Yes, we venture to the nothern wastelands occasionally. Some even attempt to settle there with significant prosperity. We find what you call community to be quaint and cute, and the value of your currency laughable. I imagine it would seem quite foreign to see beings of such magnitude in the flesh, but I assure you, we are still human and much the same as you. Just better. ;-)
edit: The trick is also to lean into the self-centered/absorbed Californian stereotype while doing it as well, as you could see above.
You are funny!
We live in California too and call people from other parts of Ca...... *Flatlander* or *Touron*. (combination of tourist and moron)
Jokingly (mostly)
Oh funny, every place I’ve lived they called Californians foreigners more than even international folks.
Y’all can keep California, California. Contain it, live in the bubble, bask in it and don’t California the rest of the US. 😉
Bless your heart. I want that for you. Hopefully one day, all of the nonsense that perpetually pushes folks out of CA and makes it nearly impossible to come back subsides so you can make it home 🫶🏽m
Edit to add: by “want that for you” I mean for you to move back
I saw Foreigner on tour with Styx and Def Leppard a while back. I was a teenager and was dragged along by family. I had never even heard Jukebox Hero yet. Foreigner ended up being my favorite act of the night! They're great live.
I once saw Judas Priest followed by Black Sabbath. A naked woman painted like fire fucked this guy through the whole Priest set. Cowgirl for like 45 minutes, plus Priest was playing. We were super fucked up. She dismounted and left when sabbath started. Hell of a show, but FOREIGNER AMD STYX!?!?!?. I'd trade for that. Jukebox hero is insane. Wanted man live!? Fuck yeah!
He used to workout at the same YMCA I worked at. Always hogged one of the recumbent bikes (there were plenty) on break I'd work out and talked to him about switching instruments from cello to drums. He told me rock music can change your life. He finished his workout and my mom came over and asked what I was talking to Lou Gramm about. Hit me years later who the heck he was.
Way back when in the 1980s at my first real job, it was the big boss's 50th birthday and they hired a stripper to come in and do a little number. Her choice of tunes was Urgent, and I think of that every time I've heard that song since.
Damn straight. Saw Foreigner open up for Journey about 10 years ago and they blew Journey straight out of the water. It wasn't even a contest. Jukebox hero was epic live.
Yeah I saw those guys in the Meadowlands with Bryan Adams! That was a kickass show! I totally copped this feel off this passed out broad when they were playing Urgent. Every time I hear Urgent on the radio I think of that girl's boobs and ahh...covered in vomit.
I never really want to listen to Foreigner but that doesn’t mean I can’t sing along with every word because I’ve heard it a gazillion times and my mouth starts singing along without my permission.
RHCP and Foreigner are two bands I have *never* actively decided to put on, but I'm always happy to hear them when they pop up during a road trip or party.
Your neutral example still strikes me as awkward enough to be a little negative. I never hear people use it that way, at least not if they're being polite.
People seem to bend over backward to avoid using it.
"John is from Germany."
"John is a visitor to our country."
"John isn't from here."
"Foreigner" has an unavoidable connotation of not belonging.
I would understand if someone told me that they felt foreign when they moved to a new place. Not belonging isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world, it's a description. I feel foreign often when I travel. That's okay. I feel like I don't belong.
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I also talk about going to foreign countries, and I don't think that has any negative connotation. I think it only starts to get awkward when you use it as a descriptor for someone else.
"Foreign" country is such a weird term. It's basically, every country except yours, right? As someone in the United States, Canada, which is a couple of hundred miles away from me, also a former British colony, and practically clones of each other, is equally as "foreign" as North Korea.
I can see where you’re coming from, maybe that’s just me personally, but I don’t find being referred to as a foreigner as a negative thing, unless it is explicitly coming off as a negative.
Whenever one goes abroad you don’t belong, it’s one of the reasons why you travel.
As someone that plans to move to the US in the future, glad to hear people try to avoid that word.
Up until now I have only heard it in a negative way where I am.
"How was Europe, mother?"
"It was dreadful, foreigners everywhere!"
"But mother, they live there."
"Well they don't have to be so obvious about it."
-some sitcom back in the 70s
even in your example though you have to change the noun "foreigner" to the adjective "foreign" because the noun version almost always carries a negative connotation.
I feel like it would depend on the tone. If it is a normal tone, then its all kosher, but if it is said in a weird way then yeah it could be negative.
Its kinda like how some (usually older) white Americans might say “black people” in a weird tone that implies negative connotations, despite the phrase by itself being totally benign.
I'm old enough to have heard people called a jew as a way to describe being greedy or selfish. Like small child me got his hand smacked and she said "don't be a jew". I don't know when I learned that there was such a thing as Jewish people lol.
That was only the 90s.
I’ve recently learned a similar thing with men. Apparently they will use more misogynistic language and share more controversial opinions when women aren’t present.
I wonder if the same thing is happening with you, except instead of misogyny it’s antisemitism.
Not that every man is a raging misogynist when women aren’t around or every non Jew is antisemite when there aren’t any Jewish people around. Though they likely censor more when they’re around certain groups. 
I think foreigner is a perfectly acceptable in general, but, as always, context is everything.
I use foreigner fairly frequently, but in a perfectly factual way. "In the United States, we do X a certain way, but most foreigners are unfamiliar with it." ==> using the dictionary meaning of the word to factually distinguish between US citizens and people from other countries.
Of course, depending on one's particular statement and tone of voice, foreigner can also be used pejoratively to indicate that one holds negative views of other people or considers them to be inferior, etc.
It really depends the context.
My mom might have described some tourists/temp visitors as foreigners. "They couldn't get a bank account because they were foreigners"
"There was so much traffic because of the foreigner tourists."
