a girl from Orient

[Mad-ox]

I have been thinking about that girl from Orient for several times.


Is the above sentence correct grammatically?

Context: I met a girl two days ago. This girl is from Orient. Since then I have been thinking about that girl from the Orient for several times.

Should I put an article before the word Orient ( the girl from the Orient)? Anyway, does this sentence sounds good for you?

thank you in advance,

 

[emsr2d2]

I have been thinking about that girl from Orient for several times.


Is the above sentence correct grammatically?

Context: I met a girl two days ago. This girl is from Orient. Since then I have been thinking about that girl from the Orient for several times.

Should I put an article before the word Orient ( the girl from the Orient)? Anyway, does this sentence sounds good for you?

thank you in advance,

No.

I have thought about her several times.
I have thought about her for several hours/days/weeks/months/years.
I have been thinking about her for several hours/days/weeks/months/years.

Don't use "for" before "times".

 

[Mad-ox]

I see. Thanks.

How about:

the girl from Orient
or
the girl from the Orient?

 

[emsr2d2]

I was just about to post that, having read your original post again. Yes, we say "from the Orient" although it wouldn't surprise me if that phrase is considered not to be politically correct. It would be preferable if you actually said where she was from - I met a girl from China/Thailand/Japan/Singapore etc etc.

 

[bhaisahab]

I was just about to post that, having read your original post again. Yes, we say "from the Orient" although it wouldn't surprise me if that phrase is considered not to be politically correct. It would be preferable if you actually said where she was from - I met a girl from China/Thailand/Japan/Singapore etc etc.

"Oriental" just means "from the east".

 

[emsr2d2]

"Oriental" just means "from the east".

True but if you ask the British public, the vast majority (I believe) would assume you were talking about the area I quoted.

 

[Mad-ox]

This context is from a newspaper article. It is about girl who is supposed to be a kind of guru/ a healer. It only says that she is from the Orient without specifying the exact country: India, Chine etc

 

[driftwood]

I am afraid the word, the orient, conveys certain negative connotation for some people. People from the Orient used to be described as unintelligent or behind the times or mysterious.

Although the word, Jewish, is not a derogatory word, I am extra-careful when I use it in the United States.

 

[SoothingDave]

For whatever reason it is considered offensive and we don't use "the Orient" or refer to people as "Oriental." We use "Asian."

Note that, unlike in BrE, "Asian" in AmE refers to the "Far East" (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) and not to the "Middle East" or India.

"Jewish" is fine, as an adjective. What is not used which could be considered pejorative now is "Jew" as a noun, like "He's a Jew." You would say, if you had to say anything, "He's Jewish." Or speak of "Jewish people," not "Jews."

 

[emsr2d2]

Aside from the potential perceived offence of some of these terms, SoothingDave has covered another reason why using "Asian", "Oriental" etc can cause problems. Depending on where you are, they can be taken to mean different parts of the world.

In the UK (or at least in the south-east of the UK), "Asian" would be taken to mean people from the Indian sub-continent (Pakistan, Bangladesh etc) and "Oriental" would mean, as I said, those from China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore etc. "African" would refer to those whose home country is/was on the continent of Africa, not whose heritage is from that part of the world (ie for us it would not include the term "African-American").

I have no intention of making this a politically correct or otherwise thread. It's just important to know that these terms are not clear cut and, if possible, should be avoided.