I've had this question a few times in South America. I haven't always given the same answer.
Where am I from? England? Holland?
When I'm with the kids, it's even more confusing.. I might think of us all as English. But the kids have a couple of other nationalities. And I have another one, too.
What are we? Does it even fucking matter?
I couldn't have imagined this question being so hard a few years ago.
But I'm glad that it is.
Historical and geographical factors also play a part. I live in an outer suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, a small part of which lies just over the boundary in the City of Manchester. It was all in Cheshire before 1974. If someone local asks me where I live, I name the suburb, if someone from elsewhere in the country does, I say near Manchester Airport, or if I'm abroad just Manchester.
ReplyDeleteThee's a funny scene in the sitcom Detroiters where this comes up. It's about two best friends who are neighbors in Detroit and work at the same ad agency downtown.
ReplyDeleteIn one scene one friend says he's "from Detroit" and the other fixes him with a stern look and informs him that he actually grew up in the suburbsthe suburbs and that doesn't count.
Despite having lived most of my adult life outside of Ireland, I'll still always say I'm Irish. Can't imagine any other answer
ReplyDeleteWhen asked by a non-Brit, usually an innocent ask about which country you're from; when asked by a Brit, a cunning device to identify your place in the class structure based on accent, geographical origin, and parentage.
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