怎么样区别Indian是表示印度人还是印第安人

Indian 有时表示印度人，有时表示印第安人，在翻译时怎么样区别呢？

▲因为历史是什么原因，名词 Indian 有两个不一样的意思：

1. a native or national of India, or a person of Indian descent 印度人；印度后裔

2. an American Indian 印第安人

印第安人是美洲原住民，是除爱斯基摩人外的所有美洲土著居民的总称。美洲土著居民中的绝大部分均为印第安人，分布于南北美洲各国，传统将它划归蒙古人种美洲支系。印地安人是黄种人，哥伦布航海发现美洲时，误以是印度，就将土著居民称作 Indians，之后因习惯未予更正，为不同通常称印地安人为“西”印度人，真的的印度人为“东”印度人。（来自互联网）

▲《新牛津英语大词典》有如此一段说明，对于你的问题的理解会有所帮助：

The native peoples ofAmericacame to be described as Indian as a result of ChrisTOPher Columbus and other voyagers in the 15th–16th centuries believing that, when they reached the east coast ofAmerica, they had reached part ofIndiaby a new route. The terms Indian and Red Indian are today regarded as old-fashioned and inappropriate, recalling, as they do, the stereotypical portraits of the Wild West. American Indian, however, is well established, although the preference where possible is to make reference to specific peoples, as Apache, Delaware, and so on.