Do You Hear The Word Farang Used By Thais In A Derogatory Way?

[meemiathai]

Are you trying to say thais generally will address other Asian looking people as sir or madam but will try to call westerners farang as good as they can if they think they can get away with it? You think they are generally racist towards farang?

Precisely how i feel it is.. You should get around the country a bit more, & be more observant & understanding .. I really don't know to be angry or to laugh! It is so bloody funny!

I know HK is where you live, so clearly you can think of some negative aspects of being there, let me tell you, I am half scotish half chinese and born here in HK and grew up here so I know what I am talking about when I am talking about HK. while on your thai holidays, excitment may obscure the real facts of life, which i have 'pleasure' observing on numerous occasions, especially driving to different provinces.. Bangkokians are sort of more civilised , so to say >>less in your face, in those matters.

How long have you lived in HK? Tell me what you understand about its culture so I can have an idea of how much you know about thailand.

[meemiathai]

BTW, asiaworld, are you saying you never had any advantages being a caucasian here in HK? What were the negatives you had in HK?

[madjbs]

Most people have western culture so engrained into their heads that it’s impossible for them to accept certain things. Most people don’t realise they have certain values engrained into their personalities which leads to them assuming everything else is simply wrong. If you have been brought up in two different cultures then it’s easier to recognise.

[onnut]

Are there any Thai Nationals reading this that would care to answer?

there are many debates about the word Farang. why not let some Thai Nationals answer and clear it up once and for all.

Personaly though, I think it can be used in a bad way and a good way, depends on who is saying it. I have asked many Thais this and always get that blank look, so maybe its not such a good word.

[meemiathai]

Asiaword, I am sorry but I have trouble following what you wrote in your two previous posts. If English is not your native language that is understandable and I apologize as I know how hard it can be to express oneself in a non-native tongue.

I do sense that you are very bitter about your experience in Thailand, which means it is a good thing you are apparently living in Cambodia where I am sure the situation is much improved.

Leave him alone, qualtrough. He's just a kid bragging how much he knows about Asia. I wonder what he can lecture me on about HK and Cantonese.

[meemiathai]

Asiaworld

I lived in Hong Kong for 7 years before living in Thailand and I can tell you that the us and them attitude is much stronger there, especially among the older generations. Thai people seem much friendlier compared to Hong Kong Chinese that you meet in everyday life (sorry meemiathai), although I made many Chinese friends as well while I was there.

No need to apologise, madjbs. It is very bloody true! And I just love honesty!

[WaiWai]

Australian, lived and worked in Hk for 4 years.

To be perfectly honest, the place shocked the %^$# out of me, so far as how people thought about and treated others, but I was new to Asia.

I used to think I was unshockable, but Asia alwaus comes up with new ways .

[onnut]

I now firmly call Thailand my home and I can be fairly sure that there will always be methods to live here if you are inclined to.

I assume you have permanent residency or Thai citizenship?

What "methods" do you refer to that would allow someone who doesn't qualify for Non-Immigrant visa extensions to remain indefinitely in Thailand?

How a long term tourist or temporary resident on a Non-Immigrant visa can consider somewhere their permanent home just shows how detached from reality some Westerners become in Thailand.

er mate, this is my home also. I have chosen to live here. I am married to a Thai who will soon give birth to our first child. we bought our own house 4-5 months ago. I own a couple of cars here (in my name) house is in both our names... also I have a very good job here.

why the hel-l would I call England my home? I live here in Thailand. where would you call home? Scotland, but you dont live there anymore, you live here in Thailand so this is your home as well.

[meemiathai]

Strange .. & funny meemiathai has similar opinion as you do, and it really baffles me ..Now i speak mandarin since i was a kid. My cantonese is very limited, but from my observations the huge difference that it is not 'institutionalised' in HK, and actually fought against !! Same like the west had the history of slavery & antisemitism, but has redeemed itself since in unrecognisble ways ! Also PRC had same problem, but has come a long way since . Yes i know it's not all rosy,

but lets see, meemiathai 'blasts' HK in the same way, but hey, confront him & see if he can point any case of institutionalised racism directed against him.. Bet he won't , now i presume from his nick, he has thai family.. if assume one day he'd have a kid & like to settle in Thailand, i'm sure in no time, he'll be crying bitterly about the same things, he's now laughing at, like posting the clips, where foreigners portrayed as clowns

I would like to respond to this post but sorry Asia, I really don't understand.

