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Non-Specifically Foreign: Difference between revisions
Sorted examples, added text and examples from duplicate trope Undisclosed Native, added category
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It's possible that it's [[All There in the Manual]], but you won't get any hints in the show itself. Their name doesn't give any hints, it just [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign|Sounds Foreign]], and their accent [[Just a Stupid Accent|doesn't sound like that of any real country]].
They're likely to talk about [[The Old Country]] a lot without ever telling you what it is.
Can be played for drama to hint at a character having a [[Mysterious Past]], but more common as a way to create the ultimate [[Funny Foreigner]] - you can use all the best stereotypes without offending ''anyone''!
Other characters may have their own assumptions, but these will be met by conflicting evidence, disagreement from others and [[Mistaken Nationality|offended denials by the foreigner himself]] ("Hungarian!? The Hungarians are our ''mortal enemies!''"). The author, if pressed, will probably respond with a [[Shrug of God]].
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{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* Dr. Nick Riviera in ''[[The Simpsons]]''. He also has a case of [[What the Hell Is That Accent?]].▼
* Lampshaded with the
** "Riviera" is actually the name of the Mediterranean region of France, and sounds like a mashup of two actual Latin names: ''Rivera'' (Spanish) and ''Vieira'' (Portuguese).▼
** Wasn't he originally voiced by David Hyde Pierce in a very twee Northeastern American accent?▼
** Word of God <ref>(The audio commentary for "Homer's Triple Bypass")</ref> states that his design is based on [[wikipedia:Gábor Csupó|Gabor Csupo]] while his accent is a bad imitation of [[wikipedia:Desi Arnaz|Desi Arnaz]]▼
== Anime and Manga ==
* [[Split Personality|Kaere/Kaede]] Kimura from ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei
* Kaolla Su from ''[[Love Hina]]'' is a perfect example, having her place of origin a secret until the second-last book in the manga.
* Yotsuba Koiwai from ''[[Yotsuba&!]]'' She has the amnesia, but with the excuse that she would have been a toddler when she left.
* The eponymous character of ''[[Yotsubato]]''. She's known to be an adopted foreigner from "an island to the left".▼
== Film ==
* Serge in the ''[[Beverly Hills Cop]]'' franchise. What the heck was that accent supposed to be?▼
* Janosz Poha in ''[[Ghostbusters]] II'' spoke with a non-specific (Eastern European?) foreign accent but claimed to be from the upper west side of Manhattan. Several characters remarked on the absurdity of this claim.▼
* Nazo in ''[[Big Daddy]]''. All we ever learn about him is that he's illegal, semi-literate, and is fond of "lamb and tuna fish" [[Foreign Queasine|(yes, together)]]. He's played by the half-Jewish, half-Filipino Rob Schneider.▼
* ''[[The Warrior's Way]]'': Yang's country of origin is never clear and seems to be a general mish-mash of Asian cultures.▼
* Ben Jabituya from ''[[Short Circuit]]''. He has a generic "Hindu"/"Indian"-sounding accent, is [[Ambiguously Brown]], and can safely be assumed to be an immigrant, but not even his long-time friend and coworker Newton Crosby knows his origins. Ben does little to clarify things when directly asked:
{{quote|'''Newton:''' Where are you from, anyway?
'''Ben:''' Bakersfield, originally.
'''Newton:''' No, I mean your ancestors.
'''Ben:''' Oh, them. Pittsburgh.}}
== Literature ==
* In ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', Tyrion asks what kind of accent Shae has, and she simply replies, "Foreign." Cersei suspects she's from the Free City of Lorath, but she doesn't directly confirm or deny this.▼
* Ax in ''[[Animorphs]]'' comes off as this in-universe in his human morph. As it contains DNA from four different people (two of them white, one Latino and one African-American), and he introduced himself as being from various countries, culminating in Canada ("I am from Canada. I am Canadese.")▼
* Errand from ''[[The Belgariad]]'' serves as a [[High Fantasy]] version of this. Many of the older characters also apply, such as Belgarath (who forgot what race of people he was).
* Queequeg from ''[[Moby-Dick]]'', hails from a fiction South Seas island called "Kokovoko".
== Live-Action TV ==
* The "Channel 9" broadcasters on ''[[The Fast Show]]'' were vaguely Eastern European/Mediterranean, but their language was a mixture of pure gibberish and British cultural references. Wherever country they were from, all we know is that the weather is consistently "scorchio".
* ''[[Eurotrash]]'' was full of this.
