pure blood

Question

What is the word or phrase that describes someone with both parents of  the same race? Is "pure blood" the right phrase?  How about people who have parents of different races?  Thanks.  Ricky Wong

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

What is the word or phrase that describes someone with both parents of
the same race? Is "pure blood" the right phrase? The adjective 'full-blooded' would do.

How about people who have parents of different races? 'half-blooded'. There is also the term 'half-breed', which today is considered extremely offensive.

Ricky, this is a topic that, in Western culture, you have to be very, very careful about if you wish to have a discussion. People can be very sensitive about this, and you can offend people very easily. Such discussions are usually avoided. I haven't heard these words for a very long time.

A common reaction might be to wonder why a person wishes to discuss such a topic. Is it because they don't want a racially unsuitable person to marry their daughter? Is it because they wish to 'racially cleanse' their country by killing people who do not have what they consider to be pure blood? These things have all happened, and not long ago.

So, as I said, please be careful.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

CliveWhat is the word or phrase that describes someone with both parents of
the same race? Is "pure blood" the right phrase? The adjective 'full-blooded' would do.

How about people who have parents of different races? 'half-blooded'. There is also the term 'half-breed', which today is considered extremely offensive.

Ricky, this is a topic that, in Western culture, you have to be very, very careful about if you wish to have a discussion. People can be very sensitive about this, and you can offend people very easily. Such discussions are usually avoided. I haven't heard these words for a very long time.

A common reaction might be to wonder why a person wishes to discuss such a topic. Is it because they don't want a racially unsuitable person to marry their daughter? Is it because they wish to 'racially cleanse' their country by killing people who do not have what they consider to be pure blood? These things have all happened, and not long ago.

Thanks Clive. I'm a Chinese and we don't find this issue sensitive. It's quite common for us to ask a foreigner whether
he/she is a half-blooded (thanks for teaching me the word) especially when he/she looks somewhat Chinese.

I'd also like to know if I can say "Are you a mixed?" to mean "Are you half-blooded?". Thanks.

Ricky

Nona the brit · Answer

Hi,

well just bear in mind that your foreigner might find it offensive.

I don't think we use any term these days in the west to suggest 'full-bloodied' we just say what we are: English, Chinese, Malaysian, Australian...whatever. And people who are of mixed descent will still identify themselves as these if they wish. i.e. My son has a Russian Jewish grandfather, but as far as he and anyone else is concerned he is English. The concept of racial 'purity' is a fraught one in the west as it has some very unpleasant historical connections.

There are some terms for people who have parents of different races but, again, you have to be careful not to cause offence. Avoid any suggestion of judging some people as 'pure' and others as not. The most common term is 'mixed-race' but some people are starting to find that offensive too. The most important thing to remember is to apply these terms as adjectives rather than nouns. Someone may be a mixed-race person, but they are not 'a mixed' or 'a mixed-race'. Likewise someone can be a black person, but not 'a black'.

Anonymous · Answer

Nona The Britwell just bear in mind that your foreigner might find it offensive.

I don't think we use any term these days in the west to suggest 'full-bloodied' we just say what we are: English, Chinese, Malaysian, Australian...whatever. And people who are of mixed descent will still identify themselves as these if they wish. i.e. My son has a Russian Jewish grandfather, but as far as he and anyone else is concerned he is English. The concept of racial 'purity' is a fraught one in the west as it has some very unpleasant historical connections.

There are some terms for people who have parents of different races but, again, you have to be careful not to cause offence. Avoid any suggestion of judging some people as 'pure' and others as not. The most common term is 'mixed-race' but some people are starting to find that offensive too. The most important thing to remember is to apply these terms as adjectives rather than nouns. Someone may be a mixed-race person, but they are not 'a mixed' or 'a mixed-race'. Likewise someone can be a black person, but not 'a black'.

Thank you very much. I must have offended people without even noticing it. But I still find it difficult to understand why it's offensive to ask whether both parents of a person are of the same race. It should be a rather neutral question.

Ricky

Clive · Answer

Hi,

It's apparent that there's a very big cultural diifference here!

I still find it difficult to understand why it's offensive to ask whether both parents of a person are of the same race. From a Western perspective, my question to you is why would you even want to ask such a question? Is it simply idle curiosity and nothing more? If the person gives you an answer, what then?

