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Says who? My Italian ancestors immigrated in 1912, not that long ago when you consider that half of my family members still alive today personally knew and remember these immigrants. I have collected many first hand accounts from living ancestors about my immigrant relatives, memories which are important to them and therefore to me as well.
yes, that was rather absurd. where'd he get 300 years from?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PA2UK
Yes, in reference to their ancestry, not their nationality.
It seems like British posters confuse the two and think Americans are refering to nationality.
[quote=non-creep;32045504]Go to Liverpool (Britain's Boston) and you'll see a plethora of people with Irish ancestry who still consider themselves
That's right, I was very aware of that when I lived near Liverpool in the 60's.
It seems like British posters confuse the two and think Americans are refering to nationality.
Oh, I suspect they know we're technically talking about our ancestry and not our nationality but I think possibly it's more difficult for some of them to separate the two. I think part of the problem is that since a lot of British people don't have foreign ancestry outside the UK (apart from Ireland), their heritage and nationality are, to them, the same thing. I don't think some British people really understand the immigrant culture and it's legacy in America and instead of attempting to understand it, they mock it and say derogatory things about Americas who celebrate their immigrant legacy.
I also forgot to mention when I was talking about my Italian ancestors that most of my family is actually eligible for Italian citizenship through our ancestry and my dad is in the process of collecting all the documents needed to apply for his.
Brits also Emphasize about their norman, viking and anglo-saxon ancestry, the same way americans emphasize how much british and specially germand and Irish they are (the most overstated ethnicities by far).
Many brits cant simply say they are english, scottish or welsh without having to mention they think they have important norman, viking, etc ancestry. The same way can be said by americans claiming certain nationalities they are not.
Can you give an example of Americans claiming certain nationalities that they are not? I know Americans claim their heritage, but I don't find that people falsely claim heritage. Except one. I cannot tell you how many people I've met who tell me they are related to Pocohantus.
Well yes I do know those people but they are a different case. Anyone in the British isles that I have met who have discussed their ancestry have always based it on their parents who were born in another country.
The americans are basing their ancestry from 300 years ago. Its kind of like me saying oh i'm Scottish when I have absolutely no connection to Scotland at all.
I don't think you really get it. Americans whose families have been here for generations identify as Americans - they only mention their ancestry if the topic of conversation IS ancestry. Of course, if they are in the UK or talking with someone from the UK, they may bring up the topic...sort of as a conversation starter. But please don't assume just because they're engaging in small talk with someone from the UK, that this is how they self identify.
I think the confusion may come from just such conversations. We Americans are a friendly bunch. If we hear someone talking with an accent, we're likely to ask where they're from. If they say they're from a country where our ancestors hail from, we're very likely to say, "Hey, I'm part (fill in the blank)!" But we're being friendly - we don't seriously consider ourselves to be BRITISH (or whatever).
Yes they are. When I watch american shows, I always see folk saying 'oh shes jewish' or 'shes swedish'.
And when I was on holiday, this was a regular occurrence.
All I can say is that we're definitely watching different shows.
However, "Jewish" isn't a nationality. It's a religion and an ethnicity. If someone says they're Jewish, they're not talking about being from Israel.
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