People Originally Words Describe Country Called Describing People's

Words that are used to describe people can sometimes cause problems. Some words, such as "fat," "pudgy" (big, overweight) and "skinny" (thin) are considered by many people to have a negative meaning or are insults. You would never want to call a person "fat" if he or she were your friend, for example.

Since the United States is a country mostly of immigrants, people are often described by their race (skin color) or ethnicity (what country or group they were originally from before coming to the United States). The words we use to describe someone's race, for example, have changed over the past 25 years. Currently, we usually describe people who used to be called "blacks" as "African-American" (although you will still hear and see the word "black" used). Thirty or forty years ago, the word "black" was more common, and sixty years ago people used the words "colored" or "Negro." But nowadays, to say "colored" or "Negro" is considered very, very insulting to African-Americans, and should never be used.

Similarly, people whose families were originally from Asia are now called "Asian-Americans," not the old term, "Orientals." Ethnic groups are usually described according to the country where their families originally came from. For example, someone whose family was originally from Ireland would be called "Irish-American," and someone from Iran would be an "Iranian-American."