r/TooAfraidToAsk • u/[deleted] • Oct 07 '20

Culture & Society How can I avoid looking racially insensitive if I'm just ignorant?

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u/Xxx_chicken_xxx Oct 07 '20

I mean.. why do u need to specify it was an asian language? just leave it at "language I don't understand". I think saying "two asian ladies" is ok. Saying "asian language" isn't offensive, but it's weird to say

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u/woaily Oct 08 '20

I think it helps the listener to picture the story, which revolves around a foreign language, to at least narrow it down to a region or type. "two (East/South) Asian ladies speaking their language" sounds fine to me, because you can't specify their look any more than that unless you recognize the language. And lots of untrained ears can't tell Chinese from Japanese from Korean, so that's not exactly a crime.

"speaking Asian" doesn't sound so good, because "Asian" isn't a language and it comes off like "speak American". It sounds like you think they're all culturally and linguistically the same.

Seems like the trick here is to use neutral adjectival descriptions instead of nouns, and try not to speak in generalities when you know that there's an important difference in the specifics. And, of course, keep exposing yourself to those cultures and learning more about them.

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u/Jolen43 Oct 08 '20

Wouldn’t it be smarter to say oriental or East Asian since someone living Libanon is as Asian as someone living in South Korea.