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BettyBoo

aka Jessica the pom 🤗
looker-on said:
I take your point. Would you then say she's Canadian?
Out of curiosity, is being "British" actually a nationality? If so, what is being "English" then? Would/Could Emma also say that she's English because she was raised there?
There's a similar view over here that distinguishes between "Bio-Germans" (biological) and the rest. Based on that definition, who would be (US) "American", I wonder. Would Condoleeza Rice or Kamala Harris not be "Americans"?
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English is a language, British is a nationality. Emma is Canadian with Romanian parents, nothing at all wrong with that but it doesn't make her British.
I've never heard of Bio-Germans, I don't know who the other two people are that you named.
 
Ritchie

Ritchie

Well-Known Member
Staff member
BettyBoo said:
I understand how it works Thomas, I just don't agree with it.
Emma was born in Canada, her parents are from Romania, they land on our shores and call themselves British. Not in my eyes, plenty have agreed with me too 🤔
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I have a similar view to you Jessica. Emma also has Chinese blood. I guess you have to take champions any way you can get them.. as when was the last time Brits had a tennis champ.. Virginia Wade? No offense kiddo.
 
looker-on

looker-on

aka Thomas the Kraut
BettyBoo said:
English is a language, British is a nationality. Emma is Canadian with Romanian parents, nothing at all wrong with that but it doesn't make her British.
I've never heard of Bio-Germans, I don't know who the other two people are that you named.
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Interesting. 🤗 I learnt something new. Why is it then that some Brits say they are "English", not Welshmen or Scotsmen? It must be more than a language and I don't know what it actually means. It must also be more than a region because there wouldn't be three teams in the Euro or Worldcup otherwise?
Who can help?
 
B

BettyBoo

aka Jessica the pom 🤗
looker-on said:
Interesting. 🤗 I learnt something new. Why is it then that some Brits say they are "English", not Welshmen or Scotsmen? It must be more than a language and I don't know what it actually means. It must also be more than a region because there wouldn't be three teams in the Euro or Worldcup otherwise?
Who can help?
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I can't answer that Thomas, Scottish and Welsh people would have to answer 🤔 as for football, I can't stand it 😱
All I can say is that I was born and bred in Great Britain and I'm a True Brit
 
looker-on

looker-on

aka Thomas the Kraut
BettyBoo said:
I can't answer that Thomas, Scottish and Welsh people would have to answer 🤔 as for football, I can't stand it 😱
All I can say is that I was born and bred in Great Britain and I'm a True Brit
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I can say the same about myself but in the case of Germany it's not that simple. I even have an old Aryan certificate (the small one, there's also a large one going back further in history) from my granddad. Shall I appreciate that? Does it make me a "true German"? Who defines that?
Are those 13 to 16 million ethnic Germans who fled or were expelled from parts of Central and Eastern Europe, including the former eastern territories of Germany in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War true Germans?

Apart from those there are millions of people with a migrant background but born in West Germany. Would they not by "true Germans"? Would they if they married a German without an migrant background? Would that have to be a West German or would an East German also do?
To make things even more complicated, if you need to be born in "Germany", is that West Germany then? If so, 17 million East Germans like myself were not born in "Germany" then and, hence, wouldn't be true Germans. In fact, there are a number of West Germans who (still) regard former East Germans as "second-class" Germans.
In sum, everyone who wanted to define what "true Germans" are would find themselves on shaky ground quite soon.
 
B

BettyBoo

aka Jessica the pom 🤗
looker-on said:
I can say the same about myself but in the case of Germany it's not that simple. I even have an old Aryan certificate (the small one, there's also a large one going back further in history) from my granddad. Shall I appreciate that? Does it make me a "true German"? Who defines that?
Are those 13 to 16 million ethnic Germans who fled or were expelled from parts of Central and Eastern Europe, including the former eastern territories of Germany in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War true Germans?

Apart from those there are millions of people with a migrant background but born in West Germany. Would they not by "true Germans"? Would they if they married a German without an migrant background? Would that have to be a West German or would an East German also do?
To make things even more complicated, if you need to be born in "Germany", is that West Germany then? If so, 17 million East Germans like myself were not born in "Germany" then and, hence, wouldn't be true Germans. In fact, there are a number of West Germans who (still) regard former East Germans as "second-class" Germans.
In sum, everyone who wanted to define what "true Germans" are would find themselves on shaky ground quite soon.
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Sorry Thomas but I'm not getting into all this, besides I don't know enough about Germany to get involved. 🙂
 
Renegadesfan

Renegadesfan

Also known as Sooz
looker-on said:
I can say the same about myself but in the case of Germany it's not that simple. I even have an old Aryan certificate (the small one, there's also a large one going back further in history) from my granddad. Shall I appreciate that? Does it make me a "true German"? Who defines that?
Are those 13 to 16 million ethnic Germans who fled or were expelled from parts of Central and Eastern Europe, including the former eastern territories of Germany in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War true Germans?

Apart from those there are millions of people with a migrant background but born in West Germany. Would they not by "true Germans"? Would they if they married a German without an migrant background? Would that have to be a West German or would an East German also do?
To make things even more complicated, if you need to be born in "Germany", is that West Germany then? If so, 17 million East Germans like myself were not born in "Germany" then and, hence, wouldn't be true Germans. In fact, there are a number of West Germans who (still) regard former East Germans as "second-class" Germans.
In sum, everyone who wanted to define what "true Germans" are would find themselves on shaky ground quite soon.
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Right... I'm guessing you're a resident of germany then!
Just kidding!

I just look at Germany and other countries as a whole instead of dividing them.
I mean you do get weirdos everywhere.


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