Submitted 3 weeks ago by CaptainsLog@lemmings.world to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
I’m French. I grew up with my parents’ English since age 5, American English. People often assume I myself live in America and grew up there. I do have citizenship there but I don’t really want to go due to recent political stuff. 😓
I am a bi transmasc as well so I’m scared.
ppl sometimes ask where i’m from, assuming i’m not native. i use the opportunity to fool them a bit, by pointing in the direction of my birthplace and say “from over there”. they assume i misunderstood and rephrase and i can reveal that i really was born just a few kilometers in that direction. i really enjoy doing that, because i think its absolutely irrelevant and inadequate to ask. foreigners will reveal where they’re from when they’re ready. some ppl didn’t come for fun and being reminded of their origins can trigger bad/sad memories they’re not ready to handle.
All the things me. I work with n an international environment, so my accent is a bit hard to nail down.
Especially in 2010 when my main coworkers were British, Canadian, and Texan. The Texans thought I was Canadian, the Canadians thought I was British, and the brit thought I was Texan.
Nobody suspected that I was Norwegian unless I told them. It probably didn’t help that the home airport as published on the crew lists was first Dublin, then Brno via Prague.
Texans will appreciate that you refer to them as Texans rather then American.
Yup, I’ve worked enough with Texans (and still do) to know that. Some are Texicans, some are Texericans, but first and foremost, they’re all Texans.
I was born in Canada and was essentially raised Canadian. Both my bio parents were born in Guyana. Go back in history and their relatives were from India. My stepdad is from a Scottish background.
In Canada I lived in a city with a noticeable Indian and Pakistani population. People there assume I am Indian.
When I travelled Europe, everyone assumed I was African, French or French Canadian. I can’t speak French. In Germany, people assumed I was German or Muslim. I know being Muslim isn’t a nationality but the Turkish people in Berlin would greet me all the time. While I was in Australia, I was just treated like I was exotic… Yeah… And in Cuba, people thought I was Cuban. Luckily I had a pasty white, Spanish speaking Californian guy with me for a short time to speak to the locals.
It’s such a trip what people assume about me. Even more trippy with the amount of people who thought I was a local when I was abroad in Europe, especially in Germany where I only had a year with a work/travel visa.
Even though I have no pride in being Canadian, that’s what I am. That’s the culture I was born in and raised up as. The people who ask “Where are you from? No, where are you really from?” Tend to be closed minded people who I actively avoid.
I would not come here either.
When I was an Uber driver, like 10ish years ago, people would ask if I was from the US (I live in the US) often. Apparently the way I pronounce some things can come across as having an accent, which I don’t see. I think the only thing I pronounce differently is dollar; doh-llar. Why? I have no idea. At first I’d be like “nope, born and raised in this city”, but after a while I would lean into it, for fun. I’d ask “where do you think I’m from?”, and then respond with a country that is adjacent to their guess. It was always Eastern European, which I do have some distant lineage, but far far removed. I would then follow it up with the “just kidding, born and raised here” and we’d all have a good laugh. 🤷🏻♀️
Where are you from actually ? That sounds fun to mess with them
Where do you think I’m from? I’m definitely from a country very close to what you have guessed!
Kidding aside, I’m from Michigan in the US. These Uber trips were from the town I was born in. I have no idea why I pronounce certain words the way I do. It certainly is not the way anyone else I’ve known speaks. Pretty odd, right?
I’m Northern Irish and regularly get confused for being Scottish, despite the accents and cadence sounding not at all similar to my ear.
I’ve had people think I’m Italian; I don’t have any Italian heritage that I know of.
I’m from eastern Austria and I’ve had people from other German-speaking regions think I’m Swiss or completely non-native because of my accent when speaking German.
Yes. They think I’m Mexican 😭
Nah. People easily recognize my hillbilly roots.
tetris11@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
if you’re european, nationality is an arbitrary thing measured in a distance of about 100km depending on dialect.
the one’s who care about this should not really care about this, and you should feel free to ignore them
CaptainsLog@lemmings.world 3 weeks ago
Thanks ! Agreed, IDK why it’s valued so much in America. - un parisien
loomi@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s because we are a nation of descendants of transplants from other countries, living among actual transplants. Anyone can become American. This question of your nationality and where your people came from to get here, it’s the beginning of a dance that establishes our social fabric. That’s the PR at least. These days with crazy man doing crazy things, it’s not quite how it used to be.
gwilikers@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Say this to an Irish person. I dare you.
tetris11@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Irish blood, English heart, this I’m maaade of…
If Morrisey can sing that and survive, I’ll be fine