# Countries where the language is the same word as the citizens **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 16, 2020, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245 "2020-08-16T05:46:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/1 "2020-08-16T05:46:17Z")
For no reason beyond boredom, I was thinking of countries where the name of the language is also the name of the citizens. By definition, it has to be the same term used for both men and women because they both have to match the name of the language. He’s an American, she’s an American, and they speak ~~American~~ English, so that doesn’t work. He’s a German, she’s a German, and they speak German. It works! He’s an Italian, she’s an Italian, and they speak Italian. It works! He’s a French…doesn’t work. He’s a Chinese…doesn’t work. He’s an English…doesn’t work. He’s a Swede, she’s a Swede, they both speak Swedish…doesn’t work. Close, but adjectives don’t count. How many countries fit this wholly arbitrary and meaningless convention? I count Germany and Italy, but surely there are others, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/2 "2020-08-16T05:54:06Z")
He/she’s a Korean… He/she’s a Russian… He/she’s a Norwegian… He/she’s a Ukrainian… He/she’s an Estonian… He/she’s a Hungarian… He/she’s a Czech… He’/she’s a Bulgarian… ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/3 "2020-08-16T06:03:38Z")
Nice! I particularly like the Czech example only because my first thought was “He’s a Czech” doesn’t sound right but it is. Nice work. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/4 "2020-08-16T06:28:29Z")
Persian. It’s not the official name of the country, but a lot of people do use it to refer to themselves. Likewise with the language - some people say Persian, some Farsi It almost works in Scotland too. "He’s a Scot, she’s a Scot, they’re both Scots, they speak Scots (ok, nearly everyone speaks English most of the time … but it’s possible in theory) ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/5 "2020-08-16T06:38:45Z")
Oh, for more solid examples … Tongan Samoan Indonesian Fijian ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/6 "2020-08-16T07:07:56Z")
Do you need the article? For example: He’s English, she’s English, and they both speak English. He’s Spanish, she’s Spanish, and they both speak Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/7 "2020-08-16T07:10:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Do you need the article? For example: > > He’s English, she’s English, and they both speak English. > > He’s Spanish, she’s Spanish, and they both speak Spanish. > \* I arbitrarily excluded adjectives. “Two Americans and three Spanish walk into a bar…” doesn’t work, for example. \*Discourse sucks. When I put a quote in a reply, I want the quote in my reply. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/8 "2020-08-16T08:45:36Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > He’s a Chinese…doesn’t work. It may not sound right to your ears, but technically it works. Chinese is a noun referring to a single person (as well as plural), and to the language. As well as an adjective. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/9 "2020-08-16T13:00:36Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > He’s an American, she’s an American, and they speak ~~American~~ English, so that doesn’t work. He’s a Mercan, she’s a Mercan, and they speak Mercan. Why is that a problem? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/10 "2020-08-16T16:58:18Z")
Here is a recent thread on almost the same topic: > [@Noun for language but not for speakers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/noun-for-language-but-not-for-speakers/916915/): > > Many nouns for languages also are the cultural/ethnic noun (loosely) for the speakers. For example : French: May refer to the language and Or the people English : may refer to the language or the people Spanish : may refer to the language or the people Hindi is a language spoken in India but there is no such thing as “Hindi people”. Are there other languages that fall into category ? I am guessing Yiddish and Aramaic are nouns for the language but not the people. Is that correct ? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/11 "2020-08-16T16:59:17Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He’s a Mercan, she’s a Mercan, and they speak Mercan. Why is that a problem? Because you misspelled “Murcan” Or is that Merkin? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/12 "2020-08-16T18:13:12Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Here is a recent thread on almost the same topic: That’s odd. It didn’t occur to me to search for an existing thread, but there was a near-identical one from only a couple weeks ago? Wow. I’ve (occasionally) thought about this idea over the past several years, mainly in the context of being happy that my country’s name for citizens (Americans) isn’t gendered and so will never need to change with the times. But clearly it is true that there are no new ideas, I guess. At least from me. Weeks ago?! Good lord. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/13 "2020-08-16T20:24:26Z")
Thai. Cambodian and/or Khmer. Vietnamese. Indonesian. Malaysian. Japanese. In English, there tends to be a distinction for Laos in which the people are Laotian and the language Lao. Sometimes you hear “Laotian” for both. But I’ve actually been told by clueless Westerners that calling the people “Lao” is offensive, but “Lao” is what they call both themselves and their language, and in Thai it is “Lao” for both too. Similarly, I’ve been told I should use “Nepali” for people and “Nepalese” for everything else – language, food etc – but I know from personal experience that it’s not uncommon in Nepal to hear “Nepalese” used for the people. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/14 "2020-08-16T21:16:02Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Vietnamese Would it be common to say “He’s a Vietnamese”? That sounds weird to me, but I’m happy to change my perception. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/15 "2020-08-16T22:53:22Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Would it be common to say “He’s a Vietnamese”? That sounds weird to me, but I’m happy to change my perception. Sounds perfectly cromulent to me. Have used it myself including in Vietnam. I guess you do hear, “He is Vietnamese” more often than “a Vietnamese,” but I have heard it. Anyway, previous examples above include French and English, where you definitely would not use an indefinite article. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/16 "2020-08-17T04:11:36Z")
Indonesian and Malaysian are the same language – Bahasa. Each country has standardized the sligftly-different version in that country, known as Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia. It was originally collective known as Malay. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/17 "2020-08-17T05:31:48Z")
Works for a Russian but not a Finn. Most of Yugoslavia and Greece, but not Cyprus. I wonder, though, about insular ethnic groups. If they resist being identified by the national demonym, do groups like the Hmong, Navajo, Maori count? ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/18 "2020-08-17T06:45:48Z")
Instead of a country, all I can think of is a planet. Vulcan. The planet is Vulcan, the people are Vulcan, they speak Vulcan. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/19 "2020-08-17T08:18:48Z")
Lots of Indonesian regional languages fit: Javanese Sundanese Manadonese Balinese Madurese Ambonese …and probably lots more, but those spring to mind immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245/20 "2020-08-17T16:45:08Z")
why doesn’t French or English work? he is French, she is French, they speak French. same with English. do you mean only with the a/an article? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-where-the-language-is-the-same-word-as-the-citizens/918245.md?page=2)