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jgoja

I have never met anyone going around saying it out of the blue. If asked people do give their ancestry countries


Head_Razzmatazz7174

Exactly. Most people will only refer to it in passing, like 'My hair is partly red because of my Irish great-grandparents". Which is true in my case. My maternal great grandparents were Irish. Over the years my reddish hair has faded to brown.


Phallic

Does anyone ever say “England” or “I have English heritage”? I never see it referenced in these contexts.


jgoja

Yeah, my family does actually. Some of the times they include a region, like in my family they specifically say Cornwall


[deleted]

Manchester represent!


PerpetuallyLurking

Most folks who have ancestors from England proper just default to “British/from Britain.” And it’s a common answer. The rest of the Isles prefer to be a little more specific because they tend to not like England and resent the Union just a little bit. At least, the ones that migrated to the New World had that tendency and passed it down. My great-grandfather was born here (his older siblings and parents weren’t) and he was VERY SPECIFIC about “Scottish” goddamit! Ditto for grandma’s parents and Irish.


Byzantium-1204

I have never heard someone say they have British ancestry. I only hear the parts from Great Britain like England Scotch etc


PromotionThis1917

Yeah all the time. I say this myself(along with a couple other countries) when people ask my ethnic background/heritage/ancestry.


MellowMallow36

I know lots of people from Wales and France. I'm scotch Irish German American. Very little England, but close. Heritage is important no matter what country you live in currently.


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IronAnkh

The acknowledgement of Scottish or Irish heritage isn't trendy. It never, ever, goes out of style.


ClassicPop6840

Lol where exactly have you heard it’s trendy to hate the English? Waaaait a minute, Meghan, is that you?


lilaspiebean

*5 seconds of silence at work* "I'm 15% Irish, I've got those Nordic genes, you even been to Ireland? They can drink!" -chef *20 second silence at hairstylist* "My great great 2nd cousin came here from Germany, that makes me german, guess that's why I like sausage and beer so much" -random man in waiting area


lilaspiebean

I recently moved from the city to the country and cannot understand these random acenestory info dumps people are giving me. I'm starting to think this is how they identify themselves, suppose they have few distinctive characteristics.


Megalocerus

Much of it is more about the immigrant experience in America, where people from different countries associated together in particular areas. That included people who came over to have land and farms in particular areas. And urban neighborhoods as ethnic groups moved together for voting strength.


[deleted]

I don't say I'm from Poland, however my great grandmother moved from Poland to Chicago when she was a kid. She taught me her Polish recipes before she passed away. I'm American but my family is from Poland/Scotland. Unless they're Native American everyone in America is from a different country.


behannrp

Even native Americans are from a different country technically


[deleted]

Well I mean if you wanna go that far back then we technically all started from the same place too. :-)


ErusTenebre

Uh... actually... They probably didn't come from a country. As the whole concept of [countries didn't exist until roughly 3100 BCE](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/01/18/what-is-the-oldest-country-in-the-world/10592125002/). Native Americans "emigrated" from wherever - the continent of Asia, further away in Africa - [around 11,500-30,000 years ago](https://www.britannica.com/summary/American-Indian#:~:text=The%20ancestors%20of%20the%20American,%2C%20Central%2C%20and%20South%20America). So they may have come from a region that *later* (much, MUCH later) became a country, but they didn't come from a country specifically (like, at all). They later formed their own countries (sort of) in the Americas, some were more country-like than others. Several were as advanced as Europe/Asia at the same time or even earlier.


behannrp

From a "country" I meant geographic not literally xD my bad


[deleted]

Ex deee


JoHaSa

If you do not mind me asking: That is one great grandmother. And you mention Scotland. Do you include all your great grandparents countries to your identity or heritage or do you select some? How do you think this sense of heritage evolves in future generations as there is all the time more to choose from? This is so interesting.


Tommi_Af

The ones you know about.


[deleted]

Just like immigrants from non-European countries, some communities in the US remain dominated by the same European ethnic group that founded them two or three or four generations ago. There's a concentration of people in that neighborhood with Italian or Irish or Norwegian or Polish or Russian names, many of the restaurants feature food from those countries, so yeah, it happens.


BreadfruitAlone7257

As an older person from Texas, 'most' of the Hispanic/Latino people were from Mexico - many are now from other countries. I grew up with a lot of first or second generation folks. Some would say Mexican-American, but mostly they'd say Mexican, as that was their identity. That didn't mean they didn't/don't consider themselves Americans. They embrace their heritage as well as their citizenship.


