# Spelling America "Amerika" makes you look like a jakkass. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 6, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139 "2009-07-06T23:32:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/101 "2009-07-09T00:56:54Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > …and I’m worried that “Yanks” might be insulting to those from the south. ☹ Not from around here, are you, boy? Might want to get on back there right quick, its almost sundown… ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/102 "2009-07-09T04:32:37Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Not from around here, are you, boy? It was the “s” in realise, wasn’t it? 🙂 > [@](#): > > Might want to get on back there right quick, its almost sundown… So “Yank” isn’t insulting? Or only insulting to a very specific sub-set of folks from southern states? Kinda of a serious question… (not specifically trying to be obtuse here). Most countries seem to have a short, colloquial, version of the name of the country’s citizenry. Does the US not? (And I don’t mean an offensive one – I’m sure those abound). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/103 "2009-07-09T04:57:38Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > So “Yank” isn’t insulting? Or only insulting to a very specific sub-set of folks from southern states? Kinda of a serious question… (not specifically trying to be obtuse here). Well, when the south refers to the folks in the upper half of the country, they use Yankees, not Yanks. (In Texas, it’s likely to be applied to anyone north of the Red River.) In a few states in the extreme northeast, they refer to \* themselves\* as yankees. I’ve never heard of anyone but a foreigner use Yank to refer to Americans. I also don’t know of anyone who’d find it offensive. > [@](#): > > Most countries seem to have a short, colloquial, version of the name of the country’s citizenry. Does the US not? (And I don’t mean an offensive one – I’m sure those abound). 🙂 Well, we’re kind of centric. Even the President refers to the citizenry as “Americans”. And yes, people who can’t or willfully won’t spell words correctly are going have problems being taken seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Baroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/76d3ee/32.png) [@Billy\_Baroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Baroo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/104 "2009-07-09T15:24:00Z")
Not only a jakkass, but also an anarchist apparatchik. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/105 "2009-07-09T16:09:39Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Most countries seem to have a short, colloquial, version of the name of the country’s citizenry. Does the US not? Yes, it does. We prefer “doughboys”. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/106 "2009-07-09T16:19:28Z")
“Overpaid, oversexed, and over here”. - Common saying in England, as American soldiers poured in preparing for Normandy. “Yank” is fine, we’re the Americans, we do not suffer much doubt about our utter excellence, so any reference that identifies us as Americans simply _has_ to be a compliment. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/107 "2009-07-09T18:05:45Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > We get it. You think the USA is some sort of imperialist Evil Empire. You hate kapitalism and korporations. However I approve of Mortal Kombat. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/108 "2009-07-09T21:10:38Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Overpaid, oversexed, and over here”. > > - Common saying in England, as American soldiers poured in preparing for Normandy. “Underpaid, undersexed, and under Monty.” (Right back at 'em.) (Or is that “under Ike”?) ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/109 "2009-07-09T21:22:17Z")
Ike. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/110 "2009-07-09T23:05:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Yes, it does. We prefer “doughboys”. WWI called: they want their nickname back. 😛 (Misleading poor benighted foreigners like that; next thing you know I’ll be going up to a Brit and saying “Hey Tommy, got a Lucifer?”). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/111 "2009-07-09T23:10:06Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Overpaid, oversexed, and over here”. “Get smart, gringo, disappear.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/112 "2009-07-09T23:47:34Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > “Get smart, gringo, disappear.” This sounds vaguely familiar–is it a reference to something? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/113 "2009-07-09T23:59:07Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > This sounds vaguely familiar–is it a reference to something? It’s from a Richard Thompson song. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/114 "2009-07-10T07:20:17Z")
Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to look at that word itself. MANKIND. Basically, it’s made up of two separate words “mank” and “ind.” What do these words mean? It’s a mystery and that’s why so is mankind. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/115 "2009-07-10T15:58:45Z")
Kirk Cameron? Is that you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/116 "2009-07-10T19:34:17Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > What is the plural of Marx? > > \*Karl \*\*Marx’s \*_legacy was …_ > > _Karl **Marxes’?** _ You’re not asking about the \*\*plural \*\*here, you’re asking about the **genitive case** (possessive case). More than one Karl Marx: Karl **Marxes**. _There were three Karl Marxes at the Halloween costume party._ Of one Karl Marx: Karl **Marx’s**. _One of the guys got Karl Marx’s beard all wrong._ Of more than one Karl Marx: Karl **Marxes’**. _The Karl Marxes’ attempts at German accents were very poor._ So, in your example, it would indeed be, “Karl Marx’s legacy was…” ---
**Author:** ![BugMeNot2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@BugMeNot2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BugMeNot2)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/117 "2009-07-10T23:54:37Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Unless you are referring to the town in the Netherlands, the song by Rammstein, the book by Franz Kafka or the 1987 miniseries staring Kriss Kristofferson, the intentional misspelling with a “k” makes you look like a jakkass. > > We get it. You think the USA is some sort of imperialist Evil Empire. You hate kapitalism and korporations. > > It’s not klever or kool. > > It just makes you look like a left-wing beatnik wierdo using a hakkneyed kliché. > > And what does it even mean? It is supposed to be some sort of Sovietifikation of the alphabet? A reference to Carl Marcs? > > I suggest in the future, dispense with the stupid, inflamatory rhetorik and stikk to the diskussion. Agreed 100%. The K is supposed to signify KKK. Some of them even spell it “Amerikkka”. I wonder why they don’t move to the worker’s paradise of North Korea? With a K and everything! ---
**Author:** ![BugMeNot2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@BugMeNot2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BugMeNot2)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/118 "2009-07-10T23:57:10Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > whether or not you agree with feminists and what they believe in, they have invaded our consciousness in such a way that we kind of flinch when someone says “mankind” or something like that. Not “we”. YOU. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/119 "2009-07-11T00:23:35Z")
> [@BugMeNot2](#): > > Not “we”. YOU. Ohmygod, calm down. The italics function can take some of the hype out of that post for you, and give your caps lock a breather. If you want to pretend that it is just me that has been affected by feminist propaganda, go right ahead, but for god sakes, relax about it. ---
**Author:** ![BugMeNot2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e5b9ba/32.png) [@BugMeNot2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BugMeNot2)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139/120 "2009-07-11T00:32:46Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Ohmygod, calm down. The italics function can take some of the hype out of that post for you, and give your caps lock a breather. > > If you want to pretend that it is just me that has been affected by feminist propaganda, go right ahead, but for god sakes, relax about it. Why is everyone always telling me to RELAX? My wife, my co-workers, the police, now lefty blockheads on a message board? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-america-amerika-makes-you-look-like-a-jakkass/502139.md?page=7)