Its not an American term at all. Perhaps the writer of the book was unaware of that fact.

Only time I have taken exception to being called farang was when a wedding invitation was sent addressed to my husband "and his farang wife" . At the time we had been married something like 18 years and I had been living on the island for over 19. I looked at him and said "We are not going to this wedding".

The key point is the manner in which the words are used, and the intent. If "paki" really is non-offensive in some parts of the world, then people in those countries using it can be forgiven; after all it sounds innocuous enough taken on face value, and in theory not that different from calling people Afganis, Turks, Brits, etc. But anyone who comes from the UK who uses it is being offensive and should know better, especially if you're

. In the UK, the word has become offensive, even if its origins seem fairly harmless.

We all know that "black" is a perfectly normal, accepted way to describe... err... black people. But the recent John Terry scandal shows that when used aggressively and in combination with other far more vulgar words then the word "black" can become very offensive, even though none of the words JT used are racist in their own right.

Paki is not considered an insult in Australia. It's merely a shortened version of Pakistani, similar to Aussie.

It's a term that became an insult in Britain after racist riots there years ago.

I find the British use of the word "convicts" to describe Australians to be insulting, unimaginitive and incorrect.

I had an Italian descendent friend who had a good job working for a mining company in a large office building in the city. When he suddenly quit I asked why.

He said it was because of racist terms used commonly in the building. He said everyday when standing in front of the bank of lifts they would arrive and open their doors with a loud noise of .......Ding, Ding, Ding.

Moss, what the heck is a Spade? That is one I have never heard before.

To be fair Tuky, I have no idea of its origins, but it is a very derogatory description of a Black Person, put it this way, if you call a Black guy a Spade, prepare to defend yourself.

ok, perhaps it is because a spade in a deck of cards is black?

Anyway, thanks for that mate,.

ok, perhaps it is because a spade in a deck of cards is black?

Yeah, pretty sure that's it.

ok, perhaps it is because a spade in a deck of cards is black?

Yeah, pretty sure that's it.

In that case...after a day spent at the beach...you should all refer to me as "diamond geezer"!

Black as the Ace of Spades was the origin as far as I know.

There is an expression in English about 'believing in calling a spade a spade'. (Usually with a Yorkshire accent)

My father's version was 'calling a spade a f*****n' n****r.' But then he was from a different generation.

ok, perhaps it is because a spade in a deck of cards is black?

Yeah, pretty sure that's it.

In that case...after a day spent at the beach...you should all refer to me as "diamond geezer"!

Beetroot ya mean, if the sun was shining........

Black as the Ace of Spades was the origin as far as I know.

There is an expression in English about 'believing in calling a spade a spade'. (Usually with a Yorkshire accent)

My father's version was 'calling a spade a f*****n' n****r.' But then he was from a different generation.

Unfortunately for your dad he had it completely wrong and the phrase goes back to Ancient Greek and has nothing to do with black people but with the digging tool called a spade.

... or 'as black as Newgate's knocker' was one that an old 'pommy' friend often used (from which I became familiar with the expression's history). And here I use term 'pom' with affection...

In the case of some of the names, one should consider the context. SBK illustrated that well in her post. I have only really objected to being called farang once, when out for a meal, and my gf was asked (in front of me, in thai) "does your farang eat thai food?". Maybe I was overly sensitive, but I felt that was rude. I just smiled and trotted out my pathetic thai "pom chorp ah-hahn thai, khob khun khrap". The lady looked a bit embarassed, which made me feel vindicated.

As for the other names, to which posters have already alluded, there is no circumstance in which they can be used without racial connotation.