BTW, mind telling us where you were born, what race are you? Where were you raised? How old are you? Ooops, is that rude to ask?

[camerata]

Get back on topic, guys, and less of the personal remarks or some posts are gonna get deleted.

[meemiathai]

I now firmly call Thailand my home and I can be fairly sure that there will always be methods to live here if you are inclined to.

I assume you have permanent residency or Thai citizenship?

What "methods" do you refer to that would allow someone who doesn't qualify for Non-Immigrant visa extensions to remain indefinitely in Thailand?

How a long term tourist or temporary resident on a Non-Immigrant visa can consider somewhere their permanent home just shows how detached from reality some Westerners become in Thailand.

ET, you are not saying you are trying to look for ways to stay permanently in Hxll, are you? That is funny! What you have to do is just not believe in God.

[meemiathai]

Most people have western culture so engrained into their heads that it’s impossible for them to accept certain things. Most people don’t realise they have certain values engrained into their personalities which leads to them assuming everything else is simply wrong. If you have been brought up in two different cultures then it’s easier to recognise.

I must say that generally you are quite right. But everyone is different.

It really is strange for me, that you cannot call a white person white or a black person black. What's going on with people's mind? Farang is the word but THEY DON'T LIKE IT!

MAY I ASK COULD YOU GUYS PLEASE INVENT A THAI WORD FOR DESCRIBING CAUCASIANS THAT YOU ARE PLEASED OF?

[meemiathai]

Are there any Thai Nationals reading this that would care to answer?

there are many debates about the word Farang. why not let some Thai Nationals answer and clear it up once and for all.

Personaly though, I think it can be used in a bad way and a good way, depends on who is saying it. I have asked many Thais this and always get that blank look, so maybe its not such a good word.

I do always wonder why thai members don't come out and post what they think. Well Heng did earlier. But they must have went through a fxxking hxll of an experience trying to explain it previously. So maybe I understand why they don't.

[meemiathai]

Australian, lived and worked in Hk for 4 years.

To be perfectly honest, the place shocked the %^$# out of me, so far as how people thought about and treated others, but I was new to Asia.

I used to think I was unshockable, but Asia alwaus comes up with new ways .

Next time if you come to HK, let me be your guide and explain things for you. Free of charge.

[Jingthing]

A lot of heat here mostly from the Thais aren't ever racist crowd, which I continue to find bizarre, perhaps a kind of Stockholm syndrome symptom.

I do agree it is not our place as farangs in Thailand to tell Thais what words to use or how to use those words. We are not native here, native farangs are rare, mixed Farang/Thai becoming less rare. Most of us are not on paths towards permanent residence or citizenship. So we DO NOT REALLY MATTER HERE. We can't even own land and when will we ever be able to own land here?

Indian Thais on the other hand have been here for so long they do have grounds to complain about the words being used to describe them, if they so choose. If I were them, I would choose ... I truly feel bad about how Indian Thais are viewed by other Thais. Almost every time I have brought up the subject of Indians to Thai people, the racism is palpable.

I would be curious to see a rorschach test of Thai subjects on the first word that comes into (non-Indian) Thai people's mind when you say the word INDIAN. Because in my experience, the big winners would be DIRTY and SMELLY, not sure which would be number one.

OK, just had a thought that t would be interesting to do the same test, first word that comes to minds of Thai people from the word FARANG. I can't guess that one as easily. Hmmmm, this gives me a great idea for another topic ...

Edited December 1, 2007 by Jingthing

[meemiathai]

Get back on topic, guys, and less of the personal remarks or some posts are gonna get deleted.

Please let me know if it was me. Sometimes I cross the boundaries without knowing.

[meemiathai]

I now firmly call Thailand my home and I can be fairly sure that there will always be methods to live here if you are inclined to.

I assume you have permanent residency or Thai citizenship?

What "methods" do you refer to that would allow someone who doesn't qualify for Non-Immigrant visa extensions to remain indefinitely in Thailand?

How a long term tourist or temporary resident on a Non-Immigrant visa can consider somewhere their permanent home just shows how detached from reality some Westerners become in Thailand.

er mate, this is my home also. I have chosen to live here. I am married to a Thai who will soon give birth to our first child. we bought our own house 4-5 months ago. I own a couple of cars here (in my name) house is in both our names... also I have a very good job here.

why the hel-l would I call England my home? I live here in Thailand. where would you call home? Scotland, but you dont live there anymore, you live here in Thailand so this is your home as well.

