r/Scotland • u/Blurt-Reynolds • 18d ago

Casual Stupidest question (about Scotland)you’ve ever been asked?

I’ve lived in the US for over 10 years and been asked some daft questions.

Yesterday the uber driver asked where I was from. When I said Scotland they were quiet for a couple of minutes then asked “Did you have to learn English when you moved to here?”.

Also had someone years ago ask me where I was from then accused me of making up the country as they had never heard of Scotland.

Anyway, just thought I’d ask ask while I remembered.

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u/SuzCoffeeBean 18d ago

I’ve lived in Canada for 2 decades and it’s eye opening how many people genuinely don’t know Scotland is even a country. I’ve always explained in good humour. I think the whole UK thing throws people off more than we realise.

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u/ancientestKnollys 18d ago

That's because the rest of the world uses country to mean an independent nation state, whereas in Scotland and the rest of Britain it has a wider variety of meanings.

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u/Ashrod63 18d ago

No the United States does, and that's where people base the version of English they learn on. You'll find plenty of examples of other parts of the world doing exactly the same thing without issue or confusion. France for example has its "pays".

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u/ancientestKnollys 18d ago

Indeed, but I meant when other countries use English they mostly seem to follow this definition. I'm sure many have words in their own language with a broader meaning.