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Gweilo

January 01, 1970

"Foreign devil" redirects here. For other uses, see Foreign Devil (disambiguation).

Gweilo or gwailou (Chinese: 鬼佬; Cantonese Yale: gwáilóu, pronounced [kʷɐ̌i lǒu] ⓘ) is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners. In the absence of modifiers, it refers to white people and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use. Cantonese speakers frequently use gwailou to refer to Westerners in general use, in a non-derogatory context, although whether this type of usage is offensive (i.e., an ethnic slur) is disputed by both Cantonese and Westerners.[1][2]

Gweilo
Chinese鬼佬

Etymology and history edit

Gwái (鬼) means "ghost" or "devil", and lóu (佬) means "man" or "guy". The literal translation of gwáilóu would thus be "ghostly man" or "devil man".[3] It is sometimes translated into English as "foreign devil".[4] In many Sinitic languages, "ghost" can be a derogatory term used as a curse or an insult.[5] The term ghost has also been used to describe other ethnic groups, for example, a 17th-century writer from Canton, Qu Dajun [zh; zh-yue], wrote that Africans "look like ghosts", and gwáinòuh (Chinese: 鬼奴; lit. 'ghost slave') was once used to describe African slaves.[6]

Usage edit

The term gwái (鬼) is an adjective that can be used to express hate and deprecation, an example being the locals' expression of their hatred towards the Japanese during their occupation of Hong Kong in World War II with the same gwái. It conveys a general bad and negative feeling but is a somewhat obsolete and archaic/old-fashioned term nowadays and other more modern terms have largely replaced gwái for similarly negative meanings. Cantonese people sometimes call each other sēui gwái (衰鬼), which means bad person, though more often than not it is applied affectionately, similar to "Hey, bitch!" in English when used affectionately. Nowadays, Cantonese speakers often refer to non-Chinese people by their ethnicity.

Gwáilóu is often considered to be an acceptable generic racial term for Westerners.[7] Also, some members of the Hong Kong community with European ancestry (particularly those with limited or zero Cantonese fluency) are indifferent to the term, and those who believe that the best way to defang a word intended as a "slur" is to embrace it, and use gweilo to refer to non-Chinese in Hong Kong.[8] Gwailóu has, in some instances, been recognised as simply referring to white foreigners in South East Asia and now appears on Oxford Dictionaries defined as such,[9] although non-white foreigners are not gwáilóu. While gwáilóu is used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech, the more polite alternative sāi yàhn (西人; 'Western person') is now used as well, particularly if the conversation involves a non-Chinese person in order to avoid offense.[10]

CFMT-TV in Toronto, Canada had a cooking show named Gwai Lo Cooking (1999) hosted by a Cantonese-speaking European chef, who was also the show's producer and the person who named the show. According to CFMT-TV, "Gwei Lo" was used as "a self-deprecating term of endearment".[11] In response to some complaints, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that:

While historically, "gwai lo" may have been used by Chinese people as a derogatory remark concerning foreigners, particularly European Westerners, the persons consulted by the Council indicate that it has since lost much of its derogatory overtone. The Council finds that the expression has also lost most of its religious meaning, so that "foreign devil" no longer carries the theological significance it once did. Based on its research, the Council understands that the expression has gone from being considered offensive to, at worst, merely "impolite".[12]

Related terms edit

Gwai is one of a number of terms to referring to non-Chinese people that can be considered controversial and potentially offensive; a list of such terms is given below:[10][13]

Mandarin Chinese edit

 
A Boxer Rebellion pamphlet, circa 1899, that refers to foreigners as guizi.

Guizi (鬼子; pinyin: guǐzi) is a Mandarin Chinese slang term for foreigners, and has a long history of being used as a racially deprecating insult.

