# When you see/meet someone, do you subconsciously/consciously make a note of their nationality? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2019, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-meet-someone-do-you-subconsciously-consciously-make-a-note-of-their-nationality/837599 "2019-07-25T06:01:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![neutro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@neutro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutro)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-meet-someone-do-you-subconsciously-consciously-make-a-note-of-their-nationality/837599/21 "2019-07-27T16:03:35Z")
How would I know? Sometimes when I meet someone if they have an accent I might ask where they are originally from out of interest but… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-meet-someone-do-you-subconsciously-consciously-make-a-note-of-their-nationality/837599/22 "2019-07-27T16:27:39Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Same here, at least until they open their mouth and I can be reasonably sure they weren’t raised around these parts. So you can tell nationality from their accents? That’s a neat trick. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-meet-someone-do-you-subconsciously-consciously-make-a-note-of-their-nationality/837599/23 "2019-07-27T16:50:26Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > So you can tell nationality from their accents? That’s a neat trick. You mean you can’t recognize a British, Russian, French (to name a few) accent? Oh wait-- I get it. You were **asking** a trick question. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-meet-someone-do-you-subconsciously-consciously-make-a-note-of-their-nationality/837599/24 "2019-07-27T16:53:58Z")
@ the OP: I do make note of people’s nationality, if only to avoid bringing up topics that would anger them. For instance, I wouldn’t discuss Crimea or Ukraine if I’m hanging out with a Russian friend. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-meet-someone-do-you-subconsciously-consciously-make-a-note-of-their-nationality/837599/25 "2019-07-27T17:20:10Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > You mean you can’t recognize a British, Russian, French (to name a few) accent? > > Oh wait-- I get it. You were **asking** a trick question. :dubious: So if you hear someone in Texas speaking with a British accent, you know they’re not an American? And if you hear someone speaking with a French accent you can tell whether they’re a French citizen or a Canadian citizen, and are not American? I was riffing on the point made by other posters that ethnic origin is not the same as nationality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-see-meet-someone-do-you-subconsciously-consciously-make-a-note-of-their-nationality/837599.md?page=1)