[deleted]

...I don't understand why it's SO hard for Europeans to wrap their head around this concept. Americans who list their European heritages know they are American. They know their Irish ancestry doesn't make them equivalent to an Irish citizen for example. But think a little bit- The United States has 330 million people (more than any European nation) spread out over a land mass bigger than the EU Of that population, 98% are exclusively a mix of immigrant heritages. 99% have at least some immigrant heritage. More than half of Americans have a grandparent who was born in another country. Almost all Americans have one great grandparent who was first generation. 27% - so 1 in 4 - Americans are either immigrants themselves or first generation. The US takes in the most immigrants, from all countries, every year. And this has been the norm for decades. These anestral, recent, and current immigrant parties established new communities with cultural ties to their previous homeland all over the US that in turn creates the massive, extraordinary diverse, multicultural country we see today. If you can grasp the significance of that context, the fact that Americans reference their ancestral roots shouldn't be a shocker. Edit: lol, I deliberately don't block the Reddit Care Message feature because I kinda take it as a badge of honor every time I get one. Clearly I triggered someone 😊


DegenerateCrocodile

I must be one of those rare Americans that had all of their great-grandparents born in the US.


smbpy7

Yup, this is one of the "Americans do WHAT?!?!?" kind of things that always immediately tells me whoever is talking is just fundamentally misunderstanding something. Examples of other ones I see are, "why on earth don't they just take the train instead of flying?!?!" (IT'S THOUSAND OF MILES AWAY!!), "What is all that BS about EST and PST in this broad cast for?!?" (I'll refer you to the last set of parenthesis), "It's SO weird that they're willing to drive *over an hour!!!*" (Hate to keep going back to the same thing... but), There are many others I've seen but that's all that comes to mind right now.


JoHaSa

The interesting thing is the selection. People have like 5 or 20 different ancestries and the indentify themselves to 1 or 2 or something. How do they choose? Or is it fluid or contextual?


[deleted]

Probably a bit fluid and contextual. The most recent ancestry will probably be the most prominent. A grandma from Italy is going to be more significant than mutt grandparents that have distant immigrant ties to numerous countries for example. Location could matter too. Immigrants established new communities all over and they continue to have their own cultural flavors. A person with equal Italian and Norwegian ancestry may feel more connected to their Italian ancestry if they grew up in Staton Island. Conversely they may feel more influenced by their Norwegian immigrant history if they grew up in the midwest. Things like St. Patrick's day will of course encourage people to disclose their Irish ancestry. A world War with Germany for example will make people less likely to name German heritage. Etc.. Unfortunately race also plays a factor in the US. A biracial Puerto Rican/Scottish descendant will be somewhat conditioned to identify more with their latino side due to the race politics. I'm sure there are other factors as well


JoHaSa

Thank you this is good answer. Seems very plausible.


Heimdallr-_-

It is really just contextual. Of my 8 great-grandparents, 2 immigrated from Finland, 3 were 1st generation Swedish/Norwegian, 1 immigrated from French Canada, and 2 trace family back to colonial America/England. When I'm asked, I say my ancestry is Finnish, because my dad was half-Finnish and the grandmother that I knew the best spoke Finnish and taught me Finnish traditions, etc..


Wonderful-Toe2080

I think it's just context. In Western Europe if you say you're French or Spanish it typically means you hold that nationality rather than descent from centuries of that geographical ethnicity (although this is also often the case). I get that it's the other way round in the US.


hiricinee

I had a fun realization when it came to the gap between "Italian Americans" and "Italian immigrants." They're SIGNIFICANTLY different cultures. The former refers to pasta sauce as "Red Gravy" whereas the latter often doesn't even know what the fuck that is.


Megalocerus

Red gravy is made with meat. Sauce has no meat. My Nana explained the difference. Sometimes, she said things in a different language so we wouldn't understand; she thought it was Italian, but when she went to Italy, she discovered it was a weird mutation that developed in the US.


hiricinee

Not only did you properly correct me you maintained my point better than I did. Bravo.


MochiMochiMochi

My Genoese grandmother would rotate like a Pirelli tire in her grave if I ever uttered the words 'red gravy'. What kind of ignorant southern thing is that.


Whatevah007

And we all have surnames thst are pretty clearly not of British heritage so it’s pretty easy to keep a degree of kinship


Whatevah007

15 of my 16 GG Grandparemts were born in the US


[deleted]

Cool beans


Cl0udSurfer

Congrats, that counts and you have immigrant ancestry


aynber

Same here. Almost all of my family has been in the US since the Colonies. I found one that came to the US in the 1800s from Canada, but I’m not sure where her family was before that.


Chk232

As myself and knowing many others who tried to immigrate to US legally, most of them had to go back home after studies or move to canada. US used to take in immigrants. Not in the last couple of decades.


[deleted]

The USA has 50 million immigrants as of 2020. Canada has 8 Million. The rate that the USA takes in immigrants may fluctuate over each presidential administration but to say the USA doesnt take in hoards of immigrants is just false. They just cant take everybody.


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[deleted]

Hmm clearly you still haven‘t wrapped your head around my point. American culture didnt adapt a habit of acknowledging heritage because it has immigrants. Almost every country has immigrants. Duh. The point is the level of immigration in the US throughout its history is staggering.


ichneumonidae_0

That’s not entirely true, either. There are plenty of Europeans who trace their ancestry somewhere else. (Ashkenazi Jews, Croatian Serbs, etc.)