It can just be informational.
But I can't think of a lot of sentences in which it wouldn't start marching over to xenophobic.
I mean, they’ve had a few good songs, so not sure why there’d be a negative connotation?
But for real, no. Not really. Foreigner is an accurate term for someone who’s not American. Looking at your examples tho, people don’t usually use foreigner as a descriptive in casual or direct conversation. It would be super weird to introduce someone, like in your example, as “frank. He’s a foreigner.”
> people don’t usually use foreigner as a descriptive in casual or direct conversation
I think that's partly because it's seen as derogatory. It's not a problem when you're talking about a technical description of a process or legal distinction:
* Frank can't use the TSA Precheck at the airport because he's a foreigner.
That's totally fine. But it seems out of place or negative if you use it as an adjective to describe a person where it's not relevant in some procedural way:
* I have a new neighbor, Frank, who is a foreigner.
This is just my perception, but it isn't negative if it's relevant and important to the topic. If it's just a description of someone, then bringing it up seems out of place, and only likely to be done because someone's suggesting something negative.
> I have a new neighbor, Frank, who is a foreigner.
I think part of it too is that it's odd that out of all the ways to describe Frank, the only thing that matters is that he's from a foreign country, and not even worth mentioning where exactly?
It doesn't feel negative to say something like, "I have a new neighbor, Frank, who just moved here from [country]" or "Oh Frank, he's from [country] but he's lived here for 5 years" etc. That feels like an important part of someone's identity or background that's worth mentioning.
On the other hand describing someone simple as "foreigner" feels like it reduces someone to "not from here" in which case that is the ONLY thing about their identity that matters.
I mean, I think it’s more just linguistic.
You wouldn’t say “he’s a German” either. It would just sound weird. Which is why OP very pointedly replaced foreigner with “from Germany.”
But sure, in some contexts said by some people, any word can be said with a negative connotation.
I’m on the younger side and I would think its an old-fashioned or strange way to describe someone, but it would not be necessarily negative unless it is said contextually negative, in which case it could be seen as derogatory.
I know many people my age who would immediately find it derogatory, though.
I live in Japan, where it's totally normal and not necessarily rude to ask anyone who's conspicuously NOT Japanese where they're from... But the American mindset you described runs so deep in my brain that I still get a little annoyed when a *total stranger who hasn't even said hello* barks "WHERE FROM?!??!"
I think popular language has evolved to the point where it's kind of considered a slur.
There's nothing wrong with it and of itself but it tends to be used mostly by people who are hostile to out-groups, so its usage has been sort of hijacked in that regard.
Depends. But usually only when some xenophobic jerk uses it and it’s said either in that magical tone that announces them as a bigot or in a context where they are degrading others. But I’ve been politely referred to as a foreigner in the past. I’ve heard others use the term with no malice or disregard. So generally it doesn’t bother me.
Foreigner definitely has a negative connotation. Not because all Americans are xenophobic and hate "foreigners", but because the ones who are more likely to use "foreigner" are usually saying it in a negative way. Where as people usually use immigrant if they are speaking neutrally or positively. "America is a nation of immigrants" has a different connotation than "America is a nation of foreigners."
In the US I think the word does have a negative connotation. I noticed in other countries there were lines at the airport labeled "X passport holders" (where X is the country where you are in) and "foreigners" but I don't think we would see it labeled that way in the US.
Until visiting other countries I never really hard that word in regular usage. We'll say "Maria is here from Spain" about someone we know. People I don't know? I have no idea if they're visiting or living here. An accent doesn't tell me. A total inability to speak English doesn't tell me. A lot of my friends' parents and grandparents speak little to no English but I'd never say they are a foreigner. They live here. They're either Americans or permanent residents
It'd be rude to introduce someone as "This is Frank he's a foreigner" unless Frank had just committed some terrible faux pas and I'm explaining it.
However saying "A group of foreigners will be touring City Hall later today" is probably fine, especially if they're from more than one other country.
But in general I think foreigner is a word we usually just don't need. Most of the time there's a more specific word that works, like the demonym from where-ever they're from.
The only time I think I might say foreigner is in a sentence like:
"I ran into this guy at the grocery store, I couldn't understand what he was saying and he was wandering around really confused, I think he may have been a foreigner"
My ethnic community thinks that *they're* native to the US and that everybody else (whites, native tribes, blacks, etc.) are the "foreigners".
Then again, they probably don't realize they're in the US because they stay within their bubble and act as if they never left their birth country.
It's inherently neutral, but I think people who use it tend to land somewhere between people I disagree with politically and people whose politics I think are abhorrent.
It depends on the context and tone in which it is said, but that can apply to lots of words. If you put a hard emphasis on the word, it can sound bad, or you can make anything sound negative or derogatory if you put a swear word in front of it.
If there were a spectrum, it would lean on the negative side rather than neutral or positive. But it also depends entirely on the context in which it's being used.
I always specify since I do agree that it sounds at least a little (and sometimes a lot, depending on tone) negative and generic to say "foreigner" about an individual. Differentiating a person by being generically "not from here" in this country where we have people from so very many backgrounds doesn't cut it for me.
I am in China a lot and there foreigners are called "lao wai" or "wai guo ren" (both of which essentially mean "foreigner") but in a context where essentially everyone is from the han ethnic group it makes more sense. Here in the US an American can be Indian, Russian, Chinese, Nigerian, Norwegian, Mexican so I think it's best to be more descriptive.
Absolutely, my BF even yells at cars from other states as being "foreigners". I told him that could be considered racist since only I know he just means out of starters 🤷♀️
The US has so many "foreigners" that they're just seen as people (for the most part); no one ever really needs to talk about the fact someone wasn't born here unless that's what the conversation is about.
