Caucasien is a dated anthropological term once used to describe a broad group of people traditionally linked to regions around the Caucasus and Europe, but its use is now considered outdated and scientifically unsupported. What it refers to
- Historically, it designated a “race” or phenotypic grouping that people believed shared certain skull and skeletal features, encompassing populations from Europe, parts of the Middle East and North Africa, and some areas of Central and South Asia. This classification originated in the 18th–19th centuries with scholars like Blumenbach.
- The term has also appeared in broader linguistic and regional senses, sometimes meaning “from the Caucasus” or “related to the Caucasus region.”
Why it’s problematic
- The concept of distinct human races based on biology has been discredited; modern genetics shows continuous variation and no clear boundaries that map onto the old race categories. The term Caucasien is thus largely abandoned in scholarly contexts.
- In contemporary usage, “Caucasian” is sometimes used in everyday language to mean “white” or “European descent,” especially in English-speaking contexts, but this usage can be imprecise and culturally loaded.
Current guidance
- In French, terms like "Caucasien" or "caucasien/ne" are considered historical or regional descriptors (from the Caucasus) or, when used in the racial sense, outdated. Modern writing typically avoids racial taxonomy and emphasizes ancestry, ethnicity, or geographic origin without invoking racial typologies.
- For precise language:
- Use geographic or ethnic identifiers when relevant (e.g., “originaire du Caucase” for regional origin).
- Avoid generalizing categories that imply fixed biological races.
If you’d like, I can tailor a short explanation or a usage note for a specific context (academic, journalistic, or casual) and provide example sentences in French.
