I think I would have gone native?

Question

What does this saying mean? I heard it some where and i find it super offensive.

Answer 1

seriously, not everything is about race. it's about forgetting who you are and taking on the culture of the place you temporarily reside. it's largely a cultural anthropology term... when you spend so much time doing ethnographies, sometimes you lose sight of who you are.

it's not offensive. don't get your panties in a twist.

Answer 2

It does have a negative connotation to it. The phrase has often been used to refer to one regressing from a "civilized" culture to one that is less so. As the boy Mowgli did, in the Jungle Book, or the early settlers did, when some adopted Native American customs. However, it can also mean just adapting to a different (but equally civilized) culture, as the saying "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" suggests. It is not super offensive, even if meant in a negative manner. "I think I would have gone native" just means that you would have become less refined.

Answer 3

When one goes native one begins to adapt the ways of those with whom one is living amongst, another culture or race.

In the history of America, for example, many of the first men to explore the country ended up living and marrying into native tribes. That is a good example of "going native".

Answer 4

While the roots of this phrase are derogatory, in modern times it has referred mostly to the adoption of native customs. A wester form of "when in rome do as the romans do", except more specifically: "when in rome, live as the romans do".

"gone native" was often used during and after the civil war in the west, to refer to a soldier, settler or non-native american who adopted native ways or otherwise "betrayed" their own native culture. In this way, it was very derogatory.

Answer 5

It refers to an individual assuming the local culture, usually in a mildly "wild" manner, i.e., sleeping late and working little, etc. This usually would be in reference to some type of cultural stereotype.