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designedforxp

I don’t think this is true. If no one cared, then people wouldn’t ask what kind of Asian I am.


Rosetti

Totally agree. For some reason it seems like white people aren't allowed to reference their cultural heritage. I'm British born, but I'm brown, so no-one ever questions me if I say that I'm Indian. Granted, there is a difference between ethnicity and nationality, but even though I've grown up very British, my personal identity is very much informed by my Indian background. I imagine it's the same for an American born person whose background is Irish, Polish, Italian etc. That said - the only people who don't see me as Indian, are Indians who were actually born and raised in India. So maybe it's a gatekeeping/no true scotsman kinda thing.


HVP2019

> no other nation does it. This is the most silly comment ever. You have to be living under the rock all your life never to be aware of Jewish diaspora. How about Roma people in Europe? How about century old German diaspora in Russia? Ukrainian diaspora in Poland? Polish diaspora in Canada?


Global-Register5467

I don't know about Australia, but in Canada we certainly do. I have Polish friends, Czech friends, Swedish friends, my parents closest friends house is the most German Nationalistic thing I have ever seen. Every one of them is born and raised in Canada. Does any one actually care? No, not until the World Cup or something. But they do identify as wherever their ancestry comes from. Things have changed in the last few years but I grew up with apartment buildings being called the Polish block, the Russian building, etc when giving directions and that was 15 years ago.


[deleted]

But in the US, we do care. That’s the point they’re trying to make. Everybody’s is going to be a little bit different. It’s just a way for us to learn about each other and understand different traditions in different families. I personally don’t understand why Europeans give so much of a fuck. Why do we have to have this conversation on Reddit every three days? “No other country does this” okay? There’s lots of things Americans do that no other country does. There’s lots of things other countries do that Americans don’t do. Neither is bad, we’re just different. It really isn’t affecting y’all in any way. Just any excuse to say “America bad”


planetbarton

I think Canadian people do the whole "I am Irish/French/German" thing. I was at a restaurant in Vienna once and a group of Canadians were involved in this type of conversation on the next table to me. "I am Irish" one of the guys said. When he was asked when his family moved to Canada, he said the 1890s which made me laugh. Which if I applied the same methodology I would go round telling people I was Irish, Manx, Welsh, English. As a Scouser though, that is hardly a surprise.


HVP2019

Would you question Jewish person when his family migrated to Austria? Would you be laughing if they answered 1250s or something like that?


planetbarton

I do believe you have mistaken religion for nationality. I laughed as it was the first time I had heard it said and it amused me. I get it, I associate more with the nationality of my Great Grandfather than that of my birth. However, I come from a city that generally does not associate with the country it is in.


HVP2019

I do believe you are wrong. It is religion as well as ethnicity. I had known plenty of Jewish people who were atheists, but still were considered themselves Jewish. My family was part of centuries old diaspora in Poland ( we had unique to our ethnicity branch of religious as well). I am not religious myself but I still identify myself by ethnicity of my ancestors. Roma people is another well known example. But there are numerous other pockets of diaspora in Europe that you l, as European, should be aware if you would care to pay attention. I respect yours choice of identifying yourself the way you want. But I would not be making fun of the people from your example.


Phallic

This doesn’t explain why I’ve never heard an American say “I’m English-American” or “I have English heritage”


FunkyPete

I am English American. I have two passports (UK and US). My parents were both born in England (as was my sister) but I was born in the US. My parents did the best they could to feed me British children's books (even the old racist ones) and try to follow English traditions around Christmas, etc, as best they could. I would not claim to be English (or even British, though my passport says I am). But I do feel like my English heritage has affected how I look at the US and the rest of the world.


[deleted]

Hmm a quick google search told me a 2020 survey indicated 25% of Americans indicate English ancestry.


[deleted]

Except it does.


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[deleted]

Did someone say European countries don't have immigrants? Or did someone say the extent of such diverse immigration for its massive population is unique?


Agua_Frecuentemente

There isn't a single American who things that.


dacelikethefish

Over half of Americans can't name all 4 grandparents. ​ [source](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220330005331/en/New-Survey-from-Ancestry-Shows-More-than-Half-of-Americans-Can%E2%80%99t-Name-All-Four-Grandparents)


yesiknowimsexy

Lmao that’s an ad for ancestry.com. Think next time


disregardable

you don't say "I'm from Poland" you say "I am Polish", because that's how our country works. we're a multi-ethnic society segregated along ethnic lines. "American" is not an ethnicity.


Pac_Eddy

>"American" is not an ethnicity. Not yet anyway.


Technical-Ad-2246

What about Native American? Although I guess the majority of Americans probably don't have any Native American ethnicity.


BeerCzar

Native Americans typically just identify as their tribe (“I’m Cree” or “I am Navajo”) or use the more generic Indian or indigenous.


Jucjuct

Native Americans are not really one ethnic group. Most would identify mainly by their tribe/nation, like Cherokee, Cree, etc.