I have been living in Thailand for almost a decade yet Scotland is my home.

Thailand is not your home unless you have permanent residency at the very minimum or Thai citizenship. Most of us are merely temporary visitors, living here from one stamp to the next, one extension to the next. And that is certainly true in the eyes of the authorities, and the law, and more importantly Thailand isn't your home in the eyes of the vast majority of Thais simply because you are not Thai, and never will be. What gives you the right to think otherwise?

Don't kid yourself that owning property and motor vehicles (which incidently I also own in Thailand) makes this your home.

Even having a family here doesn't make it so for the vast majority.

I know it's hard to accept, but dems the facts.

Back on topic, I find it hard to believe so many people haven't ever heard Thais use that word in a derogatory manner.

We still don't know what crime you were convicted of.

BTW, how fluent is your thai? You hear a lot they use it in a derogatory manner. Can you give some example of your daily experience?

[meemiathai]

A lot of heat here mostly from the Thais aren't ever racist crowd, which I continue to find bizarre, perhaps a kind of Stockholm syndrome symptom.

I do agree it is not our place as farangs in Thailand to tell Thais what words to use or how to use those words. We are not native here, native farangs are rare, mixed Farang/Thai becoming less rare. Most of us are not on paths towards permanent residence or citizenship. So we DO NOT REALLY MATTER HERE. We can't even own land and when will we ever be able to own land here?

Indian Thais on the other hand have been here for so long they do have grounds to complain about the words being used to describe them, if they so choose. If I were them, I would choose ... I truly feel bad about how Indian Thais are viewed by other Thais. Almost every time I have brought up the subject of Indians to Thai people, the racism is palpable.

Mr Jingthing, can you at least have the decency to be honest and fair? Do you like fairness actually? Or do you prefer just to win not caring what it takes?

Who ever said that Thais aren't ever racist? WHO?

[asiaworld]

i guess you did, and i think you choose to read & understand some of my words, but completely ignore, the other statments i've made .. Don't be blind.. read & find your answers , if you will . Giving you my private details won't help

We are not close friends yet

[asiaworld]

Get back on topic, guys, and less of the personal remarks or some posts are gonna get deleted.

Please let me know if it was me. Sometimes I cross the boundaries without knowing.

read my previous post

[GuestHouse]

I fail to see why a native speaker should not have objected to being told by foreigners how or how not to use a word in his/her own language, a word which as Meadish and others have pointed out is not a derogatory term.

I can think of a number of words in the English Language that have become unacceptable because the people against which those words were directed objected (Regardless of their English skills). I'm sure I can also find one or two people from these same 'objecting groups' who do not themselves object.

Why should he/she give a rat's ass if they objected to it?

Because he takes the company pay cheque and enjoys the benefits of working for a multinational company that offers him great pay, educational and promotion possibilities - all in line with the companies equal opportunities 'respect and diversity' polices

If the word or any word was being used derogatorily that is an entirely different issue, and has nothing to do with the word 'Farang'.

I and others find it offensive and since it is I and others that the term is directed at then if we find it offensive it is offensive. Just like the words immigrants to the UK objected to words that the indigenous population claimed where 'innocent'.

Language, vocabulary and the use of language changes - immigration is one of the driving forces to language change - objections to the use of terms directed at immigrants is a good example of how immigration brings in changes to language use.

I would get pretty pissed off back home if someone with little or no grasp of my native tongue tried to tell me how to speak my own language.

Be pissed off then - Immigrants to where ever you are from have already taught you to use your native tongue in different ways - adding new words, changing the meaning and use of others and successfully demanding that you do not use other words.

With respect to 'Little or no grasp of my native tongue' I'm not sure what your native tongue is. But I'm absolutely sure there will be foreigners who are better educated than you in your own language.

Kudos to the employee for having the guts to speak up. I am sure a lot of the other Thai staff felt similarly but didn't dare speak out.

Kudos indeed where the arguments made are made respectfully - but be aware - you may know the old adage 'Respect has to be earned' well we have a different take on that 'We start with respect and its up to the individual which way things go after that. I can assure you, he could not have made a better case against himself that the ranting, abusive and offensive language he chose.

What you think other Thai staff felt about all this is by definition all in your own mind.

I am sorry to hear that you experience the word used in a derogatory sense frequently, although given your attempt to tell Thais how to speak their own language I am not surprised.

