Re: Exonyms [Re: English syllable structure]

On Sun, 9 Dec 2001, Thomas R. Wier wrote:

> Quoting Padraic Brown <agricola@...>:
>
> > Am 09.12.01, Thomas R. Wier yscrifef:
> >
> > > "yankee" in most of America refers to people
> > > who live north and east of yourself. So, to Alabamians,
> > > Marylanders are Yankees; to Marylanders, people from Pennsylvania
> > > are Yankees; to people from Pennsylvania, New Yorkers are Yankees.
> >
> > I suspect that leaves the Mainemen holding the bag.
>
> More or less.  Somehow, it got associated with New England,
> even though the traditional etymology is that it came from
> Dutch _Jan Kees_ "John Cheese" as a term of abuse used by
> the inhabitants of New Amsterdam for the English invaders.
>
The way I've heard it...

   To the world at large, a Yankee is anyone from the United States.
   To an American, a Yankee is any Northerner.
   To a Northerner, a Yankee is anyone from New England.
   To a New Englander, a Yankee is anyone from Connecticut.
   To someone from Connecticut, a Yankee is anyone who puts cheddar cheese
       on his apple pie for breakfast.

You may have something there, with the cheese.  :-)

--
  Steve Kramer           ||           scooter (at) buser dot net          ||
  _____________________  ===================================================
 |  __/^\__        ,-^,|    "So I'm basically just like John Lee Hooker?"
 |/~       \_     {  / |
             \/\   |!  |     Mary Prankster, in response to criticism by
               /  / )  |___  an Ocean City nightclub owner that her music
              (_  \ \     /      was "just storytelling and swearing"
                ~v^  ?_,-'