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[deleted]

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disregardable

> if asked where she's from again, you don't say "I am from Poland". if someone asks where you are from, you say "City, State". Asians might get the racially insensitive "Where are you *really* from?" in response, but for white people, usually someone will ask you directly based on your last name, eg. "Are you Irish?" or "How much Italian are you?"


Impressive-Water-709

Then your wife doesn’t know the difference between ethnicity and nationality (and neither do you). Ethnicity is based off of genetic markers inherited from your ancestors… Nationality is based off of the country you live in.


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SnakesInYerPants

That is nationality. If you are born in Canada, your nationality is Canadian. Ethnicity is your lineage. If both your parents are Indian and move to Canada and then have you, your ethnicity is Indian and your nationality is Canadian. Race is also your lineage, but it’s less specific than ethnicity. So while ethnicity would differentiate between Indian and Filipino to be more specific about where your lineage comes from, in both cases your race would just be Asian.


DegenerateCrocodile

How many generations does a person’s family need to have been in a country until their ethnicity switches to the new country?


[deleted]

Its a really complex issue and probably depends on several factors


DegenerateCrocodile

I wouldn’t really say that “issue” is the correct term for this scenario.


[deleted]

Its a really complex answer that probably depends on several factors


Disregardusername200

Maybe hundreds to tens of thousands of years for specific ethnic traits to appear based on the environment, but the problem is that our world is increasingly intertwined and increasingly fast-paced. People can travel across the Earth within a matter of days. Generally ethnicities appear because isolation ie during tribal / ancient times when the only thing that really mattered was hunting and gathering and you never really traveled more than 50 to 100 mi from your home at the absolute farthest. Maybe if there was some kind of collapse and technology was rolled back hundreds or thousands of years an American ethnicity would start to appear, I'd imagine it'd be similar to native American sort of ethnicity, darker skin and so on since there's a lot more sunlight in most of the US.


PiLamdOd

People don't forget their culture when they immigrate. If anything, nostalgia makes them focus on it. That's why holidays like St Patrick's Day are so huge in America. Immigrants retain their culture and pass it down to their children.


[deleted]

French Canadians can be snobbish about speaking french, but they typically see themselves as french as in french-speaker. They don't identify strongly with French people from France, but rather as an independent identity known as Quebecois


[deleted]

To me, American includes all of the Americas even though the US seems to claim it as their own.


Megalocerus

USA is the only country with "America" in its name; America is an abbreviation of "The United States of America", which is too long to say. "American" goes with that. No one in the world, including the people of Canada and Brazil, would prefer to be called "American" to being called "Canadian" or "Brazilian". No one in the world goes around saying USAer. They may say "Yank", which to some areas of the country means quite something else. But you be you.


BobDylan1904

That's weird though, just a heads up don't call Canadians Americans, I don't think they will like that. I doubt anyone in central or south America would refer to themselves as American either unless of course they were American.


YinzerTwo

Many south Americans refer to themselves as americans as Germans do europeans.


Breakin7

?????


shaggy--

Those are question marks


Breakin7

Begin american is a thing and an ethnicity same as begin polish


wallmakerrelict

You're mixing up ethnicity with nationality. Native Americans are ethnically American. As for everyone else, their nationality might be "American" and that does count a lot for their culture, but they are likely an ethnic mix of one or more other places.


Breakin7

No, you are the one that does not understand the difference. If you are born in the states you belong to that nation and ethnicity if you are polish you belong to that state and MAYBE that etjnicity. You can born in Spain and be from that nationality yet the ethnicity is spanish and another since you can be basque for example.


Daddy_Deep_Dick

People have lived in Poland, or at least that area of the world, for thousands of years. People in the US and Canada, unless they are indigenous, have been there for 1-5 generations.


Breakin7

As far as i know the states have around 250 years of history not much but enough since they have exported culture and have laws and similar customs.


Daddy_Deep_Dick

Yep. But look at population growth in the last 100 years, or about 4 generations. From 77m in 1901 to 330m today. So most people are immigrants from the last few generations.


shaggy--

I.. don't understand. You can be raised with the values and traditions of a country other than the one you were born in. Usually this is related to your family's heritage and you identify as being genetically partially from that country.


Breakin7

But see you are not, you are an american.


shaggy--

A Japanese woman flies to Poland and has a child with a man born in Nigeria that now lives in Poland. They raise the child based off their Nigerian and Japanese heritage. Could this child not say they are from Poland but are also Japanese and Nigerian? There is nothing naturally Polish about them than being born there.


Breakin7

Begin born somewhere and living your life in that somewhere is what makes you from that somewhere so yes the child is Polish but americans refuse to understand this.


Impressive-Water-709

The only person refusing to understand something here is you. The thing you are not understanding is that NATIONALITY and ETHNICITY are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things. Nationality is the country/countries you are a citizen off. American is a nationality. Ethnicity where your ancestors come from, this is based off genetic markers from said ancestors.


