They were simply pointing out that most people don't have a pejorative nickname for themselves.
What is a Yankee?
Let me immediately say that I am pleased everyone seems to be taking this discussion well, with no one choosing to take offense at the discussion of sometimes politically- or emotionally-charged nicknames.
From the perspective of someone living in the rural Southeastern US (Western North Carolina), I can say that the majority of people here whose roots go back a few generations would use the term "Yankee" to refer to any of the following:
-Anyone from the Northeastern US, including but not limited to
New England. As the term is used here, it clearly encompasses
those who hail from Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey, just as
much as those from Vermont or New Hampshire.
-In the usage of many, many local people, it would also include
those who come from the Western US, as well as anyone from
the state of Florida who retires here. (Seemingly, the vast
majority of the Floridians who come to retire in our mountains
are not originally from Florida, but from the Northeast or Midwest.)
I point this out, because the DISTINCTION is made by most local people based primarily on DIALECT and ACCENT.
Because the Southern states have a very distinctive vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation and accent from those of other Americans, the term "Yankee" can best be defined here as referring to anyone who does not speak with those same attributes.
Thus, most Texans would be considered "Southern", and thus "one of us", whereas people from Ohio, much nearer by, would clearly be classed as "Yankee", meaning "Ain't from around here."
Just my $.02 worth, based on a few decades of linguistic study and observation and a lifetime spent in the Southeast.
From the perspective of someone living in the rural Southeastern US (Western North Carolina), I can say that the majority of people here whose roots go back a few generations would use the term "Yankee" to refer to any of the following:
-Anyone from the Northeastern US, including but not limited to
New England. As the term is used here, it clearly encompasses
those who hail from Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey, just as
much as those from Vermont or New Hampshire.
-In the usage of many, many local people, it would also include
those who come from the Western US, as well as anyone from
the state of Florida who retires here. (Seemingly, the vast
majority of the Floridians who come to retire in our mountains
are not originally from Florida, but from the Northeast or Midwest.)
I point this out, because the DISTINCTION is made by most local people based primarily on DIALECT and ACCENT.
Because the Southern states have a very distinctive vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation and accent from those of other Americans, the term "Yankee" can best be defined here as referring to anyone who does not speak with those same attributes.
Thus, most Texans would be considered "Southern", and thus "one of us", whereas people from Ohio, much nearer by, would clearly be classed as "Yankee", meaning "Ain't from around here."
Just my $.02 worth, based on a few decades of linguistic study and observation and a lifetime spent in the Southeast.
If someone said that sombody else was a jock I would assume that he played football (Amercan football) in highschool, not that he was Scottish. I've seen/heard the word kraut before, but I think most people in the U.S. would call a German a Germ as a nickname before Kraut if they took in into their head to give them a nickname at all. In my opinion, the Nicknames the English have for Americans and we for them are out-dated, as in stemming from the Revolutionary War. Like Yankee, most people in the U.S. think of that as one side of the Revolutionary or civil war and that it does not pertain to right now. As for nicknames for the English, Limmey and Lobsterback, those seem outdated too. Maybe we should come up with some new ones.
>>If someone said that sombody else was a jock I would assume that he played football (Amercan football) in highschool, not that he was Scottish. I've seen/heard the word kraut before, but I think most people in the U.S. would call a German a Germ as a nickname before Kraut if they took in into their head to give them a nickname at all.<<
I've heard "Kraut" used on occasion by older or middle-aged individuals, but I have never, ever heard "Germ" used at all, to say the very least...
I've heard "Kraut" used on occasion by older or middle-aged individuals, but I have never, ever heard "Germ" used at all, to say the very least...
>> I've heard "Kraut" used on occasion by older or middle-aged individuals, but I have never, ever heard "Germ" used at all, to say the very least...<<
I've never heard Germ before either. "Kraut" is used to refer to Nazis in movies about the Second World War. It is obsolete now. Since most people don't have any strong feelings towards Germans nowadays, they're simply Germans.
