History Main / MistakenForForeigner

This trope is when a person of color is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their speech, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home because that's where they were born and raised. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures whether it's their own or not]]), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "Dude I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]."

This trope is when a minority character is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their speech, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home because that's where they were born and raised. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures whether it's their own or not]]), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "Dude I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]."

* The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NMrqGHr5zE Mississippi Delta Chinese]]" are the descendants of migrant workers who had moved to the DeepSouth after Emancipation due to the...job openings. This is an Asian-American community that has lived in the United States for generations, in a part of the country not commonly associated with Asians. One of the people interviewed in the linked video is a woman with a charming Southern accent, having been born and raised in Mississippi, and yet she ''constantly'' has people asking when did she move to the US and who taught her English.

->''"I can't go back to my 'home country.' I was born and raised in San Francisco; I'm IN my home country!"''

* In the “Vaya Cornholio” episode of WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead, Beavis is working at Burger World and morphs into his Cornholio personality. While doing so, an immigration officer comes in looking for illegal immigrants. Because his blonde hair is pulled back by his shirt, he’s speaking Spanish-sounding gibberish, and he doesn’t answer the officer’s English questions, Beavis is mistaken for an illegal, and is deported to Mexico.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': Season 2's "The Stakeout" has Leslie trying to pin down Tom's origins.

This trope is when a minority character is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their accent, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home because that's where they were born and raised. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures whether it's their own or not]]), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "Dude I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]."

This trope is when a minority character is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their accent, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home because that's where they were born and raised. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures whether it's their own or not]]), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]."

This trope is when a minority character is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their accent, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home because that's where they were born and raised. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures whether it's their own or not]]), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "Dude I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]."

This trope is when a minority character is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their accent, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home, which makes sense because they were born and raised there. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures whether it's their own or not]]), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "Dude I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]."

This trope is when a minority character is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their accent, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home, which makes sense because they were born and raised there. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures whether it's their own or not]]), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "Dude I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]." [[note]]And even within Philadelphia, people might assume an Asian is from Chinatown and not, say, Cheltenham.[[/note]]

* While [[https://youtu.be/R6EHLR6q-tM?t=4m48s reading comments]] on his channel, LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}} was taken aback by "Mark! Are you going to America soon?" He was born in Hawaii, had lived in Cincinnati for most of his life and currently resides in LA.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'', Angela (half-Asian) finds an inscription in Chinese on a piece of evidence. When Hodgins asks her to translate it, she pretends to do it and tells him, "Why does white man think I read Chinese?" Hodgins is surprised, having assumed her to know at least some Chinese. She doesn't.

* Happens ''a lot'' in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', especially with [[FantasticRacism non-human races]], who are still thought of as coming from elsewhere even though many of them are born in Ankh-Morpork. ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' has this:

* The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NMrqGHr5zE Mississippi Delta Chinese]]" are the descendants of migrant workers who had moved to the DeepSouth after Emancipation due to the...job openings. This is an Asian-American community that has lived in the United States for generations, in a part of the country not commonly associated with Asians. One of the people interviewed in the linked video is a woman with a charming Southern accent, having been born and raised in Mississippi, and yet she ''still'' has people asking when did she move to the US and who taught her English.

* The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NMrqGHr5zE Mississippi Delta Chinese]]" are the descendants of migrant workers who had moved to the DeepSouth after Emancipation due to the...job openings. This is an Asian-American community that has lived in the United States for generations, in a part of the country not commonly associated with Asians. One of the people interviewed in the linked video is an older woman with a charming Southern accent, having been born and raised in Mississippi, and yet she ''still'' has people asking when did she move to the US and who taught her English.

* The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NMrqGHr5zE Mississippi Delta Chinese]]" are the descendants of migrant workers who moved to the DeepSouth after slavery due to the...job openings. This is an Asian-American community that has lived in the United States for generations in a part of the country not commonly associated with Asians. One of the people interviewed in the video is an older woman with a charming Southern accent, and yet she ''still'' has people asking her when did she move to the US and who taught her English.

* 2014 [[BeautyContest Miss America]] Nina Davuluri was the first Indian-American to win the crown and faced a xenophobic backlash from racists who thought she was a foreigner, even though she was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. The fact that they [[InterchangeableAsianCultures mistook her for an Arabic Muslim in their ranting]] didn't help either. Not that her being Arab or Muslim (most Indians are Hindu) would have justified their hatred, but it certainly drove home their ignorance.

This trope is when a minority character is automatically assumed to be from the country of their ethnic origin ([[InterchangeableAsianCultures or someplace vaguely close to it]]), even though their accent, dress, and all other mannerisms reflect the country they call home, which makes sense because they were born and raised there. A common example would be an Asian-American being asked where they're from, asked about an aspect of an Asian culture (whether it's their own or not), or is assumed not to speak English, only for them to curtly respond in a plain American accent, "Dude I'm from [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]]." [[note]]And even within Philadelphia, people might assume an Asian is from Chinatown and not, say, Cheltenham.[[/note]]

* In ''Series/Zoey101'', after Sushi Rox burns down and the owner Kazu says that he will be leaving PCA to go home, Nicole asks if he's going back to Japan, Kazu replies that he's actually from Alabama.

** When Iwanako sees the blue-eyed, blonde Lilly, she thinks that she's a foreigner. It surprises her when Lilly speaks to her in fluent Japanese. Lilly is half-White (more specifically, half-Scottish) but is Japanese raised.