Just for fun I wanted to see what people from other countries are colloquially known as. I don’t want to include slur-type of terms like “limey” or “guido”. I’d prefer to have terms which are not just the abbreviation of the country’s name, i.e., Brits, Scots, etc… I’m originally from El Salvador so I have some knowledge about some of the Central American countries. Here’s what I have so far:
United States = Yank
Canada = Canuck
New Zealand = Kiwi
Guatemala = Chapin
El Salvador = Guanaco, Salvatrucho
Honduras = Catracho
Costa Rica = Tico
“Yank” is basically a very mild insult (on a very similar level with “Limey” actually) and not something Americans call themselves. In fact, Americans from the Southern United States would be quite perplexed at being called any variant of “Yankee” – it is an insult, leveled by them at people who are not-Southern. I don’t think it qualifies for your list at all.
Nuyorican – New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, considered by some to be a unique cultural group. Justice Sotomayor, for example, has described herself as"Nuyorican."
Though I wouldn’t put it in the same level of “Limey” I guess Yank does come accross as a mild insult to some. You’d never find a newspaper refering to the English soccer team as “limeys” though. English speaking publications in other countries make liberal use of the term:
As you can see, it’s just an informal way to refer to Americans. It’s definitely more of an insult in Spanish where if you hear Yanqui, they’re either talking about the New York baseball team or protesters being pissed about something, i.e. “Fuera Yanquis!”
Sure but the point was, to name things that people call themselves and Americans not only do not call themselves “Yanks” it would be somewhere between nonsensical and offensive below the Mason-Dixon Line. The old joke where tourists from Atlanta see a sign reading “Yankees Go Home” and they aren’t offended because they aren’t “Yankees.”
Yank/Yankee is something the British and other nationalities call Americans, maybe in a friendly way and maybe not, but it doesn’t meet the criteria set out in the OP. It’s not an Americanism. Similarly, insofar as Americans use “limey” its in a friendly joke/insult way. But as noted, it’s not something the British call themselves, therefore it doesn’t qualify under the OP.
Sorry - missed edit wondow. Insofar as the term “Yankee” (NEVER “Yank” which is a pure Britishism) is used self-referentially with pride by Americans it refers only to residents of those states comprising New England and not residents of the nation as a whole. It connotes a certain hardworking, rural, gruff, thriftiness, possibly hostile to outsiders and city folk, but dependable.
Are you sure? It seems that the US Military published a magazine by that name during WWII. I would assume it was for all American service people, not just those that came from north of the Mason-Dixon line. Wikipedia has more information on the publication.
Do Canadians ever call themselves Canucks? In circumstances where they’re not talking to people from other countries and making fun of themselves, anyway.
I mean, I don’t see anything in the OP that stipulates that he’s only looking for names people call themselves.
The OP’s reason for saying that “Limey” doesn’t qualify is that
a)it’s somewhat insulting – so is “Yank”
b)it isn’t something the British call themselves – same as “Yank.”
I think the terms are very equivalent.
Back on topic, something else I’m not sure qualifies is the habit of using the adjective “Gallic” to mean “French.” I haven’t ever actually seen a French person called a Gaul outside of Julius Caesar et al which is why I’m not sure if it counts.
Outside the deep south I’d be surprised to find anyone who considered it an insult. And Americans identify with it enough that it was used in a famous patriotic song from WW1.
