Laowai
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Laowai (Both Traditional and Simplified Chinese: 老外, pinyin: lǎowài) is one of several Chinese words for foreigner. Laowai literally translates as old (lao 老) foreigner (wai 外). It is an informal word that appears in both spoken and written Chinese. While some people consider laowai a casual and neutral word, other view it as a pejorative term.
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[edit] Etymology and usage
Laowai is a commonly used Chinese word. It is the informal version for foreigner, waiguoren 外国人, which literally means "outside country person." There is some dispute about the correct Chinese characters used to write the word. Traditionalists will argue that 佬外 with the renzipang 人字旁, or people side, is the correct form of the word. But a google search will reveal only 2,000 hits for 佬外 and more than 4,000,000 for 老外.
Lao 老, or "old", is frequently used to express long-term friendship, as in laopengyou, which means "old friend"; or respect, as in laoshi 老师, which means "old teacher." However, there are also words with clear negative connotations containing the character lao, such as lao dongxi 老东西 ("silly old fool"), laohan 老憨 ("simpleton") and lao gudong 老古董 ("old fogey, fuddy-duddy"). Lao is also used as an empty prefix is words for some animals, such as laohu 老虎 ("tiger") and laoshu 老鼠 ("rat, mouse").
Laowai is thus not a completely positive, or even neutral term, and its usage can imply "making fun of" foreigners. The recently published edition of the Chinese-language dictionary 现代汉语规范化词典 (Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian) states that laowai carries the connotation of 谐谑 (xieniu), which roughly translates as "poking fun at." Further indication of the negative connotations of laowai is the fact that it is sometimes used synonymously with waihang 外行, meaning "ignorant." A pejorative term for foreigner, yangguizi 洋鬼子, which literally means foreign devil, was in frequent use early in the 20th century, but today is rarely used and is recognized by Chinese as inappropriate and racist.
Laowai, as well as waiguoren, are commonly used terms that in everyday spoken Chinese refer to Caucasian foreigners , but not Asian foreigners or foreigners of African origin. While a White Westerner may be referred to as a laowai, someone from Japan will be called ribenren 日本人, the Chinese word for Japanese. Someone who has dark skin color and appears to be African in origin will be called heiren 黑人, which means blackperson. Sometimes the term laohei 老黑 is used for people of African decent, a term which also has pejorative connotations. The most pejorative term is heiguizi 黑鬼子, which literally translates as black devil.
Laowai is one of the first Chinese words that foreigners learn when they come to China. It has now entered the lexicon of China's expat community, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands. It frequently appears in English language literature and advertisements in China as ‘‘laowai’‘ or ‘‘lao wai’‘. It is very common to see ‘‘laowai’‘ used in blogs and websites administered by foreigners living in China. A Google search will come up with 10,000s of entries for ‘‘laowai’‘, including an English language Web portal Laowai.com that caters to expats in Shanghai. There is even a Beijing based drum'n'bass band named "Lao-Why?" that is composed of foreign and Chinese members.
[edit] Controversy
In recent years the word ‘‘laowai’‘ has began to stir up controversy within the expatriate community in China. In this way ‘‘laowai’‘ is similar to how Americans view the Spanish word gringo and Westerners view the Japanese word gaijin or the Thai word farang. This is because many foreigners in China believe that ‘‘laowai’‘ is a derogatory term. This is due to the fact that some Chinese frequently shout out "Laowai"! to foreigners passing by, which may then be followed up with laughter and taunting.
The controversy surrounding the use of ‘‘laowai’‘ has historical and cultural origins. In the early 19th century, China was the most powerful nation in East Asia. But in the first and second Opium Wars, European powers invaded China, forced the Chinese to legalize the opium traded, and collected large sums of money and concessions through treaties viewed as unfair. Foreign interference in Chinese affairs stirred up a great deal of resentment against foreigners. From the Communist takeover in 1949 until the late 1970s China experienced revolutions and war and the government officially encouraged xenophobia. Up until the early 1980s very few foreigners were allowed to visit China, and it was not until the late 1990s that a large number of foreigners were permitted to live in China. At this time many Chinese viewed foreigners as exotic and even comical and some Chinese frequently use the term ‘‘laowai’‘ without understanding its pejoritive slant.
The official Chinese press has expressed concern about the inappropriate use of ‘‘laowai’‘ and foreign sensitivities surrounding the word. Editorials, written by foreigners and Chinese, have appeared in English and Chinese language newspapers about the subject. In response, local governments have launched campaigns aimed at educating the Chinese public about the appropriate usage of ‘‘laowai’‘.
