...to find it peculiar when white people ask me where I come from 'originally'...

[MrsMerryHenry]

...but haven't got a bleeding clue about their own ethnic origins?

Classic convo:Person: Hi, blah blah blah

Me: Hi, blah blah blah

Person: So where are you from? Originally, I mean?

Me: I'll tell you that if you can tell me first where you come from.

Person: Oh, er...London. (I am not exaggerating here, I have been told this at least twice )

and double-

The best any of them can do is 'England and Scotland' or something like that. Still a double-.

I heard Jamie Oliver on Friday saying that he's recently discovered that his family origins go back to some Sudanese people eons ago. Surely that's an exciting thing to know about oneself, right?

But LS, nobody listens to racist ranting twats!

nkweto - DH is from that part of the world (well nearby) and although he sounds English (and has a very "English first name") to most people I think others are more "sensitive" to accents and perhaps they're the people that are more likely to notice?

I can tell "South", "South West", "North" "Scotland" and various continent accents - but further than that I get lost. I can't really tell the difference these days between say Newcastle and Middlesborough - even though I grew up there.

Some of my friends can tell if someone grew up in the next town !

I think a lot of people are not interested in family history because of skeletons in their closet and poking around upsets family members.

A lot of other people do know their history but find it quite personal to discuss, which is why people shouldn't ask!

If you're a different colour in the UK then there is a reasonable chance that you know where your family originated from as it is more likely to be relatively recent. If you're white and not knowingly from anywhere else, then you might have to go back 100s of years to find out your origins. DH's family were Flemish but someone had to do a family tree going back yonks to find that out because it didn't happen in the last 100 years. That's my take on it.

when you've got a minute mrsmh
here

arf, not because you are black though. pmsl.

Morocco, I think you're pretty much right about the diversity of genes within Africa actually.

True, Colditz

I would agree with Hecate's original response, if there is an accent, I'll ask, because I'm interested, and yes, could give them my family tree right back - although people never ask because I sound and look as if I've lived in London since Anglo-Saxon times when it was just a convenient hut on a river....... Rather than ancestors from all over Europe.
If there isn't an accent (i.e.other than Sarf London )I would assume that they were at least second generation and would be peeved to be asked! Even though I would still find it interesting. If I've known someone a little while I might ask where their family was from originally and if they had any connections still; because I'm nosey and want to know stuff about people....and so far that's only led to good conversations, no problems.

Weirdly, I was once at a party up the road from where I lived, let's say Earl's Court, and an Aussie started asking me where I came from, and I said "Earl's Court". "I know you live here NOW, but where were you brought up?". "Earl's Court". "Wow, I've been here 5 years, and I've never met anyone who actually LIVED here growing up". :-)

I was in a supermarket here in Sydney earlier this year, and a black guy was handing out a new product to try. He stuck out in this entirely white/south east asian area, particularly as he had such a strong Jamacian accent and was probably in his late 60's. I started talking to him and was so homesick for London, I couldn't stop listening to his voice. We had a great chat, and it turned out that he had lived around the corner from us in South London, but for 40 years before immigrating again!! So, I got my fix of London, and international stuff, and went and cried quietly into the broccoli.

Sorry, that went on a bit!

tbh my family has always been mixed Irish and African.from Montserrat and Antigua...Many Montserratians married Irish and thats how it goes..facts are people love and are attracted to each other...

Morocco - oh, well, now I'm wondering about the diversity thing...did you watch that Human Journey programme? I first read about the non-diverse thing in a newspaper some years back and somehow thought the Human Journey programme was basically saying the same thing about diversity. Also, re faces, yes! me too! Like Orientals and Native North and South Americans - clear genetic connection there!

Lyra - I don't expect people to trace their DNA as such, though of course it's fascinating to do so. But since the Romans, Vikings etc encountered an indigenous (sp?) population when they arrived, and that was 2000 years ago with many subsequent migrations to and from these Islands, it's clear that 'English' ethnicity can never be anything more than part of someone's 'origins'.

Of course people are interested in their family history.
It just seems that you don't find it valid that people can go back hundreds of years and trace their family in England.

loc - good question. My query is why people haven't even asked it of themselves, let alone asking how far back they should go.

But if you can say you're English as a child of immigrants, why can't anyone else?

Someone's ethnicity is not the same thing as their genetic origin. You do not have to have been descended from somewhere for 10,000, 100 or even 10 years to claim a geographical place as the basis of your ethnicity.

I don't get why it's annoying for OP tbh.

If the person only knows their origin as far back as this country (which may be hundreds of yrs) and you know yours farther to a different place ...why is that annoying?

I get asked this all the time .

I think it's nosy.. they need all the pieces of the jigsaw that make up YOU. Stuff that would come out in conversation in time if you were friends probably. But they want to know now.

nosy.

I'm not making much sense. I need to go to bed. First day back at school tomorrow (for the DC, not me ).

God, you're such a racist, dragonbutter!

Fraid I am totally out of touch with modern moosic, am a bit of a jazz dinosaur. Now that would be an interesting family line...

The viking finger thing - well, I'm sure there are dry medical descriptions but my google to find something to plagiarise turned up this which is preferable at this time of night. I like the comment about thatcher

MrsHenry, most people do knwo where they came from. I know my ancestry is mostly peasant farmers Irish, Scottish, Welsh. How far back? at least my great grandparents!

after that, even I don't care!

MillyR.. I think that is exactly it.. although I dont think I have skeletons in my family cuboard, i do find it a very personal question and am always unsure how to respond to it..also true about self-identification

Alwaysanswers.. you may have a point about about sensitivity to accents...

also as this thread demonstrates everyone has a fascinating story whether it crosses borders or not..

Jackaroo - I love your stories!

Mumcentre - I never knew that about Montserratians (now at their diversity).

But Grimma - you also think Africa is hugely diverse? Maybe I should do some more hunting then!

facts are we are all mixed up......and it's lovely!

But Mrs MH - surely "english" doesn't mean mesolithic pre any named immigration to England? That's not what most people mean when they say they are english.
I would say I'm english - no detectable input from anywhere else in past 5 generations,terribly dull really - but I'm sure that romans/vikings whatever are in the mix if you go far enough back - to me that's what "english" means.
And if you are saying only the first inhabitants of a country are ethnically 'it' that's true of anywhere isn't it? Or is that your point?