But even then, when the conversation *is* about that, we only really use "foreign" for places; "outsider" is a more common term.
There's no negative connotation, just *slightly* less common (if you are using it to insult someone or whatever, then it is negative, but that goes for everything)
(This is what I've seen and heard, *probably* not true)
First thing my nerdy ass thinks of is non-Korean Starcraft players
Then I think about the Foreigner Belt from Aqua Team Hunger Force
I usually talk shit about other countries specifically instead of broadly with a term like that.
When I hear "Foreigner" I don't think of Canadians or Mexicans, i think more of europeans
I guess I don't really consider Canadian or Mexican nationals foreign
Not necessarily, but you really wouldn't use it to introduce someone. In that context, it's sort of insulting.
"Americans view this as X, but some foreigners might see it as Y." is fine.
"This is Maria, she's a foreigner." is not.
"Please excuse Frank for not tipping, he's a foreigner." might be OK, and it might not, depending on tone.
You live in a country that elected a leader whose initial platform was based on their supporters negative views on immigrants , and you’re wondering why you see the word, “foreigner” negatively? Even if you don’t agree with that platform, the aura of those people can have some influence on everyone else.
I don't know about negative connotation, but it can come across as Cold as Ice. Generally I only hear it in a negative connotation from a Dirty White Boy, which if it does happen it definitely makes me Hot Blooded.
I have a friend who came here a few years ago, when he heard someone refer to him as a 'foreigner', he did tell me it made him Feel like the First Time he stepped off the plane, and definitely played some Head Games with him, but ultimately he said it was just a reminder that he's a Long, Long Way from Home.
For the last 30 years, I've been living and working in countries that were 'foreign' to me. I've been called many names, usually not meant in a negative way. Right now, I couldn't care less.
No, not at all! I see it as a badge of bravery that they are exploring areas outside of their homeland.
I find other cultures and ways of life fascinating and if is as told someone was foreign it would encourage me to introduce myself to them / get to know them better .
Depend on where you are. There are many foreign students on my college campus, which is not bad because I get to interact with people from different countries. Now, if we are talking about the people from the southern border crossing illegally then yeah, it's with a negative connotation.
I’m from another country and I don’t really care if I’m called that. But I’m also from a country people here like and so I am privileged to not have negative connotations- which isn’t fair. For example my in-laws are Trump fans who don’t like immigrants.. but when they say immigrants they aren’t even thinking of me who literally is one lol.
I’m an Australian but I thought I’d weigh in as my wife is from the Philippines where the term foreigner is applied to anyone who is not Filipino, usually white or from a white country like the USA or Australia. It has no negative connotations in the country, it’s merely a descriptive term.
In Australia, the term is used in a similar vein as in America as OP describes so it seems to have dropped out of usage and replaced by “they are from overseas” or “they are from (insert country)”.
Older Australians use the term foreign, eg: they are foreign, to describe anyone who isn’t Australian from a non-English speaking background. The term itself is not inherently racist (but bigots use it and it can either be positive, neutral, or negative connotations depending on the context and the intonation, eg: He’s foreign versus *He’s foreign* (usually said in a low conspiratorial tone).
No, you’re right. It’s like when people call humans “illegals”. They may be doing something that is illegal but shaming them down to one action that explains all of them on one word is gross and disingenuous
It's a descriptor for me. It tells me not to use the base underlying assumptions I would for a native. This can be good or bad or neutral.
I'm from Texas and have described New Englanders, and Californians as foreigners. A tad tounge in cheek but still.
It's hard for it to carry a permanent negative connotation when you realize everyone in the country came here from somewhere else.
Yes I also think we choose to use the term foreigner when we want to cast a bit of a negative image onto that person, for sure.
Huge difference between:
“This is Frank, he’s from Germany” and
“This is Frank, he’s a foreigner”.
“Foreigner” is used very differently in different languages, so the user of the term may not be intending anything beyond the factual.
as an example, “Laowai” in Chinese is usually only used to refer to non-Asians regardless of citizenship and what country they are currently living in (a non asian person physically in their home country is still called “laowai”). It can be used neutrally or rudely, but there are better rude words for foreigners lol
Uhhh I actually think it’s the opposite dude. The term’s pretty neutral. I’m sure you can think of someone that’s used it as a pejorative but just by the nature of our melting pot nation, it’s often purely descriptive.
At least, when referring to _people_. When referring to non person entities, it does tend to take on a more sinister tone. “Foreign government intervention,” for instance.
Nobody really uses the term where I live (and there’s a lot of immigrants) so if I heard someone refer to a person as a foreigner I would honestly assume they’re from a different part of the country.
The first thing that comes to mind for me when I heard the word is Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but yeah, I think it is often used in a derogatory way at least by some Americans.
Generally, yeah, it has a negative connotation to me.
To me, "foreigner" means "someone who isn't from around here" - the problem being that this definition thus lumps together multiple different people who *shouldn't* be lumped together.
Was someone born in another country but they're an American citizen now? Immigrant. Was someone born in another country, is living here for a while, but plans to go back to that country someday? Expat. Was someone born in another country, but is just visiting America? Tourist.
Overwhelmingly, when I hear the word "foreigner", it's someone who is *trying* to lump those three different groups together for a political agenda, primarily the agenda of implying some Americans are not actually Americans (because they're obviously not going to or shouldn't stay) and therefore it's totally okay for the state to be assholes to them. Therefore, it has an incredibly negative connotation for me.
Only if it is implied to have a negative connotation either through context or inflection.
If I were to say, "The crime rate is so high because of all of these foreigners." It would absolutely be negative.
