its funny how some posters believe they can tell a person of Asian descent how they should be called in America.
a non-Asian dude telling an Asian dude how an Asian dude should call himself, ho ho ho
[quote=“QuietMountain”]Born in the US - American
Born in Taiwan - Taiwanese
Born in another country, but now a US citizen - American
Born in another country, but now a dual citizen - Hyphenated-American.
Ultimately, it is up to the person to define themselves, of course. But, that is how I’d refer to them.[/quote]
So you claim 
I have dual citizenship - American by birth and Australian by immigration. But I’ve been to the US only a couple of times in my life, and for all intents and purposes, I’m simply Australian - I think anyone meeting me would be hard-pressed to describe me as American, even on a hyphenated level. Many people are even less easy to categorise.
I don’t believe in hyphenation etc. on a personal level only because if one is going to put oneself in a box, I’d prefer to choose my own boxes If you consider your heritage a very strong part of who you are, whether you be Scottish or Taiwanese or whatever, then you may choose that box for yourself. I have an Italian friend, who is very fiercely Italian, despite being an Australian citizen. Although he fits in perfectly into Australian culture, on the side he reads Italian magazines, studies Italian fashion and agonizes over making the perfect espresso. His Italian-ness is very strongly a part of him and inseparable from who he is. On the other hand, I have friends with other backgrounds for whom it’s just not that important. What ‘defines’ them in the way they live their lives is their sexuality, or their jobs, or their interests - race and culture are not all that relevant to ‘who they are’. I prefer that you just see me as me, although for some people I meet, that seems to be very difficult
[quote=“cornelldesi”]its funny how some posters believe they can tell a person of Asian descent how they should be called in America.
a non-Asian dude telling an Asian dude how an Asian dude should call himself, ho ho ho[/quote]
I agree with you on that one.
Personally, I don’t like calling myself African-American because it implies that someone close to my generation immigrated to the US from Africa. Not bloody likely. Especially since my family can be traced back over 150 years as free landowners. I also don’t like terms like black or white since as I point out to my students, I nor their teachers are these colors. I feel uncomfortable about labelling because when I talk to people in real life, I don’t think about whether or not they are Asian-American or white or whatever but rather that they are people. My family comes in all colors from my red-headed Jewish uncle to my biracial and (recently re-discovered) black siblings to my blue-eyed niece. I don’t think of them that way, however, but as my family. Unfortunately on the internet, when discussing race, we cannot see each other to understand our viewpoints and therefore have to use these labels to describe our cultural background, ethnicity, or skin color and to talk about people of those groups. 
[quote=“daasgrrl”][quote=“QuietMountain”]Born in the US - American
Born in Taiwan - Taiwanese
Born in another country, but now a US citizen - American
Born in another country, but now a dual citizen - Hyphenated-American.
Ultimately, it is up to the person to define themselves, of course. But, that is how I’d refer to them.[/quote]
So you claim 
I have dual citizenship - American by birth and Australian by immigration. But I’ve been to the US only a couple of times in my life, and for all intents and purposes, I’m simply Australian - I think anyone meeting me would be hard-pressed to describe me as American, even on a hyphenated level. Many people are even less easy to categorise.
I don’t believe in hyphenation etc. on a personal level only because if one is going to put oneself in a box, I’d prefer to choose my own boxes If you consider your heritage a very strong part of who you are, whether you be Scottish or Taiwanese or whatever, then you may choose that box for yourself. I have an Italian friend, who is very fiercely Italian, despite being an Australian citizen. Although he fits in perfectly into Australian culture, on the side he reads Italian magazines, studies Italian fashion and agonizes over making the perfect espresso. His Italian-ness is very strongly a part of him and inseparable from who he is. On the other hand, I have friends with other backgrounds for whom it’s just not that important. What ‘defines’ them in the way they live their lives is their sexuality, or their jobs, or their interests - race and culture are not all that relevant to ‘who they are’. I prefer that you just see me as me, although for some people I meet, that seems to be very difficult [/quote]
I don’t claim anything about you daasgrrl. I don’t even know you. All I said was that I don’t like hyphenated names myself. I usually, if needed, refer to someone by their nationality. Meaning any person who is a Taiwanese citizen, but not of asian descent, is still, to me, Taiwanese… no matter their ethnic background. However, If they have dual citizenship, I can see using the hyphenated label.
