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Chinaman

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This article is about the slang term "Chinaman", for other uses, see Chinaman.

Chinaman is a term used to refer to a Chinese man. According to some sources, this is an outdated term, considered offensive and derogatory.[1] It was, at one time, a standard English term used to refer to Chinese men, similar to Dutchman, Welshman, Scotsman, Irishman, Frenchman and Englishman,[2] and was not defined as offensive by the Webster's Dictionary of 1913.[3] In standard English, Chinaman is the only ethnic outside the general vincinity of the British Isles which is conferred the more familiar -man suffix.

Controversy

The use of the term Chinaman in public platforms and as names of geographical locations has been reported as controversial.

It is a fact that on 1998-07-09, Canada's province of Alberta renamed a peak in the Rocky Mountains from "Chinaman's Peak" to "Ha Ling Peak" due to pressure from the province's large Chinese community. But, place names are often renamed by politicians and others to give recognition and credit to worth individuals. [4] The new name was chosen in honour of a railroad labourer who scaled the peak's 8,793-foot-high summit in 1896 to win a $50 bet.[5]

In 2001, the Chicago Sun-Times was chastised by William Yashino, Midwest director of the Japanese American Citizens League, for using the term Chinaman in two of its columns. Yashino wrote, in a letter to the editor on 2001-05-16, that the term is derogatory and demeaning to Chinese Americans and Asian Americans, and that it marginalises these communities and inflames public sentiment.[6] This does not imply that Yashino is the ultimate authority on standard English but one may infer that the term is offensive to some belief sets.

In March 2007, media mogul Ted Turner used the term in a public speech before the Bay Area Council of San Francisco, California. Community leaders and officials objected to his use of the term, and immediately called for an apology. In a statement released by his spokesman on 2007-03-13, Turner apologised for having used the term, stating that he was unaware that the term was derogatory. Vincent Pan, director of the organisation Chinese for Affirmative Action, said it was "a bit suspect" for someone involved in domestic and world politics like Turner to be unaware that the term is derogatory. Yvonne Lee, a former commissioner of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, said the apology was the first step, but wanted Turner to agree to further "dialogue between different communities".[7] Of course, virtually any public speaker at any time is bound to offend someone in some fashion. Turner's remarks contained several generalizations and to some the generalizations and then the term were at issue.

Banned Words

Diane Ravitch, a former assistant secretary of education under Clinton and Bush describes a list of terms and phrases which are "banned as offensive" in textbooks and references.

  • Orient, Oriental: banned as offensive
  • Exotic: banned when referring to Asian Americans
  • Inscrutable: banned when referring to Asian Americans
  • Mysterious: banned when referring to Asian Americans
  • Sneaky: banned when referring to Asian Americans[8]

Ravitch, considered by many to be "one of the country's most spirited and respected education analysts" [9] has documented a series of images and depictions which are banned from textbooks and references. In addition to the word, "oriental" the following Asian stereotypes are considered insensitive:

  • Asians as very intelligent, excellent scholars
  • Asian Americans with look-alike features for all ages: short, skinny, slanted eyes, wear glasses
  • Asian Americans as a "model minority", repressed, studious, goody-goody
  • Asian Americans as ambitious, hard-working, and competitive
  • Asian Americans as having strong family ties
  • Asian Americans as quiet, polite, concerned with proper form
  • Asian Americans as inscrutable, mysterious, concerned with saving face
  • Asian Americans as frugal, passive, rigid, submissive, unathletic
  • Asian Americans as musical prodigies or class valedictorian
  • Asian Americans unable to speak English or uninvolved in mainstream America
  • Asian Americans working as laundry workers, engineers, waiters, gardeners, health workers
  • Asian Americans living in ethnic neighborhoods
  • Asian Americans as predominantly refugees
  • Asian Americans working in a laundry
  • Asian American males as peasants, coolies, waiters, laundry owners, math students
  • Asian Americans working at vegetable stands
  • Asian American females as doll-like, geisha-girl image, ingratiating to males
  • Asian Americans playing only with toys from the mainstream culture or only with toys from their own culture
  • Chinese people living and working only in Chinatown or in China working in rice fields
  • Asian Americans shown with eyes as single, slanted lines; look alikes; straight black hair with bangs; buck teeth
  • Modern Chinese males wearing pigtails and classes
  • Modern Chinese women wearing high-collared cheong dresses
  • Modern Chinese males with inscrutable grins, with folded or clasped hands or always wearing glasses and looking serious and polite
  • Chinese people who have great food
  • Chinese people who own or run laundries and restaurants
  • Chinese people who love to gamble
  • Chinese people who are cruel
  • Modern Asian Americans wearing dark business suits and glasses
  • Hordes of Japanese with suits and cameras
  • Modern Japanese women wearing kimonos or carrying babies on their backs
  • Japanese people who are law-abiding
  • Japanese people who are great imitators
  • Japanese people who are sneaky
  • Japanese women who are servile and obedient
  • Korean Americans owning or working in fruit markets [10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Please see the section Dictionary definitions for a list of dictionary references.
  2. ^ Ravitch, Diane (2004). The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn. Vintage Books. p. 271. ISBN 1-4000- 3064-1.
  3. ^ "Chinaman". Webster Dictionary, 1913. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  4. ^ Martin Luther King Blvd. in any city USA
  5. ^ "World News Briefs; Alberta's New Name For Peak in Rockies". The New York Times. 1998-07-09. Retrieved 2007-03-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Chicago Sun Times - discrimination in reporting". The Chicago Reporter. 2001. Retrieved 2007-03-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Ted Turner apologizes for remarks on Chinese". San Francisco Chronicle. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-03-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ http://www.freewebs.com/bannedwords/
  9. ^ http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/6184665p-7139626c.html%20%7C Sacramento Bee, February 27, 2003 "Editorial: Policing the vocabulary Textbook sensitivity goes fanatic"
  10. ^ http://www.freewebs.com/bannedwords/#IMAGEASIAN

Dictionary definitions

Look up Chinaman in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • "Chinaman". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". Encarta. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". RhymeZone. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". AllWords.com. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
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