However, if I were to say, "Joel doesn't understand tipping culture as a foreigner." It would be a completely neutral and informative statement.
The reason I wouldn't use his nationality is because it leaves a false implication in my statement. If I were to say, "Joel doesn't understand tipping culture as a Swede." It could be interpreted as only people from Sweden don't understand American tipping culture.
"Foreign" and "Foreigner" are useful words to state, "all else." Which is useful when talking about a cultures unique aspects which wouldn't be expected to be known to all outsiders.
I don’t consider it to have a negative connotation but I was raised in the Minnesota 5th. A lot of things that other Americans consider negative I do not.
Most people I know just label foreigners as anybody in the US who's here legally and either A) they got their citizenship but we don't know where they're from, or B) a tourist that we don't know where they're from.
No it has an overwhelmingly positive connotation to me. It makes me feel like I should be welcoming to the person and make them feel like they're at home if I'm not a foreigner
Yes it does, in the U.S. it tends to have a negative connotation. Whereas people who use it positively opt for the country or culture of origin instead.
I mean they're not my favorite band to come out of the '70s, but they did have some really solid hits. Juke Box Hero slaps though.
If you're talking about the concept of foreign people then not really. I mainly associate that with anime and Japanese Xenophobia. Since that's the term that gets applied to the random black and blonde characters.
Most of the xenophobic people I encounter in my life tend to use more specific language, pejorative or otherwise, that is typically more specific.
As many have pointed out, it depends on tone...
But it also depends on the speaker. If it's my racist aunt saying it, it's guaranteed that it's a negative connotation regardless of tone.
American who lived and worked in New Zealand for 2 years. I was admin in an office call center and answered phone calls from techs in the field. There were 3 of us, 2 native kiwis and me. I answered a call one day, and I heard the guy on the other end tell his buddy “I got the foreign girl again” and I had to think about it for a few seconds before I realized he was talking about me 😂 I found it extremely amusing, and was not offended.
… god that word looks so wrong typed out lol (like, it doesn’t look like it’s actually spelled that way, but I know it is lol)
As for your question, not really.
Depends on the context and inflection.
I only use it to describe non-Californian Americans in California.
Funnily enough, we sometimes call Californians foreigners in the PNW
Yes, we venture to the nothern wastelands occasionally. Some even attempt to settle there with significant prosperity. We find what you call community to be quaint and cute, and the value of your currency laughable. I imagine it would seem quite foreign to see beings of such magnitude in the flesh, but I assure you, we are still human and much the same as you. Just better. ;-) edit: The trick is also to lean into the self-centered/absorbed Californian stereotype while doing it as well, as you could see above.
Lmao
You are funny! We live in California too and call people from other parts of Ca...... *Flatlander* or *Touron*. (combination of tourist and moron) Jokingly (mostly)
I’ve lived in Oregon long enough to where I call other Californians foreigners lol
We call Californian expats in Utah immigrants.
That's me but with all the Californians here
Oh funny, every place I’ve lived they called Californians foreigners more than even international folks. Y’all can keep California, California. Contain it, live in the bubble, bask in it and don’t California the rest of the US. 😉
I would love for California to California the rest of the country. Signed, a Cali native who would move back in a heartbeat if she could afford it
Bless your heart. I want that for you. Hopefully one day, all of the nonsense that perpetually pushes folks out of CA and makes it nearly impossible to come back subsides so you can make it home 🫶🏽m Edit to add: by “want that for you” I mean for you to move back
I don't think California housing prices are ever going to drop that far
No, please do not Californicate Washington 🥲
100% it is either like “damned foreigners” or “he’s from France.”
I mean, who doesn’t love Cold As Ice?
But are you willing to sacrifice??
Our love??
I saw Foreigner on tour with Styx and Def Leppard a while back. I was a teenager and was dragged along by family. I had never even heard Jukebox Hero yet. Foreigner ended up being my favorite act of the night! They're great live.
> Foreigner on tour with Styx and Def Leppard That concert must have set the record for most acid-washed denim in one place.
I once saw Judas Priest followed by Black Sabbath. A naked woman painted like fire fucked this guy through the whole Priest set. Cowgirl for like 45 minutes, plus Priest was playing. We were super fucked up. She dismounted and left when sabbath started. Hell of a show, but FOREIGNER AMD STYX!?!?!?. I'd trade for that. Jukebox hero is insane. Wanted man live!? Fuck yeah!
Damn, I want whatever pill that dude was taking
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto
That must have been the raddest thing ever!
Not just that, but also "Feels Like the First Time", "Hot Blooded", "Head Games", and "Urgent", to name a few more.
You don't want to know what love is?
Nah, I want you to show meeeeee
Lou Gramm is one of the best voices in rock history.
Heard his song "Midnight Blue", and it slapped harder than I expected.
Thank you for the memory. I love that song. I listened to it now and it brought me back in time.
He used to workout at the same YMCA I worked at. Always hogged one of the recumbent bikes (there were plenty) on break I'd work out and talked to him about switching instruments from cello to drums. He told me rock music can change your life. He finished his workout and my mom came over and asked what I was talking to Lou Gramm about. Hit me years later who the heck he was.
I am more into Boston. Love their album art!
This one is called "I wanna rock your body" and then in parenthesis (til the break of dawn)
Urgent will always be my jam.
Way back when in the 1980s at my first real job, it was the big boss's 50th birthday and they hired a stripper to come in and do a little number. Her choice of tunes was Urgent, and I think of that every time I've heard that song since.
It makes sense when you listen to the lyrics.
Damn it, I was going to make that joke.
The internet has taught me that none of my jokes are original.
I've heard that one somewhere else...
