[Grammar] China-born, Chinese-born

[emsr2d2]

I'm not disputing that either, but I imagine the term "nacionalidad" (Spanish) has a different/looser definition from "nationality" in British English. I can only comment on how the word is used in BrE - holding or being entitled to a passport from that country. It is not possible to get a Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish (or Basque or Catalan) passport.

 

[teechar]

Not all nations are independent. I don't think being able to issue a passport is the litmus test for defining "nationality".

 

[emsr2d2]

It is, in the UK, when it's used on legal forms such as those I referred to earlier. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate was very clear on it (that department has been broken up into four separate entities now but the Nationality Directorate still exists as one of those entities).

 

[teechar]

I think most people accept that "nation" and "nationality" are not limited by the concept of a passport. As I said, some nations are not independent; yet, people identify as belonging to them.
For example, the aboriginal people of Australia identify as a nation, as do various native groups in the US, even though there is no aboriginal passport nor an Apache one. And how about the Palestinians? They don't have a passport, but they clearly are a nation.
Also, the Scottish people (or many of them at least) identify as a nation group. They almost voted to secede from the UK, which itself is a union of several nations.

 

[jutfrank]

teechar and emsr2d2,

You're using the concept of nationality in quite different (and both perfectly valid) ways.

Ems is thinking of nationality as a legal term. teechar is thinking of it as an identity marker.

 

[emsr2d2]

We could go on like this for hours. I'm not talking about most people's concept of nation and nationality. I have been referring solely to the meaning of "nationality" according to the Home Office's immigration departments.

I think we can terminate this discussion - let's get back to the original question, if there's anything left to say!

 

[jutfrank]

As to whether Chinese-born and China-born are synonymous in the mind of the writer, I'd say it's a clear yes. I suspect he/she was simply looking to avoid exact repetition.

I don't think the point of using either of these words was to say anything about the man's legal nationality other than that he's an American immigrant, who was born in China into an ethnically Chinese family. If that is the case, I think Chinese-born does a better descriptive job.

 

[Tdol]

How about the Basque and Catalan nationalities in Spain?

I did say not much of the world.