms, which incorporate many subtleties of heritage, political agenda, and identity, are " bruin " ("brown"), " bruines " ("browns"), and " bruinmense " ("brown people"). Some South Africans prefer
473-996: A separate race, Hindu , and in 1950 and 1960 they were racially classified as Other Race , and then in 1970 they were classified as White . Since 1980, Indians and all other South Asians have been classified as part of the Asian ethnic group . 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'. " Respondents can also report their specific ancestry, e.g.: Okinawan , etc. Someone reporting these ancestries but no race would be classified as "Asian". Unlike Southeast Asians, Afghan Americans , Arab Americans , Armenian Americans , Assyrian Americans , Azerbaijani Americans , Georgian Americans , Israeli Americans , Kurdish Americans , Turkish Americans , Iranian Americans , and Central Asian Americans have not lobbied to be included as Asians by
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#1732844137023516-453: A singular and quite individual proportion of European, African and Amerindian ancestry in their mosaic genomes. Thus, the only possible basis to deal with genetic variation in Brazilians is not by considering them as members of color groups, but on a person-by-person basis, as 190 million human beings, with singular genome and life histories". Relating to brown identity , the popular usage of
559-580: Is also the primary native language and English is the primary language of government and education, such as Ireland , Gibraltar , and the Commonwealth Caribbean . While English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in a handful of countries such as Denmark , the Netherlands , Norway and Sweden , these countries are not considered part of the English-speaking world as
602-518: Is so widely spoken, it has often been called a " world language ", the lingua franca of the modern era, and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language . It is, by international treaty, the official language for aeronautical and maritime communications. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including
645-1124: Is studied most often in the European Union , and the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 67% in favour of English, ahead of 17% for German and 16% for French (as of 2012 ). In some of the non–English-speaking EU countries, the following percentages of adults claimed to be able to converse in English in 2012: 90% in the Netherlands; 89% in Malta; 86% in Sweden and Denmark; 73% in Cyprus, Croatia, and Austria; 70% in Finland; and over 50% in Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Germany. In 2012, excluding native speakers, 38% of Europeans consider that they can speak English. Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around
688-463: 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. The 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census Bureau definition of the Asian race is: "people having origins in any of
731-541: The Anglosphere . Speakers of English are called Anglophones . Early Medieval England was the birthplace of the English language; the modern form of the language has been spread around the world since the 17th century, first by the worldwide influence of England and later the United Kingdom, and then by that of the United States . Through all types of printed and electronic media of these countries, English has become
774-539: The Arab states of the Persian Gulf , the term "Asian" generally refers to people of South Asian and Southeast Asian descent due to the large Indian , Pakistani , Bangladeshi , and Filipino expatriate populations in these countries. However, there are instances where the term is used solely to refer to those of South Asian descent. The Australian Census includes four regions of Asia in its official definition. Defined by
817-548: The Commonwealth of Nations . English is the primary natively spoken language in several countries and territories. Five of the largest of these are sometimes described as the " core Anglosphere "; they are the United Kingdom , the United States , Australia , Canada , and New Zealand . The term "Anglosphere" can sometimes be extended to include other countries and territories where English or an English Creole language
860-517: The Filipinos at the meeting thought they were " brown " rather than "yellow" and the conference thought the term "Oriental" was Eurocentric since they originate from lands "east" only from Europe's standpoint and the term "Oriental" suggested to them "passivity". Earlier Census forms from 1980 and prior listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups along with White and Black or Negro . Previously, Asian Americans were classified as "other". But
903-841: The International Olympic Committee . It is also one of two co-official languages for astronauts (besides the Russian language) serving on board the International Space Station . The English language has a particular significance in the Commonwealth of Nations, which developed from the British Empire. English is the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations. The English language as used in the Commonwealth has sometimes been referred to as Commonwealth English , most often interchangeably with British English . English
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#1732844137023946-476: The Philippines , Singapore , Jamaica , and Trinidad and Tobago also have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from English-based creole languages to Standard English . Other countries and territories, such as Ghana , also use English as their primary official language even though it is not the native language of most of the people. English holds official status in numerous countries within
989-498: The leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and professional fields, such as science , navigation and law . The United States and India have the most total English speakers, with 306 million and 129 million, respectively. These are followed by Pakistan (104 million), the United Kingdom (68 million), and Nigeria (60 million). As of 2022, there were about 400 million native speakers of English. Including people who speak English as
1032-488: The "Other Asian" category include Filipinos, Afghans and Nepalese. Peter J. Aspinall of the Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent , recommends privileging the term "South Asian" over the term "Asian", since the term "Asian" is a "contested term". In 1968, an Asian activist conference decided on favoring the name "Asian American" over the competing terms—" yellow ", " Mongoloid ", "Asiatic", and " Oriental "—since
1075-450: The "Other Ethnic Group" category rather than the "Other Asian" category, reflecting the association of the word Asian in the UK with South Asian. Despite there being a strong presence of East Asians in the United Kingdom there are considerably more South Asians , for example the 2001 Census recorded 1.05 million people of Indian origin and 247,000 of Chinese origin in the UK. Common origins in
1118-414: 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 . West Asians are classified as North African and Middle Eastern . The Canadian Census uses the term 'Asian' pan-continentally. In its presentation of the "ethnic origin" results of the 2016 census, Statistics Canada under
