Negativity towards expats
- phuketrichard
- Expatriate
- Posts: 16884
- Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 5:17 pm
- Reputation: 5785
- Location: Atlantis
Re: Negativity towards expats
Than you live in Thailand....BTW, farang is the term I hear most often where I live.
Since i have been here, ( even when i was just travelling here) i can't say i have experienced any negativity towards me
By my neighbors, even my GF's family,
I am called "bong"
Last edited by phuketrichard on Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
Re: Negativity towards expats
Could live near the Thai border towns, with a mixed population of those areas and inter-related families it's easy to be called either.phuketrichard wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:40 amThan you live in Thailand....BTW, farang is the term I hear most often where I live.
Always "hope" but never "expect".
Re: Negativity towards expats
When you're not from France the word 'Barang' is actually technically wrong, because it means 'French'. For foreigners in general there's another word, 'borotei' (as mentioned in another post) but most Cambodians can't be bothered to use that word.Chad Sexington wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:00 amIn our village everybody calls me Om Barang, I tried half heartedly to get them to call me by name but it never caught on, but it’s not an issue for me, and jokingly calling them out for it invokes good humored laughter all round.Kammekor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:46 amNot my experience. While it's extremely uncommon to call someone by his or her name, I don't think I'm being referred to as 'Barang' (anymore). Usually it's either 'bong' (which is very in-precise) or 'Pa followed by the name of my kid'. The latter is a very common way to refer to people. I can't remember the last time I was refered to as 'Barang' (Khmer never use the word Farang).orichá wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:34 am However, there's one thing that cannot be categorized as positive or negative -- the simple strange fact that ALL Cambodians ALWAYS refer to foreigners and expats as 'farang' or 'barang' ...Even if you have a long-term relationship with someone, or their family -- I am sure -- when you are not around, someone among them will still use this term, 'farang', in reference to you. This recognition mechanism is such a strange thing among Khmer people; I think it reveals the extent to which they are insulated from the outside world by their language and culture... You are a farang/barang first, not a person, lol... Like or not, that is the way it is here...
As you say, half of the adults here are not called by their names, rather by their being mother or father of (insert child’s name)
Whenever someone calls you Barang and it bothers you just reply with '<insert word to refer to the person, bong, om, ee, yay...> Khmer' or even better '<insert> Yuon' (which is slang for Vietnamese) and then apologize for using the wrong nationality. After that they will never call you Barang again but use the correct nationality when referring to you because most Cambodians are very proud to be Khmer and want to be called 'Khmer', not Asian or another nationality.
- siliconlife
- Expatriate
- Posts: 904
- Joined: Thu May 29, 2014 6:29 pm
- Reputation: 543
Re: Negativity towards expats
Definitely not the experience I'm having on a near-daily basis. I would say this is the new term that is replacing "barang" to talk about you. Of course, it's a different word, less specific, and is thus used in broader circumstances, but still. Khmer love talking about the people around them. Personally I'm not offended by being called a "barang" or a "borotay". A lot of the posts here saying that people call them "bong" etc are talking about Khmer they know personally. There's a big difference between how someone addresses you, and how someone talks about you, and also between how people you know and don't know talk about you. I can guarantee all of those posters, they are certainly being called "barang" very frequently, and categorized as such even more frequently. There's no inherent animosity in this however; after all, it's true. Saying that Khmer are racist overall would be an ignorant way of viewing the language and culture.
Re: Negativity towards expats
Yeah I get that too with my kid. It’s said in a malicious way it’s just a description, never bothered me.siliconlife wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:29 amYes, even my daughter who has a Khmer passport is first and foremost "kon barang", never once has she been called "kon Khmer". However, she is never called "borotay" (foreigner), like we frequently are (when they don't want to say "barang" in front of our face), and non-Khmer Asians are as well.orichá wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:34 am However, there's one thing that cannot be categorized as positive or negative -- the simple strange fact that ALL Cambodians ALWAYS refer to foreigners and expats as 'farang' or 'barang' ...Even if you have a long-term relationship with someone, or their family -- I am sure -- when you are not around, someone among them will still use this term, 'farang', in reference to you. This recognition mechanism is such a strange thing among Khmer people; I think it reveals the extent to which they are insulated from the outside world by their language and culture... You are a farang/barang first, not a person, lol... Like or not, that is the way it is here...
I'd still much rather be here than among the wokists, whatever the case!
