Offense Taken With The Word “Foreign”

Culture & Political Correctness

Another interesting coincidence happened recently.

• I wrote about how political correctness puts up barriers to effective cross-cultural communication.
• A reader was offended by my use of the word “foreign”… and she also derailed into a series of insults.

Politically Incorrect?

To this reader, it is politically incorrect to refer to people or groups of people, and anything that can be linked to them, as “foreign”.  She finds the word “foreign” insulting.

Apparently “international” is the polite term.

Reasons Behind Offense

Now I have not heard this one before.

So I do not know whether:

• There is an English speaking community anywhere that systematically takes offense to the word “foreign”.
• There is a group of non-native English speakers anywhere that finds the English word “foreign” offensive.
• This was just an abused person venting her own frustrations.

After a little investigation it is apparent that this person is not English mother-tongue.

When Foreigners Take Offense

This raises an interesting issue.

There are non-native English speakers who speak English very well.  And these people can take on a culture all of their own.

What happens when they start taking offense at English words?  When they add insults this also means that they position themselves as being abused.

A quick review:

• A non-native English speaker, abused by an English word that I was taught as a native English speaker as being acceptable in all circumstances.

“Foreign” Stays

Now, do not even bother trying to convince me to stop using the word “foreign”.  Why not even jump up and down and get offended when I use the word “person”, or “peanut butter” while you are at it?

As I have explained previously:

I have already lived through changes in politeness on how to refer to “Blacks”.  And I grew up and come from a country with a population that is easily 90% black, and probably a higher percentage now.  And these blacks are more kindred souls to me than any other race.

My view on political correctness is that it is a barrier to communication and lacks validity in many situations.  It is interesting to notice where and when it pops up, and the individualistic trends that accompany it.

At my age and with my background, it will take more than a few delicate readers for me to refrain from using the word “foreign”.

Communication is about reaching out to others.

This reminds me of the first years when I spoke French as a new foreign language.

My language level was excellent.  But the young men around me would always read a sexual meaning into every single sentence I said.  Even with sentences as mundane as “I got a baguette this morning”.

I did not take offense.  I questioned my language skills.

When it became boring and I could distance myself, I realized that the communication problem was in fact on the other side.  So I became more confident of my own language skills and meaningful communication improved.

No Respect = No Trust

If you are only concerned about how others offend you…

…well, how are you reaching out?  Are you not in fact telling others to dance to your own tune?

If you want respect from others, this is not the best way to get results.

But even worse…

You have also made it difficult for others to gain respect or trust from you.

And this is where it gets challenging for businesses that want to communicate within this environment.

Is it worth the effort to create meaningful communication with people who only want to be offended?

And by the way…

Is it worth their effort to spew insults at others who had no negative intentions towards them in the first place.

This is probably part of the reason behind the current cultural marketing segmentation in North America today.

Entertainment From The Side Lines

On a more lighter note, there are examples of political correctness that are downright entertaining.  It is easy to wonder how mankind can be so shortsighted.

Some people find it fun to read insults into everything.

Try it.

It is very easy to do.

Then, when you get tired of the game, come back to real conversation.

That’s where value is.

So…

I have two questions for you:

1. What are your feelings towards the word “foreign”?  Do you take offense?
2. What would Confucius say about political correctness?  And looking at it from both sides of the coin.

Brush up your international skills…

Read more on Culture & Political Correctness:

• Cultural Perceptions, Political Correctness & The New Racism
• Is Your Political Correctness Hindering Your International Communication
• Offense Taken With The Word “Foreign”
• Political Correctness Memories From The Bahamas

Use these skills in your international tactics on the…

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Tagged as: ccc, cross-cultural communication, political correctness