To be embarrassed about this

[SoukSoul]

New colleague started at my company few weeks ago, don't work closely with him but went to introduce myself to him today and got chatting

He seemed to have an accent. So I asked him where he was from

Cue the embarrassing "I'm from xxxx (home county)"
Me "I mean originally, where do you come from"
Him "uh well my parents are from Turkey but I was born and raised here."

Cringe cringe cringe. I'm really not one of those people who thinks anyone who looks forrin' can't be british

But he did seem to have an accent!! Though as the chat went on it was more of a...God how do i say this without sounding even worse...Ali G style accent going on, with a bit of cockney mixed in!

Made things worse of course by apologising buy insisting that he had an accent, to which he just looked puzzled

Have I marked myself out to him as an awful racist??

All my family is from either the Highlands of Scotland originally (and sound like it too), or Essex and the East End of London. Yet I sounded Australian?!

(I don't. I have a very obvious Essex accent!)

I dodge the awkward probing questioning by saying that I was brought up in xx & I was born in yy & I came to England as a baby.

Or when people ask if I can understand/speak English, I smile and say that I have a degree in English literature. Also, that I am more than happy to help them with their language problem. That usually shuts them up, the key to handling a racist is to make them look stupid.

You weren't racist just a little out of your depth.