[Jill K.]

I teach Cultural Diversity classes to librarians at different libraries throughout Waukesha. One of the librarian-students asked me why some Indian, Chinese, Asian and Middle Eastern people write their name with a line under it. Also, are the terms 'Middle Eastern' and 'Middle East' the preferred terms for people who live in that area?

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Name : Jill K., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 32, City : Waukesha, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : instructor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Karim]

I can only speak for names in Arabic language, and the answer is no, people don't write names with a line under them. Some people do, however, put a line under signatures, but then again that's different from a simple name. As far as the term Middle Eastern, no it's not a preferred term for many people because this region has many ethnic groups and people want to be recognised as distinct rather than being lumped.

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Name : Karim, Gender : M, Age : 23, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[Gonzo]

Depending on where they are from, the line is to show where the name is. For example, in Arabic, if one is very flowery, reading the name can be difficult, especially if you do not know where the bottom of the word is. The line marks the lower edge of the name, making reading easier. This gets carried over to English as it is habit. And the translation of the Arabic name for the Middle East region in English is...The Middle East.

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Name : Gonzo, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Anglo-Hispanic, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 33, City : Monterey, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Military, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Nadia]

You mean they always underline their names? My mom's Chinese-Indonesian, from Indonesia, and my dad's Iranian, and I have never seen that before. Maybe it's just coincidence? As for the second part, yes, Middle Eastern is the correct term.

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Name : Nadia, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Chinese-Iranian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 16, City : Bensalem, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Your-friend]

They underline their surname to emphasize it.

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Name : Your-friend, City : earth, State : NA Country : India, 

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