Talking about foreigners

No white Westerner travelling to Thailand will escape the fact that they are a farang. So prevalent is the word that it is often used in English-language publications in Thailand, in the knowledge that foreigners will understand its meaning. But what exactly is a farang and where does the word come from?

Simply put, farang (ฝรั่ง) in Thai refers to any white-skinned foreigner. While a black Westerner might possibly be called a farang, this is unusual, and the term is normally reserved for white people (black people are normally referred to simply as khon dam , or ‘black person’, unless they happen to be Tiger Woods, who due to his Thai ancestry is, of course, Thai). By extension, the word has come to mean anything foreign, hence man farang (มันฝรั่ง) is a potato (the word man by itself refers to any tuber, and in particularly cassava), while mak farang (หมากฝรั่ง) is chewing gum (mak is betel, traditionally chewed in Thailand – presumably mak farang was thus named because it is chewed in a similar way).

Another meaning of farang is guava, thought to be named after the Portuguese farang traders who first brought the fruit to Thailand. The sight of a farang eating a farang can thus be a cause for a few giggles among Thais.

Despite the word being common in Thai, no-one is entirely sure how it entered the language. It is clear that it ultimately derives from ‘Frank’, or French, but whether it comes directly from the Thai word for France (farangset) or not is a matter of debate. While the French established ties with the Siamese court of Ayutthaya in the 17th century, Thais had been familiar with Westerners, in particular the Portuguese, for several decades previously. Indeed, one rather improbable theory has it that the word farang comes from the fact that Portuguese traders settled in a village named Baan Farang (guava village).

The more likely etymology of the word, however, comes from the Persian farangi (which again derives from ‘Frank’), or from the Arabic ifranj. Similar words have been used throughout South and Southeast Asia to refer to foreigners – parangi in the Indian state of Kerala, parangiar in Tamil, barang in Cambodia.

Unlike other monikers used to describe members of an ethnic group, the word farang does not carry any derogatory connotations. Most Thais are respectful of Westerners (if finding some of their practices downright daft), and if you are followed by a horde of children shouting farang behind your back, you can rest assured that the children are merely being curious, and are probably delighted to have a foreigner in their midst.

Equally neutral is the term luuk krueng (ลูกครึ่ง), used to refer to people of mixed Thai-European race. Luuk means ‘child’ and krueng means ‘half’, so literally a luuk krueng is something like a ‘half-and-half child’ (not half a child – that would be krueng luuk). However, it has none of the connotations of the word ‘half-caste’, and indeed, most luuk krueng in Thailand, where physical beauty is deemed so important, are adored for their Western facial features.

The formal name for a foreigner is khon (or chao) taang chaat (คนต่างชาติ), which merely means ‘person from another nation’. Again, this term is very neutral, and is used in all official documents. However, this term is rarely used when speaking of people from Thailand’s neighbouring countries, in particular its three immediate neighbours, Laos, Burma (Myanmar) and Cambodia. Rather than being khon taang chaat, they are generally known as khon taang dao (คนต่างด้าว), which can be roughly translated as ‘person from another territory’.

There are no doubt historic reasons for this. Until very recently, Thailand’s borders have not been clearly demarcated, and even now, disputes remain over some border regions (most recently the Khao Pra Viharn temple on the Thai-Cambodian border). Territory in the region has changed hands from one kingdom to the next over the centuries, and for many people in Thailand, the relinquishing of what was once Siamese or Thai territory still smarts. Hence in some ways, neighbouring countries are not separate nations in the same way that more far-flung places are

However, in many ways they are entirely separate nations – Burma, Laos and Cambodia (despite its rocketing economy) remain significantly poorer than Thailand, and many nationals of these countries flock to Thailand to work. Here they are given ‘alien registration cards’ as opposed to the work permits handed out to farangs, and are often blamed for no end of disease and crime.

Somewhat conveniently, the word khon taang dao differs only in the tone of the last word from khon taang dao (คนต่างดาว), meaning alien in the sense of those little green men from up there, and indeed, the word ‘alien’ is generally used as a translation of both. Khon taang dao are indeed Others in popular stereotypes, impoverished, dirty, disease-ridden and criminal, as different from law-abiding Thais as men from Mars. Of course not all Thais subscibe to these stereotypes, but the media perpetuation of them, and the continuing use of the term khon taang dao, do little to help.  Not all foreigners in Thailand are farang, and not all foreigners are equal.