[KS] Does "the Orient" still exist?

[Sang Hwan Seong]

Re: [KS] Does "the Orient" still exist?Dear Frank,

Sure, I agree with your point. I am also aware that in the West Coast, esp. in the SF Bay Area, the PC (political correctness) movement has influenced the public sphere considerably in the past ten years or so. I hope that this will be the case in the rest of the States. I notice that this trend is also visible in Germany in some cases. 
But as a mere linguist, I just did not want to enforce a prescriptive judgment on the use of the word 'oriental' and wanted to point out that our language undergoes constant changes. I was just delivering a  well-established descriptive analysis that is available in a popular linguistics textbook.
Greetings also from A. Huwe.

Best,

Sang Hwan Seong
University of Bonn  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Frank Hoffmann 
  To: Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws 
  Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 4:26 AM
  Subject: Re: [KS] Does "the Orient" still exist?




    This question seems to be obviously related to "Language Change".


  More than just language change, I would hope!


    I wonder if some of the negative meanings this word carries are also visible in the Old World. My colleage (A. Huwe) confirms that the German equivalent 'orientalisch' does not bear such meanings. The German word is also claimed to be associated with some motives like Arabian Nights. 


  Sure, and the negro is associated with Uncle Tom's Cabin, but somehow we don't use it anymore.


  In the state of Washington "oriental" and "orientalism" is prohibited from all official state documents:
  http://www.politicalcircus.com/archive/article_674.shtml
  --->>
  Gov. Locke Signs Bill Against Use of Term ³Oriental²
  Apr 3, 2002
  By RPG Newswire
  OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON (RPG Newswire) ­ Washington State Governor Gary Locke recently signed into law a bill that prohibits the use of the word ³Oriental² on all state and local government statutes, codes, rules, regulations, and other official documents. The law takes effect on July 1, 2002.
  (...)
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