  • Riben guizi (日本鬼子; pinyin: rìběn guǐzi; lit. 'Japanese devil') or dongyang guizi (東洋鬼子; pinyin: dōngyáng guǐzi; lit. 'east ocean devil') – used to refer to Japanese.
  • Er guizi (二鬼子; pinyin: èr guǐzi; lit. 'second devil') – used to refer to the Korean soldiers who were a part of the Japanese army during the Sino-Japanese War in World War II.[14]
  • Yang guizi (洋鬼子; pinyin: yáng guǐzi; lit. 'Western/overseas devil') or xiyang guizi (西洋鬼子; pinyin: xiyáng guǐzi; lit. 'west ocean devil') – used to refer to Westerners.

However, xiaogui (小鬼; pinyin: xiǎoguǐ; lit. 'little ghost') is a common term in Mandarin Chinese for a child. Therefore, some argue that gui (鬼) in Mandarin is just a neutral word that describes something unexpected or hard to predict.[citation needed]

Laowai (老外; pinyin: lǎowài; lit. 'old foreigner/outsider') is the word most commonly used for foreigners and is a less pejorative term than guizi. Although laowai literally means "old foreigner", depending on context, "old" can be both a term of endearment and one of criticism.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Yu, Irene (7 November 2006). . Richmond News. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  2. ^ Brown, Jules. Gardner, Dinah. Hong Kong and Macau, 2002. Rough Guides publishing. ISBN 978-1-85828-872-7. p 399
  3. ^ Patrick J. Cummings; Hans-Georg Wolf (2011). A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor. Hong Kong University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9789888083305.
  4. ^ Lafayette De Mente, Boyé (2000). The Chinese Have a Word for It: The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture. McGraw-Hill. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-658-01078-1. from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  5. ^ Judith T. Zeitlin (2007). The Phantom Heroine: Ghosts and Gender in Seventheenth-century Chinese Literature. University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0824830915. from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  6. ^ Zhidong Hao (2011). Macau History and Society. Hong Kong University Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-9888028542.
  7. ^ David Leffman; Jules Brown (2009). The Rough Guide to Hong Kong & Macau (7th ed.). Rough Guides. p. 338. ISBN 978-1848361881.
  8. ^ D'Souza, Ajay. "SBS Radio – I'm on the radio again! » Cantonese.hk: The views and experiences of an Australian learning Cantonese". from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  10. ^ a b Yip, Virginia; Matthews, Stephen (2001). Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook. London: Routledge. pp. 168–70. ISBN 0-415-19387-7.
  11. ^ Appendix to 'CFMT-TV re Gwai Lo Cooking ' 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided 6 July 2000
  12. ^ "CFMT-TV re Gwai Lo Cooking", 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided 6 July 2000
  13. ^ Patrick J. Cummings; Hans-Georg Wolf (2011). A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 67–68. ISBN 9789888083305. from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  14. ^ 第一滴血──從日方史料還原平型關之戰日軍損失 (6) 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. People's Daily. December 16, 2011

External links edit

 
Look up gwailou in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • "Is Using the Term "Gweilo" Discriminatory in the Hong Kong Workplace?". Mayer Brown. 17 February 2022.
  • "Is 'gweilo' a racist word? Our editors discuss". South China Morning Post. 12 September 2018.
  • Fafata, Brett (8 March 2018). "Are Cantonese terms like "gweilo" outdated and offensive in Asia's World City?". Young Post. - Opinion

