Re: Exonyms [Re: English syllable structure]
| From: | Tristan Alexander McLeay <anstouh@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Sunday, December 9, 2001, 9:20 |
|---|
On Sun, 9 Dec 2001, Thomas R. Wier wrote:
> Yeah. Language is one of those things that a lot of people
> seem to paint with a broad brush when talking about America.
> Another one is the habit that some Brits seem to have (or do
> they not?) of calling anyone who happens to be a citizen of
> the US a "yank". "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.
> Although, people from Texas, say, would not call an Arkansan
> a Yankee; it's not entirely relative. So, not a term of abuse
> or anything, but definitely an exonym (for most Americans).
You make it sound like different dialects aren't allowed to use the same
(or similar) words in different ways. And here was me thinking that they
could... (Rant) Note to all Yanks: `Yank' is a non-American term to mean
Americans, and there isn't anything you can do about it, just like there
isn't anything I can do about your horrible mangalation of `Australian'.
Tristan
anstouh@yahoo.com.au
War doesn't prove who's right, just who's left.
- BSD Games' Fortune