Do you know that...? Racial and ethnic groups are one of the most sensitive topics. Nowadays more and more groups of people prefer to be called by the name they have chosen themselves. For example, many Americans whose families originally came from Africa prefer to be called African-American. But there are others who prefer to be called black because they see themselves as American, not African. At any given time members of a certain racial or ethnic group prefer different terms and the words that were used before become outdated. For example, in books and articles that were written in the mid-dle of the last century you may see expressions like Oriental or Chinaman. Be careful not to use old-fashioned and offensive words like these. Use more acceptable terms, such as Chinese people.