1. Is there an option for unknowns (since I'd check English, but the rest of my ancestry is unknown to me)?
Yep -- I've got a list of ethnicities and nationalities and they're both pretty comprehensive (though I could see some quibbling with nationality because it's based on UN-recognized, since that's the most consistent over long period, and that does leave out non-recognized and/or newer nation-states but ANYWAY) -- one of the options is definitely "not sure/unknown".
As for #2, if we're going to get technical, the most possible is triple citizenship, IIRC -- two from parents, one from spouse. So the question would have to allow for multiple checks. I've known a whole lotta dual-citizenship folk in my life, so no intention of forgetting them!
...I was going with shorthand in the question, but I'd probably clarify "prior to adulthood/18 yrs old" -- since somewhere around 18-19 seems to be a somewhat universal understanding of adulthood, at least very early adulthood. Most countries, frex, measure obscenity and child-protection and criminal-statutes as ending/starting around the age of 17-19.
Also, how would you classfy someone who came as an adult, but not on an assignment, but who isn't necessarily seeking citizenship?
Long-term open-ended but not seeking citizenship. Wait, did I conflate the two in the draft answers? Serves me right for typing too fast...
Also, for the citizenship question, are you looking for a question of permanent residence, or actual citizenship, which are different things.
Basically what I'm looking for is: "are you attempting to acculturate/integrate into your current residential culture?" -- because people can live long-term in a foreign place and never make any attempt to integrate; they just remain expats living overseas and still fundamentally their own culture with no interest in 'going native'. And you don't have to gain/earn citizenship, really, to attempt that integration, though in most cases citizenship is a kind of graduation-cap on the process of cultural integration/adoption.
But no, I've known too many people who have no intention nor interest in (and some quite arrogantly dismissive of!) the whole 'going native' thing, so I've no illusions that permanent residence automatically means "I'd get citizenship if I could" -- some people never will, and some can't, for various other reasons, and thus would say "no, I don't want citizenship" because that's easier than saying, "I could never get citizenship for X or Y reasons".
The bottom line is basically: are you a long-term (since birth) member of the culture in which you now live, and if not pick one from the reasons (temp, expat, immigrant, etc), and if newcomer (to any degree) have you or are you working towards integrating into your adopted culture?
...and even then I could see people saying "no," to the last one, if, say, language struggles in new country are such that they've given up, and see that as meaning they're not "really" becoming part of their new culture -- when in fact, in all the other ways that count, maybe they are.
The problem with self-assessment type questions is that in a lot of ways, people aren't literal enough, are often too literal, and are almost always way too hard on themselves while at the same time more likely than not are also going to see themselves as an exception to any rule.
Maybe I could just tell people to upload a PICTURE. /snark
no subject
Date: 15 May 2010 07:18 pm (UTC)Yep -- I've got a list of ethnicities and nationalities and they're both pretty comprehensive (though I could see some quibbling with nationality because it's based on UN-recognized, since that's the most consistent over long period, and that does leave out non-recognized and/or newer nation-states but ANYWAY) -- one of the options is definitely "not sure/unknown".
As for #2, if we're going to get technical, the most possible is triple citizenship, IIRC -- two from parents, one from spouse. So the question would have to allow for multiple checks. I've known a whole lotta dual-citizenship folk in my life, so no intention of forgetting them!
...I was going with shorthand in the question, but I'd probably clarify "prior to adulthood/18 yrs old" -- since somewhere around 18-19 seems to be a somewhat universal understanding of adulthood, at least very early adulthood. Most countries, frex, measure obscenity and child-protection and criminal-statutes as ending/starting around the age of 17-19.
Also, how would you classfy someone who came as an adult, but not on an assignment, but who isn't necessarily seeking citizenship?
Long-term open-ended but not seeking citizenship. Wait, did I conflate the two in the draft answers? Serves me right for typing too fast...
Also, for the citizenship question, are you looking for a question of permanent residence, or actual citizenship, which are different things.
Basically what I'm looking for is: "are you attempting to acculturate/integrate into your current residential culture?" -- because people can live long-term in a foreign place and never make any attempt to integrate; they just remain expats living overseas and still fundamentally their own culture with no interest in 'going native'. And you don't have to gain/earn citizenship, really, to attempt that integration, though in most cases citizenship is a kind of graduation-cap on the process of cultural integration/adoption.
But no, I've known too many people who have no intention nor interest in (and some quite arrogantly dismissive of!) the whole 'going native' thing, so I've no illusions that permanent residence automatically means "I'd get citizenship if I could" -- some people never will, and some can't, for various other reasons, and thus would say "no, I don't want citizenship" because that's easier than saying, "I could never get citizenship for X or Y reasons".
The bottom line is basically: are you a long-term (since birth) member of the culture in which you now live, and if not pick one from the reasons (temp, expat, immigrant, etc), and if newcomer (to any degree) have you or are you working towards integrating into your adopted culture?
...and even then I could see people saying "no," to the last one, if, say, language struggles in new country are such that they've given up, and see that as meaning they're not "really" becoming part of their new culture -- when in fact, in all the other ways that count, maybe they are.
The problem with self-assessment type questions is that in a lot of ways, people aren't literal enough, are often too literal, and are almost always way too hard on themselves while at the same time more likely than not are also going to see themselves as an exception to any rule.
Maybe I could just tell people to upload a PICTURE. /snark