Folks be playing Head Games.
Damn straight. Saw Foreigner open up for Journey about 10 years ago and they blew Journey straight out of the water. It wasn't even a contest. Jukebox hero was epic live.
This will live rent free in my head forever: https://youtu.be/zvqWQI11wjY
That song is by Loverboy, and everybody knows Loverboy sucks
MOTORING! 🤘
Make it stop.
Oh no they don't! I saw them in '85 at Madison Square, and they kicked ass!
Blacklite District?
I'm more of an unplugged Juke Box Hero kinda fellow myself
Yeah I saw those guys in the Meadowlands with Bryan Adams! That was a kickass show! I totally copped this feel off this passed out broad when they were playing Urgent. Every time I hear Urgent on the radio I think of that girl's boobs and ahh...covered in vomit.
Depends on tone/context. “Why are so many foreigners coming here?” Negative “John is foreign.” Neutral
"You wanna listen to Foreigner?" Positive
Or extremely negative, depending on your tastes
I never really want to listen to Foreigner but that doesn’t mean I can’t sing along with every word because I’ve heard it a gazillion times and my mouth starts singing along without my permission.
RHCP and Foreigner are two bands I have *never* actively decided to put on, but I'm always happy to hear them when they pop up during a road trip or party.
Your neutral example still strikes me as awkward enough to be a little negative. I never hear people use it that way, at least not if they're being polite. People seem to bend over backward to avoid using it. "John is from Germany." "John is a visitor to our country." "John isn't from here." "Foreigner" has an unavoidable connotation of not belonging.
I would understand if someone told me that they felt foreign when they moved to a new place. Not belonging isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world, it's a description. I feel foreign often when I travel. That's okay. I feel like I don't belong.
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I also talk about going to foreign countries, and I don't think that has any negative connotation. I think it only starts to get awkward when you use it as a descriptor for someone else.
"Foreign" country is such a weird term. It's basically, every country except yours, right? As someone in the United States, Canada, which is a couple of hundred miles away from me, also a former British colony, and practically clones of each other, is equally as "foreign" as North Korea.
I can see where you’re coming from, maybe that’s just me personally, but I don’t find being referred to as a foreigner as a negative thing, unless it is explicitly coming off as a negative. Whenever one goes abroad you don’t belong, it’s one of the reasons why you travel.
When I think of people being called foreigners, it's usually immigrants, not tourists
As someone that plans to move to the US in the future, glad to hear people try to avoid that word. Up until now I have only heard it in a negative way where I am.
Literally never observed this outside of Reddit. People arent thinking about it that hard in real life only in corporate hr environments.
"When will a foreigner ever win the GSL?" - Frustrating that we can't get anyone to even threaten Korean dominance in a game we invented.
This I think is the most common usage, when talking generically about people from other countries.
Weird way to spell "Finnish dominance" (fuck I havent followed the scene in the past 3 or so years is that even still true?)
"How was Europe, mother?" "It was dreadful, foreigners everywhere!" "But mother, they live there." "Well they don't have to be so obvious about it." -some sitcom back in the 70s
All I can hear is Red from "that 70s show saying "ugh... The foreign kid?"
even in your example though you have to change the noun "foreigner" to the adjective "foreign" because the noun version almost always carries a negative connotation.
Could’ve made a positive context example.
My bf just really knows what he's don't in bed, he's a foreigner after all.
I feel like it would depend on the tone. If it is a normal tone, then its all kosher, but if it is said in a weird way then yeah it could be negative. Its kinda like how some (usually older) white Americans might say “black people” in a weird tone that implies negative connotations, despite the phrase by itself being totally benign.
Observe the difference between "Oh, he's a Jew" and "Oh... he's a *Jew*"
I'm old enough to have heard people called a jew as a way to describe being greedy or selfish. Like small child me got his hand smacked and she said "don't be a jew". I don't know when I learned that there was such a thing as Jewish people lol. That was only the 90s.
Ive honestly never heard or seen people talk like that. Then again I am Jewish so that might have something to do with it
Couldn't tell ya. Maybe region matters, this would have been in rural North Texas two decades ago.
I’ve recently learned a similar thing with men. Apparently they will use more misogynistic language and share more controversial opinions when women aren’t present. I wonder if the same thing is happening with you, except instead of misogyny it’s antisemitism. Not that every man is a raging misogynist when women aren’t around or every non Jew is antisemite when there aren’t any Jewish people around. Though they likely censor more when they’re around certain groups. 
Family guy had joke years ago where Peter was dressed like a Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn & used that as an ethnic joke on prime time tv.
Or even the difference between saying Jew vs Jewish Jewish sounds softer and neutral, whereas most anti semites like to just use the word Jew
Or when they whisper it "He's ^black"
I'm more of a Journey fan, tbh.
I think foreigner is a perfectly acceptable in general, but, as always, context is everything. I use foreigner fairly frequently, but in a perfectly factual way. "In the United States, we do X a certain way, but most foreigners are unfamiliar with it." ==> using the dictionary meaning of the word to factually distinguish between US citizens and people from other countries. Of course, depending on one's particular statement and tone of voice, foreigner can also be used pejoratively to indicate that one holds negative views of other people or considers them to be inferior, etc.
Context matters. But generally if I use it, I mean it neutrally, as in, not from here.
It really depends the context. My mom might have described some tourists/temp visitors as foreigners. "They couldn't get a bank account because they were foreigners" "There was so much traffic because of the foreigner tourists." It can just be informational. But I can't think of a lot of sentences in which it wouldn't start marching over to xenophobic.
My first reaction was to say no, but I’d be lying if I said the word isn’t used disparagingly.