We did not tell our Thai staff to do anything, nor I would add did we tell our expatriate staff to do anything - what we did was examine each others behavior and language in terms of its impact on others then ask our staff to discuss feelings and perceptions in order that we can all of us treat each other with mutual respect.

As a more or less proficient speaker (and listener) of Thai my experience is similar to Meadish's, which is that I rarely hear it used that way.

As a fluent Thai speaker I can assure you that I have definitely heard the term used in a derogatory manner I think personal experience is largely going to be based on two factors:

The kinds of places and people that one associates with, and the personal appearance/behavior of the farang subject to the derogatory use.

Yes I would agree. Almost all of the Thais I spend time with and socialize with are professionals, either working for my employers, client organizations and over the past two years in Rome, members of the Thai diplomatic corps and Thai assignees to the UN Food Programs.

Since our cross cultural sessions on the use of the word Farang I have seldom heard the word in the office and I have absolutely never heard any member of the Thai diplomatic corp or the Thai members at the UN Food Programs use the word.

In the past 24 hours I have heard the word 'farang' used in the following ways.

1. When I came into a garage to inquire about my car I heard another customer comment to the owner, 'Farang riab roi' after I had consulted with the owner.

2. When I gassed up at my regular gas station the clerk told the pump boy to 'go help the farang'.

3. A truck came down our street advertising farang for sale.

Those examples pretty much sum up the types of occasions where I hear farang spoken.

Yes those are also uses of the term Farang that I have frequently heard

I truthfully cannot recall the last time I heard the word used negatively. Then again, I do not live in Pattaya, hang out at Patpong, or live in a farang ghetto, areas which as Meadish pointed out tend to attract the worst of both cultures. As an example, I have visited Pattaya several times and I too would use the word 'farang' in a derogatory way to describe the offensive behavior of some of the farangs that I observed there.

P.S. What is a Euro-Thai?

of mixed race 'European and Thai'

Edited December 1, 2007 by GuestHouse

[Jingthing]

Who ever said that Thais aren't ever racist? WHO?

Not explicitly. But we now have 17 percent of people who say they have NEVER heard the word farang which means WHITE PEOPLE (racial term) used in a negative way. So that means to me they are saying Thais are not ever racist to white people at least in their personal experience. You are correct, I don't remember anyone saying Thais aren't racist towards other races such as blacks.

Edited December 1, 2007 by Jingthing

[meemiathai]

i guess you did, and i think you choose to read & understand some of my words, but completely ignore, the other statments i've made .. Don't be blind.. read & find your answers , if you will . Giving you my private details won't help

We are not close friends yet

WHAT? I DID?

Point me out and I am going to eat the whole god danm computer!

Your posts certainly are starting to sound very valid. I am not even asking for you details! If telling us what race you are, where you were born and raise is something that difficult to do, it is hard not to think that you have some personal problems.

BTW, why not continue boasting?

[meemiathai]

We still don't know what crime you were convicted of.

BTW, how fluent is your thai? You hear a lot they use it in a derogatory manner. Can you give some example of your daily experience?

I was never convicted, I absconded bail and fled to Thailand.

Glad that at least you are not that as serious a person as I thought. Hope you can open up a bit and express yourself more here.

Most importantly enjoy life.

[meemiathai]

Who ever said that Thais aren't ever racist? WHO?

Not explicitly. But we now have 17 percent of people who say they have NEVER heard the word farang which means WHITE PEOPLE (racial term) used in a negative way. So that means to me they are saying Thais are not ever racist to white people at least in their personal experience. You are correct, I don't remember anyone saying Thais aren't racist towards other races such as blacks.

Jingthing, I do feel that you are some sort of smart person. But were you really bad at school in maths? Or in Science class?

Never heard thais using the farang word negatively does not simply mean never experienced thai racism. If they are going to be racist towards us there is no need to take the word farang out.

[kyb789]

As a fluent Thai (Issan)/Laotian speaking American I can assure you that the word "Farang" is generally not used in a derogative manner. What's kind of funny is that the actual meaning of Farang (Fa-lung) really means "French person". When Thai/Lao people are speaking amongst themselves it's meaning then changes to a "Caucasian" person... and NOT in a derogative way. Thai/Lao don't call Caucasians "White people" in the Thai language, rather Farang as a blanket term for all Caucasian European/American/Austrailian etc. Many seem to think Farang means "foreigner" and it really doesn't... but when you think about it, if you're a Caucasian person in Southeast Asian country... you're probably a foreigner in most cases so sometimes Farang is used to mean that. Kohn tahng pa-thet (person from another country) is the closest thing I can think of that means "foreigner"... Farang is much simpler to use.

