# Do Other Countries Have Hyphenated People? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606 "2013-05-06T12:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/21 "2013-05-07T08:34:42Z")
> [@Essured](#): > > I disagree. I can’t remember hearing that. I’m sure I have at one point, but I honestly can’t recall any occasion. It’s rare that it ever comes up, though when it does I agree with stui in that I hear “of Lebanese descent” or “of Middle Eastern appearance” or “of Asian extraction”. Ta for that. It may depend on the circles you hang round in but I certainly didn’t think it was mainstream. Good to know I haven’t completely lost the plot.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/22 "2013-05-07T09:17:04Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Asian-Australian and African-Australian are pretty common terms here in Australia. And other variations on that theme, like Greek-Australian or Italian-etc. I think it depends where you are. I’ve certainly heard people referring to “Greek/Italian-Australian” and “Vietnamese Australian” but mostly to differentiate second (or subsequent) generations raised in Australia from newer arrivals. Never heard “African-Australian” before, but the only Africans I’ve encountered have either been white South Africans or recent refugees from places like Somalia and The Sudan. Interestly, people from New Zealand appear to _always_ be [del]insert your own sheep joke here, we’ve heard them all before[/del] New Zealanders, no matter how long they’ve been in Australia. And increasingly (at least it appears to me) “New Zealander” is becoming a synonm for “Maori/Pacific Islander”, regardless of whether they were born in Auckland or Sydney. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/23 "2013-05-07T09:28:55Z")
> [@Remember\_me](#): > > Emigrants from other countries are usually referred to as their (former) fellow countryman, e.g. Türke (Turk). If you want to emphasize that they now live in Germany you might just use e.g. türkischer Einwanderer (Turkish emigrant). I think you mean immigrant - emigrant is the one who leaves his land for another, immigrant the one who arrives from someplace else. Yes, I know common usage is now starting to treat the two as equivalent, but hey, I like lost causes. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/24 "2013-05-07T11:43:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The UK tends to use similar formations but without the hyphen. Hence, “black British”\*, “British Indian” and the like. However, if you were talking about a black person, you wouldn’t specify “black British”; you’d just say black, and only specify if they were from somewhere else (say, a first generation Nigerian immigrant.) > > \*This is subdivided into Caribbean, African and “other”. Yeah, you only use Black British to specify that someone is British born, or to someone who isn’t British born but has taken British citizenship.and considers themselves British as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/25 "2013-05-07T11:58:10Z")
You see the hyphen thing sometimes in Canada, but I feel like it’s more common in print (newspapers) than in regular everyday speech. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/26 "2013-05-07T14:55:55Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I think it depends where you are. I’ve certainly heard people referring to “Greek/Italian-Australian” and “Vietnamese Australian” but mostly to differentiate second (or subsequent) generations raised in Australia from newer arrivals. Never heard “African-Australian” before, but the only Africans I’ve encountered have either been white South Africans or recent refugees from places like Somalia and The Sudan. Classic Straight Dope: it’s impossible to make a statement without someone wanting to argue about it. I’ve heard those terms plenty, seen them in print, and used to share a house with a black African guy who described himself as African-Australian. So, maybe that’s not “mainstream” enough for the Dope, but it’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/27 "2013-05-07T19:14:22Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > You see the hyphen thing sometimes in Canada, but I feel like it’s more common in print (newspapers) than in regular everyday speech. The Chinese Canadians I know are more likely to call someone a CBC (Canadian-born Chinese) or ABC (American-born Chinese) or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/28 "2013-05-07T19:57:59Z")
Chinese-Canadian, Indo-Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/29 "2013-05-07T20:01:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The UK tends to use similar formations but without the hyphen. Hence, “black British”\*, “British Indian” and the like. However, if you were talking about a black person, you wouldn’t specify “black British”; you’d just say black, and only specify if they were from somewhere else (say, a first generation Nigerian immigrant.) > > \*This is subdivided into Caribbean, African and “other”. I’ve seen “Afro-Caribbean” used in UK publications or television programmes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/30 "2013-05-07T20:27:44Z")