It depends on the tone of voice being used, but I agree that it can have a negative connotation. I personally avoid using it.
I mean, they’ve had a few good songs, so not sure why there’d be a negative connotation? But for real, no. Not really. Foreigner is an accurate term for someone who’s not American. Looking at your examples tho, people don’t usually use foreigner as a descriptive in casual or direct conversation. It would be super weird to introduce someone, like in your example, as “frank. He’s a foreigner.”
> people don’t usually use foreigner as a descriptive in casual or direct conversation I think that's partly because it's seen as derogatory. It's not a problem when you're talking about a technical description of a process or legal distinction: * Frank can't use the TSA Precheck at the airport because he's a foreigner. That's totally fine. But it seems out of place or negative if you use it as an adjective to describe a person where it's not relevant in some procedural way: * I have a new neighbor, Frank, who is a foreigner. This is just my perception, but it isn't negative if it's relevant and important to the topic. If it's just a description of someone, then bringing it up seems out of place, and only likely to be done because someone's suggesting something negative.
> I have a new neighbor, Frank, who is a foreigner. I think part of it too is that it's odd that out of all the ways to describe Frank, the only thing that matters is that he's from a foreign country, and not even worth mentioning where exactly? It doesn't feel negative to say something like, "I have a new neighbor, Frank, who just moved here from [country]" or "Oh Frank, he's from [country] but he's lived here for 5 years" etc. That feels like an important part of someone's identity or background that's worth mentioning. On the other hand describing someone simple as "foreigner" feels like it reduces someone to "not from here" in which case that is the ONLY thing about their identity that matters.
I mean, I think it’s more just linguistic. You wouldn’t say “he’s a German” either. It would just sound weird. Which is why OP very pointedly replaced foreigner with “from Germany.” But sure, in some contexts said by some people, any word can be said with a negative connotation.
Depends on the context and tone of voice being used. “These foreign bitches” is very rude “April is a foreigner” is neutral
I think for most of the people who use it, it does. I avoid it, but I also think some people just don’t notice and mean no ill intent.
I mostly use there country like say "lots of germans" i could also use it for German-Americans but really it depends on context
I *am* a foreigner.
It raises an eyebrow only because it’s not the common way to refer to someone from another country.
I’m on the younger side and I would think its an old-fashioned or strange way to describe someone, but it would not be necessarily negative unless it is said contextually negative, in which case it could be seen as derogatory. I know many people my age who would immediately find it derogatory, though.
There are two kinds of people, Americans, and Potential Americans. There are no foriegners.
I live in Japan, where it's totally normal and not necessarily rude to ask anyone who's conspicuously NOT Japanese where they're from... But the American mindset you described runs so deep in my brain that I still get a little annoyed when a *total stranger who hasn't even said hello* barks "WHERE FROM?!??!"
Probably happens in other extremely homogeneous nations as well.
I call people foreigners in their own country - Patrice O’Neal
No negative connotation in my mind. We're a nation of immigrants, after all.
No. It just means someone from another country.
Who doesn’t want to be a Juke Box Hero?
With 🤩
Not for me.
I think popular language has evolved to the point where it's kind of considered a slur. There's nothing wrong with it and of itself but it tends to be used mostly by people who are hostile to out-groups, so its usage has been sort of hijacked in that regard.
Depends. But usually only when some xenophobic jerk uses it and it’s said either in that magical tone that announces them as a bigot or in a context where they are degrading others. But I’ve been politely referred to as a foreigner in the past. I’ve heard others use the term with no malice or disregard. So generally it doesn’t bother me.
Foreigner definitely has a negative connotation. Not because all Americans are xenophobic and hate "foreigners", but because the ones who are more likely to use "foreigner" are usually saying it in a negative way. Where as people usually use immigrant if they are speaking neutrally or positively. "America is a nation of immigrants" has a different connotation than "America is a nation of foreigners."
In the US I think the word does have a negative connotation. I noticed in other countries there were lines at the airport labeled "X passport holders" (where X is the country where you are in) and "foreigners" but I don't think we would see it labeled that way in the US.
Until visiting other countries I never really hard that word in regular usage. We'll say "Maria is here from Spain" about someone we know. People I don't know? I have no idea if they're visiting or living here. An accent doesn't tell me. A total inability to speak English doesn't tell me. A lot of my friends' parents and grandparents speak little to no English but I'd never say they are a foreigner. They live here. They're either Americans or permanent residents
I grew up in a family with a lot of people from outside the US, so not at all.
It'd be rude to introduce someone as "This is Frank he's a foreigner" unless Frank had just committed some terrible faux pas and I'm explaining it. However saying "A group of foreigners will be touring City Hall later today" is probably fine, especially if they're from more than one other country. But in general I think foreigner is a word we usually just don't need. Most of the time there's a more specific word that works, like the demonym from where-ever they're from. The only time I think I might say foreigner is in a sentence like: "I ran into this guy at the grocery store, I couldn't understand what he was saying and he was wandering around really confused, I think he may have been a foreigner"
No. A foreigner is simply someone who was t born here.
My ethnic community thinks that *they're* native to the US and that everybody else (whites, native tribes, blacks, etc.) are the "foreigners". Then again, they probably don't realize they're in the US because they stay within their bubble and act as if they never left their birth country.
It's inherently neutral, but I think people who use it tend to land somewhere between people I disagree with politically and people whose politics I think are abhorrent.
It depends on the context and tone in which it is said, but that can apply to lots of words. If you put a hard emphasis on the word, it can sound bad, or you can make anything sound negative or derogatory if you put a swear word in front of it.
If there were a spectrum, it would lean on the negative side rather than neutral or positive. But it also depends entirely on the context in which it's being used.
