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Yes, is offesive. Do not answer them.
Is like saying, you are not from here. Or you are not one of us.
I would say it’s more we like to get to know you more and are interested in your country of origin because they find it fascinating. Op, it is more about the tone of their voice and majority of those type of questions are just to know you better and not to be insulting, of course there is a few who are jerks and you can most likely tell by their tone.
That's an absolutely ridiculous statement. The rudeness would be in the OP following your advice and refusing to answer them. Treat me that way when I ask a simple question to get to know you better, and I'm not going to bother to ask anything else. Then you can go around telling your friends how rude and offensive we all are.
As someone else pointed out, being asked where you're from is part of living in a nation of immigrants. My ancestors for example are from England, Ireland, Sicily, Russia, Lithuania, and probably a couple of other Eastern European countries. That applies to people moving from one part of the United States to another, too. I frequently get asked where I'm from because as a transplant from Illinois to South Carolina, my different accent is apparent.
I am half irish and half cherokee, I have some native american features. I used to go to a supermarket where the only cashier used to ask me where I am from....
I stopped doing business there !!!!
Period. Yes, that question is offensive.
My daughter lived in another country and those who find a simple question of where are you from offensive will really explode if they were asked what my daughter was asked, she just laughs about it.
Yes, is offesive. Do not answer them.
Is like saying, you are not from here. Or you are not one of us.
¿De dónde eres? I get asked this a lot in latin countries. I am not generally offended.
Look, we (Americans) travel to different countries and get asked this same question.
Is it offensive? No.
*** Perspective ***
They figure you're from the states and want to know what state you're from. All they see on TV, the movie theater, sports is local and American stuff. So you get asked. It's normal but we don't want to be asked tat from some rough rebel looking dude abroad.
I'd say no if this was an employer or interviewer. I would just say I am second or third generation and my parents are from Guatemala, Vietnam, Russia, Pakistan or whichever country. Your citizenship and passport books should put to rest any harassing employer concerns.
Don't be too guarded and open up (a little bit) and not take everything as offensive, rude or thinking they're inferring for you to get out of their town. Americans do ask their own people where they are from if they detect a California, mid-western, southern or NY accent. It's kind of good to know to break down stereotypes of regions.
Plus, it's not like you're being asked for your SSN and date of birth. If I hear an accent I know, I have asked people where they are from and their face turns happy and they want to converse a little. I wouldn't do this on a subway or busy place where you can see they are in a rush.
No. You can NOT say it that way. You have to be careful how you word things otherwise you give the wrong impression and cause confusion. If you say you are an American who was born in Anatolia then that will be interpreted to mean that your parents were American citizens who were in Anatolia at the time you were born. If your parents were not American citizens when you were born then you are not an American who was born in Anatolia.
For now, until such time as you have become an American citizen, you must say "I am an Anatolian and am becoming an American citizen".
After you become an American citizen you will be an Anatolian-American and you can say "I was born and lived in Anatolia (until such and such age) then relocated to America to live and now I am an American citizen."
You can never say you are from America because that will be interpreted to mean you were born in America, which of course is not true.
Aaliya, why do you not want other people to know where you came from?
I am half irish and half cherokee, I have some native american features. I used to go to a supermarket where the only cashier used to ask me where I am from....
I stopped doing business there !!!!
Period. Yes, that question is offensive.
My daughter gets asked that quite a bit, she too has Irish and Cherokee from my husband’s side, she definitely has Native American features. She isn’t offended by it at all and living in two foreign countries has helped her to blend in quite a bit.
Good idea, I think that might satisfy curiosity. However, I would just say I was born in Anatolia and now I am an American Citizen.
Then you can walk away when you see their head tilt and their eyes glaze and the drool begin to trickle from the corner of their mouth because they will never have heard of Anatolia and will think you came from a different planet.
My friend married a Brit who came here and worked with us in NYC. He once said to her that when he first got here he was shocked at the way Americans asked him personal questions. My friend said, "Like what?" He said, "Like where I lived and what I did for a living."
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