Does that apply to individuals?You could very simply say that someone is "multi-racial."
Well, that would work assuming the person had only two races.Perhaps 'bi-racial' makes more sense when applied to an individual?
I agree that it makes sense-- but in the U.S. ethnic backgrounds can be very complex, and Elroy's suggestion of multiracial is as often as not a better choice.Perhaps 'bi-racial' makes more sense when applied to an individual?
I wonder if Americans would call such a person Chinese-American ... or if the parents' nationalities would have to be reversed for that name to apply?
A slight variation (and the one I would use) is "An American of Chinese-American descent".I wonder if Americans would call such a person Chinese-American ... or if the parents' nationalities would have to be reversed for that name to apply?
But that term involves two (or more) people, as in interracial marriage or interracial group. I don't think it can describe an individual.There are forums for people in IR relationships, and they create pressure for interracial, which happens to be my preference since it doesn't necessarily limit to two . . .
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Personally I would not use that phrase. It makes the friendship seem qualified and limited. It almost sounds like, "This is not one of my real friends, this is one of my lesser, mixed-blood friends."I read the thread once more, I want to rephrase my question.
I checked out the Chinese counterpart of what I want to say in English, then I got several choices, the first one is "metis", according to the dictionary.reference.com, one of the meaning is:
So, can I say:
Let me introduce a new friend to you, she is a metis.
Let me introduce a new friend to you, she is a mixed-blood.
Thanks
Personally I would not use that phrase. It makes the friendship seem qualified and limited. It almost sounds like, "This is not one of my real friends, this is one of my lesser, mixed-blood friends."
I would say, "Let me introduce a new friend to you."
If the people you introduce the new friend to wish to delve into his/her lineage, then leave that to them.
Whatever happened to Amerasian?I wonder how to call a person with a father from USA and a mother from Chinese, to describe a person in this situation?
Thanks
You mean for the father to be Chinese and the mother American? I don't think which race is which gender makes a difference. Of course, all we've been told is that the father is from the U.S.; he could well be a black fellow, in which case Chinese-American might be misleading. Might not be! Context!I wonder if Americans would call such a person Chinese-American ... or if the parents' nationalities would have to be reversed for that name to apply?
Neither of these terms would be used in this country in referring to a person of mixed racial heritage.I want to rephrase my question.
I checked out the Chinese counterpart of what I want to say in English, then I got several choices, the first one is "metis" . . .
So, can I say:
Let me introduce a new friend to you, she is a metis.
Let me introduce a new friend to you, she is a mixed-blood.
I agree with xqby.I wonder if Americans would call such a person Chinese-American ... or if the parents' nationalities would have to be reversed for that name to apply?
A co-worker, who I would think of as "African-American", refers to herself as "Asiatic", which she says goes back to the origin of humans.qxby has answered my question.
So we should rather use the race and not the country. Although we no longer used negroid or african as such but rather use Afro.
It is the same as trying to say South African-Chinese parentage which is meaningless because we have; Whites, Blacks, Indians, Brown people (and Coloureds for people of various mixed parentage, which in turn is also misleading.)
As to introducing someone we never refer to his race or colour we only introduce him or her by name.
Oh absolutely. Apart from insulting the person being introduced, you're effectively saying to the other person Are you blind or something?As to introducing someone we never refer to his race or colour we only introduce him or her by name.
Huh?"Asiatic", which she says goes back to the origin of humans.
Dear Friend,Don't use "metis" - no one will know what it means.
Don't use "mulatto" - it's offensive.
What is the purpose of mentioning your friend's ancestry anyway? If for some reason you just want people to know she is part-Chinese or half-Chinese, and it makes no difference what the other part is, then just say "She's part Chinese." Or if this is important for some reaspn, you could say "Her father is American and her mother is Chinese." Of course since not all Americans are white, her father might be an ABC (American-born Chinese) himself and maybe she's ethnically 100% Chinese anway. Or if she is some kind of more complicated mixture, like Tiger Woods (his mother was Thai) you could say "She's from a multi-racial background." I think what you say depends on why you are saying it and why you are even talking about it.
My daughter went to an almost all-black school and the term most often used was "mixed" to describe someone with one white parent and one black or mostly black parent.
"This is my friend Amy. Her mother is Chinese and her father is American."
If you're describing a person, what else would a person take "mixed" to mean?I think we would now say "multiracial." "mixed" can mean different things to different people.
I have heard that but, to me, it sounds either very formal or as if the speaker is consciously trying not to give offence.Is it correct to say "of mixed descent"?
The only circumstances that I can think of off-hand for mentioning this is when being asked (i) to give an official description of a person or (ii) when discussing circumstances specific to such a person or people. In the first case, the listener will not be much bothered by sensitivities. In the second, Google Ngrams for "multiracial children,mixed race children,multiethnic children" gives "mixed race children" as most frequent in BE, and "multiracial children" in AE.So if you're talking to me, or about me, I'm sort of wondering what the point of mentioning it at all is.
What I'm arguing about? I'm not "pure race" and so since this question came up - a question of what you're to say if you want to talk about it - I figured my opinion might actually matter. So I'm arguing that it sounds potentially less annoying to hear "mixed" instead of "multiracial".I am not sure what you are arguing about.
This assumes there are "pure" races, which there aren't. It's just a concept people who think they're "pure" think they can use to divide people into different completely arbitrary groups (and of course some "non-pure" people have been taught that it's true and subscribe to it, for no good reason).A lot of people are biracial,
It is not obvious what the races in question would be, that's the point. People who divide others into these clearly distinguished races might think this is the case, but it is not. Not at all. In New York you see all sorts of people, and you simply can't tell a lot of times. There aren't genes that neatly determine "race" the way we can neatly determine gender (physically). It just doesn't work that way. Anything a lot of people think they know about this is just due to "some people" having decided (or deciding) for us how to divide us.which I think is a little clearer than "mixed.' Someone who is English/Irish might consider themselves mixed. The most general term for, say, population surveys, is "multiracial." "mixed" is a pretty vague term and as you say doesn't clearly refer to race. I don't think you would ask an individual if they were 'multiracial" or even biracial anyway. Or usually even mixed. It could be kind of rude, depending on context. (What is an 'on the nose' question?? I have never heard that expression. Do you mean a blunt question? If so, I agree.). If you are talking about or to a specific individual, then it's probably kind of obvious what the races in question would be anyway.