[Vocabulary] Can we use the "alien" to mean foreign when we are talking about a country?

[Aamir Tariq]

I know they use "alien" for "foreigners" in the USA, that is already clear to me. Now, my question is if we can use "alien" to mean "foreign" when we are talking about a country.

She had been living in an alien country for a few months.
She has been living in a foreign country for a few months.

Regards
Aamir the Global Citizen

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Can we use the "alien" to mean foreign when we are talking about a country?

I know they use "alien" for "foreigners" in the USA, that is already clear to me. Now, my question is, [STRIKE]if we[/STRIKE] can we use "alien" to mean "foreign" when we are talking about a country?

She had been living in an alien country for a few months.
She has been living in a foreign country for a few months.

Regards
Aamir the Global Citizen

No. Only foreign is appropriate.

Note my corrections above. Questions can't begin with if we can; they require subject-verb inversion as in can we....

 

[GoesStation]

Re: Can we use the "alien" to mean foreign when we are talking about a country?

Indirect questions begin with if or whether.

I'd say 'My question is whether we can ...', but I think i is possible. There are similar examples here: http://fraze.it/n_search.jsp?q="question+is+if"&l=0&t=0&ffo=false&findid=-1&ff=

But indirect questions usually don't end with a question mark, do they?

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Re: Can we use the "alien" to mean foreign when we are talking about a country?

But indirect questions usually don't end with a question mark, do they?

No, they don't, I am sorry I should have put a full stop instead of a question mark.

I have replaced it with a full stop. Now, Do I have to make any further changes since it is an indirect question?

And I would also like to have a response to my original question.

 

[Barb_D]

Re: Can we use the "alien" to mean foreign when we are talking about a country?

We use "alien" only in certain circumstances, and usually only in relations to government immigration issues.

You would never, for example, say "The alien students are hosting a lunch today to share food from their cultures."


This is from Wikipedia, so I don't know how accurate it is:
Different countries use varying terms for "aliens" including:

• a legal alien is a non-citizen who is legally permitted to remain in a country. This is a very broad category which includes tourists, guest workers, legal permanent residents and student visa resident aliens.
  • a nonresident alien is a non-citizen who is visiting a country, for example as a tourist, on business, entertainers, sportspeople or in the country to receive medical treatment.
  • a resident alien is a non-citizen who has temporary resident status in a country.
• an enemy alien is a non-citizen who is a national of an enemy country.
• an illegal alien is a non-citizen who is present in a country unlawfully or without the country's authorization.[SUP][2][/SUP] This could be because they overstayed their welcome or they slipped through the border undetected.

 

[charliedeut]

Re: Can we use the "alien" to mean foreign when we are talking about a country?

I had only heard "legal alien" in The Police's song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reghyn9fmJQ. So I had not really given it any further thought (shame on me) .

 

[Aamir Tariq]

Re: Can we use the "alien" to mean foreign when we are talking about a country?

Read the responses more carefully. GoesStation answered your question in post 2.

Sorry, I am such an idiot.