Best wishes, Clive

MrPedantic · Answer

I still find it difficult to understand why it's offensive to ask whether both parents of a person are of the same race. It should be a rather neutral question.

Hello Ricky

In some cultures, the question would be neutral, as you say. But in Europe, for instance, "race" is sensitive for two reasons:

1. The ideology of the National Socialist Party in Germany during the 30s and 40s included notions of "pure-bloodedness", which were used to justify genocide.

2. In most European countries, there is a certain amount of tension between "immigrant" populations and some members of the "indigenous" population.

If it weren't for the historical and political context, the question would be as innocent for Westerners as it is for you, and would simply express interest in the origins of someone of unusual appearance. Unfortunately, for many Westerners, and most people of unusual appearance who live in Western countries, it would most probably elicit the suspicious response "Why is he asking me this question?"

That said, people are much less likely to take offence at questions asked by non-native visitors. I'm sure you haven't offended anyone here, for instance.

MrP

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks Clive and MrPedantic. There's really a major cultural difference here. We (at least I) won't consider "half-bloodedness" inferior. In some sense, it's in fact considered nice because people of mixed race seem to be more good-looking and even smarter. Anyway, I think I should stop asking foreigners questions about race. However, in case I really want to ask, purely out of curiosity or as a topic for ice-breaking, what is the "safest" way to ask? Does any of the following work?

1. Are you half-blooded?
2. Are you of mixed race?
3. Is one of your parents a Chinese?

I'm also interested in knowing how people of other races feel about questions like that. Will you feel offended if someone ask you if you're half-blooded?

Thanks.

Ricky

Khoff · Answer

The "safest" way to ask would be to start out with a sort of apology, something like this:

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but is one of your parents Chinese?" (not "a Chinese") -- or --

"I don't mean to offend you, but I'm curious about your ethnic background. Are you partly Chinese?"

I think "ethnic background" is a little safer to ask about than "race" or "parentage," and "partly Chinese" sounds better than "half-blooded." Also, sometimes asking about the person's name can give you some information about their background without offending them, if their name is unusual. "That's an interesting name -- where is it from?"

Clive · Answer

Hi,

It's interesting to consider the question of race from a Chinese point of view. For Chinese people, I imagine race and nationality are almost the same thing, so I think it must be very difficult for them to 'feel' how this is not the case in most of the rest of the world.

Today, I discussed this with the Chinese students in my class. I have read that 92% of Chinese are Hans. I asked if they considered the various other minority groups in the remaining 8% to be of the same race, the same blood. I couldn't get a clear answer. Some said that this was felt to be a sensitive question in China. I'd like to ask any Chinese people who read this to comment.

I've also been pondering the concept of race. I think if you asked Europeans what their race was, many, perhaps most, would have trouble answering this question without some thought. Anglo-Saxon? Celtic? Aryan? Caucasian? White? Even if you just asked people to list what they thought the major race(s) in Europe were, I think most people would have trouble. So, if a Chinese person asked a European this question, what kind of answer would he expect and recognize? Once again, perhaps any Chinese people who read this might care to comment?

Questions about race become even more problematic in New World countries, where the races, whatever they are, are so intermingled.

Best wishes, Clives

Paco2004 · Answer

Hello Ricky

I found your messages intriguing, though the subject itself seems to suit somewhere other than this place.

I am Japanese, and talking about my compatriots in general, they tend to ask rudely or carelessly "Are you half or quarterly?" when they met whoever speaks Japanese fluently but looks like a Westerner. The Japanese word "half" means "half blooded" and "quarterly" does "quarterly blooded". They have no bad intention in asking such questions. They do so just because they don't know what feeling the person who is asked might have. To them, to be an European-like in appearance is a nice thing. You can understand this if you come to Japan and rumble in the downtown of a big city like Tokyo or Osaka. There you will find young girls trying to look "half" by dying their hair blond to reddish and putting on contact lenses of green to blue color. In my opinion, Japanese in general, not only young people but also elderly people, have a tendency to innocently admire everything that is of Europe and the United States. I don't think this by itself is not bad, but what I am afraid of is that this strong pro-Western attitude of theirs might be a flip side of the problem of Japanese mind - a kind of discrimination that they would have against the people of their neighboring Asian countries.

paco

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