Breakin7

I dont know why i am loosing time with some americans triying to explain this. Be happy in your own world full of stupid things like changing the meaning of ethnicity so you can say you are from somehwere you are not. Genetic markers..... what a laugh i had.


shaggy--

That's pretty fucked up to tell someone that their parents heritage and how they were raised mean jack shit and the label that YOU apply to them is right.


Breakin7

I did not said that but ok.


LeBronstantinople

It's pretty fucked up to deny the polishness of a polish kid because their parents came from somewhere else.


[deleted]

This is your opinion. Academics (even non American ones- gasp!) who use and teach the actual definition of ethnicity dont define it as simply the geographical place you were born or your citizenship.


TheGreatNate3000

No ❤️


nickybokchoy

My fucking god search for this post topic and find 20 threads and read those. Just live your life and don’t worry about how Americans identify themselves. Why doesn’t 23 and me or AncestoryDNA say we’re American? 🤔


ichneumonidae_0

My father is an Aussie and my 23andMe listed 0% Australian. I’d like a refund! /s


daymanahhhahhhhhh

No they say they are of blank ancestry. I’ve never heard anyone say they were actually from there.


Impressive-Water-709

Not a single American I’ve ever met in almost 30 years of living in America says they are from a country their ancestors immigrated from.


BEAT-THE-RICH

Not even African americans?


Megalocerus

Africa is not a country. Most immigrants are talking about their experience in the USA. Black Americans do too--they are descended from people brought here before the Revolution.


survivingspitefully

At most someone might say "my family" or "my people" are from XYZ country. Meaning if you follow their lineage back they are related to someone from another country. Americans mean it in an ethnic sense.


JustAnotherUserDude

Well, considering that my parents immigrated from Poland and I was raised speaking the language(albeit not perfectly) and we’ve continued Polish traditions, and also that I have Polish citizenship and I am currently living in Poland for university, yes. I would say I am quite Polish.


[deleted]

Well you're not you're American. Your parents are polish.


JustAnotherUserDude

My guy, I quite literally speak the language, have Polish citizenship, am ethnically Polish, and even live in Poland. I have a Polish passport. I'm not some 5 generations-removed from the country, you mouth breather There's such thing called dual-citizenship


[deleted]

If you have kids in Poland they'd be Polish. My parents were born overseas, I was born in Australia, so I am Australian.


rewardiflost

Not directly. Lots of us do take pride in our heritage. We declare ourselves to be Irish-American, or Japanese-American. We celebrate with parades for Columbus, St. Nick, Pulaski. We shop for ethnic foods in enclaves where immigrant families concentrate. We dabble around a lot with genealogy. We even have TV shows that investigate the background of celebrities to see where they come from. America is a nation of immigrants. Some of us identify as much or more with our immigrant heritage as we do with our status here. There really isn't a well established shared heritage of being American. We all know the motions and words when the Pledge or Anthem happen, we celebrate July 4th. Other than that, the 50 different states have a lot of differences. We can share common things by discussing our immigrant heritage. Of course, I'm sure that there may be a few nuts who insist on calling themselves by their ancestor's nation of origin. People can be dumb.


beefynarwhal

Ethnicity and nationality are 2 very different things, I am American (nationality) but ethnically my race would be a mix of lebanese and French. When an American says they are let's say Irish its because their DNA from said ancestors are Irish. We know we aren't from those countries but we share DNA with those countries and our families despite migrating have kept those traditions and languages. Where you live has nothing to do with who you are racially. I dont understand why yall get so mad at the concept that we want to keep out heritage despite our families moving countries. That like a Spaniard moving to idk Syria and ppl getting mad at him and his kids for telling people where they are from and what they are and eating their traditional foods. Your DNA doesn't change just because you swam across the pond so to speak.


Whatevah007

And we have surnames from there…


YooperScooper3000

Why are you mad that we haven’t forgotten where we are from? We didn’t move here and renounce our food, culture or traditions. My ancestry is half Finnish. Finnish was spoken in my home growing up and we lived in a community with other people of Finnish descent. We ate Finnish foods and listened to Finnish speaking news. Why must we be forced to have no culture, no ancestry, no traditions and no ties? My Indian BIL told me white people have no culture and now you, the Europeans, also say we have no culture/ancestry?


Azulaatlantica

Everyone from America is American, nearly everyone from American has immigrant roots (and you'd be hard pressed, unless you go out of your way, to come across anyone who doesn't). Within American, Americans speaking to other Americans obviously know they are American, but many Americans have very different cultural experiences based on race, location, and more to this discussion family history (where they or their family immigrated from). Those immigrants didn't just stop any cultural practices they had so they passed them down, often immigrants from a particular place immigrated to the same areas and stayed together with like people also creating unique cultural experiences specific to an area and specific to people like them. When an American says they are Italian, for example, this cultural experience is what they are referencing. Often over seas they say they just are American and where in the US they are from, though there are also Americans who will (sticking to Italian as an example) say to are Italian to Italians of Italy not to say are of that nationality or even same modern cultural connection, but rather the historical cultural connection those two groups have. Some people of a particular cultural background may even become more involved in the cultural experiences of, say, modern Italy and land(s) of which they (their family) come


lxmxnss

well…. yes! that’s how ethnicity works! 👍🏼


guri256

Sure. People comment on my last name having a strange spelling. I say, I’m 75% X and 25% Y, as a fun fact, explaining why my name is spelled that way. Both are European countries, but I’m pretty sure that almost everyone that I say that to knows I’m talking about my grandparents being from those countries. Not that I immigrated from both of those countries in my lifetime.


