“亚裔美国人”概念的起源及其含义的变迁

The Origin of the Concept of "Asian Americans"and the Shift of Its Meaning

亚裔美国人是美国多种族社会中正在崛起的一支族裔集团 ,它在美国社会生活的各个方面日益显示出其强大的潜力。亚裔美国人这个概念的形成得益于1 96 0年代末的亚裔美国人运动 ,它既是亚裔集团泛亚的归属意识的要求 ,也是美国联邦统计体系的规定 ,并且因着不同的历史条件其含义也随之发生变化 :从自定义的美国人到精选出的“模范少数民族”再到种族类别的亚裔美国人和朝向多种族 /族裔类别发展。

The concept of Asian Americans was created only 30 years ago by a group of activists of Asian American Movement.As a racial group and a category,it's the result of the development of the Pan Asian consciousness and the result of the classification of the U.S.federal statistical system.During the 30 years,the meanings of Asian Americans have been shifting according to the different purposes of the Asians and the U.S.government.Here is the brief introduction to the emerging of the newly coined concept 'Asian Americans' and its shifting meanings.