Editing Gweilo (section)

==Usage==
The term ''gwái'' ({{linktext|鬼}}) is an adjective that can be used to express hate and deprecation, an example being the locals' expression of their hatred towards the Japanese during their occupation of Hong Kong in [[World War II]] with the same ''gwái''. It conveys a general bad and negative feeling but is a somewhat obsolete and archaic/old-fashioned term nowadays and other more modern terms have largely replaced ''gwái'' for similarly negative meanings. Cantonese people sometimes call each other ''sēui gwái'' ({{linktext|衰鬼}}), which means ''bad person'', though more often than not it is applied affectionately, similar to "[[Bitch (slang)|Hey, bitch]]!" in English when used affectionately. Nowadays, Cantonese speakers often refer to non-Chinese people by their ethnicity.{{fact|date=November 2024}}

''Gwáilóu'' is often considered to be an acceptable generic racial term for Westerners.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781848361881 |url-access=registration |title= The Rough Guide to Hong Kong & Macau|author= David Leffman|author2= Jules Brown |page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781848361881/page/338 338] |publisher=Rough Guides |edition= 7th |year= 2009 |isbn= 978-1848361881 }}</ref>  Also, some members of the Hong Kong community with European ancestry (particularly those with limited or zero Cantonese fluency) are indifferent to the term, and those who believe that the best way to defang a word intended as a "slur" is to embrace it, and use gweilo to refer to non-Chinese in Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cantonese.hk/wp/2007/11/28/on-the-radio-again/|title=SBS Radio – I'm on the radio again! » Cantonese.hk: The views and experiences of an Australian learning Cantonese|first=Ajay|last=D'Souza|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=18 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318043918/http://cantonese.hk/wp/2007/11/28/on-the-radio-again/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Gwailóu'' has, in some instances, been recognised as simply referring to white foreigners in South East Asia and now appears on [[Oxford Dictionaries (website)|Oxford Dictionaries]] defined as such,<ref name="oxforddictionaries.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gweilo|title=gweilo – definition of gweilo in English – Oxford Dictionaries|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=21 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621153039/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gweilo|url-status=dead}}</ref> although non-white foreigners are not ''gwáilóu''. While ''gwáilóu'' is used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech, another alternative term the sound of which has several meanings ''sāi yàhn'' ({{zh|c=西人|l=Western person|labels=no}}) is now used as well, particularly if the conversation involves a non-Chinese person. Homonyms - ie words that sound the same or almost the same depending on the tone - to "sai yan" include references to female genitalia or boasting so "sai yan" is not necessarily a polite alternative to "gwai lou". A neutral alternative would be ‘foreign person’, pronounced "ngoi gwok yan".<ref name="IntermediateCantonese"/>

[[CFMT-TV]] in [[Toronto]], Canada had a cooking show named ''Gwai Lo Cooking'' (1999) hosted by a Cantonese-speaking European chef, who was also the show's producer and the person who named the show. According to CFMT-TV, ''"Gwei Lo"'' was used as "a self-deprecating term of endearment".<ref>[http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809appendix.pdf Appendix to 'CFMT-TV re ''Gwai Lo Cooking'' '] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528114456/http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809appendix.pdf|date=28 May 2008}}, CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided 6 July 2000</ref> In response to some complaints, the [[Canadian Broadcast Standards Council]] ruled that:

{{blockquote|While historically, "gwai lo" may have been used by Chinese people as a derogatory remark concerning foreigners, particularly European Westerners, the persons consulted by the Council indicate that it has since lost much of its derogatory overtone. The Council finds that the expression has also lost most of its religious meaning, so that "foreign devil" no longer carries the theological significance it once did. Based on its research, the Council understands that the expression has gone from being considered offensive to, at worst, merely "impolite".<ref>[http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809.php "CFMT-TV re ''Gwai Lo Cooking''"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807090728/http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2000/000809.php|date=7 August 2011}}, CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided 6 July 2000</ref>}}