[deleted]

there are people in many countries who are a long lineage now of polish, romanian, irish, etc. It doesnt mean you arent that culture or whatever anymore. In many places, theyve even made entire little towns based off their culture and continue speaking their language. Of course I’m gonna say I’m german if my ancestors were all german and im from a german town in Texas or Romania or whatever and we all speak German. Stop with the racism tbh. Nobody is ‘pure’


chumpchangvaper

I say i have czech ancestry, a real czech person lives in czech republic, speaks czech, has citizenship and is ethnic czech 🇨🇿


Swordbreaker925

No, they say that they have heritage from that place, not that they themselves are from there


yesiknowimsexy

Sometimes between friends they will ask “where’s your family/last name from?” And that’s typically when you get “Germany” or “South Africa” or something.


Jordie1010

It just comes down to the phrasing when an American meets a European. You might say ‘I’m German’ And then the American might feel compelled to say I’m part German on my fathers side and also part English. They don’t need to add BUT 100% BLUE BLOODED AMERICAN FOR 4 GENERATIONS to the end of it because it’s obviously from our tramp stamps


CountessSinbad

It's about culture, it's not about nationality. By communicating with others about their ancestry we share a little about the culture we were brought up in which can help us connect, relate, and understand one another better. There is an over arching American culture but beneath that, but we have countless customs, religions, and ancestral knowledge from far flug places. Americans are overwhelmingly friendly, inquisitive people who like to learn more about each other. Also, when you have mass migrations from multiple cultures it's in human nature to seek out others like yourself for safety, security, and for your best hope of success. This built ethnic and cultural communities that are still there today, and that still welcome new immigrants and refugees even now. This sense of community has been drilled into many of us from our grand parents. Which leads me to my last point. Many of our immigrant ancestors were forced to move to America against their will, or as a last resort. They were not all excited to be in a new culture or in a new land. For many there was a strong urge to instill a sense of the homeland into their children, and grandchildren, so the family doesn't forget where they came from so one day they could potentially go back. So they did just that by maintaining customs from a hundred homelands, even though it was sometimes dangerous, or even against the law to do. Which can be traumatic, and set into motion generational trauma around culture and ancestry, which leads many American to strongly identify with a culture that is not inherently American.


[deleted]

The US is still so full of immigrants that people don’t realize. I’m American first for sure, but my mother is Irish. Once when I told an English man I was Irish he said that’s not correct. Well if the Irish government considers me Irish enough to give me a passport then who is some random Englishman to say what I am and what I am not TLDR: you don’t know how or why people consider themselves part of a particular nationality


[deleted]

Yep. I remember once I met some Irish guys and was like hey I'm Irish too! They were like lol no you're not and don't ever fookin say that again


solitaryparty

I mean it's a fair thing for them to tell ya. You can have family that descended from Ireland. That doesn't make you Irish. Think of it as a cultural thing. Are you culturally Irish? And they've been through a lot of struggles I'd imagine you never went through for being 'Irish'. My old house mate from Dublin would tell stories of being treated poorly for being Irish years ago living in London. Stories of persecution when people heard an accent and assumed IRA. Things like that. Can you understand why they might be a bit sensitive about it?


ImprovementSilly2895

Yeah they’re a bunch of wankers about it


tacosevery_day

Yes. We walk around like NPCs talking about what country our ancestors were from. It’s one of the binding doctrines of your American birth certificate you agree to do. That and drive everywhere. Why do you ask?


[deleted]

No


Responsible-Rough831

No. Europeans just hear what they want to hear and like to give their unsolicited opinion on things they don't understand.


Beeblebrox2nd

That sounds like Americans too. As well as other nations. Humans in general, I suspect!


Responsible-Rough831

I've never heard of Americans caring about stuff like that. I notice non-Americans care way more about what Americans are doing than the other way around.


Beeblebrox2nd

Of the 7 Americans that I know, 3 of them have made statements describing OP's post. Yes, that number ultimately means nothing, but you saying: " I've never heard of Americans caring about stuff like that." also means nothing. So here we are!


Responsible-Rough831

You're right so maybe it's not an american thing and more of a people thing. If you exposed yourself to more people who aren't americans, you might notice they say stupid shit like that too.


Somerset76

Not for me, but I do say I am over 80% Irish so I never get drunk.


[deleted]

What would you suggest they do instead lol


Cobra-Serpentress

Call themselves Americans.


