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Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

I was teaching counries the other day. As a warm up I asked them Were are you from?
One student who was born in the U.S. told me he is from the U.S. Hearing him say that with such a strong accent sounded strange. I've always gone by the model you're from where your heart is! But him saying he is from the U.S. sounded so funny, I thought he was joking at first.
His English is better than most of the other students in the class but he is not even slightly close to being able to express himself in English.
What do you fellow English teachers think? Since he was born in the U.S. do you think he should still continue to say he is from the U.S. ?
I just worry that maybe one day, he will tell an American he is from the U.S. and the American will crack up laughing thinking the guy is joking!

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

If we was born in the U.S. he is American. He has American citizenship as his birthright.

Maybe you've been in Japan a little too long, John... Japan is one of the RARE countries in the world where being born here doesn't make you an automatic citizen... Most other places, your place of birth = citizenship regardless of how well / inept you are at speaking the language or whatnot. If knowing English were a pre-requisite for American citizenship, we'd have to deport half of all New York! Laughing

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:20 am Post subject:

John, Jim is correct that your student was from the US. It was also rather rude and insensitive of you to deny him his nationality because of how "funny" he sounded. No US citizen needs to sound like he is one. How someone sounds is irrelevant to whether or not someome is a US citizen.

japanman · Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 281 Location: England

Would I be right in saying that the USA has no offical language anyaway? That being a language laid down in law, the UK has no offical langauge also. So wether or not he speaks English or not is of no importance. If he has a US passport then he is an American. Poor kid, ha ha ha. Only joking .

canuck · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 1921 Location: Japan

japanman · Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 281 Location: England

I would agree with Canuck there on that one. If the majority of countries gave instant citizenship to anyone living there, the whole world would be a topsy-turvy mess of all different people with citizenships that have no relation to their life at all. Also, if dual citizenship isn't possible then you wouldn't want to grow up in a country and have a passport of an entirely different nation. Imagine being born in Wales and having that on your back all your life.

6810 · Joined: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 309

JonnyB61 · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 216 Location: Japan

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:13 am Post subject:

JonnyB61 · Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 216 Location: Japan

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:46 am Post subject:

A quick look through Wikipedia reveals that the US is indeed rare in granting automatic citizenship to those born on its soil (a principle known as jus soli ) whereas most countries either grant citizenship depending upon the nationality of their parents/blood relations jus sanguinis, as in the case of Japan, or a mixture of the two such as with the UK.

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

furiousmilksheikali wrote:

John, Jim is correct that your student was from the US. It was also rather rude and insensitive of you to deny him his nationality because of how "funny" he sounded. No US citizen needs to sound like he is one. How someone sounds is irrelevant to whether or not someome is a US citizen.

First you are assuming way too much! I didn't say anything to the student in question. I try to be positive all the time with the students. So even when I do correct them I do so without them knowing they are being corrected.

Jim statement about deporting half of New York was funny!

I want to thank everyone. Obviously from this thread this is a complicated topic. I am just going to let the student believe whatever he wants. Deciding where he is from is not my place anyhow. Thanks again!

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

I think he would be called a hyphenated American (Japanese American) but with heavy emphasis on the Japanese. If he left when he was two, do you know for sure that his parents didn't grow up there? Maybe they lived in the States from birth and returned to Japan to be with extended family or for other reasons. If that's the case, then it is entirely possible (though admitedly not probable) that his home life is very similar to that of kids with parents who came here to teach English and never left.

How many people in North America call themselves Irish though they have no living relatives there, have never been there, know really nothing about it other than stereotypes of beer and four leaf clovers on St Patrick's Day and aren't even aware that there actually is an Irish language outside of English? (hint: the answer is 'a lot!').

Also, many Japanese people will automatically call him American. I've been accused of being 'not even a real Canadian' (Canadians being seen as the booby prize for when they run out of Amelikans for ALTs in the JET programme) by Japanese people when they found out that I wasn't born there (I arrived when I was 2).

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

GambateBingBangBOOM wrote:

I think he would be called a hyphenated American (Japanese American) but with heavy emphasis on the Japanese. If he left when he was two, do you know for sure that his parents didn't grow up there? Maybe they lived in the States from birth and returned to Japan to be with extended family or for other reasons. If that's the case, then it is entirely possible (though admitedly not probable) that his home life is very similar to that of kids with parents who came here to teach English and never left.

How many people in North America call themselves Irish though they have no living relatives there, have never been there, know really nothing about it other than stereotypes of beer and four leaf clovers on St Patrick's Day and aren't even aware that there actually is an Irish language outside of English? (hint: the answer is 'a lot!').

Also, many Japanese people will automatically call him American. I've been accused of being 'not even a real Canadian' (Canadians being seen as the booby prize for when they run out of Amelikans for ALTs in the JET programme) by Japanese people when they found out that I wasn't born there (I arrived when I was 2).

His parents were only in the U.S. for three years as part of a training program. Culturally he is very Japanese.

I am surprised by the poll! Maybe I put being from as the place you are more connected. Language is the root of culture. He can't express himself in English. He does try hard in class and just about always goes all out!

He like my son has dual citizenship, but once he reaches 21 legally he has to choice one. Mostly likely he will choose Japan. This is his home after all. Now the question would be do all of you who voted he is from the U.S. would still consider him from the U.S.? As I wrote in the above post, where ever he says he's from is fine with me. Again I do thank everyone for their perspectives, they made me realize this is a very complicated issue!

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 6:16 am Post subject:

Big John, perhaps the question is ambiguous. If by the question "is he from the US?" you mean is he a US citizen then the answer is definitively "yes". This is legally the case no matter what your opinion on the matter is.

For other interpretations of the question then I don't have enough knowledge of the person and can't have an accurate knowledge of his state of mind. But you asked him yourself: "Where are you from?" and he replied "The US." What more is there to say?