“老外”究竟意味着什么？

What Does laowai Really Mean?A Psychological Analysis of the High Frequency Addressing Term to Internationals

本文对大学生称外国人为"老外"动机和外国留学生对"老外"称呼的心理感受进行调查。结果表明,大学生称呼外国人"老外"的动机十分复杂;不同人在不同场合使用"老外"称呼的动机不同,这一称呼语也有不同含义;外国留学生对"老外"称呼的心理感受总的说来是消极的。就总体来看,"老外"是一个具有贬义的称呼。

This paper investigates the university students＇ internal motivations Of using laowai to call foreigners on the one hand, and the foreign students＇ psychological reactions when they were called laowai on the other. The results show that the structure of the motivation has 4 factors. Different people used the word with different intended meaning, so the meaning of the term in actual use varies. The structure of the psychological reactions of foreign students has 7 factors. On the whole, laowai is a slightly derogatory term from these perspectives.