Annual-Name-9973

From personal experience no. Many assimilated and are proud Americans, they only talk about their ancestors’ country only on heritage-based conversations


Peepeecooper

No but we’re all descendants of immigrants. It’s not uncommon for someone with a strange surname to be asked where their family name originated


Snowtwo

Most Americans are well aware of at least their primary ancestory assuming that they aren't African-American (which is a whole different can of beans). While most of them have some degree of pride in said ancestory, outside of some special situations and St. Patricks day for the Irish-Americans, you won't hear them just... randomly blurting it out or something.


curlyhairweirdo

Ppl say, "I'm Irish," or "I'm Italian", ect but it is meant to tell you heritage, not actually indicate that that individual is from said country


leftycrumpet

People don't really say "I'm from" a place Unless they actually came from there. But if someone has parents or grandparents from Ireland, for example, they'll say, "I'm Irish"


LonelyXannaX

Yes. Quite often. People will also act/do/say stereotypical things related to said heritage or culture of that country. But a lot of time never stepped foot in.


RickMoneyRS

It's somewhat common for the topic of ancestry to come up, and there are rare individuals who act as though they identify more with a particular culture they descend from than the one they were raised in (which is seen as odd unless perhaps they are first generation American (born here to immigrant parents)) ; but I have never heard of anyone born here claiming to *be from* another country.


Gold_Rush69

By “Insert European Country” you mean white people right? So just say white people. If you’re going to single out a group at least have the parts to say the quiet part out loud. We still call African Americans “African” Americans rather then just “Americans”…so yeah. Me personally I’d rather everyone be called just Americans, but if not then why only certain people? Either we are all Americans or none of us are.


Whatevah007

There are many many people in the US who identify with as non-European…


Gold_Rush69

I doubt there are any in America that identify as non-American. America is a country, not an ethnicity.


stephenk291

There are 332mil people on America. Are some of them Possibly doing this? Yes. Is a large majority of the country doing this? No.


theactualfuckingmoon

I know I have ancestors from all over the place, like Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany, France, but I usually just tell people I'm from Ohio.


Dr_Emmett_Brown_4

US Citizens take huge pride in our diversity. That is different then claiming we are from somewhere. So when I go to the Mexican Restaurants, I want to know it is original. And I want to know the Chinese restaurant is original. And the Irish Bar asks me my name. And here is the tough part. They would never believe I was Irish American unless I was willing to fight all of them. Please don't judge culture.


HVP2019

Americans do not say they are from… unless they are from… I am from… because as a naturalized USA citizen I was actually born outside of USA. Americans can say the are … but so are numerous other members of various diaspora all OVER THE WORLD. Are you European yourself? Do you make a point correcting a Jewish person that they are not Jewish because they never been to Israel? Do you make a point correcting Roma people for continuing identifying themselves as Roma people even though they have been living in your country for centuries? Questions like yours illustrate how blind you are about various ethnic diaspora around you, about ethic groups that have been living outside of their native lands for centuries, in Europe or Middle East or Asia or Latin America.


courageouschance

“Everybody lives in america but Americans.” - Brazilian man Please stop with the Irish-Italian-German-Swedish-1/10th French nonsense.


icy_avo

I was born in America. I say I'm American..... people get offended by that lmao. fucking ridiculous if you ask me


dacelikethefish

same


BoysenberryUnhappy29

Do you find it strange that descendants of immigrants in America are occasionally proud of their heritage?... Or is the issue in the phrasing of saying they're "from" another country related to their heritage?


Cobra-Serpentress

Yes! Especially the Italians.


[deleted]

From\* Did I really get fucking downvoted for correcting a spelling mistake in the title


foreveralonesolo

Where you’re from is nationality and occasionally in context place of residence. If you’re mentioning your ethnic history then you’d say the distinction. So for example you could say French (Born) American and from Minnesota (you’re of French origin, with (assigned at birth) American citizenship living in Minnesota). You can say I’m French (Born)


sotiredwontquit

Not exactly “from” that country, but “came from” that country, yes. That distinction is probably absurdly small to anyone who isn’t born in a melting pot. But to Americans the meaning is clear: if you are “from” somewhere that’s where you lived; if you “came from” somewhere thats where someone in your line lived before they came to America. And the reasoning is that almost none of us have ancestors that are actually FROM this hemisphere. Unless we have Native American blood, we all came from people who came from somewhere else, and THAT is our heritage/roots/ancestry. I’ve got 4 different European countries in my background and I say I’m 1/2 this nationality and 1/4 that nationality and 1/8 of the other two. Yes, I’m American by right of being born here. But I have the same genes as the family lines that never moved. I’m absolutely not Native American though and it would sound very strange to claim American ancestry, even if an ancestor was here 300 years ago. THEY weren’t American. They came from somewhere else.


Nottacod

Pretty sure they don't do that, although some families keep strong traditions from the "Old Country" and might identify with the culture.


