Is “foreigner” an offensive word?

If it's in dialogue then I think you'll usually be okay, and in fiction in general for the most part, especially fantasy.

I think it's one of those words that has become more sensitive in part because of xenophobia, as you mentioned, and also because the word has lost any usefulness it once had. Even for people who aren't using it in a derogatory way, it's basically become meaningless in countries with an ethnically diverse population. When you level the word "foreigner" at someone else, it means you're making a lot of assumptions about who they are and where they came from. In someplace like present day America, it'd be just as rude to walk up to someone who looks Asian and start speaking Chinese as if they should know it.

Plus, it's not something you would ever want to call someone to their face, when you could easily say, "Hey, how's it going? You from around here?"

tl;dr -- IRL, the word is full of assumptions which are no longer helpful. I think the examples you provided are fine, though, especially if this Idylla is as insular as it seems from those quotes.

I don't think it's offensive so much as slightly outdated. Its the kind of thing you'd expect your old curmudgeonly uncle to say. In many cases its used ironically.

Couldn't you use something simple like "stranger"?

For fiction, I see nothing wrong with it. It has slightly jingoistic overtones, but characters can have that.

I don't see any issue with it, unless it's being overused to the point where it's coming across as repetitive. If people for whatever reason want to attach political overtones to a perfectly neutral word, well, that's their problem, IMO.

I was wondering, though--is that reference to the camel and the eye of the needle a deliberate twisting and misquote of the Bible reference? I mean, as an idiom, it doesn't make much sense that a camel would poke someone in the eye with a needle. Or maybe the character saying that is the sort who mangles common references?

Think of it this way, I have lived in the US for almost 20 years but you could accurately call me a foreigner. Would that be a "nice" thing to call me? If you saw a tourist would you say: "look at that foreigner"?

The meaning of the word depends on how it is being used. And there aren't actually that many normal, neutral used for it anymore in the "real" world. Most people from other places are called other words these days, immigrant, tourist etc.

So if your land is slightly xenophobic, which is not so unusual--maybe it is the right word.

Some random thoughts: You don't mention the setting or the POV. Both can affect what words are appropriate. If it's first-person POV, then you have to portray the way that person would think. If they think of people from elsewhere as foreigners, then that's how you present it. But if you're writing in 3rd Omni, then overuse of the word might come across as "message-y" if a reader was sensitive to that.

And setting. If it's a fantasy or period setting, readers can't expect 21st century western civ sensibilities. There's some term for writing period pieces where the characters have current morality, but it escapes me (and will continue to until I have at least one more coffee).

I think the point is that the word itself is just a word, with no particular undertone if used appropriately for the story.

veinglory said:

The meaning of the word depends on how it is being used. And there aren't actually that many normal, neutral used for it anymore in the "real" world. Most people from other places are called other words these days, immigrant, tourist etc.

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^This. It matters how it's being used, and adjectives attached to it. By itself, it's a fairly objective word used to describe the standing of a person within a society. I've heard it out of the mouths of folks who lean pretty far right, and it's not meant as anything other than an insult or belittlement. When the word approaches and even swap for "illegals," I think that's when it becomes derogatory.

As others have said, it depends on the context. Any word can be derogatory if used in the right way (or wrong way, depending on how you want to look at it). But I don't think the word itself is derogatory. At least I was never offended by it when I lived in foreign countries (see what I did there?).

Imo, "foreigner" is not offensive. But maybe you did overuse it. You might do a search for the word and see if you really have used it extensively. If so, you could just replace some of them with "outsiders" or something like that.

Fruitbat said:

Imo, "foreigner" is not offensive. But maybe you did overuse it. You might do a search for the word and see if you really have used it extensively. If so, you could just replace some of them with "outsiders" or something like that.

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In a fantasy setting there are definitely some cool options. I've always been partial to "outlanders" myself. It's just kind of a nifty word.

ETA: Oh, and I also never considered "foreigner" an offensive word. I've been a foreigner in other countries and, if asked, would certainly have described myself as such without batting an eye. (I know I've referred to myself as a "straniera," the Italian word for foreigner).

I'm actually kind of relieved that there's agreement here, because words, being so malleable, do have a way of changing meaning or nuance, and for one reason or another, I'm often behind the curve** finding out the change took place. I was afraid it had become offensive while I wasn't looking, and I might therefore have used it in conversation at some point and been unintentionally offensive.

I think your usage of the word seems appropriate. If I were to visit a Mediterranean country, I would be a foreigner to them. If I was still called a foreigner after living there twenty years, I would sense a lack of acceptance, yes. But for tourists and students who plan on studying and then leaving, it seems non-offensive to me.

Foreigner isn't an offensive word and it's the last thing your reader would be contemplating when reading your work.

According to the Oxford English dictionary, offensive means "causing someone to feel resentful, upset, or annoyed"

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/offensive

Words, in general, do not cause anything - it's people's interpretation of them that may be offensive. You cannot control how anyone else feels about anything. People decide for themselves whether they find something offensive or not. I don't care what anyone says, I can either find something offensive, or not - based on my own subjective view of the world. I could find the word dog offensive:

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

That statement could be construed as being offensive, or not, based on context and interpretation. Are you calling me a dog? Are you implying that dogs are dumb? Or are you calling me an old idiot? Or are you saying I can't learn? How am I supposed to interpret that? based on how I interpret that, I can either be offended or not. (I = me = a person) Words are not offensive, people are offensive. As a whole, I would also venture to say that if someone finds your writing offensive, they can do one of two things: Stop reading or not

You shouldn't change who you are or how you write based on how someone else feels. You can't control their feelings, only your own. It sounds to me like someone is being overly sensitive - they need to deal with that, not you.

Late to the party, but I think foreigner is fine. It's the right word to describe a person from a different country without silly contrivances.

Overlooking the fact that if someone described me that way, even though technical accurate, I would suspect they were a xenophobic %&$#@

In the US, especially in this current politically correct atmosphere, I'd say that a lot of people would shy away from "foreigner." At the school where I work, we call students who are not US citizens "international" students.

Yet it will depend on your setting, too. In China people call non-Chinese "foreigners," and I am sure terminology and connotation differ around the world.