* Fez from ''[[That '70s
* The UK mascot of the "Euromillions" European lottery, absurdly wealthy jet-setting millionaire "Hector Riva".▼
** In case you're wondering, his nickname is actually a (quasi-)acronym, short for "Foreign Exchange Student." But since it's not written in capital letters, many viewers probably assumed he was Turkish.▼
* Ishboo was a recurring foreign exchange student on ''[[All That]]'' with an abundance of bizarre cultural traditions that he'd insist others join in. Whenever someone asked where he was from, he'd brush off the question. It was sometimes implied that he wasn't a foreigner, and was just messing with everyone.▼
== Stand-Up Comedy ==
* Andy Kaufman's "Foreign Man" was like this originally. Then he became a regular on ''[[Taxi]]'' and got a name and backstory. The name of his home country, however, remained a mystery.
** As I recall, he was from "Caspiar," an island in the Caspian Sea. [[Rule of Funny|It sunk.]]
▲* Fez from ''[[That '70s Show|That 70's Show]]'' is from some ambiguous foreign country (probably from [[South of the Border|somewhere in South or Central America]]). His real name [[Only Known by Their Nickname|isn't even available]] as a clue to his origins.
== Western Animation ==
▲** In case you're wondering, his nickname is actually a (quasi-)acronym, short for "Foreign Exchange Student." But since it's not written in capital letters, many viewers probably assumed he was Turkish.
▲* Dr. Nick Riviera in ''[[The Simpsons]]''. He also has a case of [[What the Hell Is That Accent?]].
▲* [[Split Personality|Kaere/Kaede]] Kimura from ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei|Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei]]'' went on an exchange program overseas and then back to Japan. To which country is anyone's guess, at first it seemed it was to America, until she started talking about some... [[Culture Clash|unusual customs]] in whichever country it was.
▲** "Riviera" is actually the name of the Mediterranean region of France, and sounds like a mashup of two actual Latin names: ''Rivera'' (Spanish) and ''Vieira'' (Portuguese).
▲* In ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', Tyrion asks what kind of accent Shae has, and she simply replies, "Foreign." Cersei suspects she's from the Free City of Lorath, but she doesn't directly confirm or deny this.
▲** Word of God
▲* Serge in the ''[[Beverly Hills Cop]]'' franchise. What the heck was that accent supposed to be?
* Rolf in ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy|Ed, Edd n Eddy]]''. It's implied, though never outright stated, that he's from somewhere in Europe.
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' made a [[Cutaway Gag]] about two guys who don't really have much of an accent, but speak in a way that you can tell that they're not from the US. They've become occasional [[Recurring Character]]s.▼
▲* Janosz Poha in ''[[Ghostbusters]] II'' spoke with a non-specific (Eastern European?) foreign accent but claimed to be from the upper west side of Manhattan. Several characters remarked on the absurdity of this claim.
▲* Ax in ''[[Animorphs]]'' comes off as this in-universe in his human morph. As it contains DNA from four different people (two of them white, one Latino and one African-American), and he introduced himself as being from various countries, culminating in Canada ("I am from Canada. I am Canadese.")
== Other ==
▲* Ishboo was a recurring foreign exchange student on ''[[All That]]'' with an abundance of bizarre cultural traditions that he'd insist others join in. Whenever someone asked where he was from, he'd brush off the question. It was sometimes implied that he wasn't a foreigner, and was just messing with everyone.
▲* The UK mascot of the "Euromillions" European lottery, absurdly wealthy jet-setting millionaire "Hector Riva".
▲* ''[[Family Guy]]'' made a [[Cutaway Gag]] about two guys who don't really have much of an accent, but speak in a way that you can tell that they're not from the US. They've become occasional [[Recurring Character]]s
▲* The eponymous character of ''[[Yotsubato]]''. She's known to be an adopted foreigner from "an island to the left".
▲* Lampshaded with the Geico Gecko, a tropical lizard with a Cockney accent - one ad centers on people asking where he's from, and it deliberately cuts off before he answers.
▲** Wasn't he originally voiced by David Hyde Pierce in a very twee Northeastern American accent?
▲* ''[[The Warrior's Way]]'': Yang's country of origin is never clear and seems to be a general mish-mash of Asian cultures.
▲* Nazo in ''[[Big Daddy]]''. All we ever learn about him is that he's illegal, semi-literate, and is fond of "lamb and tuna fish" [[Foreign Queasine|(yes, together)]]. He's played by the half-Jewish, half-Filipino Rob Schneider.
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Hollywood Atlas]]
[[Category:Non-Specifically Foreign]]
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
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