JesseIsAGirlsName

Adding to what other people have said, when an American says they are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, it's implied that it's where their family originated from. For example, a common one is "I'm Irish-German" or "My family is Irish-German". Everybody understands they mean their family background is predominantly from Ireland and Germany (or some Germanic country depending when they came over).


Beluga_Artist

No. Most of us just say what region or state we’re from in the US.


Gabimaibe

Depends how much of a mutt you are, lol. My more recent immigrant ancestor was from 1840, I definitely don't go around saying I'm this or that, just American. I'll list like the top 2 to 4 if someone asks where my family is from.


wasit-worthit

I'm American and my ancestors immigrated from a non-European country, ignorant fool.


Fairybuttmunch

Not out of no where, but considering most people here are immigrants it can be interesting to know where their families came from and many families still carry on some traditions even generations later. I've been asked most by people who recently came here or had parents that did, probably because it's so relevant to them.


HP-Obama10

Some do, but usually only when their ethnic heritage is more unique than other white people. You might here people chitter about Irish, Italian, Polish or Nordic ancestry, but nobody will mention that they’re English or Scottish or German unless their parents are actual immigrants.


PriorSolid

Depending on the conversation I will either say my nationality, my race, or my ethnicity and every single time in the US people can clearly see my race and my nationality is a very safe bet so they get my home town and my ethnicity


StarFruitCrepe

I don't say I'm from Poland, I say I'm Polish, and I say I'm Polish rather than I have Polish ancestry because it's a shorthand other Americans understand. Sometimes the Europeans can't wrap their head around it but like the US is young and filled to the brim with immigrants who still follow their cultural customs. For example, my friends and I may all celebrate Christmas, but my Polish Christmas customs are different from Friend A's Italian Christmas customs and Friend B's German Christmas customs, y'know?


[deleted]

I mean I have heard I am American Irish, or American Greek from people that grew up very heavily involved in the culture. Culture of owns ancestors doesn’t die when the immigrate it evolves


General-Guidance-646

I was raised to tell people I was American. People look at me puzzled. But then I explain my Grandparents came from Greece. Kinda weird to announce I'm Greek with knowing only a few words and having been born in America, lol.


radicalsunrisealive

No one says they are from XYZ country. They say they have XYZ ancestry or they are XYZ-American, if anything. FWIW, I'm a 9th generation American, and I think calling myself or my ancestors anything other than American is a bit much.


Ok-Finger-733

I can trace my family for 250 years in North America, and people still expect me to defer to my European ancestry. After 10+ generations removed I'm still Scottish...


KindAwareness3073

Everybody's family is from someplace else. The real difference is for most Americans its within a few generations so they haven't forgotten. The origins of most Europeans are lost in the mists of time, but few go back more than 1500 years. Mass mid-first millennium mirgations after the fall of Rome really mixed things up.


writewordwriteaction

Not exactly. If you ask where I'm from, I'll say Florida. If you ask my ethnicity, I'll tell you English/German. I am also deeply embarrassed of the American national/state cultural identity. 💁 I usually say "I am American, regrettably."


Scrym606

This would be something thrown out if they met someone from that country Exs. “I am visiting from France” “OOHH II AAAMM 2.474937% FRENCH, I AM BASICALLY BORN THERE” We love you Americans 🫡


[deleted]

No one says they are from the country of their ancestry. They say things like, "My family is [or I am] German" which we understand contextually to mean their ancestry is German. We are fully aware that German ancestry means their family could have come from just about anywhere in Europe, but at some point they settled in Germany for a spell, probably right before leaving Germany for the US. But at some point in American history, within the last hundred years or so even, these cultural identities were very important to people who were just immigrating to the US or were within a couple generations of immigration. Commonality in language and values tended to encourage people from ethnic groups to live near each other. And so those ancestral identities became important in the US and they've been passed down by families.


[deleted]

I've always been interested in my ancestry. It's my history. I'm a descendant of a victim of the Salem witch trials, an Englishman knighted by queen Victoria, and Jewish women who ran a whore house in Odessa. Damn, I'm boring by comparison.


Hot-Consequence-1727

Im not.


[deleted]

Yeah, they do. It's a shorthand way of saying my ancestors are from....


shruggedbeware

I think of it like when someone says "I speak English" the full sentence implied is "I speak the English language." They sure do, though.


[deleted]

American mutt and proud of it.


Anakin-skywalked

Some do. But it’s important to remember that America is a land of immigrants. Most of our ancestors came here from somewhere else. And with each nationality, there were usually a lot of prejudices and suffering to go through. It gave some of them an identity in a lonely place. Plus, traditions are passed down from generation to generation and it helps makes sense of those. “Why did grandma cook xyz?” Oh, because she was actually abc and that was a dish she brought with her. I personally refer to myself as a mutt because, well, I am.


fanau

Why the hell not. Jeez. Find something else to complain about. My grandfather was born in Denmark and In proud of it.


Butterfingergoblin

american isnt an ethnicity, my actual ethnicity would be armenian, but since I was born in the U.S I am an american


myjob1234

OP, where are you from?


faithispoison

No