ABSTRACT
Whenweareunsureoftheoriginofanacquaintancewehavejustmet,who speaksourlanguagewithadifferentaccentorwhospeaksanotherlanguage entirely,whowearsforeignattire,whoexhibitsdifferentcustomsandvalues,or whosephysicalcharacteristicssuggestadifferentracialorethnicaffiliation,we areapttoaskhimorher,'Whereareyoufrom?'Ananswertothisquestion allowsustosituatesuchpersonswithinthecontextoftheirin-grouporout-group ascribedlabelsornamesifwehavepriorfamiliaritywithsuchcontext.Orit inspiresustoseekmoreinformationwhenwehavenoresidualknowledgeabout thenamedcontext.Theanswertothisquestion,'Whereareyoufrom',liesatthe heartofverbalidentification,definedheresimplyas'anindividualorgroup's articulatedstatementofbelongingnesstoanational,racialorethnicentity.'