January 01, 1970
gweilo, foreign, devil, redirects, here, other, uses, foreign, devil, disambiguation, gwailou, chinese, 鬼佬, cantonese, yale, gwáilóu, pronounced, kʷɐ, lǒu, common, cantonese, slang, term, westerners, absence, modifiers, refers, white, people, history, racially. Foreign devil redirects here For other uses see Foreign Devil disambiguation Gweilo or gwailou Chinese 鬼佬 Cantonese Yale gwailou pronounced kʷɐ i lǒu is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners In the absence of modifiers it refers to white people and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use Cantonese speakers frequently use gwailou to refer to Westerners in general use in a non derogatory context although whether this type of usage is offensive i e an ethnic slur is disputed by both Cantonese and Westerners 1 2 GweiloChinese鬼佬TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinguǐlǎoYue CantoneseYale RomanizationgwailouJyutpinggwai2 lou2 Contents 1 Etymology and history 2 Usage 3 Related terms 3 1 Mandarin Chinese 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEtymology and history editGwai 鬼 means ghost or devil and lou 佬 means man or guy The literal translation of gwailou would thus be ghostly man or devil man 3 It is sometimes translated into English as foreign devil 4 In many Sinitic languages ghost can be a derogatory term used as a curse or an insult 5 The term ghost has also been used to describe other ethnic groups for example a 17th century writer from Canton Qu Dajun zh zh yue wrote that Africans look like ghosts and gwainouh Chinese 鬼奴 lit ghost slave was once used to describe African slaves 6 Usage editThe term gwai 鬼 is an adjective that can be used to express hate and deprecation an example being the locals expression of their hatred towards the Japanese during their occupation of Hong Kong in World War II with the same gwai It conveys a general bad and negative feeling but is a somewhat obsolete and archaic old fashioned term nowadays and other more modern terms have largely replaced gwai for similarly negative meanings Cantonese people sometimes call each other seui gwai 衰鬼 which means bad person though more often than not it is applied affectionately similar to Hey bitch in English when used affectionately Nowadays Cantonese speakers often refer to non Chinese people by their ethnicity Gwailou is often considered to be an acceptable generic racial term for Westerners 7 Also some members of the Hong Kong community with European ancestry particularly those with limited or zero Cantonese fluency are indifferent to the term and those who believe that the best way to defang a word intended as a slur is to embrace it and use gweilo to refer to non Chinese in Hong Kong 8 Gwailou has in some instances been recognised as simply referring to white foreigners in South East Asia and now appears on Oxford Dictionaries defined as such 9 although non white foreigners are not gwailou While gwailou is used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech the more polite alternative sai yahn 西人 Western person is now used as well particularly if the conversation involves a non Chinese person in order to avoid offense 10 CFMT TV in Toronto Canada had a cooking show named Gwai Lo Cooking 1999 hosted by a Cantonese speaking European chef who was also the show s producer and the person who named the show According to CFMT TV Gwei Lo was used as a self deprecating term of endearment 11 In response to some complaints the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that While historically gwai lo may have been used by Chinese people as a derogatory remark concerning foreigners particularly European Westerners the persons consulted by the Council indicate that it has since lost much of its derogatory overtone The Council finds that the expression has also lost most of its religious meaning so that foreign devil no longer carries the theological significance it once did Based on its research the Council understands that the expression has gone from being considered offensive to at worst merely impolite 12 Related terms editGwai is one of a number of terms to referring to non Chinese people that can be considered controversial and potentially offensive a list of such terms is given below 10 13 gwaijai 鬼仔 Cantonese Yale gwaijai lit ghost boy for a white boy gwaimui 鬼妹 Cantonese Yale gwaimui lit ghost girl for a white girl gwaipo 鬼婆 Cantonese Yale gwaipoh lit ghost woman for white woman baakgwai 白鬼 Cantonese Yale baahkgwai lit white ghost for white people haakgwai 黑鬼 Cantonese Yale haakgwai lit black ghost for Black people sai yan 西人 