# Assuming Jewish word like Gentile is not derogatory; are there other cultures/language with such word/s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433 "2022-10-18T15:10:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/21 "2022-10-18T20:23:41Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > In the North, it’s used for New Englanders. This particular usage of “Yankee” is not derogatory. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/22 "2022-10-18T20:26:12Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > In the North, it’s used for New Englanders. > > This particular usage of “Yankee” is not derogatory I agree. I grew up in New England, and i believe the word “Yankee” applies to me. I think it can be used in a derogatory way, but it’s often used neutrally. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/23 "2022-10-18T20:33:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > In the North, it’s used for New Englanders. > > This particular usage of “Yankee” is not derogatory.   It certainly was where I grew up in rural Ohio. “Yankee” was the insult for New Englanders and “Hill-jack” for Southerners. People from Cleveland and northeast Ohio would be insulted as sounding like Yankees, and people from Cincinnati and southwest Ohio as sounding like hill-jacks. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/24 "2022-10-18T20:35:00Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It’s only recently that some people self-identify as Yankees rather than use it on others. If by “recently”, you mean the Revolutionary War. “Yankee Doodle”, anyone? And even the baseball team has officially had that name since 1913: Over a century is hardly “recent”, for an Americanism. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/25 "2022-10-18T20:35:15Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > People from Cleveland and northeast Ohio would be insulted as sounding like Yankees, and people from Cincinnati and southwest Ohio as sounding like hill-jacks. So the only true Ohioans were from an axis going from Toledo to Columbus? (I’m from southwest Ohio, by the way, and never heard either of these usages.) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/26 "2022-10-18T20:36:28Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > > > In the North, it’s used for New Englanders. > > > > This particular usage of “Yankee” is not derogatory > > I agree. I grew up in New England, and i believe the word “Yankee” applies to me. I think it can be used in a derogatory way, but it’s often used neutrally As in [Yankee Candle Company](https://www.yankeecandle.com/), [_Yankee Magazine_](https://newengland.com/), [_New Yankee Workshop_](https://www.newyankee.com/), etc. My father-in-law’s wife has “STHNYNKE” as her Florida license plate. ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/27 "2022-10-18T20:46:24Z")
Don’t the Mormons also use the term Gentile, in reference to non-Mormons? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/28 "2022-10-18T20:58:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > It’s only recently that some people self-identify as Yankees rather than use it on others. > > If by “recently”, you mean the Revolutionary War. “Yankee Doodle”, anyone? And even the baseball team has officially had that name since 1913: Over a century is hardly “recent”, for an Americanism. The “Yankee” of Doodle fame is self-deprecation in order to tease the British about who they lost too. That only works with a negative term. As for the team, I’d guess it’s usage is similar to Cleveland using “Indians”. But unlike that term, there was no caricature or oppressed minority, so their use helped normalize its use. > [@Acsenray](#): > > So the only true Ohioans were from an axis going from Toledo to Columbus? (I’m from southwest Ohio, by the way, and never heard either of these usages.) We’d say Midwesterners, but yes. Ohio has a relatively steep dialect gradient going from Cincinnati to Columbus to Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/29 "2022-10-18T21:10:57Z")
[老外 (lǎowài)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laowai), literally foreigner. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/30 "2022-10-18T21:16:20Z")
Don’t Afrikaners refer to white non-Afrikaners as _Uitlanders_? Don’t know if that is or was derogatory. Paging @MrDibble … ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/31 "2022-10-18T22:07:32Z")
Here in South Central Texas, people who are not Hispanic (and also not Black or Asian) are called Anglos. It’s not a derogatory term. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/32 "2022-10-18T22:27:57Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Do other religions / cultures have such words (that are not derogatory)? Irish _gall_ means someone who isn’t a _gael_. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/33 "2022-10-19T00:34:26Z")
Gweilo is a Cantonese term for Europeans. It was originally derogatory but as I understand it is now regarded as basically neutral. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/34 "2022-10-19T00:37:50Z")
I think we might be missing an obvious one, here… What about the English word “foreigner”? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/35 "2022-10-19T00:42:14Z")
E.B. White’s thought on the term “Yankee”: > To foreigners, a Yankee is an American. > To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner. > To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner. > To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander. > To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter. > And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/36 "2022-10-19T00:44:14Z")
Worth noting that Mormons use “Gentile” to refer to all non-Mormons (including Jewish people). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/37 "2022-10-19T03:27:03Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast The variation I heard was: “…eats fruit pie for breakfast and doesn’t speak French” ! ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/38 "2022-10-19T03:48:47Z")
It’s actually old foreigner. > **[Laowai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laowai)** > > Laowai is the Pinyin pronunciation/transliteration of 老外 (pinyin: lǎowài, lit. "old foreign"), an informal term or slang for "foreigner" and/or non-Chinese national, usually neutral but possibly impolite or loose in some circumstances. Formal and polite Chinese terms for foreigner include wàiguórén (simplified Chinese: 外国人; traditional Chinese: 外國人; lit. 'foreigner'), wàibīn (外宾; 外賓; 'foreigner guest'), guójì yǒurén 国际友人; 國際友人; 'international friend') and wàiguó pengyou (外國朋友; 外国朋友; 'foreigner f... ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/39 "2022-10-19T03:56:25Z")
Actually white ghost. Also spelled gwailo. The Mandarin equivalent is laowai. This Wiki [article]([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gweilo#:~:text=Gweilo%20or%20gwailou%20(Chinese%3A%20鬼,racially%20deprecatory%20and%20pejorative%20use.)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gweilo#:~:text=Gweilo%20or%20gwailou%20(Chinese%3A%20%E9%AC%BC,racially%20deprecatory%20and%20pejorative%20use.)) describes many more Cantonese and Mandarin names for foreigners, many of which aren’t supposed to be derogative, but can be used that way. I’m looking for a great YouTube video from _Off the Great Wall_ where they use and describe many of the terms. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433/40 "2022-10-19T04:26:55Z")
My sister-in-law is 50-75% Okinawan, I’m 50/50 Okinawan/Japanese. When we meet her extended family before the engagement, my Mom told a story I never heard before and asked a question that my Dad never heard. She asked my brother’s future relatives what “yamatunchu” meant in Okinawan because she said that whenever her in-laws had a get-together, they’d be conversing in Okinawan and whenever Yamatunchu was uttered, they’d emphasize the last syllable and all turn to look at her! Everyone laughed except my Dad\* when they explained that Yamatunchu meant Japanese and they put the emphasis on the last syllable was just a tonal accent. Not sure about it just being an accent though. \*My Dad asked my Mom why she never brought it up before and she said it was because she thought everyone was swearing at her! Native Okinawans are Uchinanchu and Japanese from mainland Japan are Yamatunchu or Naichi. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, I thought being Uchinanchu was something bad and Naichi was something good because my parents would talk about how my sisters must marry a good Naichi boy and never Uchinanchu. I later pieced together that my sisters children would be _GASP_ 3/4" Okinawan, and possibly have a distinctly Okinawan surname like Higa or Gushiken!\* It was much less an issue for my brother because he would carry on the family name and I was way too young to be of any concern. \*My surname is Nakamura, which is used in both Okinawa and Japanese. Though with different kanji. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assuming-jewish-word-like-gentile-is-not-derogatory-are-there-other-cultures-language-with-such-word-s/973433.md?page=3)