Fresh off the boat
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Fresh off the boat (often abbreviated as F.O.B., FOB, fobbish, or fobbie) is a derogatory slang phrase applied to people of foreign nationality, who have arrived in a host nation as tourists, immigrants, students, or most commonly, as work permit applicants. The term is commonly applied to Eastern & Southern Pacific Asians as well as Middle Easterners in the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as to Pacific Islanders in Australia and New Zealand. It was originally applied to European immigrants to America who had just stepped off of a ship.[citation needed]
The term is commonly used when immigrants from a foreign nation have not yet assimilated the host nation's culture, language, and behavior. Note that assimilation to the host nation's culture is not a certainty, there are historical examples of a foreign nation assimilating a host nation (ex. Sinicization or Romanization). FOBs tend to be identified by their fashion, social preferences, behavior towards others, and — perhaps most commonly and distinctively — their accents.
In the sociology of ethnicity, this term can be seen as an indicator of a nature of diasporic communities, or communities that have left their country of origin and have migrated, usually permanently, to another country. A split can occur in such communities between those who have assimilated or acclimated in their host countries and those who still cling to their native culture. The usage of "FOBs" is often used by the former group, to differentiate themselves from the latter. Often, this difference is a result of a generation gap, where the sons and daughters of immigrants born and immersed in the culture of their host country develop an identity distinct from their parents or recent immigrants.
The term also has been adapted by immigrants themselves or others in their community who instead see the differentiation as a source of pride, where they have retained their culture and have not lost it to assimilation. In some instances, people who have assimilated or acclimated into their host country still identify themselves as a "FOB" to show they have not assimilated completely.
In fiction
Fictional works that have explored the term and concept include
- Fresh off the Boat, a novel by Melissa de la Cruz, ISBN 0-06-054541-0
- The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, a novel by Maxine Hong Kingston
- F.O.B., a play by David Henry Hwang.
- "House of Tinder", a novel by Murali Balaji, ISBN 0-595-28310-1
Pronunciation
There are currently two widely accepted (and sometimes disputed) pronunciations of the word FOB. The emphasis is on the "O" sound:
FOB(fŏb) can be pronounced with the same "O" sound as in the word "lob" (Ellie lobbed the ball at me).
FOB(fōb) can also be pronounced with the "O" sound as in the word "cove" (Ellie found a nice cove along the shore).
The general claim is that "only FOBs(fōb) say FOB(fŏb)" and vice a versa.
Offensive use
The term "FOB" has been used with offensive intent, often to those with a foreign accent or ethnic style of dressing. Depending on the person's attitude to the culture in question, he or she may or may not take offense at these statements.
Non-offensive use
The term "FOB" is also used in a less offensive way of describing Asian American youths, as well as those in Australia and other countries, that display contemporary East Asian youth cultures. This behavior is part of a new trend of Asian American teens displaying their modern cultural roots (like listening to Asian music and watching Asian movies) rather than conform with mainstream Western culture. Thus the term "Fob" is used in a social context to describe a particular clique or subculture of teens. A few modern day "Fobs" may actually be American-, Australian-, etc, born Asians.
"Fob" is also used as slang term for these youths to refer to each other, such as American Blacks using the word nigga. The same can be applied to Iranian American youths, who use the term in the same non-offensive way as Asian American youths.
A modern stereotype of "FOB" people is that of Pacific Islanders living in Australia. Tongans, Samoans, Fijians, Papua New Guineans and Tuvalu are encompassed in the cultural FOB stereotype.
References
- Ludvig, Sämi. Cultural Idenity as Spouse From Fusion of Cultures?, edited by Peter O. Stummer and Christopher Balme. Reprinted by Google Books. Retrieved July 27 2006. ISBN 90-420-0044-9.
- Nakazawa, Donna Jackson. Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent's Guide to Raising Multiracial Children. p. 132. Reprinted by Google Books. Retrieved July 27 2006. ISBN 0-7382-0950-3.