I think a lot of it comes from things possibly being a little clearer elsewhere. In say… the Netherlands, there’s a distinct concept of being Dutch, but in the US, there’s not really a concept of being ethnically American, so we tend to hyphenate ourselves, and leave the actual nationalities for 1st generation immigrants, etc… I know plenty of people who don’t self-identify as Mexican, but who are rightly Mexican-Americans, for example. Their ancestors haven’t lived in Mexico for 100+ years, so calling them “Mexican” isn’t really accurate, but calling them just straight-up “American” isn’t quite accurate either; their cultural background is quite different than mine, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/31 "2013-05-08T07:53:41Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Classic Straight Dope: it’s impossible to make a statement without someone wanting to argue about it. I’ve heard those terms plenty, seen them in print, and used to share a house with a black African guy who described himself as African-Australian. So, maybe that’s not “mainstream” enough for the Dope, but it’s good enough for me. Don’t worry, I’m not saying you’re wrong (you clearly aren’t), just that I haven’t encountered those usages much. Another data point, if you will. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/32 "2013-05-08T08:11:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’ve seen “Afro-Caribbean” used in UK publications or television programmes. This is true, although I think it’s losing popularity. ---
**Author:** ![Remember\_me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/82dd89/32.png) [@Remember\_me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Remember_me)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/33 "2013-05-08T12:51:32Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I think you mean immigrant - Yes. Thank you. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/34 "2013-05-08T12:54:49Z")
But don’t do that, you’ll give yourself a black eye! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/35 "2013-05-08T13:05:46Z")
In India, everyone already has multiple identities, based on language, geography, ethnicity, religion, history, caste, class, etc. The “Indian” part is assumed, so there’s no reason to hyphenate. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/36 "2013-05-08T13:15:07Z")
> [@Jormungandr](#): > > Ok, we have African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian/Chinese/Japanese/Korean/etc- American. There’s also French-Canadian. Do other countries do this? Is there such a thing as a Welsh-English/British or a Spanish-German, etc? Welsh-English? Not unless you want to be shunned permanently by anyone with a drop of Welsh blood. The Welsh are in no wise English - they are descended from a people who were here before ever the Anglo-Saxons arrived, though they aren’t indigenous either - and would intensely resent any suggestion that they are. Similarly Welsh-British doesn’t convey any information that “Welsh” can’t manage all by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/37 "2013-05-08T13:31:43Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Welsh-English? Not unless you want to be shunned permanently by anyone with a drop of Welsh blood. The Welsh are in no wise English I think that “Welsh-English” would be proposed for someone with Welsh ancestry but whose family had been living in England for generations. The likelihood would be that the person would genetically no longer be either purely Welsh or purely English. I suppose what you’re saying is that someone in that position would choose one or the other identity, either Welsh or English. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/38 "2013-05-08T18:28:45Z")
Typically such an one, if mostly Welsh, would consider themselves Welsh despite English residence, and even if only partly Welsh - say, one grandfather - would call themselves “a quarter Welsh” more often than not. Vanilla English is dull, I guess. Of course, cases vary. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/39 "2013-05-08T21:54:07Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Classic Straight Dope: it’s impossible to make a statement without someone wanting to argue about it. I’ve heard those terms plenty, seen them in print, and used to share a house with a black African guy who described himself as African-Australian. So, maybe that’s not “mainstream” enough for the Dope, but it’s good enough for me. Fair enough. I will say, it’s not that I wanted to argue about it though. I just have not really encountered it (which I was glad for as I think it’s silly and was happy it hadn’t made it here, unlike so many other Americanisms). Obviously, other Aussies have encountered it and I’m wrong that we’ve avoided the term. I was just sharing my experience with rarely hearing it (which though correct, turns out to be incomplete). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606/40 "2013-05-08T22:50:35Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Interestly, people from New Zealand appear to _always_ be [del]insert your own sheep joke here, we’ve heard them all before[/del] New Zealanders, no matter how long they’ve been in Australia. And increasingly (at least it appears to me) “New Zealander” is becoming a synonm for “Maori/Pacific Islander”, regardless of whether they were born in Auckland or Sydney. Yeah I actually have Australian citizenship\* but would never identify myself as Australian, I am a New Zealander. \*The company I was working for were renewing their contract with a government agency. If they didn’t get the contract my best job prospects would be to work for the company that did get it. Although when I started working for the company Australian citizenship was not required, it had since become a requirement and I didn’t want any technicality to prevent me from remaining employed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-have-hyphenated-people/657606.md?page=3)