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How does one differentiate "expatriate" and "emigrant"? Why is the term "expatriate" only reserved for those who originate from Western countries?
by uoaei 9y ago
How does one differentiate "expatriate" and "emigrant"? Why is the term "expatriate" only reserved for those who originate from Western countries?
- IIAOPSW 9y agoexpats don't plan to die in the country they moved to. Usually they are there for less than 10 years. Expats don't get citizenship in the new country. No the term is not just Western exceptionalism. Yes it can apply to people not from Western countries.
- timgrahamtech 9y agoPeople generally move to another country in search of a better life... not planning where to die. In casual use I hear expatriate used for anything from someone temporarily living abroad to people who have renounced their citizenship - even if still residing in the US. I understand the legal definition for the US is simply someone working in a country that is not their country of origin (https://definitions.uslegal.com/e/expatriate/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/e/expatriate/). In this legal sense, the US applies the term expatriate to Americans who are in other countries but not to people from other countries who are working in the US. Instead, people from outside the US are referred to as aliens until they obtain US citizenship (https://definitions.uslegal.com/a/alien/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/a/alien/). I would not call this an example of Western Exceptionalism. It is rather a phenomenon known as "othering" meaning to portray someone or something as different to emphasize that he/she/it is the other and not us/this. Note you won't find this term in Webster. They were apparently too busy adding "bling" and "ginormous".
- throw2bit 9y agoThats a common misconception and ignorance of western world in action. Just like they call their native Americans as Indians. And when they say "world", they really mean the North American continent. When they say immigrants, they mean third world people, and when they say expats, its first world country citizens. These misconceptions will change once the solipsistic cloud over the western world clears out.
- icebraining 9y agoSo you think we Europeans mean the North American continent when we say "world"? Or is Europe not part of the western world?
- throw2bit 9y agoI understand the air of superiority in your comment. You can keep that to yourself and go back to your colonial days. By the way, what you think about this ? Isnt it stupid to call it a world series ? As a European, will you call it the world series ? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series
- 24gttghh 9y agoexpatriate: a person who lives outside their native country. emigrant: a person who leaves their own country in order to settle permanently in another.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- kalleboo 9y agoSo the article is talking about both? Because if you're giving up your citizenship you're certainly not planning on going back.
- 24gttghh 9y agoThe article mentions 'expat' 24 times, and does not mention 'emigrant' once. The GP's question is a bit of a tangent from the article at hand. Also, one does not necessarily give up their citizenship to become an expat somewhere else.