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allochtoon

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French allochtone, from Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos, other) χθών (khthṓn, earth, ground).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɑlɔxˈtoːn/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: al‧loch‧toon
  • Rhymes: -oːn

Adjective

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allochtoon (comparative allochtoner, superlative allochtoonst)

  1. allochthonous

Declension

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Declension of allochtoon
uninflected allochtoon
inflected allochtone
comparative allochtoner
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial allochtoon allochtoner het allochtoonst
het allochtoonste
indefinite m./f. sing. allochtone allochtonere allochtoonste
n. sing. allochtoon allochtoner allochtoonste
plural allochtone allochtonere allochtoonste
definite allochtone allochtonere allochtoonste
partitive allochtoons allochtoners

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Noun

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allochtoon m (plural allochtonen, diminutive allochtoontje n)

  1. a person (or thing) originating abroad
    1. (law, demography) a person of non-native descent, having been born abroad or having foreign parents or grandparents (legal and demographic definitions vary)
  2. (colloquial, potentially offensive) a person of non-Western descent, typically Muslim or Black

Usage notes

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  • While initially used as a politically correct term, use in the meaning “person of non-Western descent” is now often considered racist and incorrect by those adhering to more formal definitions; Allochtoon means something that originated abroad, whereas most people labeled as such were actually born in the country.
  • Use of this word to refer to people has been avoided by the Dutch government since 2016 (along with autochtoon), favouring met een migratieachtergrond (with a migration background) as a more politically neutral and correct qualifier to express the same idea.
  • The word's negative connotation comes from it rarely if ever being used in a positive context in the media; it's typically used to denote crime statistics or a "demographic threat".
  • The word is in practice used to denote more specifically Muslims and Blacks; it is almost never used for East Asians for example.
  • In informal contexts, it's used ironically (and non-offensively) by people of non-Western descent among each other, but remains potentially offensive when used by a person of Dutch or Flemish descent.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Descendants

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  • Papiamentu: alòkton, alòhton