Julie wrote: I'm aware of the plethora of African languages out there - Bontu based, etc. I find it curious that Obama referred to his name as an "African" name when it really appears to be an Arabic name. [etc.] -------------------------------------- There is a nonce category of people living in the US called 'Asian Americans.' It was more or less invented by younger US citizens from Asian countries in order to try to gain political clout similar to that of African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. Many older US citizens of Japanese or Chinese descent scoff at the idea of such a category, one that lumps them in with Pakistanis and Koreans, e.g. Still, there are now departments of 'Asian Studies' here and there. I hope it goes without saying that 'Asian' is not the language spoken in the homes of recent immigrants from these countries (or by anyone else). Gesundheit! Robert Paul Reed College ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html