By the way, what I mean by dual citizenship is, actual, legal, dual-citizenship… not, “I was born in country A, but grew up in and am now a citizen of country B.” I said that I consider immigrants who are naturalized citizens of a country to be, well, citizens of that country and not “hyphenations.” Not, unless, that is, they hold passport (or some kind of citizenship recognition) from BOTH countries. Then I can see using a hyphenation to refer to them. I don’t know [b]if[b] you have dual citizenship or not.
Oh… and cornell… I’m not trying to tell anyone (Asian “dudes” or non-Asian “dudes”) how to call themselves. I am just saying how I think of and refer to someone. You can call yourself anything you bloody well please. Even the ever annoying… DUDE! 
Do American PC labels even make sense on Taiwan.
We’re all foriegners on Taiwan.
Even the hardcore ABC, FOB-born agian ABC, and XYZ fly undone ABC, all foriegners.
“Shen me ABC, Ni men dao shi Lao Wai” (什麽 ABC, 你們都是老外)
When I said:
I meant exactly that - dual citizenship, with passports. I do understand the meaning of such, you know. Call me what you like… just as long as you call me
Just call me pink as I am not white…
No problem: I call youall SOB’s 
daasgrrl, I humbly apologize 
I read the above as one sentence, since I didn’t see a period after “So you claim.” I thought it was (minus the smiley), “So you claim I have dual citizenship…”
But, again, as I said, you can call yourself anything you want. And, if you tell me what you prefer to be referred to as, I’ll refer to you that way. Well, with the exception of “your majesty”, “my queen” and such… those terms are reserved for my bf. 
daasgrrl, I humbly apologize I read the above as one sentence, since I didn’t see a period after “So you claim.” I thought it was (minus the smiley), “So you claim I have dual citizenship…”[/quote]
No worries, mate! Because I am startlingly geekish, I have actually consciously thought about whether or not to include periods when ending sentences with smilies, and decided it looked better without - although now I see the perils of such a style. Why isn’t there an internet style guide on this vitally important topic? Hell, I’d probably ignore it anyway
You mean ‘your ladyship’ is out? Damn. Lucky boyfriend…
i’ve seen post about being an ABC here, but i don’t know what one is. i’m assuming is has something to do with ethnicity.
i’ve tried googling but no answers.
i am British born and bred but my parents are from Pakistan, so would that make me an ABC?
does being an ABC limit your chances of finding a job as an ESL teacher in Taiwan?
thanks in advance.
ABC=American Born Chinese.
American Born Chinese
EDIT: damn you presley!
No, that just makes you British.
No, it would make you a BBP.
No, it would make you a BBP.[/quote]
:roflmao:
so i’m guessing that i won’t be discriminated against?? i am not caucasain though, but English is my first language.
No, it would make you a BBP.[/quote]
:roflmao:
so I’m guessing that i won’t be discriminated against?? I am not caucasain though, but English is my first language.[/quote]
ABC means ‘American Born Chinese’, true, but the Taiwanese don’t really get it and will often refer to Taiwanese who have lived in America for any length of time as ‘ABCs’ even though they’re not really.
Because you are not white, you may well be discriminated against in a job hunt - the average Taiwanese thinks that white people speak English and are American, and non-white people don’t speak English.
i’m going to find a job through an agency, preferbaly through a British agency and we have discriminatory laws. i hope the British agencies adhere to these laws and do not make excuses to please the Taiwanese.
British anti-discriminatory laws will make no difference once you’re in Taiwan. You should be OK, but this isn’t the best time of year to be looking for teaching work. The new September positions are generally filled.