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Guest Say: International, not foreign |
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15:09, August 13, 2007 |
A foreign friend? It sounds very good in Chinese but not in English. There is suggestion that the term of "international visitors" or "international guests", or just "visitors" or "guests", instead of "foreign friends", is better to show Beijing's hospitality during the Olympics in particular.
During the video discussion about the Beijing Olympics at People's Daily Online on August 7, one day before Beijing's one-year countdown to the Olympics, Mitch Robinson, an American who has been teaching at Tsinghua University since 2005, explained that in the English-speaking culture native speakers felt the phrase "foreign friend" or "foreigner" uncomfortable, sometimes derogatory and even offensive.
To welcome "foreign friends" has been widely applauded in China for years and is increasingly popular in Beijing as the city is gearing up for the Olympics next year. In Chinese culture it is a good way of expressing how welcome you are as a visitor here and people's expectation that we would be friends.
But Mr. Robinson did not think it would create that good impression, "Why can I not just be your 'friend' instead of 'foreign friend' ?" With the word "foreign" in front of "friend", he argued, the message to be delivered is unclear and makes oxymoron.
The 1996 Olympics set a good example, he thought, where there was a sign in the airport read "Atlanta warmly welcomes our international visitors". This phrase entered in to common usage.
Another point is that you don't have to be a "friend" to come to China. Even though Chinese people do not mean that you have to be a friend, the use of the term "foreign friend" may create that impression.
Ellen, an Australian girl who has been studying and working in China for some time can understand why "foreign friends" is used so much. But still she agreed that "international visitors" or "overseas visitors" is better. "It is ok to say 'foreign friends', but sounds a little bit impolite when you are constantly reminded that you are not part of this country. And that is not in consistence with the idea that people from all over the world gather together." she said.
The word "foreigner" particularly can potentially create negative impact. Due to the resentment against the derogatory connotation of the word, Mr. Robinson said there was even a trend against using it in official settings.
Ms. Chen, a Chinese citizen who lives in Switzerland now, said some of her friends there were even "frustrated" by being called "laowai" (foreigner in Chinese) in China. Chen thinks it is very important to show the respect and equality, instead of putting the emphasis on difference.
"If you know where the guest is from, say, from Germany, you can refer to that person as a German guest," she said, "It is the details like that that makes difference to people's feeling."
"Nothing is gained by saying 'foreign friend' while nothing is lost by using other terms which sound more professional and friendly. And what you need is just a small change," added Mr. Robinson.
But that small change apparently needs a big effort. The phrase "foreign friend" has been used too long, too widely to be dropped over a night. When the Beijing Olympics is only one-year away and the city is doing its utmost to offer its best, government officials and the mass media embrace the phrase these days especially to highlight the commitment to receiving international visitors warmly.
It is also difficult for people in one culture to understand why their goodwill is regarded as something so unwelcome, or even offensive to those in another culture. And the profound difference between the Chinese culture and the western culture adds to that difficulty.
A somewhat emotional sentiment mixes with the cultural misunderstanding. For Chinese people who have friends from other countries, it is easier to accept the idea of dropping the word "foreign". Mr. Yang Cheng understands very well why and how his French and American friends hate to be called "laowai".
However, a message left by a reader of the similar Chinese report based on Mr. Robinson's interview expressed the anger that in western countries people also put the emphasis on the difference by "casually" calling visitors as Chinese, Turks, or Greeks and would never treat international visitors as anyone special.
To fix the gap between different cultures is never an easy task. The Olympics pose for this task both opportunity and challenge. This report in Chinese was one of the most popular pieces of news in its international channel on the date it was published. That shows at least the gap is drawing increasing attention among people --- hopefully the first step toward a better mutual understanding culturally.
By People's Daily Online
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