I won’t promise that there isn’t someone somewhere in America who would be offended, but it doesn’t strike me as something that most people would find offensive. A Southerner just might think you’re crazy if you think he’s a Yankee, but I don’t know how many of those Foghorn Leghorn types are still around in the South. (I live in a part of the South that’s no longer culturally Southern, so it’s hard for me to tell what Southerners are like in the wild.)
Pretty much the same situation with the use of “Brits” then. I’m just sad that “Limeys” has fallen out of fashion. 
That’s another one. Americans pronouncing “…shire” differently to Brits; we tend to say “sher”. Hampsher (Hampshire), Wuhstersher (Worcestershire).
I just realised that I (and I checked with my wife, she does too, but I’ve never noticed this) don’t say the “shire” at all on the sauce. It’s quite simply “Wuhster Sauce”. I’m going to have to listen out to other people, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard anyone actually vocalise the “shire” on the end of it. The sauce only, not the county, of course.
I mildly dislike it. But it’s not as unpleasant as “Limey”.
I’ve always heard it as “woostir sauce” here in the frozen north, with not much of an “i” and a short rolled “r” (must learn IPA at some point). The “shire” part has always been absent. I’m also pretty sure I’ve never heard anyone up here even attempting to pronounce the county name. Wonder how that would go?
Yeah, I actually had to go to the kitchen and check the bottle to see it had the “shire” on the end of it. I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard anyone utter the “shire”.
Heh. A silent “shire”.
I always head it pronounced as “That place where the lad Hick hits centuries. You know, not England.”
See also Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Just a few weeks ago, I heard an English quiz show contestant (on Brain of Britain I think it was) pronounce “Michigan” with a normal /ch/ sound, as in “chip”.
Bastard still got the point.
Nicknames for nationalities are almost always at least a little offensive. However “Brit” and “Aussie” are exceptions (in the States). They are, at worst, neutral, and usually something like, “that good old boy from overseas”.
That’s the way I’ve always heard it pronounced, and I was born in Chicago (“Ch” as in “chosen” and not “Chevy.” I really don’t know how you think it should be pronounced. The syllabification of Michigan is Mich-i-gun, and not Mi-chi-gun. Note that the “gan” is pronounced “gun.”
There’s no context in which it’s offensive in a way that “British” or “Briton” wouldn’t be; but for some reason there’s a clear number of people who don’t like it.
I think it’s mostly a generational thing, to be honest. I can’t see anyone under the age of at least thirty blinking an eyelid at it.
People frequently mispronounce local placenames from other parts of the UK. Because “Southwark” is right in the heart of London, it’s a bit unusual in that most if not all Brits know how to say it. On the other hand, even Londoners mispronounce “Plaistow”, let alone people from elsewhere.
“Southwark” also hints at something. Quite a number of words seem to have shifted pronunciation in British English in the past couple of hundred years, due to the influence of the spelling. I guess that placenames and personal names have been exempt from this process. Thus, “waistcoat” stopped being pronounced “weskitt” a long time ago, but “Greenwich” is still pronounced “Grennidge”.
Well that’s very surprising. I, also from the US, pronounce it “Shicago” — that is, matching “Chevy” and not “chosen”. Or “ship”, and not “chip”.
This pronunciation is also what Wikipedia and my dictionary prescribe, and is what I hear from our fellow countrymen, almost without exception. But I’m prepared to learn that there are regional differences here, maybe even just between the Chicago area and everywhere else.
I wasn’t addressing those features of the name. I was referring only to Michigan’s “ch” consonant — which, just as in “Chicago” (I claim), is generally spoken as /sh/. So it’s “Mish-i-gun” rather than the “Mitch-i-gun” one might expect going just by the spelling.
The guy on British radio said it as “Mitch-i-gun” (tee hee hee), which suggests he’s read the name more than he’s heard it. But I know I’d be hopeless on Cholmondeley and the like, so I’ll give him a pass.
Well, I was born and raised in Chicago, and I’ve never heard the “ch” pronunciation of either “Michigan” or “Chicago” (I’m not sure if one or both these words is being discussed, but either way) except possibly from immigrants. Actually, “Chicago” my Polish-born folks will say with a “ch,” but “Michigan” gets an “sh.” I can’t think of any of my American-born peers, though, who say either word with anything but an “sh” sound.
Cholmondeley = Chum-lee
Featherstoneshaugh = Fan-shaw
Leicester = Less-ter
Worcester = Wuss-ter (As in: “you wuss!”)
Derby = Dah-bee
Albany = All-bun-ee
Durham = Duh-rum
-shire = sheer
I think the above should work; you really need the IPA for this stuff, though!
Ooooooooo! careful now. You would never pronounce “Yorkshire” as york-sheer would you?
In that case it is something like “yorrrrrrkshuh”, I know whereof I speak 
The problem with Brit is that any offence is usually caused by confusion or lack of information on the part of the person saying it than any real malicious intent. You can upset certain people in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland with it, but they’ll generally let it go if it is pointed out as coming just out of confusion.
Personally, as a white Northern England/Scotland crossbreed with links not long back to Northern Irish Catholics, I always refer to myself as British and/or a Brit. I much prefer that to be called English, despite my English accent. Not that calling me English will insult me. I get it all the time here in Sweden as they really don’t understand the differences between England, Britain and the UK.
In fact, thinking about it, I don’t think there is any British-related word that I find insulting. I kind of like that. “Limey” is amusing. As is “Pom”. The only one that irritates me is “Euro” as it is almost always said by a certain type of right-wing American as he looks down his nose towards you. But that’s only mild, I guess. I certainly don’t mind being called a European. Hell, I tell people that George W Bush turned me into a European. He opened my eyes to the need to have a united group of countries that could stand up to that level of mentalism. Thanks Mr Bush!
Interesting point. I think it’s only “shuh” when the “Yorkshire” is used as an adjective, though. So “I’m going up to Yorkshire for the weekend” is “sheer”, but “Would you like some Yorkshire pudding?” is the weaker version.
Your mileage may vary, though!
Can’t say my Dad, from Sheffield, ever said it like that. Maybe it is localised to only certain parts of Yorkshire?
My experience is North Yorkshire so perhaps other areas vary but under any circumstance I can think of, people of my area would say “shuh”.
However, as is being covered in threads elsewhere. There is never one “True” accent anyway and that goes as much for Yorkshire as anywhere.
I can quite believe that some do say “sheer” and who am I to tell them they’re wrong.
North Yorkshire boy here - never heard Yorksheer in my part of the county; it’s Yorkshuh in all contexts.