That Falang, Ferringhi. Gweilo, Gaijin, Tay, Joe and
Laowai are all terms for westerners used by
Asians. (Westeners always being white, usually tall and often
with blue eyes)
Farang / Falang is the Thai term and
apparently is in no way derogatory. It just means westerner although
some find hearing it 20 times a day a bit irritating! It's widely
believed that the term comes from Falangset, meaning French, who
were the first white folk to visit Thailand. There is some evidence
however which discredits this idea. The Thais also have another
term for foreigners not used as much which translates as "people
of another nation." Or something like that, my Thai is not
great. It's "Kon Dang Chard", but in the Thai alphabet!
Ferringhi, is Malaysian and simply
means westerner as far as I can gather. It sounds a lot like Falang
doesn't it? Were the French the first folk there too? I don't
know.
Gweilo is Cantonese so used on Hong
Kong and its original translation is something along the lines
of Foreign Devil / Barbarian, which given the history of the west's
first relations with the Chinese seems a fairly apt term!
Tay is used in Vietnam and again is
just westerner or west, as in west lake, Tay Ho or the West, Tay.
But I don't here it bandied around much. Certainly a lot less
than Falang in Thailand. The Vietnamese also have another slightly
derogatory word, Tay balo to describe
smelly foreign backpackers! I don't think I've been called one
of those yet.
Joe as in "Hey Joe", a legacy
of the American occupation and GI Joe is used in the Philippines.
Anybody who is white in the Philippines is generally assumed to
be American so "Hey Americano" is another familiar greeting
wherever you come from. It's not meant to be in anyway derogatory
but if your name is Joel and is often mispronounced you do find
yourself turning round a lot to see who is calling you when it's
just some scruffy lay about or stand by as they are called over
there. I suppose it could have been worse I could be called Joe!
Gaijin is the Japanese term and translates
as outside person. Not really a surprising translation when you
consider the fact that Japan has been open to Foreigners for barely
100 years.
Laowai is from the Mandarin (I've no
idea how it is pronounced as I've never been to China proper)
and again is supposedly a respectful term. I have been told though
that it is often heard but never to one's face. Why not? Maybe
someone can tell me.
