The "where are you from" version, honestly, I'm not even sure I like it all that much, sometimes! I'll say "Georgia" without a second thought, but if the person doesn't follow it up with some excuse as to why they asked ("I couldn't place your accent"), then I get a little annoyed or put-off. The "where are you from" is often also used as a really casual kind of question... but asking about someone's family is definitely not a casual question. It's certainly not something I'd ask of a coworker or occasional acquaintance!
It's part of a larger set of social formalities, and I wanted to make clear that these additional clues and aspects to the question may also help distinguish it from the more casual, more-often offensive, simpler "where are you from" version.
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Date: 4 Apr 2011 04:30 pm (UTC)It's part of a larger set of social formalities, and I wanted to make clear that these additional clues and aspects to the question may also help distinguish it from the more casual, more-often offensive, simpler "where are you from" version.