American-Born Confused Desi
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"American-born confused desi" (ABCD) is an informal term used to refer to
South Asian Americans South Asian Americans are Americans of South Asian ancestry. The term refers to those who can trace back their heritage to South Asia, which includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The ...
, particularly of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi origin, born or raised in the United States, in contrast to those who were born overseas and later settled in the US.


Neologism

"ABCD" or "American-born confused
desi Desi ( or or ; Hindustani language, Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the ethnic groups in South Asia, peoples, culture of South Asia, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their Sout ...
" has become a polarizing factor in the South Asian diaspora in the United States, with first-generation immigrant parents and young South Asians of second or later generations. Though the term was originally coined in reference to Indian Americans, it has been adopted by the
South Asian diaspora The South Asian diaspora, also known as the Desi diaspora, is the group of people whose ancestral origins lie in South Asia, but who live outside the region. There are over 44 million people in this diaspora. Endonyms South Asians in the diaspo ...
at large. The term ''
desi Desi ( or or ; Hindustani language, Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the ethnic groups in South Asia, peoples, culture of South Asia, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their Sout ...
'' comes from the
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
word (, ). The word has its origin in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, , and is pronounced ''desh'' in the
Bengali language Bengali, also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. ...
. ''Desi'' means 'of the homeland' and is generally used by diasporas of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The phrase is not frequently used in South Asia and not seen as a set identity as it is seen by diasporas. The term has been commonly known among diasporas since at least the 1980s. The term ''confused'' is used to describe the psychological state of many second-generation South Asian Americans who struggle to balance values and traditions taught at home with attitudes and practices that are more conducive to the culture of The United States. The longer and lesser known form ''American born confused desi, emigrated from
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, house in Jersey'' is also occasionally seen; playing on the alphabet theme, it has been expanded for K-Z variously as ''kids learning medicine, now owning property, quite reasonable salary, two uncles visiting, white
Xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
, yet zestful'' or ''keeping lotsa motels, named Omkarnath Patel, quickly reaching success through underhanded vicious ways, xenophobic yet zestful''. The former version of the A—Z expansion was proposed by South Asian immigrants as a reaction to the latter version that derogated them.


Cultural implications

Among
South Asian Americans South Asian Americans are Americans of South Asian ancestry. The term refers to those who can trace back their heritage to South Asia, which includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The ...
, the term may be considered divisive, as
first generation First generation, Generation I, or variants of this, may refer to: History * 1G, the first generation of wireless telephone technology * First generation of video game consoles, 1972–1983 * First generation computer, a vacuum-tube computer M ...
South Asian Americans use it to criticize the
Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...
and the lack of belonging to Indian Asian culture they perceive in their second-generation peers or children. At times, it could also be used to mock their outdated perception of their country of origin. Writer
Vijay Prashad Vijay Prashad (born 1967) is an Indian-born American, author, journalist, political commentator, and Marxism, Marxist intellectual."I came to Marxism against my self-interest. Born into affluence, I was raised in an revolutionary city (Calcutta, ...
describes the term as "ponderous and overused" and notes it as one of the mechanisms by which new immigrants attempt to make second-generation youth feel "culturally inadequate and unfinished".


Movies

The term ''American-born confused desi'' first appeared in the movie ''
American Desi ''American Desi'' is a 2001 Indian-American comedy film. It is notable for featuring many prominent South Asian American actors and features an a cappella version by Penn Masala of Nazia Hassan's classic " Aap Jaisa Koi", originally from the ...
'' (2001). '' ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi'' is a 2013
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
language movie released in India. The film narrates the journey of two young American
Malayalis The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian languages, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, ...
to their motherland,
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
, with the title based on the term ''American-born confused desi''. The film was remade in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
in 2019 with the
same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
.


Other use

*Abroad-born confused desi, an informal term used to refer to members of the
South Asian diaspora The South Asian diaspora, also known as the Desi diaspora, is the group of people whose ancestral origins lie in South Asia, but who live outside the region. There are over 44 million people in this diaspora. Endonyms South Asians in the diaspo ...
who were born or raised abroad.


See also

*
American-born Chinese American-born Chinese (abbreviated as ABC) is a term widely used to refer to Chinese people who were born in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily ...
(ABC)


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * {{South Asian diaspora Indian diaspora in the United States Pakistani diaspora in the United States Anti–South Asian slurs Asian-American issues Human migration Cultural generations South Asian diaspora in the United States Stereotypes of Asian Americans Stereotypes of South Asian people Stereotypes of women Pejorative terms for people rmy:ABCD