The reason most yanks like telling people the origin of their ancestors is not some attempt at claiming that heritage, it's because its a conversation starter and genealogy is a fun hobby. Almost exactly equivalent to saying "Hey my grandad met FDR once."
The only time they think about it is when they bring it up in conversation and maybe when they go to a local celebration like St.Patrick's Day.
Americans whenever somebody asks a question about another country: “I dont live there, but…” Americans when someone asks if someone from country X is on this site: “I’m not from country X, but…” Americans when they meet someone from another country: “Oh you’re from [other country]? Me too!”
Maybe I missed something but this seems like the exact instance in they'd say "Oh you're from *Insert European Country, My family is from there!" It's not an attempt to claim citizenship or anything. When Yanks say "I'm Irish/German" they don't mean it in the same an Irish or German person would. It's a cultural misunderstanding, like the difference between American "quite" and British "quite". It can cause friction because the same words mean different things to different people.
I hear that explanation often, but then they’ll turn around and speak authoritatively about that country, as though they’re “from there”.
Americans speak authoritatively about everything. It's not unique to places where their family is from. Almost every American could speak confidently on what is wrong in the middle east despite not claiming heritage or even reading a single book on the area. I think you're connecting two unrelated traits here.
The reason most yanks like telling people the origin of their ancestors is not some attempt at claiming that heritage, it's because its a conversation starter and genealogy is a fun hobby. Almost exactly equivalent to saying "Hey my grandad met FDR once."
The only time they think about it is when they bring it up in conversation and maybe when they go to a local celebration like St.Patrick's Day.
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Maybe I missed something but this seems like the exact instance in they'd say "Oh you're from *Insert European Country, My family is from there!" It's not an attempt to claim citizenship or anything. When Yanks say "I'm Irish/German" they don't mean it in the same an Irish or German person would. It's a cultural misunderstanding, like the difference between American "quite" and British "quite". It can cause friction because the same words mean different things to different people.
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Americans speak authoritatively about everything. It's not unique to places where their family is from. Almost every American could speak confidently on what is wrong in the middle east despite not claiming heritage or even reading a single book on the area. I think you're connecting two unrelated traits here.
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