Question

Updated on 3 Feb 2023

brandun

2 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

English (US)
English (UK)

Question about English (US)

Does this sound natural?
“Many universities in the US targeted against Asians.”

Answers

mrthuvi

2 February

Featured answer

English (US)
Vietnamese

@branduhn Target is a bit ambiguous. It could mean something good like target for enrollment/recruitment/marketing for example. It could mean something bad like target for attack.
Either way, it lacks the nuance of treating Asians differently than others with discriminate against.

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miimiiiii

2 February

English (US)

A little unnatural: “Many universities in the US target Asians.” (More natural)

In your sentence, “targeted” and “against” are being used in similar ways so you don’t need both.

Hope this helps~

mrthuvi

2 February

English (US)
Vietnamese

Do you want to say "discriminated against"? Might be easier if you include what you want to say in Chinese.

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klassiandreams

2 February

English (US)

@branduhn Natural. But target sounds imprecise.

Many universities in the US discriminate against Asians might be better.

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brandun

2 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@miastar @mrthuvi @klassiandreams Thank you all. Do you think these two sentences mean the same thing?

1. Many universities in the US target Asians.
2. Many universities in the US discriminate against Asians.

miimiiiii

2 February

English (US)

@branduhn

Not exactly, “Many universities in the US discriminate against Asians” is more accurate to say.

“Target” means the person/object is the aim of attack/attention.

“Discriminate” means to be unjust/prejudice to a specific group of people.

You could use both and still be understood, but using “discriminate” is more accurate to what you are trying to say.

mrthuvi

2 February

English (US)
Vietnamese

@branduhn Target is a bit ambiguous. It could mean something good like target for enrollment/recruitment/marketing for example. It could mean something bad like target for attack.
Either way, it lacks the nuance of treating Asians differently than others with discriminate against.

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brandun

2 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@miastar Thank you. So “target” could mean many universities discriminate against Asians, or it could mean many universities aim at admitting Asians, right?

miimiiiii

2 February

English (US)

@branduhn Yes, exactly. It could be seen as negative or positive.

brandun

2 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@mrthuvi @miastar Thank you both. Since “target” is such an ambiguous word, I bet Americans rarely use it in daily conversation? Because people might not understand if I want to express positive or negative meanings by “target”.

miimiiiii

2 February

English (US)

@branduhn

Usually in conversations, we can tell by the context. Like your expression or what the conversation was about.

If we were talking about how some universities have many Asians who are good students, saying “Many universities in the US target Asians” would be seen as a positive sentence.

“Target” is also used as a physical object.
“I hit the target.” (The target being a punching bag for example)

Basically, it just depends on the context.

brandun

2 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

@miastar I get it. Thanks a lot!

kungfumastershindo

3 February

English (US)

discriminate is better, target is more like they want to destroy them or something lol, hard to explain.

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brandun

3 February

Simplified Chinese (China)

kungfumastershindo

3 February

English (US)

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Does this sound natural?
“Many universities in the US targeted against Asians.”

Does this sound natural?“Many universities in the US targeted against Asians.” See a translation

@branduhn Target is a bit ambiguous. It could mean something good like target for enrollment/recruitment/marketing for example. It could mean something bad like target for attack.Either way, it lacks the nuance of treating Asians differently than others with discriminate against.

A little unnatural: “Many universities in the US target Asians.” (More natural)In your sentence, “targeted” and “against” are being used in similar ways so you don’t need both. Hope this helps~

Do you want to say "discriminated against"? Might be easier if you include what you want to say in Chinese.

@branduhn Natural. But target sounds imprecise. Many universities in the US discriminate against Asians might be better.

@branduhn Target is a bit ambiguous. It could mean something good like target for enrollment/recruitment/marketing for example. It could mean something bad like target for attack.Either way, it lacks the nuance of treating Asians differently than others with discriminate against.

@branduhn Yes, exactly. It could be seen as negative or positive.

discriminate is better, target is more like they want to destroy them or something lol, hard to explain.

Does this sound natural?
“Many universities in the US targeted against Asians.”

@branduhn Target is a bit ambiguous. It could mean something good like target for enrollment/recruitment/marketing for example. It could mean something bad like target for attack.
Either way, it lacks the nuance of treating Asians differently than others with discriminate against.

A little unnatural: “Many universities in the US target Asians.” (More natural)

In your sentence, “targeted” and “against” are being used in similar ways so you don’t need both.

Hope this helps~

@branduhn Natural. But target sounds imprecise.

Many universities in the US discriminate against Asians might be better.

@branduhn Target is a bit ambiguous. It could mean something good like target for enrollment/recruitment/marketing for example. It could mean something bad like target for attack.
Either way, it lacks the nuance of treating Asians differently than others with discriminate against.