Farang would be just like using "Black" when speaking of a person of African decent... Black is not derogatory as opposed to the "N" word. As far as I know Thai/Lao people don't have a derogatory word for a Caucasian person. When a Thai/Lao person sees a Black American they don't call them Farang (as foreigner)... they would say "kohn dahm" for "black person".

I hope I described this well enough to clear up the confusion.

I like your arguements. But all I can do is rely on my own experience in Bangkok. I am single and dated many women over 3 yrs living here. Why is it that they ALL stop using the word "farang" around me once we begin a relationship? They start to say "foreigner". I for sure have seen my girls use "farang" with a negative deflection in their voice when they didn't like something. If they are speaking with respect, they say "foreigner". This goes even at my office. Now, I never corrected them. So if it is not a negative word, what is going on?

[GuestHouse]

As a fluent Thai (Issan)/Laotian speaking American I can assure you that the word "Farang" is generally not used in a derogative manner.

Then having given us your experience of how the word is 'generally' used - I take it you accept that at other times it is used in a derogatory manner.

Or are you saying that as a fluent Thai speaker you do not ever pick up on the use of the word Farang hitched with derogatory classifiers and/or with inflection of voice or perhaps stressing of pronounciation that carries derogatory sense?

[qualtrough]

I fail to see why a native speaker should not have objected to being told by foreigners how or how not to use a word in his/her own language, a word which as Meadish and others have pointed out is not a derogatory term.

I can think of a number of words in the English Language that have become unacceptable because the people against which those words were directed objected (Regardless of their English skills). I'm sure I can also find one or two people from these same 'objecting groups' who do not themselves object.

I assume that you are referring to words like N*****, Wop, <deleted>, etc. These are words that were intended to be offensive in and of themselves despite what some may have claimed. As has been pointed out here by people with far more expertise than you in the Thai language, 'farang' as a word is neutral and not an offensive word. Like any word, it can be used with other words and used in a derogatory way. Please explain how 'farang' in and of itself is an offensive term the equivalent of the N word or the like. BTW, this is Thailand, not the UK. Your assumption that the Thais should copy UK behavior in this respect is really patronizing.

Why should he/she give a rat's ass if they objected to it?

Because he takes the company pay cheque and enjoys the benefits of working for a multinational company that offers him great pay, educational and promotion possibilities - all in line with the companies equal opportunities 'respect and diversity' polices

So 'might makes right'? Got it!

If the word or any word was being used derogatorily that is an entirely different issue, and has nothing to do with the word 'Farang'.

I and others find it offensive and since it is I and others that the term is directed at then if we find it offensive it is offensive. Just like the words immigrants to the UK objected to words that the indigenous population claimed where 'innocent'.

Now here you have a problem. In the UK and USA immigrants and the descendant of immigrants make up a fair section of society and therefore have some influence. Farangs in Thailand on the other hand are a tiny, tiny minority. The chances that farangs will persuade Thais that the word farang is offensive because they think it is so is ludicrous. At any rate, as the old saying goes, "Just because 50 million Frenchmen say something is so doesn't make it so."

Language, vocabulary and the use of language changes - immigration is one of the driving forces to language change - objections to the use of terms directed at immigrants is a good example of how immigration brings in changes to language use.

That is fine for the UK, USA, and elsewhere if that is what they want. Unlike those countries, Thailand does not aspire to be an immigrant nation. They also are under no obligation to follow the cultural behaviors of those countries if they choose not to do so. Again, a very patronizing attitude.

I would get pretty pissed off back home if someone with little or no grasp of my native tongue tried to tell me how to speak my own language.

Be pissed off then - Immigrants to where ever you are from have already taught you to use your native tongue in different ways - adding new words, changing the meaning and use of others and successfully demanding that you do not use other words.

With respect to 'Little or no grasp of my native tongue' I'm not sure what your native tongue is. But I'm absolutely sure there will be foreigners who are better educated than you in your own language.

What would that mean if there were a few who spoke the language better than I did?

Kudos to the employee for having the guts to speak up. I am sure a lot of the other Thai staff felt similarly but didn't dare speak out.

