"Nithya Sambasivan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Whereas in the USA, "Asian" refers to south-east Asians. How did the term
> Asian come to not include the Indian subcontinent?

It generally refers to East Asians, subsuming the South-East Asians. I
don't know why it doesn't include "South Asians", though the term
"South Asian" is widely recognized. The evolution of such words is (as
I indicated) fairly mysterious to me.

> I thought Caucasian was the term for white-skinned people, although
> I have seen "white" on forms too.

I believe it has become largely obsolete, not because it is offensive,
but because other terms of the same era are now considered offensive.

Perry

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