I just say “Ota, kon kat!” (Spelling is off) and they usually laugh and ask where mum is.
You should hear what some of the Chinese call us.
People of the world, spice up your life.
-
- Expatriate
- Posts: 1054
- Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2019 3:43 pm
- Reputation: 1343
Re: Negativity towards expats
It doesn’t bother me at all, there’s no harm intended, they’re the nicest of people. I consider Om Barang to be my nickname here.Kammekor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:00 amWhen you're not from France the word 'Barang' is actually technically wrong, because it means 'French'. For foreigners in general there's another word, 'borotei' (as mentioned in another post) but most Cambodians can't be bothered to use that word.Chad Sexington wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:00 amIn our village everybody calls me Om Barang, I tried half heartedly to get them to call me by name but it never caught on, but it’s not an issue for me, and jokingly calling them out for it invokes good humored laughter all round.Kammekor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:46 amNot my experience. While it's extremely uncommon to call someone by his or her name, I don't think I'm being referred to as 'Barang' (anymore). Usually it's either 'bong' (which is very in-precise) or 'Pa followed by the name of my kid'. The latter is a very common way to refer to people. I can't remember the last time I was refered to as 'Barang' (Khmer never use the word Farang).orichá wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:34 am However, there's one thing that cannot be categorized as positive or negative -- the simple strange fact that ALL Cambodians ALWAYS refer to foreigners and expats as 'farang' or 'barang' ...Even if you have a long-term relationship with someone, or their family -- I am sure -- when you are not around, someone among them will still use this term, 'farang', in reference to you. This recognition mechanism is such a strange thing among Khmer people; I think it reveals the extent to which they are insulated from the outside world by their language and culture... You are a farang/barang first, not a person, lol... Like or not, that is the way it is here...
As you say, half of the adults here are not called by their names, rather by their being mother or father of (insert child’s name)
Whenever someone calls you Barang and it bothers you just reply with '<insert word to refer to the person, bong, om, ee, yay...> Khmer' or even better '<insert> Yuon' (which is slang for Vietnamese) and then apologize for using the wrong nationality. After that they will never call you Barang again but use the correct nationality when referring to you because most Cambodians are very proud to be Khmer and want to be called 'Khmer', not Asian or another nationality.
Re: Negativity towards expats
And you should hear what we call the chinese.mannanman wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:50 amYeah I get that too with my kid. It’s said in a malicious way it’s just a description, never bothered me.siliconlife wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 9:29 amYes, even my daughter who has a Khmer passport is first and foremost "kon barang", never once has she been called "kon Khmer". However, she is never called "borotay" (foreigner), like we frequently are (when they don't want to say "barang" in front of our face), and non-Khmer Asians are as well.orichá wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 8:34 am However, there's one thing that cannot be categorized as positive or negative -- the simple strange fact that ALL Cambodians ALWAYS refer to foreigners and expats as 'farang' or 'barang' ...Even if you have a long-term relationship with someone, or their family -- I am sure -- when you are not around, someone among them will still use this term, 'farang', in reference to you. This recognition mechanism is such a strange thing among Khmer people; I think it reveals the extent to which they are insulated from the outside world by their language and culture... You are a farang/barang first, not a person, lol... Like or not, that is the way it is here...
I'd still much rather be here than among the wokists, whatever the case!
I just say “Ota, kon kat!” (Spelling is off) and they usually laugh and ask where mum is.
You should hear what some of the Chinese call us.
Re: Negativity towards expats
I wouldn’t go around calling anyone Youn (which is in self offensive) to anyone. Some locals have Vietnamese heritage and some are actually 100% Vietnamese but to us they look and speak like locals.Kammekor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 10:00 am Whenever someone calls you Barang and it bothers you just reply with '<insert word to refer to the person, bong, om, ee, yay...> Khmer' or even better '<insert> Yuon' (which is slang for Vietnamese) and then apologize for using the wrong nationality. After that they will never call you Barang again but use the correct nationality when referring to you because most Cambodians are very proud to be Khmer and want to be called 'Khmer', not Asian or another nationality.
Really bad idea!
People of the world, spice up your life.
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 5 Replies
- 3924 Views
-
Last post by Doc67
-
- 85 Replies
- 15048 Views
-
Last post by Kammekor
-
- 15 Replies
- 4081 Views
-
Last post by mannanman
-
- 6 Replies
- 2507 Views
-
Last post by Clutch Cargo
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: WildAlaskaKen and 604 guests