Word Alternatives

[SarahS]

Hello

I have recently been lucky to have my first article accepted here at Constant Content. I now want to start writing in earnest and I am currently on my next piece. Without going into too much detail I was wondering if the word 'foreigner' is acceptable or if not, what are the alternatives? I know that's a bit weird but for some reason I have lots of doubts.

Thanks
Sarah

[WordCraft]

Well, I live in the UK and though the word can be used in a mean sense, it certainly can be used in its normal sense too. "He's a foreigner" is quite acceptable. Perhaps some reactionary types (the ones who preach that "Ba ba blacksheep" is evil! ) might take exception, but I've always considered it the duty of an independent writer to ignore political correctness (though not good manners). However, some alternatives could be:

from foreign parts
from a foreign land
not native
alien
outlander
Not from these shores


Depends on the context I guess...

[SarahS]

Hi
Thanks for the reply, I'm from the UK too.
It was mainly for my title which is to do with dating a foreigner, it just sounds wrong somehow.
Thanks
Sarah

[jadedragon]

Cross cultural dating might sound better.

[Celeste Stewart]

It's funny how perfectly fine words end up becoming negative. To me, "dating a foreigner" seems fine. It's inclusive - that is, the article could apply to anyone. For example, an American reader who's dating a British partner could relate (as the British partner would be the foreigner) and so would a British reader dating an American (in this case, the American partner would be the foreigner). The same is true of a Chinese reader dating an Australian partner and so on. Jade's idea of "cross cultural dating" sounds good too. You might do a quick search using Google's Keyword Tool to see which phrase is more popular in the search engines.

[Evelyn]

Yep, here in the U.S., the political correctness police have just about got us converted to cross-cultural. However, the term has been so diluted that it now applies to different departments of a company actually communicating with each other... Good grief. In general, cross-cultural implies minority groups of all shapes and sizes.

Do you have a specific country in mind for your article? It might be better to say Dating Someone From Pakistan or Respecting the Dating Practices of Baptists or Finding Love With a Canadian or something.

[SarahS]

It's not for any country in particular, it's more to do with when you have a partner who speaks a different language. Foreigner never used to be a problem but I'm not sure now. The problem is that the alternatives are so wordy.

[WordCraft]

Isn't there a band called Foreigner? I wonder if they've changed their name...

[Antonia]

If the article is specifically about dating someone who speaks a different language and doesn't stray into related topics, I'd simply call it How to Date Someone Who Speaks a Different Language (or something similar). The more specific your title is, the more likely it is to appeal to buyers.

[SarahS]

Presumably the buyer can change the title? So the idea is to make it as obvious as possible as to what the article is about, rather than giving it something catchy?

[nichewriter]

Presumably the buyer can change the title? So the idea is to make it as obvious as possible as to what the article is about, rather than giving it something catchy?

Only if the buyer purchases fullrights. If he buys usage or unique rights, he can't make any changes at all to the article. So I go with Antonia's suggestion -- be as specific as possible in the title.

~S

[Antonia]

The more specific the title is, the more obvious it is what the article is about.

[Celeste Stewart]

Catchy titles, while cute and clever, aren't as desirable for Web articles as they are for print ones because of SEO. The title is so important for search engines, so a title like "Looking for Love in Foreign Places" might be catchy but it won't likely catch readers searching for help with their problems on Google. "Dating an Italian" or "Dating Chinese Women" could lead to better search engine placement. The solution? "Keyword phrase: Catchy Subtitle" such as "Dating Chinese Women: Looking for Love in Foreign Places" (ack.. but you get the idea).

[SarahS]

Thanks for all the help.

The article wasn't just about the language difference but now I'm doubting whether what I've done is a good idea and maybe I should just stick to the language difference.

Is there a limit to how long a title should be or do you self-impose a limit? I don't want anything too long but I need to convey the point of it.

Thanks

[WordCraft]

I've had some of my articles purchased and, on a Google search ('coz I'm nosey), I have found the articles with my name removed (none replacing it).

Should I tell CC?