omplex rules and vary by community. As a general rule, it is a good idea to ask an interview subject which name is his or her the first name and which is the surname. One Hindu may follow old caste traditions and have what he considers a first name and a last name, but his biological son may have a different name. Similarly, Sikh and Muslim names can vary by generation. Also, names and orders of names that were used in South Asia often get confused when immigrants arrive in the United States, forcing them to adopt names and spellings more “convenient” for mainstream America. Be careful about generalizing about South Asian names, not all of which are Hindu or Muslim names. There are many South Asian Christians, as well as South Asian Jews, and it may not be obvious from their names that they are South Asian. Moreover, there are some South Asians who have a one-word name.
Formerly Ceylon, it became independent from Britain in 1948. Island in the Indian Ocean, south of India. About the size of West Virginia. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers, are ethnically Indian and believed to have invented suicide bombing in their separatist campaign. Long civil war ended in 2009. Capital: Colombo. Population: 21.5 million (2012 estimate). Proportion of population younger than 15: about one-quarter. Languages: Sinhala (official, 75 percent), Tamil (national language, 18 percent) and others. Faith: Buddhism (69 percent), Muslim (8 percent), Hindu (7 percent), Christian (6 percent) and others. Ethnic groups; Sinhalese (74 percent), Sri Lankan Moors (7 percent), Indian Tamil (5 percent) and others. Literacy: 91 percent. (Source: World Factbook.) See JIHAD; PEARL HARBOR; SUICIDE BOMBING.
The word comes from the ancient Greek for “fixed impression.” Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), an American journalist, popularized the word, a printing-press term, as a metaphor for “a picture in our heads” that could be true or, more often, false. Examples of stereotypes include “geisha,” “delivery boy,” “manicurist” and “samurai” (all used metaphorically).
SUICIDE BOMBING, invention of:
Use of explosives carried to a target on the body of the attacker or in a vehicle operated by him or her. Especially fearsome attack because the attacker cannot be bargained with since he or she is determined to die. Similar to the Japanese kamikaze attacks of World War II. Thought to have been invented in the early 1980s by the Tamil Tiger separatists in Sri Lanka. See JIHAD; PEARL HARBOR; SRI LANKA; SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.
The official language of the Philippines, but also one of scores of local and regional dialects.
One of the bloodiest conflicts in world history. A continuing theme in modern Chinese history is the central government’s fear of separatist movements leading to catastrophic violence. Perhaps 20 million or more Chinese died in a long civil war, contemporaneous with the American Civil War, in which fewer than 1 million Americans were killed. It was led by a Chinese national who thought he was Jesus’ younger brother. See also CHINA; TAIWAN; TIANANMEN SQUARE; TIBET; UIGHUR.
Caution on description. Island off the southeastern coast of China. Slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined. Officially a province of China, but this fact is disputed by Taiwanese government. Continuing tension with China and the rest of the world on how to describe its status (it does not have a permanent representative to the United Nations, for example). Chinese invasion, a theoretical possibility, recedes with time and U.S. protection. Dynamic economy and thriving community in the United States. Useful to specify Taiwanese or Taiwanese American, as opposed to Chinese or Chinese American. After 1949 Communist victory in China, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan, partially displacing native Taiwanese and creating Republic of China. Many present-day residents of Taiwan are from rural Fujian province across the strait from Taiwan. There have also been at least three native-born generations since 1949. Capital: Taipei. Population: 23.1 million (2012 estimate). Pr