Oriental (word)

The Orient and its cognates are terms that traditionally used in most European cultures to refer to the Middle-East, South Asia, and East Asia, or more specifically most regions east of Europe. In modern usage, it generally refers to those parts of Asia east of Afghanistan, but outside of the Indian sub-continent; this would include Burma, Cambodia, China, Japan, parts of Indonesia, Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Tibet and Vietnam.

The adjective "oriental" has thus been used in "Western" societies as a term to describe cultures, countries, peoples and goods from the Orient. For example, Mizrahi Jews (native to the Middle East) are often referred to as Oriental Jews and it is common in older universities: the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge both have a Faculty of Oriental Studies that focuses on the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia. The American Oriental Society remains the premier body for the study of Oriental societies. In adjectival use in these contexts, it is a neutral term, but in its substantive form (referring to an individual person) is potentially offensive; see the section on "Perceptions and conntations" below.

Derivation

The term "Orient" is derived from the Latin word oriens, the present participle of "orior": to rise. The implication is that it refers to the rising sun. Thus, "Orient" describes the "land of the rising sun", i.e. the "Far East", and is exactly analogous with the Chinese (and Japanese) term for Japan. Similar terms such as "Levant" of French derivation and "Anatolia" from the Greek anatole, describe locations for the direction in which the sun rises. The opposite term "Occident" - derived from the Latin word occidens, from the verb "occido": I fall - was once used to describe the western world, i.e. the "land of the falling (setting) sun".

The creation of a polarity oriens/occidens originated in Roman imperial administration from the time of Diocletian and was taken up in Christian Latin literature. Despite this some scholars claim the term Orient did not enter Western European languages until the time of the Crusades

Oriental as an adjective and substantive

For the main entry on this term and its usage, see Oriental.

Although the adjective oriental is a relatively neutral term, the use of the word as a substantive, as in "I passed an Oriental on the street," is considered offensive by many persons to whom it might be applied. Part of the negative reaction is the term's conflation of quite different Asian cultures and regions, and another from its association with Western imperialism and racialized notions of Asian peoples in past centuries.

According to Abdurrahman R. Squires "politically correct terms have taken the place of the word 'Orientalism'". According to The Official Politically Correct Dictionary and Handbook the term is offensive and should be avoided. However, the entire concept of political correctness and its many implications are the center of much debate. Thus, there is a certain degree of controversy associated with any politically correct term. So, while some people in 21st century America consider the term oriental derogatory, there are others who dispute this connotation.

References and further reading

• The American Oriental Society
• The Oriental Instititute at University of Chicago