1161-595: The 20th and 21st centuries to several groups. Edward Telles, a sociologist of race and ethnicity, and Jack Forbes both argue that this classification is biologically invalid. However, as Telles notes, it is still of sociological significance. Irrespective of the actual biological differences amongst humans, and of the actual complexities of human skin coloration , people nonetheless self-identify as "brown" and identify other groups of people as "brown", using characteristics that include skin color, hair strength, language, and culture, in order to classify them. Forbes remarks upon
1204-430: The 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language by number of speakers , the third largest language by number of native speakers and the most widespread language geographically. The countries in which English is the native language of most people are sometimes termed
1247-401: The English language globally has had a large impact on many other languages, leading to language shift and language death , and to claims of linguistic imperialism . English itself has become more open to language shift as multiple regional varieties feed back into the language as a whole. Brown (racial classification) Brown is a racialized classification of people, usually
1290-460: The Indian subcontinent as "white." Lee said that, more recently, South Asian Americans were added to the long list of groups that comprise the category of Asian American. Referring to their classification as "Asian," Lee said that, in the United States, the classification of people from the Indian subcontinent depends on their historical location. In 1930 and 1940, Indian Americans were identified as
1333-552: The U.S. Census Board. In normal American usage Asian does not refer to the people from the Pacific Islands who are usually called Pacific Islanders . The term "Asians and Pacific Islanders" or "Asia/Pacific" was used on the 1990 U.S. census . However, in the 2000 U.S. census , the Asian or Pacific Islander category was separated into two categories, "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander". English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises
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1376-416: The appellation "brown people" when it was put to him incorrectly by Judge Boshoff: Penelope Oakes characterizes Biko's argument as picking "black" over "brown" because for Biko it is "the most valid, meaningful and appropriate representation, even though in an individualistic decontextualized sense it might appear wrong" (Oakes's emphasis). This contrasts with Piet Uithalder, the fictional protagonist of
1419-512: The appellation "bruinmense" to "Coloured". The South African pencil test was one example of a characteristic other than skin color being used as a determiner. The pencil test, which distinguished either "black" from "Coloured" or "Coloured" from "white", relied upon curliness and strength of hair (i.e. whether it was capable of retaining a pencil under its own strength) rather than upon any color factor at all. The pencil test could "trump skin color". Steve Biko , in his trial in 1976, rejected
1462-431: The category "Asian origins" includes: West Central Asian and Middle Eastern (includes "Arab, not otherwise specified"), South Asian, East and Southeast Asian, and "other" Asian origins. New Zealand's census undertaken by Statistics New Zealand defines Asian to include people of Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Filipino , Japanese, Vietnamese , Sri Lankan , Cambodian and Thai ancestries. In less formal contexts,
1505-529: The language is still viewed primarily as a foreign tongue and does not serve an important cultural role in society. English is an official language ( de facto or de jure ) of the following countries and territories. Although not official, English is also an important language in some former colonies and protectorates of the British Empire where it is used as an administrative language , namely Brunei , Malaysia , and Sri Lanka . Because English
1548-410: The largest region of Asian descent in the country, with Iraq once being the largest group of Asian immigrants. In the United Kingdom, the term "Asian" is more commonly associated with people of South Asian origin, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans. Most respondents to the UK 2001 Census of non-Chinese East Asian and Southeast Asian descent chose to write-in their ethnicity in
1591-511: The original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent (for example, Bangladesh , Cambodia , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Korea , Malaysia , Pakistan , the Philippine Islands , Thailand , and Vietnam )". Sandra S. Lee et al. (2001) said, in regards to the categories of the 2000 U.S. census , that it is difficult to determine why Asian Americans are
1634-491: The satirical column "Straatpraatjes" (whose actual author was never revealed but who is believed to have been Abdullah Abdurahman) that appeared in the Dutch-Afrikaans section of the newspaper APO between May 1909 and February 1922. Uithalder would self-identify as a Coloured person, with the column targeted at a Coloured readership, introducing himself as "een van de ras" ("a member of the race") and characterizing himself as
1677-499: The term Asian often does not refer to South Asian people . Those of West or Central Asian origin are excluded from the term. Statistics Norway uses the term 'Asian' pan-continentally and considers people of Asian background to be people from all Asian countries. Statistics Sweden uses the term 'Asian' to refer to immigrants of Asian background from all Asian countries, including Western Asia/the Middle East. West Asians make up
1720-582: The term in Canada generally refers to individuals of South Asian and Middle Eastern ancestry. "Brown" has been used as a term in popular culture for some South Asian Americans , Middle Eastern Americans , Native Americans , and Latino Americans either as a pejorative term or sometimes for self-identification, as with brown identity . Judith Ortiz Cofer noted that appellation varies according to geographical location, observing that in Puerto Rico she
1763-462: The world; English is the most commonly used language in the sciences, with Science Citation Index reporting as early as 1997 that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries. In publishing, English literature predominates considerably, with 28% of all books published in the world [Leclerc 2011] and 30% of web content in 2011 (down from 50% in 2000). The increasing use of
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1806-486: Was considered to be a "white person", but in the United States mainland, she was considered to be a "brown person". Moustafa Bayoumi , an Egyptian-American professor of English at Brooklyn College , identified himself as a "brown Arab-American" in an opinion piece criticizing the United States Census for forcing self-identified brown persons to identify as white. The term "Brown American" has been used both as
1849-659: Was one single "brown race", but in fact, several races speaking distinct languages. The 1858 Cyclopaedia of India and of eastern and southern Asia notes that Keane was dividing the "brown people" into quaternion: a western branch that he termed the Malay, a north-western group that he termed the Micronesian, and the peoples of the eastern archipelagos that he termed the Maori and the Polynesian. The appellation "brown people" has been applied in
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