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Non-Specifically Foreign: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
A character is obviously "not from around here", but where they actually ''are'' from is kept a mystery. They don't even name a [[No Communities Were Harmed]] pretend country like [[Qurac]] or [[Bulungi]].
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]].
A popular variant in the UK is the "Eurotrash" character, someone whose origin can be loosely classed as Central/Western Europe but no narrower than that, speaking fluent English with an accent that hopscotches between Swedish, French, German, Italian...
Their reticence to talk about where they come from may be [[Foreshadowing|an early hint]] that they're a [[Fauxreigner]].
Compare [[Ambiguously Brown]], which can overlap with this trope. Contrast [[But Not Too Foreign]]. See also [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?]], for when it's the setting of the show that's ambiguously located. The real life version as applied to versatile actors is [[Plays Great Ethnics]].
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{{examples}}
* Dr. Nick Riviera in ''[[The Simpsons]]''. He also has a case of [[What the Hell Is That Accent?]].
** "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).
** Word of God <ref>(The audio commentary for "Homer's Triple Bypass")</ref> states that his design is based on [[wikipedia:G%C3%A1bor Csup%C3%B3|Gabor Csupo]] while his accent is a bad imitation of [[wikipedia:Desi Arnaz|Desi Arnaz]]
* 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.
* The UK mascot of the "Euromillions" European lottery, absurdly wealthy jet-setting millionaire "Hector Riva".
* 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.
** 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.
* [[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.
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