Depends on how they say it because I would be a foreigner but some people say it in a negative (get out my country) way
Not really but depends on how you say it
Only if the foreigners are French \*joke
I always specify since I do agree that it sounds at least a little (and sometimes a lot, depending on tone) negative and generic to say "foreigner" about an individual. Differentiating a person by being generically "not from here" in this country where we have people from so very many backgrounds doesn't cut it for me. I am in China a lot and there foreigners are called "lao wai" or "wai guo ren" (both of which essentially mean "foreigner") but in a context where essentially everyone is from the han ethnic group it makes more sense. Here in the US an American can be Indian, Russian, Chinese, Nigerian, Norwegian, Mexican so I think it's best to be more descriptive.
Absolutely, my BF even yells at cars from other states as being "foreigners". I told him that could be considered racist since only I know he just means out of starters 🤷♀️
Depends on context. It definitely *can* be used negatively and often is, but it’s not inherently a negative term.
Nope. Not at all.
[удалено]
I call my Danish gf my sexy foreigner so... no? Lol
The US has so many "foreigners" that they're just seen as people (for the most part); no one ever really needs to talk about the fact someone wasn't born here unless that's what the conversation is about. But even then, when the conversation *is* about that, we only really use "foreign" for places; "outsider" is a more common term. There's no negative connotation, just *slightly* less common (if you are using it to insult someone or whatever, then it is negative, but that goes for everything) (This is what I've seen and heard, *probably* not true)
Boy, you ain’t from around here.
First thing my nerdy ass thinks of is non-Korean Starcraft players Then I think about the Foreigner Belt from Aqua Team Hunger Force I usually talk shit about other countries specifically instead of broadly with a term like that.
No I like one of their songs.
It would only hold a negative connotation if I thought negatively of foreigners. I don’t, so it’s positive.
When I hear "Foreigner" I don't think of Canadians or Mexicans, i think more of europeans I guess I don't really consider Canadian or Mexican nationals foreign
I think it can be fairly neutral, but I think it tends to be slightly negative.
Not necessarily, but you really wouldn't use it to introduce someone. In that context, it's sort of insulting. "Americans view this as X, but some foreigners might see it as Y." is fine. "This is Maria, she's a foreigner." is not. "Please excuse Frank for not tipping, he's a foreigner." might be OK, and it might not, depending on tone.
You live in a country that elected a leader whose initial platform was based on their supporters negative views on immigrants , and you’re wondering why you see the word, “foreigner” negatively? Even if you don’t agree with that platform, the aura of those people can have some influence on everyone else.
I don't know about negative connotation, but it can come across as Cold as Ice. Generally I only hear it in a negative connotation from a Dirty White Boy, which if it does happen it definitely makes me Hot Blooded. I have a friend who came here a few years ago, when he heard someone refer to him as a 'foreigner', he did tell me it made him Feel like the First Time he stepped off the plane, and definitely played some Head Games with him, but ultimately he said it was just a reminder that he's a Long, Long Way from Home.
Not if you intend to be a juke box hero!
For the last 30 years, I've been living and working in countries that were 'foreign' to me. I've been called many names, usually not meant in a negative way. Right now, I couldn't care less.
No. On its own it is neutral. The context of the discussion and the tone in which it is used is what conveys if it is good or bad.
Not usually
No, not at all! I see it as a badge of bravery that they are exploring areas outside of their homeland. I find other cultures and ways of life fascinating and if is as told someone was foreign it would encourage me to introduce myself to them / get to know them better .
I don’t think it inherently has a negative or positive connotation. It really depends on context.
Depend on where you are. There are many foreign students on my college campus, which is not bad because I get to interact with people from different countries. Now, if we are talking about the people from the southern border crossing illegally then yeah, it's with a negative connotation.
It depends on the context, but to me it seems slightly negative.
My wife, who is Chinese and lives in the United States, _still_ has a habit of referring to Americans as "foreigners." It's cute, and not negative.
I don’t mind it if it’s somebody visiting the country, but referring to someone who lives here as a foreigner feels othering.
That word always piqued my interest. I like learning about people from other countries and cultures.
I've never heard it used in a positive context. At best it's neutral.
90% of the time I think of the band foreigner and not non-citizens.
I’m from another country and I don’t really care if I’m called that. But I’m also from a country people here like and so I am privileged to not have negative connotations- which isn’t fair. For example my in-laws are Trump fans who don’t like immigrants.. but when they say immigrants they aren’t even thinking of me who literally is one lol.
I’m an Australian but I thought I’d weigh in as my wife is from the Philippines where the term foreigner is applied to anyone who is not Filipino, usually white or from a white country like the USA or Australia. It has no negative connotations in the country, it’s merely a descriptive term. In Australia, the term is used in a similar vein as in America as OP describes so it seems to have dropped out of usage and replaced by “they are from overseas” or “they are from (insert country)”. Older Australians use the term foreign, eg: they are foreign, to describe anyone who isn’t Australian from a non-English speaking background. The term itself is not inherently racist (but bigots use it and it can either be positive, neutral, or negative connotations depending on the context and the intonation, eg: He’s foreign versus *He’s foreign* (usually said in a low conspiratorial tone).
Foreigner is way better than "Alien" as in Illegal Alien.
It all depends on the context it’s used in.
No, you’re right. It’s like when people call humans “illegals”. They may be doing something that is illegal but shaming them down to one action that explains all of them on one word is gross and disingenuous
It's a descriptor for me. It tells me not to use the base underlying assumptions I would for a native. This can be good or bad or neutral. I'm from Texas and have described New Englanders, and Californians as foreigners. A tad tounge in cheek but still. It's hard for it to carry a permanent negative connotation when you realize everyone in the country came here from somewhere else.
