How is an expat different from a "migrant worker"?
Kerry Howley of Reason recently brought up a fascinating point about how our use of language might reflect some of our subconscious prejudices. She writes:
"If you picked up, moved to Paris, and landed a job, what would you call yourself? Chances are, if you're an American, you'd soon find yourself part of a colorful community of 'expats.' If, while there, you hired an Algerian nanny-- a woman who had picked up, moved abroad, and landed a job-- how would you refer to him or her? Expat probably isn't the first word that springs to mind. Yet almost no one refers to herself as a 'migrant worker.'"
In my experience, she's right. Having lived abroad a few times, I never once thought of myself as a "migrant worker" or even an "immigrant." I was always an expat. But why? What is the distinction? It seems the word "expat" is mostly used when referring to Westerners living abroad, but how would our perception of immigrants-- and "migrant workers"-- in the U.S. change if we thought of them as expats? Or if, when we lived abroad, we called ourselves "migrant workers?"