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black, dark people

English translation: cosmetics?


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:black, dark people
English translation:cosmetics?
Entered by: María Sanz
Options:
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12:20 Jan 2, 2004
English to English translations [PRO]
Marketing
English term or phrase: black, dark people
when refering to the black race.? black people, black race, dark colour people? what would you use in a special report for brand managers?
María Sanz
cosmetics?
Explanation:
Since the only products for which, off-hand,I can see a justification for brand differentiation are cosmetic and skincare products, also including haircare (colouring, straightening, etc.), you might find a way of turning the words around so as to use "black" "brown" or "dark" without risking offence. There are stacks of GGL hits for "brown skin cosmetics", fewer for "black skin cosmetics", and fewer still for "dark skin cosmetics". I would venture to say that while people might not like being referred to as "black", etc., there seems to be little objection to qualifying their skin that way. After all, "African-American skin" is just plain ridiculous (what is worse, it is what slave owners used to nail to the back of their cotton sheds, isn't it?)
Selected response from:

xxxBourth
Local time: 12:26
Grading comment
well it was cosmetics...so i think this was very useful. thanks.!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +11African American
Daniel Mencher
4 +4Blacks
Raquel Iglesias
5 +2I truly cannot understand how "cosmetics" can be accepted as a translation formargaret caulfield
4 +1black peoplexxxsarahl
4"People of Color" or "ethnic Markets"Dorene Cornwell
4people of African descent
Kim Metzger
4 -1cosmetics?xxxBourth
4 -1Afro-AmericanTobi


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Afro-American


Explanation:
this should be politically correct

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Note added at 2004-01-02 12:28:53 (GMT)
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for UK, I\'d prefer coloured people

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Note added at 2004-01-02 12:38:12 (GMT)
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just refer to colo(u)red people to cover all people with dark skin according to Dan\'s answer

Tobi
Local time: 12:26
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Daniel Mencher: It is not "Afro-American", but "African American". It is a seemingly slight difference, yes, but in the USA today, political correctness is very specific.
2 mins
  -> according to websters, Afro-American is equivalent to African-American
agree  xxxBrandis: colored people fits best, I am of the same opinion
2 hrs
neutral  xxxBourth: What about the dark-skinned of the UK and Europe (if applicable)?
2 hrs
neutral  RHELLER: African-American is the declared preference by the majority in the U.S.
2 hrs
disagree  Dorene Cornwell: In the US, African American. In the US "colored" would be VERY archaic, actually before "negro." I cannot speak about the UK
7 hrs
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7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +11
African American


Explanation:
In the USA, when refering specifically to Black people, it is politically correct to refer to them as African Americans. I think that this is what you mean in your context.

However, if you are refering not only to black people but all minorities with dark skin (Black people, Hispanic people, etc.), then you would simply refer to them as "various minorities".

All of this is, of course, most politically correct, and the way you would do it in a business document.

Good luck!

-Dan

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Note added at 2004-01-02 12:46:33 (GMT)
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In response to Tobi\'s response to my disagree to his answer above:

Then Webster\'s is wrong.

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Note added at 2004-01-02 13:05:19 (GMT)
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I must say here, that I don\'t know what is correct in the UK, but to refer to anybody in the US as a \"colored person\" is definitely not politically correct. Tobi is wrong. Up until the 1960\'s, when racism was openly rampant in the US, African Americans and other minorities were segregated from White people so much that they even had to use different public facilities. To accomplish this, White people\'s water fountains, public restrooms, etc. were labeled \"Whites Only\", and the African Americans\' facilities were labeled either \"Blacks Only\" or \"Colored Only\" (sometimes, the segregationists would add insult to injury and actually label them \"Niggers Only\"). Because the terms \"Black\" and \"Colored\" (and \"Nigger\") were used in such awfully insulting circumstances, they are not used today in politically correct speech. So, I would not take Tobi\'s advice. Use \"African American\", or, if you want to encompass all minority groups with dark skin (i.e. not only African Americans), then just use the word \"minorities\".

By the way, \"Afro-American\" is an abbreviation, and should not be used in official writing. Just as you would not use \"won\'t\" for \"will not\" on an official document for reasons of appearing professional (even though it is technically correct, \"won\'t\" and other contractions are reserved for colloquial speech and should not be used in writing), you should not use \"Afro-American\" for \"African American\" in your document. I actually have never heard \"Afro-American\" used even in speech.

Good luck!