I've never heard Germ before either. "Kraut" is used to refer to Nazis in movies about the Second World War. It is obsolete now. Since most people don't have any strong feelings towards Germans nowadays, they're simply Germans.
Hmmm... I've heard Germ used by several people, mostly to make fun of these three Germans teachers at school. Maybe its not as widespread as I thought.
Personally I would never use the terms "Yank" or "Yankee" when either referrring to or addressing an American. It may offend, so better to play safe. I am aware of the historical connections.
But perhaps many Americans are not too bothered one way or another as they have used to word in songs, and there is a film called YANKS, which was all about the American military "invasion" of Britain between 1942 and 1945 which thrilled only the female population of this country! Ha!
The only song I could find using the term is the one with the verse below. (I played the tune and it is familiar, as is the general term "Yankee Doodle Dandy" - came to London just to ride the ponies? That doesnae make any sense to me one jot! Why come to London to ride ponies?.... I ask myself....)
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
A Yankee Doodle, do or die;
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam's,
Born on the Fourth of July.
I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart,
She's my Yankee Doodle joy.
Yankee Doodle came to London, just to ride the ponies -
I am the Yankee Doodle Boy.
But perhaps many Americans are not too bothered one way or another as they have used to word in songs, and there is a film called YANKS, which was all about the American military "invasion" of Britain between 1942 and 1945 which thrilled only the female population of this country! Ha!
The only song I could find using the term is the one with the verse below. (I played the tune and it is familiar, as is the general term "Yankee Doodle Dandy" - came to London just to ride the ponies? That doesnae make any sense to me one jot! Why come to London to ride ponies?.... I ask myself....)
I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
A Yankee Doodle, do or die;
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam's,
Born on the Fourth of July.
I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart,
She's my Yankee Doodle joy.
Yankee Doodle came to London, just to ride the ponies -
I am the Yankee Doodle Boy.
I'm American and I remember singing Yankee Doodle Dandy all through grade school. The words are different though. Instead of singing "Yankee Doodle came to London, just to ride the ponies" we had "Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony."
Guest, you're confusing "Yankee Doodle Boy", a Broadway showtune written by George M. Cohan in 1904, with "Yankee Doodle", a pre-revolutionary patriotic song and Connecticut's state anthem.
"Yankee Doodle"
Yankee Doodle went to town,
A-Riding on a pony;
He stuck a feather in his hat,
And called it macaroni.
Yankee Doodle, keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy;
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy!
The lyrics that Damian posted is "Yankee Doodle Boy" which originally came from the musical "Little Johnny Jones" about an American jockey who rides a horse named Yankee Doodle in the English Derby, hence the London reference.
"Yankee Doodle"
Yankee Doodle went to town,
A-Riding on a pony;
He stuck a feather in his hat,
And called it macaroni.
Yankee Doodle, keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy;
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy!
The lyrics that Damian posted is "Yankee Doodle Boy" which originally came from the musical "Little Johnny Jones" about an American jockey who rides a horse named Yankee Doodle in the English Derby, hence the London reference.
I don't think most Amreicans get too worked up over Yank (and never over Yankee) -- the negative connotations of those words are mostly in the minds of foreigners -- I imagine because they usually ARE using those words in a pejorative sense. But since we never use Yank at all, and use Yankee only rarely, in special circumstances, we do not associate negativity with them ourselves. At least not as an inherent attribute. Although we do realize that sometimes it's implied....
>> Personally I would never use the terms "Yank" or "Yankee" when either referrring to or addressing an American. It may offend, so better to play safe. I am aware of the historical connections. <<
It's not that it would offend. You would simply be laughed at, or stared at in uncomprehension if you were talking to a Southerner or Westerner, as they would wonder why you thought they were a Northerner, and usually a Northeasterner at that.
It's not that it would offend. You would simply be laughed at, or stared at in uncomprehension if you were talking to a Southerner or Westerner, as they would wonder why you thought they were a Northerner, and usually a Northeasterner at that.
