| Foreigner, Westerner or Expat? | |
|---|---|
| Apr 2, 2007 04:46 | #11   |
 | Thank you very much to all of you. I have thought the word 'foreigner' may be impolite. Now, I know. I don't like to call foreigners 'long nose'. Personally, to say so is quite implite to them although some of you don't mind. Are there other words to express besides 'foreigner' ? |
| Apr 2, 2007 05:03 | #12 |
| Objection! I see your point, but once again, you seized on physical characteristics. No appelation will ever be completely accurate. I was thinking more of the cultural similarities shared by many Europeans, Americans, Aussies, and New Zealanders. If you really want to get picky about it, you can't even safely use the terms U.S ers, British, Aussies because there are so many different ethnic groups within each of these countries with significant cultural differences. Indeed, each ethnic group in China could object to being called Chinese. I guess we just need to forget the whole thing. I really don't see any solution that will satisfy everyone. Maybe foreigner, maybe alien, but I'm sure someone somewhere will be able to come up with some valid reasons why these are unacceptable. |
| Apr 2, 2007 05:03 | #13 |
| Is "Long-nose " ok? How about those living in Asia? Do they all have a long nose? ???? |
| Apr 2, 2007 05:33 | #14 |
| Long-nose is certainly not ok, nor is alien. Foreigner is fine because it simply means somebody from another country. I think foreigner is the best word because it is essentially neutral. |
| Apr 2, 2007 11:32 | #15 |
| Conclusion = Foreigner |
| Apr 2, 2007 15:53 | #16 |
| Yes, there are a lot of Europeans and Americans which are not just Easterners by skin, but Easterners by culture. For example those kalmuks are Buddhists. |
| Apr 2, 2007 15:54 | #17 |
| "Alien" is good if you are talking about "wai xing ren". "Wai guo ren" is "foreigner". |
| Apr 2, 2007 16:00 | #18 |
| "Is "Long-nose " ok? How about those living in Asia? Do they all have a long nose? ????" No, it is NOT ok. Do you think that "Short-nose" ili "Monkey-nose" is ok for the Han-chinese and other Mongoloids? No one like to be reduced to one and only body characteristic. Those living in Asia? Of course not all. Do you have some idea where is the end of Asia on the West? In Turkey and Egypt. Every intelligent person know that Arabians and Turkish belong to the White race, i.e. their nose will be longer. |
| Apr 2, 2007 17:57 | #19 |
| Alien is technically correct. Unfortunately it has 1) acquired a negative usage and 20 a slightly different usage, It is negatively used to mean unwelcome or otherwise bad foreigners (n), or unwelcome (adj) as in alien culture. It has also come to mean someone from space, not earth. So in all, it is not a good choice. |
| Apr 2, 2007 18:07 | #20 |
| To be honest, "I dont care a monkey's bum" about the actual shape of people's noses from different parts of the worls and who belongs to which race.... but if Chinese people use a fairly simple expression to describe foreigners, it doesnt hurt anyone. That is part of Chinese culture. In a similar way, I met a black African in a small city in Guandong where there were few foreigners. I greeted him with 'hey, it's good to see another white person!' He understood and laughed... we were both foreigners. I had used 'white' to mean foreigner. |
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