-Dan

Daniel Mencher
United States
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 19

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Knowles
7 mins
  -> thanks
agree  matias: and there are also Chinese American£¬ Japanese Amercian£¬ BTW is there a saying for the Spanish Speaking American£¿Spanish American£¿
16 mins
  -> Generally, the Spanish speaking population in the US is from Latin America, and so they are known as Latin Americans (they are the US's largest minority). Spaniards don't have a specific PC title.
agree  ntext: All true, assuming that the text is for and about the US.
59 mins
  -> thanks
agree  Tobi: Thanks for your extensive information
1 hr
  -> thanks
agree  Marva
1 hr
  -> thanks
agree  olganet
1 hr
  -> thanks
agree  Empty Whiskey Glass
1 hr
  -> thanks
neutral  xxxBourth: I see you have raised the geographical problem.
2 hrs
  -> Nope, it's been there the whole time and always will. Such is the fate of the languages of European imperialism (including English). I just mentioned it.
agree  RHELLER: for U.S.
2 hrs
  -> right, thanks
agree  Denyce Seow
2 hrs
  -> thanks
agree  Refugio: You are right, for today, but the term Afro-American actually was widely used in the US at one time (554,000 hits on Google). Now it is mostly seen in the names of museums and cultural organizations.
5 hrs
  -> thanks for the info
agree  Soizic CiFuentes: colored people is a no-no today
5 hrs
  -> thanks
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Blacks


Explanation:
Although African-American is the PC term as Dan points out, Blacks (capital letter)is also common.
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education is dedicated to the conscientious investigation of the status and prospects for African Americans in higher education.
National Organization of Blacks in Government


    Reference: http://www.jbhe.com
    Reference: http://www.bignet.org/
Raquel Iglesias
Spain
Local time: 12:26
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in pair: 3

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ntext: Definitely Black if the reference is not limited to US.
53 mins
agree  Empty Whiskey Glass
1 hr
agree  Charlie Bavington: As a West Indian girl informed me in the course of general conversation recently, "black" is the preferred term - at least, it was how she described herself (this was in London, UK)
2 hrs
agree  Soizic CiFuentes: http://www.tbwt.org/home/ In the black world today, they speak of black communities of the world and African American for the US although some black people do not like the PC term African American and prefer "Black"
5 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
cosmetics?


Explanation:
Since the only products for which, off-hand,I can see a justification for brand differentiation are cosmetic and skincare products, also including haircare (colouring, straightening, etc.), you might find a way of turning the words around so as to use "black" "brown" or "dark" without risking offence. There are stacks of GGL hits for "brown skin cosmetics", fewer for "black skin cosmetics", and fewer still for "dark skin cosmetics". I would venture to say that while people might not like being referred to as "black", etc., there seems to be little objection to qualifying their skin that way. After all, "African-American skin" is just plain ridiculous (what is worse, it is what slave owners used to nail to the back of their cotton sheds, isn't it?)

xxxBourth
Local time: 12:26
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 25
Grading comment
well it was cosmetics...so i think this was very useful. thanks.!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Refugio: You are focusing on products, but the differentiation could also be for marketing. Many brand-name products are marketed differently to people of color.
3 hrs
neutral  Soizic CiFuentes: Black people actually like to be called black and are prettty proud of it. It is the white people who have a hard time finding a PC term
3 hrs
disagree  Dorene Cornwell: Not just cosmetics! Context could involve a whole range of cultural, economic and buying behaviors. And I would NEver EVER use "dark people." Too many negative connotations.
4 hrs
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
people of African descent


Explanation:
This is another possibility that avoids the geographical problem.


    Reference: http://www.ofafricandescent.com/
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 05:26
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 2241
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
"People of Color" or "ethnic Markets"


Explanation:
Honestly, if the category for the marketing report really means people of African descent (at some point in their history) in the US, the category should properly be called African American

HOWEVER, if the category for the report is intended to cover people of a wide range of ethnicities and national origin, I would use "People of Color."


In some marketing contexts, marketing targetted to specific ethnic or linguistic market segments is called "ethnic marketing."


Dorene Cornwell
Local time: 03:26
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 16
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
black people


Explanation:
is probably the best IMHO, not restricted to the US, not falsely PC and not potentially discriminatory, just descriptive.

xxxsarahl
Local time: 03:26
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in pair: 51

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  chica nueva: Yes, there are black indigenous people in the Pacific. White people are sometimes referred to as (Indo)Europeans, sometimes Caucasians. The old (anthropological?) counterparts to Caucasian are Negroid and Mongoloid ...I think.
1 day5 hrs
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1 day7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
I truly cannot understand how "cosmetics" can be accepted as a translation for


Explanation:
"black, dark people". It is beyond me!!!!!

margaret caulfield
Local time: 12:26
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Joy Christensen: Right, that seems to be some kind of mistake. The point was, did this have to do with cosmetics or some other field, topic, sector in which the skin complection should not make any difference and thus also not be distinguished!
5 hrs
agree  senin
2 days19 hrs
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