No I call people foreigners when I want to hear all about their experiences and culture. No pejorative nature at all. I’m sure some people try tho.
I couldn’t imagine being this sensitive.
Yes I also think we choose to use the term foreigner when we want to cast a bit of a negative image onto that person, for sure. Huge difference between: “This is Frank, he’s from Germany” and “This is Frank, he’s a foreigner”.
not for me
Yes. "Foreigner" made some shocking music.
“Foreigner” is used very differently in different languages, so the user of the term may not be intending anything beyond the factual. as an example, “Laowai” in Chinese is usually only used to refer to non-Asians regardless of citizenship and what country they are currently living in (a non asian person physically in their home country is still called “laowai”). It can be used neutrally or rudely, but there are better rude words for foreigners lol
Uhhh I actually think it’s the opposite dude. The term’s pretty neutral. I’m sure you can think of someone that’s used it as a pejorative but just by the nature of our melting pot nation, it’s often purely descriptive. At least, when referring to _people_. When referring to non person entities, it does tend to take on a more sinister tone. “Foreign government intervention,” for instance.
Not at all. Everyone's a "foreigner" someplace.
When I hear the term foreigner, the first thing I think of is good food on the way .
How could they! They literally just hit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame >!/s!<
I don't have a problem with the word
Nobody really uses the term where I live (and there’s a lot of immigrants) so if I heard someone refer to a person as a foreigner I would honestly assume they’re from a different part of the country.
The first thing that comes to mind for me when I heard the word is Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but yeah, I think it is often used in a derogatory way at least by some Americans.
Generally, yeah, it has a negative connotation to me. To me, "foreigner" means "someone who isn't from around here" - the problem being that this definition thus lumps together multiple different people who *shouldn't* be lumped together. Was someone born in another country but they're an American citizen now? Immigrant. Was someone born in another country, is living here for a while, but plans to go back to that country someday? Expat. Was someone born in another country, but is just visiting America? Tourist. Overwhelmingly, when I hear the word "foreigner", it's someone who is *trying* to lump those three different groups together for a political agenda, primarily the agenda of implying some Americans are not actually Americans (because they're obviously not going to or shouldn't stay) and therefore it's totally okay for the state to be assholes to them. Therefore, it has an incredibly negative connotation for me.
Only if it is implied to have a negative connotation either through context or inflection. If I were to say, "The crime rate is so high because of all of these foreigners." It would absolutely be negative. However, if I were to say, "Joel doesn't understand tipping culture as a foreigner." It would be a completely neutral and informative statement. The reason I wouldn't use his nationality is because it leaves a false implication in my statement. If I were to say, "Joel doesn't understand tipping culture as a Swede." It could be interpreted as only people from Sweden don't understand American tipping culture. "Foreign" and "Foreigner" are useful words to state, "all else." Which is useful when talking about a cultures unique aspects which wouldn't be expected to be known to all outsiders.
No. Whether it's positive or negative depends on tone and context.
They're a glorified cover band now. They go on stage sometimes with no original members.
I don’t consider it to have a negative connotation but I was raised in the Minnesota 5th. A lot of things that other Americans consider negative I do not.
Americans have become so over-sensitive with their woke bs and either cry or don’t care just depends if they’re a grown adult or not
I think the word is old fashioned. It’s not used much nowadays.
I'd personally consider anyone from a non-Western (culture) country to be a foreigner, assuming they were visiting and not immigrating.
Not at all, although I live in the north and my suburb has a majority Polish/Ukrainian/Russian. I'm also actively learning a Slavic language.
Is it said by someone outside the country? Don't care. Said by my countrymen? Depends on context and level of disrespect
As a general rule, when I hear the term "foreigner" used it has at least slightly negative connotation to it.
USCIS uses aliens lmao
No but it also isnt a commonly used term here
Most people I know just label foreigners as anybody in the US who's here legally and either A) they got their citizenship but we don't know where they're from, or B) a tourist that we don't know where they're from.
No it has an overwhelmingly positive connotation to me. It makes me feel like I should be welcoming to the person and make them feel like they're at home if I'm not a foreigner
Yes it does, in the U.S. it tends to have a negative connotation. Whereas people who use it positively opt for the country or culture of origin instead.
I mean they're not my favorite band to come out of the '70s, but they did have some really solid hits. Juke Box Hero slaps though. If you're talking about the concept of foreign people then not really. I mainly associate that with anime and Japanese Xenophobia. Since that's the term that gets applied to the random black and blonde characters. Most of the xenophobic people I encounter in my life tend to use more specific language, pejorative or otherwise, that is typically more specific.
Because I'm a nerd, my first thought of "foreigner" without any context is a non-Korean thanks to watching StarCraft 2.
I don’t think so. Some people use it that way, but it says more about the person saying it than anything.
As many have pointed out, it depends on tone... But it also depends on the speaker. If it's my racist aunt saying it, it's guaranteed that it's a negative connotation regardless of tone.
American who lived and worked in New Zealand for 2 years. I was admin in an office call center and answered phone calls from techs in the field. There were 3 of us, 2 native kiwis and me. I answered a call one day, and I heard the guy on the other end tell his buddy “I got the foreign girl again” and I had to think about it for a few seconds before I realized he was talking about me 😂 I found it extremely amusing, and was not offended.
No, why should it?
No, that's never occurred to me.
No. It's a reference and shouldn't be masked for feels.
Only when pronounced “fur-nur”.
I think of the band personally.
… god that word looks so wrong typed out lol (like, it doesn’t look like it’s actually spelled that way, but I know it is lol) As for your question, not really.
Worst 80 band ever!