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Hi
As I googled I found lots of pictures for these two terms, the first for slanting eyes, and the second for almond eyes. However, i didn't get the difference. Could you kindly help? By the way, how do we describe Chinese/ Korean/ or Japanese people's eyes?
Should we say almond or oriental or slanting?
Thanks a million.
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***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello,
1. I have to be super careful how I answer, for a moderator recently deleted one of my posts because it may have
been insensitive to the feelings of Asian people. (That moderator did NOT send me a private message explaining the
reason.)
2. I live in California, which has many Asian people.
a. I think that I am correct in advising you never to use the word "slanted" in describing Asian people.
b. Neither would I use the term "almond-shaped." (Although this is less offensive than "slanted." Some people
feel that it has an "exotic" sense, especially when referring to females.)
c. Never use the word "Oriental." That is now considered offensive in the States.
James
This is an example of the types of things that are simply not talked about. Anything you say could be construed as offensive.
a. I think that I am correct in advising you never to use the word "slanted" in describing Asian people.
b. Neither would I use the term "almond-shaped." (Although this is less offensive than "slanted." Some people
feel that it has an "exotic" sense, especially when referring to females.)
c. Never use the word "Oriental." That is now considered offensive in the States.
Thank you Parser/ James very much. So what should I use now? It seems all seem offensive. Could you kindly help me with a less harsh term?
Thanks a million.
Thanks but how can I help my students? I'd like to know if there's a term for that or not. You know there was a worksheet that the students were supposed to match the words to the pictures, but for slanting eyes the pictures were not clear enough so I googled it and again I didn't get it.Quote:
Originally Posted by SoothingDave
I don't know why your students need to know a way to describe the eyes of Asians.
Epicanthic fold - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here is a technical term. Use this if you absolutely must teach them a word for this.
:shock:Consider a lesson that focuses on people's appearance, big eyes, small eyes, wide forehead, etc. So how can I ignore this reality. At least I can let them know it's offensive if you are addressing an Asian. However, I still think they should know it. I don't know what's wrong with that?
P.S. I myself don't consider it as a way of mocking them at all. In fact to me it's really cute and unique about them. so why should be considered as something offensive against them?:-( They should be proud of being unique.
Thanks a lot.
I don't think "almond (shaped) eyes" is offensive.
You have a problem. You want to talk about something that is obvious and useful, but no-one will let you use appropriate words. It's a symptom of political correctness gone mad. "Slanting eyes" doesn't sound offensive to me, but it seems to offend Americans. If you're going to describe different peoples of the world, you are going to offend someone. Maybe you could use "East-Asian-shaped eyes". Or you could pretend they don't have a characteristic shape to their eyes.Quote:
Originally Posted by moonlike
PS: Or you could ask Asian people how they would prefer the shape of their eyes to be described.
NOT A TEACHER
I have just consulted a Dutch-English dictionary. The term we use in Dutch isn't considered offensive*. This dictionary tells me that you can use either "slant-eye" or "slit-eye", but I do not recommend that you use "slant-eye" as judging from this thread, some people find it offensive. "Slit-eye" doesn't appear to be offensive.
*Upon further investigation I have found out that the once neutral term has become an offensive word in recent years.
