The "L"-Word

A question posed in a colleague's email today got me to thinking. The subject? The dreaded (by ignorant elements of the expat community) "L-Word": 老外 (laowai). It's the generic Chinese word for "foreigner" and is formed of the character for "old" and "outside". There is a persistent myth, spread in all sorts of places that "laowai" is a pejorative.

I'll just go on the record right away as saying this is bullshit.

I've always pretty much considered this view bullshit from a little bit of sleuthing (hint: look it up in the "word ocean" -- the Chinese language's equivalent of the OED and see if it's flagged as a pejorative or not) and because my two best friends in China (and the nicest married couple in the world) did not look embarrassed when others used it in my presence, but just to be certain I went to a source I trust: my wife.

Her answer was unequivocal. "What?!" was the first response. This was followed by "Of course not!" (That she herself has no problems using the word in my presence was another significant hint, BTW.) After my providing the context -- some foreigners feel it is an insulting term -- and a few moments' confusion she finally asked "Why would they think it was an insult?"

Her reactions were spontaneous, instantaneous and as honest as I've ever seen. That pretty much settles it for me.

The so-called evidence used to "prove" that the term is insulting includes this damning piece: "They never address you as 'laowai' so it must be an insult!" This is, to put not too fine a point on it, the most specious piece of bullshit reasoning I've ever heard. They don't call me "Jianadaren" (Canadian) to my face either. Am I to infer from that little fact that being called a Canadian is a pejorative too?

The primary reason they don't address foreigners as "laowai" is quite simple: unlike "laoshi" (teacher) or "laopo" (wife--affectionate) or "laogong" (husband--affectionate), "laowai" is not a term used to address people. It is not a title. It is a noun. I am not "Yan laowai" like I am "Yan laoshi". It has nothing to do with insults and everything to do with basic vocabulary!

Another piece of "evidence" is that they don't refer to you as "laowai" in formal circumstances. They use instead words like 外国人 ("waiguoren" -- lit. "outside nation person").

Well, duh. Welcome to the wild, wooly, wonderful world of "register" and "formality". "Waiguoren" is the formal register. It is used in circumstances where formality is expected and most interaction with strangers, unlike in the English-speaking world, is considered relatively formal in China. "Laowai", in contrast, is informal register more suited to banter in informal situations. Indeed it is "waiguoren" contracted and having the neutral "lao" put in front (in the same vein as "laohu" means "tiger" not "old tiger", "laoshu" means "mouse" not "old mouse" and so on) to distinguish it from other uses of "wai". The Chinese don't use "laowai" in interaction with us for the same reason we don't typically say "Hey Dude!" to the boss in a new job in place of "Hello, Sir/Ma'am".

You will find, if you Google on "laowai", a plethora of nonsense where people will insist, quite vociferously, that "laowai" is a pejorative (to to the bemusement of the locals). Why would this be if it really isn't an insult?

Enter speculation.

I think that the people who believe "laowai" is an insult are people who harbour in their own thoughts disdain and distaste for the locals. Whether this comes from the typical white arrogance you find in expats around the world (especially the British ones in my experience, but not exclusively them) or if it comes from a reaction to culture shock, the fact remains that a lot of expats everywhere in the world harbour concealed (or not-so-concealed) dislike for the locals around them. Enter the very Freudian notion of "projection" -- attributing undesired or shameful thoughts and attributes onto others. They feel dislike for the people around them but cannot, for a variety of reasons, admit this even to themselves. So they instead claim that it is the others who are intolerant and who have the hatred, not them.

And it doesn't hurt that most western countries, especially the USA (and to a lesser extent Canada), simply adore victims. Everybody wants to belong to a victim group, so if you're white and middle-class, why not just make one up to apply to you?