I think I could reasonably tell the difference between a US Southerner and a North Easterner. The former is very recognisable, as we all know, and I think I'm right in saying that the average North East accent is about as close to a kind of British accent as any American accent can get. (Leaving out the New York/New Jersey accents.......)
Actually I'm quite surprised that the Southern Accent of the US seems to reach up to those parts which don't appear on the map to be technically Southern at all. It makes you wonder just where the South in America actually begins, looking at it from an Eastern perspective. Maryland? Virginia? North Carolina?
Actually I'm quite surprised that the Southern Accent of the US seems to reach up to those parts which don't appear on the map to be technically Southern at all. It makes you wonder just where the South in America actually begins, looking at it from an Eastern perspective. Maryland? Virginia? North Carolina?
<<(Leaving out the New York/New Jersey accents.......)>>
Leaving them out? To the contrary, I'd say that the NY/NJ accent is one of those that is *most* similar to an English accent. It preserves the pre-R distinctions ("Mary-merry-marry", etc) that are generally lost in North America, it's non-rhotic, and furthermore, it preserves a close value of the historical /O:/ phoneme that leads to "caught" and "court" being homophones - a very English merger that's found practically nowhere else in North America. I'd say that NY/NJ is tied with Boston for being the accent most similar to an English one - each for slightly different reasons.
Leaving them out? To the contrary, I'd say that the NY/NJ accent is one of those that is *most* similar to an English accent. It preserves the pre-R distinctions ("Mary-merry-marry", etc) that are generally lost in North America, it's non-rhotic, and furthermore, it preserves a close value of the historical /O:/ phoneme that leads to "caught" and "court" being homophones - a very English merger that's found practically nowhere else in North America. I'd say that NY/NJ is tied with Boston for being the accent most similar to an English one - each for slightly different reasons.
>> Actually I'm quite surprised that the Southern Accent of the US seems to reach up to those parts which don't appear on the map to be technically Southern at all. It makes you wonder just where the South in America actually begins, looking at it from an Eastern perspective. Maryland? Virginia? North Carolina? <<
Well, looking at a map isn't going to help you much. The regions of the US do not quite match up to geography. The South does include a big chunk of Virgina, part of West Virginia, and much of Kentucky. There are two subregions of the South: Inland South, which includes parts of: Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The other subregion of the South is known as "Texas South", and includes the middle part of Texas. The Western part of Texas is actually part of a transitional region. Most of Oklahoma is actually not part of the South, but rather the Midland. The Southern part of Missouri is part of the South. Most of Missouri is part of the Midland, but a tiny part of it is part of the North. Florida is not part of the South, and neither is Charleston, SC. They both have their own unique regions.
The further East you go in the South, the further North the South extends. So, while most of Oklahoma is not part of the South, and neither is most of Missouri (both are Midland), once you get to Kentucky, the South extends further North. So, even though Virginia is as far North as Kansas, most of Virginia is part of the South, while none of Kansas is. Most of Kansas is part of the Midland.
Well, looking at a map isn't going to help you much. The regions of the US do not quite match up to geography. The South does include a big chunk of Virgina, part of West Virginia, and much of Kentucky. There are two subregions of the South: Inland South, which includes parts of: Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The other subregion of the South is known as "Texas South", and includes the middle part of Texas. The Western part of Texas is actually part of a transitional region. Most of Oklahoma is actually not part of the South, but rather the Midland. The Southern part of Missouri is part of the South. Most of Missouri is part of the Midland, but a tiny part of it is part of the North. Florida is not part of the South, and neither is Charleston, SC. They both have their own unique regions.
The further East you go in the South, the further North the South extends. So, while most of Oklahoma is not part of the South, and neither is most of Missouri (both are Midland), once you get to Kentucky, the South extends further North. So, even though Virginia is as far North as Kansas, most of Virginia is part of the South, while none of Kansas is. Most of Kansas is part of the Midland.