Kudos indeed where the arguments made are made respectfully - but be aware - you may know the old adage 'Respect has to be earned' well we have a different take on that 'We start with respect and its up to the individual which way things go after that. I can assure you, he could not have made a better case against himself that the ranting, abusive and offensive language he chose.

What you think other Thai staff felt about all this is by definition all in your own mind.

I am sorry to hear that you experience the word used in a derogatory sense frequently, although given your attempt to tell Thais how to speak their own language I am not surprised.

We did not tell our Thai staff to do anything, nor I would add did we tell our expatriate staff to do anything - what we did was examine each others behavior and language in terms of its impact on others then ask our staff to discuss feelings and perceptions in order that we can all of us treat each other with mutual respect.

As a more or less proficient speaker (and listener) of Thai my experience is similar to Meadish's, which is that I rarely hear it used that way.

As a fluent Thai speaker I can assure you that I have definitely heard the term used in a derogatory manner I think personal experience is largely going to be based on two factors:

What is your definition of 'fluent'? Do you basically have the same grasp of the language as an educated native speaker, or does fluency to you mean something else?

The kinds of places and people that one associates with, and the personal appearance/behavior of the farang subject to the derogatory use.

Yes I would agree. Almost all of the Thais I spend time with and socialize with are professionals, either working for my employers, client organizations and over the past two years in Rome, members of the Thai diplomatic corps and Thai assignees to the UN Food Programs.

Since our cross cultural sessions on the use of the word Farang I have seldom heard the word in the office and I have absolutely never heard any member of the Thai diplomatic corp or the Thai members at the UN Food Programs use the word.

That strata of Thai society is vanishingly small, and given their overseas education etc. extremely unrepresentative of the average Thai. Again, you are tilting at windmills if you think you have any chance of getting Thais to stop using the word.

In the past 24 hours I have heard the word 'farang' used in the following ways.

1. When I came into a garage to inquire about my car I heard another customer comment to the owner, 'Farang riab roi' after I had consulted with the owner.

2. When I gassed up at my regular gas station the clerk told the pump boy to 'go help the farang'.

3. A truck came down our street advertising farang for sale.

Those examples pretty much sum up the types of occasions where I hear farang spoken.

Yes those are also uses of the term Farang that I have frequently heard

OMG, we agree on something!

I truthfully cannot recall the last time I heard the word used negatively. Then again, I do not live in Pattaya, hang out at Patpong, or live in a farang ghetto, areas which as Meadish pointed out tend to attract the worst of both cultures. As an example, I have visited Pattaya several times and I too would use the word 'farang' in a derogatory way to describe the offensive behavior of some of the farangs that I observed there.

P.S. What is a Euro-Thai?

of mixed race 'European and Thai'

Is Eurasian non-PC now?

[qualtrough]

I have been living in Thailand for almost a decade yet Scotland is my home.

Thailand is not your home unless you have permanent residency at the very minimum or Thai citizenship. Most of us are merely temporary visitors, living here from one stamp to the next, one extension to the next. And that is certainly true in the eyes of the authorities, and the law, and more importantly Thailand isn't your home in the eyes of the vast majority of Thais simply because you are not Thai, and never will be. What gives you the right to think otherwise?

Don't kid yourself that owning property and motor vehicles (which incidently I also own in Thailand) makes this your home.

Even having a family here doesn't make it so for the vast majority.

I know it's hard to accept, but dems the facts.

Back on topic, I find it hard to believe so many people haven't ever heard Thais use that word in a derogatory manner.

It is very clear Emperor Tud that you do not know what the word 'Home' means. Here is the Webster's definition:

Home

Main Entry:

1home Listen to the pronunciation of 1home

Pronunciation:

\ˈhōm\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English hom, from Old English hām village, home; akin to Old High German heim home, Lithuanian šeima family, servants, Sanskrit kṣema habitable, kṣeti he dwells, Greek ktizein to inhabit

Date:

before 12th century

1 a: one's place of residence : domicile b: house

Put simply, a home is the place where you hang your hat. It has nothing to do with your visa status, ability to work, or any of the other things you mentioned. If you have lived here 10 years and do not consider it 'home' that is your prerogative, but whether you like it or not Thailand is your home.

[thaipete]

Really it hardly warrants a reply maybe in tourist traps like Pattaya it is used badly but the average Thai accepts a Farang as a Caucasian and nothing bad about them