My grandpa was born in Laos and lived their most of his life until he met my grandma in Thailand (who was born in Vietnam). They got married their and had my mom in Thailand (who only lived there until she was two). My dad was born in Vietnam. I was born in New York but all my life I've told people I'm full Vietnamese. Am I part Thai or Laos? Also, if I'm 1/4th Laoitian and 1/4th Vietnamese. What's the rest. It can go so many ways. I agree with both of you guys. I could say I'm Asian-American to save the trouble of explaining it to people. I thought I would be more Thai since my mom was born there. Is it more politcally correct to say 'what ethnicity am I?'
Genealogy - 3 Answers
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1 :
If you were born in NY, your nationality is American. Your ethnic heritage is Laotian and Vietnamese.
2 :
Genealogists use specific terms. Nationality is the legal term for where you are a citizen. In the US, you are American if born here. Your ancestry is distinct, because it works from your family. When you do that.. you become an equal part of each ancestor. Grandpa born in Laos, means 1/4th Laotian (is that the right phrase?) and grandma born in Vietnam, makes you 1/4th Vietnamese. (you have 4 grandparents). The problem is that things keep shifting, because the minute you pin one guy down.. you find his parents, then find HIS parents came from elsewhere. It keeps us busy. You wuld not be full Vietnamese, unless ALL your ancestors were born there. By the way.. we are picky about terms. If you talk engines, you can describe parts to the T.. to me, it is that loud piece in the corner. I don't know those technical terms.
3 :
This is always the problem, people not using words properly. An engine is one thing; a motor quite another, although both provide power. You stated where people were born, but did not state what they really were. Your corner of Asia, much of Africa, and Central/South America have been war-torn my entire life, meaning that every one from those places is of a very mixed ancestry. You stated you were born in the U.S., which means your nationality is America. Even if both of your parents were from Viet Nam and both of their parents, you would still be mixed, as noted above. As to your ethnicity, it has nothing to do with being "politically correct". Being "politically correct" means using such terms as "African-American" in lieu of Negro or black, which are actually more correct, as many Jews hail from Africa, as well as Muslims and othe whites. If and only if your grandpa was Laotian and he married a Vietnamese, that makes you 1/4 of Laotian and 1/4 Vietnamese; however, unless your grandfather married his sister, you need to consider the other two grandparents! But, your grandpa being born/raised/whatever in Laos does not make him Laotian. Where were his parents born and raised? There are more Germans living in the U.S. than in Germany; they are still Germans! You are still Laotian/Vietnamese/Thai/whatever. If I move to any one of those countries, I will always be an American, no matter how much I try to assimilate. So, you need to trace your ahnentafel; start with: You should start by asking all your living relatives about family history. Then, armed with that information, you can go to your public library and check to see if it has a genealogy department. Most do nowadays; also, don't forget to check at community colleges, universities, etc. Our public library has both www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com free for anyone to use (no library card required). Another place to check out is any of the Mormon's Family History Centers. They allow people to search for their family history (and, NO, they don't try to convert you). A third option is one of the following websites: http://www.searchforancestors.com/... http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739... www dot usgenweb dot com/ www dot census dot gov/ http://www.rootsweb.com/ www dot ukgenweb dot com/ www dot archives dot gov/ http://www.familysearch.org/ http://www.accessgenealogy.com/... http://www.cyndislist.com/ www dot geni dot com/ Cyndi's has the most links to genealogy websites, whether ship's passenger lists, ancestors from Africa, ancestors from the Philippines, where ever and whatever. Of course, you may be successful by googling: "john doe, born 1620, plimouth, massachusetts" as an example. Good luck and have fun! Check out this article on five great free genealogy websites: www dot associatedcontent dot com/article... Then there is the DNA test; if you decide you want to REALLY know where your ancestors came from opt for the DNA test. Besides all the mistakes that officials commonly make, from 10% to 20% of birth certificates list the father wrong; that is, mama was doing the hanky-panky and someone else was the REAL father. That won't show up on the internet or in books; it WILL show up in DNA. I used www.familytreedna.com which works with the National Geographics Genotype Program. As to what you tell people, it is entirely your choice, but none of their business. You could tell them you are Vietnamese-Laotian or simply state Oriental. While it is nice to be polite, usually it is best to say as little as possible.
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