Just to mention too: Vietnam is the second-largest Catholic country in Asia by proportion, after the Philippines. Something like 7-10% of Vietnamese are Catholic.
I think they key thing is to simply avoid making assumptions.
I remember during my apartment management days, I once had a package for someone that I casually described as “for someone with a Russian-sounding name.” Good Lord, the lecture I got on how Ukrainians are not Russian!
(Which I know… but let’s be real here, Ukraine is ultimately a Russian word itself, and Ukrainian names sound Russian. Damn, now I have to change identities and move to another state again…)
And another gaffe in which one resident thought another might be Chinese earned a lecture on the evils of the Chinese and the saintliness, superpowers and heightened intelligence of Koreans. At least I was just a spectator on that one.
(Now if only that same Korean guy could have used his superpowers to understand that Americans DO NOT use the hot tub naked. No, it’s not enough to have your shorts floating next to you. :smack: )
Anyway, as I said, the moral is to say nothing about anyone’s origins, ethnicities, religions, or even sports preferences. No matter how clever you are, you’ll occasionally get it wrong, and there are serious down sides.
(Now that I think about it, though… if they spent three hours arguing for a $5 discount on the rent, they’re Korean. That one is a safe bet. 
)
You really can’t tell anyone’s ethnicity at a glance (says the redhead who isn’t Irish or Scots), and you really shouldn’t comment on ethnicity in a work situation.
But why would someone working in retail call someone over like that? Shouldn’t they be grown-up enough to use their words?
OP:
Here is a handy rule for you. Do not bring up ethnicity, religion, or politics with customers you don’t know. It shouldn’t be hard. I cannot imagine a situation where you will need to reference customers’ ethnicity.
Not bringing up ethnicity will almost certainly avoid the majority of ‘cultural gaffes’ you could commit. However, if for some reason you need to write their name, like if you’re a barista, ask for the spelling if you have doubts. “Could you spell that for me please?” Also, if you decide to just wing it, please actually try to write their name, don’t give them a nickname. That won’t end well.
If you do catch yourself asking “where are you from” in small talk, and they say, “Vancouver”, DON’T try to clarify “No no, where are you really from?” They’re really from Vancouver. Drop it and change the subject.
Just be courteous and professional to customers.
I thought about mentioning that as well. The French influence, most notable in the Ngô Đình Diệm* regime. The Montagnards (Degar) are more Protestant though as those missionaries came a little later. They’re mostly settled in North Carolina.
Ethnic Chinese are in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. Sometimes you can or can’t tell by the name. They are sometimes a distinct population and apparently offense can be caused by confusing. I once wandered on a forum that seemed normal but users used language like the Singaporean Stormfront against ethnic Chinese! :eek:
*Also: Japanese almost always have two names. Koreans have two first names that aren’t really separable (if you were close enough to a certain dictator or didn’t mind risking execution, you could use a familiar "hey, Jong-un, but not just Jong). Vietnamese have middle names often. The family name is first in most Asian languages (and Hungarian).
It was just an example. I’m sure there are others.
Chinese? Like the wife of the other poster here, my wife is casually interested in what language/dialect/accent you speak, but deciding that someone is ‘Chinese’ is like deciding that someone is European…
… I picked you as European! Let me try my high-school Armenian on you!..
Never assume a woman wearing a stereotypic maternity top is pregnant, either.
Nobody can pinpoint a random east Asian person’s origin. Now and then, you may be able to make a good guess based on a very stereotypical face, but those occasions are rare and you still might be wrong. I know this, because I watched a lot of Asian-Americans (with ancestors in various countries) teaching in China argue up and down that they were not Chinese, did not have Chinese heritage, and had nothing to do with China other than happening to be teaching there. But a million times a day, they were mistaken for Chinese and treated with shock and disbelief in claiming they were not.
Luckily, nothing you are doing in an outlet mall requires special cultural knowledge, beyond being polite. If you were engaging in complex business negotiations or something, there are a few do’s and don’ts, but that’s a totally different situation, Just be nice and act normal.
This.
I once told a Chinese girl Iwas taking a class with that I can’t tell the difference between various Asian ethnic people. She smiled and whispered “Neither can I”
The only important thing is not to misidentify anyone.
Do not call or refer to Korean, Thai, Veitnamese, Filipino, or Japanese people as “Chinese,” as if it’s a catch-all term for anyone appearing to be of Asian descent. Do not use the word “Mexican” because you can’t tell who is Puerto Rican, Honduran, Argentinian, Cuban, Colombian, etc., and don’t call them “Spanish” either (I had a friend who absolutely insisted this was appropriate, because they all spoke Spanish!).
You can avoid these mistakes very easily by NEVER guessing and NEVER referring to anyone by their ethnicity. They are just people, you don’t need to identify their ethnic heritage to interact with them. If there is a reason to know what language they speak, ask them that.
LOL!
“Spanish” instead of Hispanic or Latino is a New York area thing?
I’ve known several Chinese (from China) people who spent time living in Japan, and all told me they were taken to be Japanese until it became obvious that they didn’t speak Japanese. I got the impression that they kind of envied my experience in Japan. The Japanese generally have zero expectation that a white person will be able to speak any Japanese at all, and tended to be pleasantly surprised that I could manage as much as I did (which was very little, to be honest).
I agree with all of this.
The only reason it’s even somewhat possible to sometimes guess the ethnicity of an east Asian individual is that Korea and Japan are more homogenous than many other countries. But there are still wide variations. Don’t try to guess; you’ll embarrass yourself.
And I can confirm that people who are from east Asia are no better at distinguishing ethnicity than anyone else. And can be as gruff towards Asian-looking people who don’t know the language as some Americans are towards foreigners.
Heh, these types of tests are always fun.
Despite what I said just above, it is possible to guess at better than random, because there are stereotypical differences between the people of different countries. I managed to get 12 out of 18 right on the faces and 13/18 on the temples. Being an avid people-watcher makes a difference (when you only understand 10% of what’s being said, you tend to watch faces very closely). And I think I’ve visited about half the Korean temples they pictured (or at least very similar ones), so I had a big advantage with those.
Add me to the list of people who are curious why the OP needs to be able to identify Asian ethnicity.
Nah, Canadians are easy to recognize by their beady eyes and flappy heads.
Actually, I hear it a fair bit around here, too (Lancaster, PA). Of course, the Amish call all non-Amish “English” so the “Spanish” fallacy shouldn’t feel lonely here…
That can’t possibly be right. “Kim” is a much more prevalent Korean surname.
That last is wrong, of course, but it does strike me that it’s no more wrong than calling and and all English-speaking white people “Anglos.”