Original sentence: Although the term has lost much of its original perjorative connotation, prior to the 1980s, the term was commonly prefaced by sei (死, jyutping: sei2, meaning: death, damnation) as in sei gwailo  meaning "damned ghost man" (roughly equivalent to "bastard") and was a real term of abuse
Edited sentence: A white person would probably not use this term if they were aware of its perjorative background.Prior to the 1980s, the term was commonly prefaced by sei (死, jyutping: sei2, meaning: death, damnation) as in sei gwailo  meaning "damned ghost man" (roughly equivalent to "bastard") and a real term of abuse