overseas people

[hirashin]

Hello, native English speakers

Do you say "overseas people" instead of "foreign people"?

Is this correct? "A lot of overseas people don't like natto, which is Japanese fermented food."

Hirashin

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Nope, at least not where I'm from. I don't remember hearing all foreigners categorized as one group much.

Edit:
Most people where I'm from would find it rude to say "Foreigners don't like..." Or "The Japanese don't like..." Because it diminishes people to generalities based on ethnicity, something we tend to be sensitive about where I come from.

 

[nice gaijin]

"overseas people" isn't used

"people overseas" would refer to people in different countries, without reference to their nationality. You could say "Japanese people overseas" to specify Japanese natives living abroad.

"foreigners" is a non-specific term, "foreign" is determined by context. "Foreigners in Japan" would refer to non-Japanese living in Japan.

Considering your example, I would say either "people who aren't Japanese" or "non-Japanese..." but as Wonko said, it's better to avoid generalities like that.

Natto is a fermented food popular in Japan, but it is an acquired taste and many people don't like it, even Japanese

 

[eeky]

Note also that "foreigners" can sometimes (not always) have a pejorative nuance.

 

[Dotanbatan]

Hello, native English speakers

Do you say "overseas people" instead of "foreign people"?

Is this correct? "A lot of overseas people don't like natto, which is Japanese fermented food."

Hirashin

In your example, `overseas people` sounds unnatural and as with `foreign people` and `foreigners` it has a negative undertone for a lot of Native English speakers.

In this example I would replace `overseas people` with `non-Japanese` to get the point across.

A word that I like and often use to describe people residing in a country other than their home nation,is Expatriate or Expat.

I may be wrong, but I think it`s used more by the British and Commonwealth countries than Americans but it is a good expression to use. I prefer being called an expat rather than foreigner, while I`m here in Japan ... not that I lose any sleep over it!

Expatriate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[hirashin]

I knew that the word "foreigner" has a negative nuance, but does "foreign people" also have a negative nuance? If we say something like "More and more foreign people visit Japan", does it have a pejorative nuance?
Hirashin

 

[Dotanbatan]

I knew that the word "foreigner" has a negative nuance, but does "foreign people" also have a negative nuance? If we say something like "More and more foreign people visit Japan", does it have a pejorative nuance?
Hirashin

"Foreign people" has a very similar negative nuance to those who would find "Foreigner" a pejorative term.
Why not "More and more people visit Japan". From the basic context it would be understood the subject is non Japanese people.

I think that if or the degree that, a native English speaker takes offense at the use of the word "Foreigner" etc, depends on the individual, where they live and the way that the term is used. Very often the word is used in the context of bigotry and racial intolerance, even when it is not intentional. That`s why it has a negative nuance.

 

[Mike Cash]

If anyone from the blessed-among-nations Anglophone countries is thin-skinned enough to even take notice of the difference, much less be offended by it....let them be offended. Perhaps it will serve as a homily. (from 1:50)

 

[Dotanbatan]

If anyone from the blessed-among-nations Anglophone countries is thin-skinned enough to even take notice of the difference, much less be offended by it....let them be offended. Perhaps it will serve as a homily. (from 1:50)

Well said. Gaijin Mike !