Cantonese Yale sai yahn lit western person for Westerners yeung yan 洋人 Cantonese Yale yeuhng yahn lit overseas person for Westerners ngoigwok yan 外國人 Cantonese Yale ngoihgwok yahn lit foreign country person for foreign nationals acha 阿差 Cantonese Yale acha from accha meaning good in Hindi for South Asians molocha 摩囉差 Cantonese Yale mōlōcha lit Mouro Indian for South Asians Mandarin Chinese edit nbsp A Boxer Rebellion pamphlet circa 1899 that refers to foreigners as guizi Guizi 鬼子 pinyin guǐzi is a Mandarin Chinese slang term for foreigners and has a long history of being used as a racially deprecating insult Riben guizi 日本鬼子 pinyin riben guǐzi lit Japanese devil or dongyang guizi 東洋鬼子 pinyin dōngyang guǐzi lit east ocean devil used to refer to Japanese Er guizi 二鬼子 pinyin er guǐzi lit second devil used to refer to the Korean soldiers who were a part of the Japanese army during the Sino Japanese War in World War II 14 Yang guizi 洋鬼子 pinyin yang guǐzi lit Western overseas devil or xiyang guizi 西洋鬼子 pinyin xiyang guǐzi lit west ocean devil used to refer to Westerners However xiaogui 小鬼 pinyin xiǎoguǐ lit little ghost is a common term in Mandarin Chinese for a child Therefore some argue that gui 鬼 in Mandarin is just a neutral word that describes something unexpected or hard to predict citation needed Laowai 老外 pinyin lǎowai lit old foreigner outsider is the word most commonly used for foreigners and is a less pejorative term than guizi Although laowai literally means old foreigner depending on context old can be both a term of endearment and one of criticism See also edit nbsp China portal Bule Chinaman Devils on the Doorstep Guizi lai le by Jiang Wen Gweilo Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood Graphic pejoratives in written Chinese Farang Gaijin Gringo Guizi Gweilo Beer Haole Laowai List of ethnic slurs Mat Salleh Round Eyes in the Middle Kingdom documentary References edit Yu Irene 7 November 2006 MP shouldn t generalize Richmond News Archived from the original on 12 March 2007 Retrieved 12 February 2014 Brown Jules Gardner Dinah Hong Kong and Macau 2002 Rough Guides publishing ISBN 978 1 85828 872 7 p 399 Patrick J Cummings Hans Georg Wolf 2011 A Dictionary of Hong Kong English Words from the Fragrant Harbor Hong Kong University Press p 69 ISBN 9789888083305 Lafayette De Mente Boye 2000 The Chinese Have a Word for It The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture McGraw Hill p 145 ISBN 978 0 658 01078 1 Archived from the original on 21 December 2016 Retrieved 28 October 2016 Judith T Zeitlin 2007 The Phantom Heroine Ghosts and Gender in Seventheenth century Chinese Literature University of Hawaii Press p 4 ISBN 978 0824830915 Archived from the original on 7 March 2021 Retrieved 23 October 2018 Zhidong Hao 2011 Macau History and Society Hong Kong University Press p 86 ISBN 978 9888028542 David Leffman Jules Brown 2009 The Rough Guide to Hong Kong amp Macau 7th ed Rough Guides p 338 ISBN 978 1848361881 D Souza Ajay SBS Radio I m on the radio again Cantonese hk The views and experiences of an Australian learning Cantonese Archived from the original on 18 March 2012 Retrieved 3 February 2017 gweilo definition of gweilo in English Oxford Dictionaries Archived from the original on 21 June 2016 Retrieved 3 February 2017 a b Yip Virginia Matthews Stephen 2001 Intermediate Cantonese A Grammar and Workbook London Routledge pp 168 70 ISBN 0 415 19387 7 Appendix to CFMT TV re Gwai Lo Cooking Archived 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine CBSC Decision 99 00 0220 Decided 6 July 2000 CFMT TV re Gwai Lo Cooking Archived 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine CBSC Decision 99 00 0220 Decided 6 July 2000 Patrick J Cummings Hans Georg Wolf 2011 A Dictionary of Hong Kong English Words from the Fragrant Harbor Hong Kong University Press pp 67 68 ISBN 9789888083305 Archived from the original on 7 March 2021 Retrieved 14 May 2020 第一滴血 從日方史料還原平型關之戰日軍損失 6 Archived 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine People s Daily December 16 2011External links edit nbsp Look up gwailou in Wiktionary the free dictionary Is Using the Term Gweilo Discriminatory in the Hong Kong Workplace Mayer Brown 17 February 2022 Is gweilo a racist word Our editors discuss South China Morning Post 12 September 2018 Fafata Brett 8 March 2018 Are Cantonese terms like gweilo outdated and offensive in Asia s World City Young Post Opinion Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gweilo amp oldid 1214813975, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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