# White Americans: Are you a "hyphenated American" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221 "2011-11-07T23:22:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/121 "2011-11-12T20:33:24Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > In Spain a hyphenation would mean double nationality. One of my classmates was _español de padres vietnamitas_ (a Spaniard whose parents were Vietnamese), his nationality was Spanish; another one was _italo-español_ or _italoespañol_: this second one actually had both nationalities. By double nationality do you mean folks with dual citizenships? > [@jjimm](#): > > I think it’s quite telling of the UK’s attitude to heritage that _Who Do You Think You Are_ even exists: it’s a novelty. I agree. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/122 "2011-11-14T10:09:17Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > If someone asks my nationality, I always say German-Latvian because I consider American to be understood. When I visited Germany for a month in my twenties, I always identified myself as American, without saying German-Latvian. Make of that what you will. Speaking as a European that has on more than one occasion smirked when an American has described himself as Polish/Italian/Irish/Swedish/German/something else (hell, I’m probably closer to being Irish than most Americans I’ve seen that have called themselves Irish, but I have _never_ described myself as Irish), that actually makes a lot of sense. Play to your audience, around Americans the -American is implied, around non-Americans it isn’t. I feel my ignorance has been fought. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/123 "2011-11-14T10:34:22Z")
The term Scots-Irish is itself an interesting term for this subject, since, even back then, people were not wanting to identify themselves just from the country in which they were born. And it’s so important that it’s survived to this day in the name. You’d think if it were that important, the Irish part would have faded away. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/124 "2011-11-14T14:09:27Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > …I think it’s quite telling of the UK’s attitude to heritage that _Who Do You Think You Are_ even exists: it’s a novelty. And it repeatedly revealed stuff to celebs about their roots that they had no idea of - even in their grandparents’ generation. But that’s one of the many shows that has a US version. And we see the exact same thing happen. Ashely Judd was amazed that one of her ancestors came over on the Mayflower. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/125 "2011-11-14T16:16:10Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > But that’s one of the many shows that has a US version. And we see the exact same thing happen. Ashely Judd was amazed that one of her ancestors came over on the Mayflower. The Mayflower was in the early 17th Century. Jjimm was talking about people being amazed at things regarding their Grandparents. Maybe Ashley Judd has _really_ old Grandparents. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/126 "2011-11-15T15:44:49Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > By double nationality do you mean folks with dual citizenships? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/127 "2011-11-16T05:59:30Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yes. Ah. I don’t think many if any of the hyphenated ones here have a dual citizenship. My husband has one, but he doesn’t call himself a Canadian-American. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/128 "2011-11-16T07:08:59Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > The Mayflower was in the early 17th Century. Jjimm was talking about people being amazed at things regarding their Grandparents. > > Maybe Ashley Judd has _really_ old Grandparents. Gosh, thanks for the history lesson! I had no idea. The phrase was “even in their grandparents’ generation”–which isn’t limited to the more recent ancestors. We’ve seen folks on the US version of the show being surprised by family secrets a generation or so back; I just mentioned Ms Judd because I found it interesting. I was objecting to: > [@](#): > > I think it’s quite telling of the UK’s attitude to heritage that _Who Do You Think You Are_ even exists: it’s a novelty. …because the show exists here, too. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/129 "2011-11-16T14:14:27Z")
I’m American. Just American. If I need to state my race, it’s white. If I need to state my ethnicity, I usually go with ‘Yankee’. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/130 "2011-11-16T18:34:01Z")
Speaking as a non American people in Europe find it quite comical when Americans "Big up"their "hyphen status. More often then not they come across as a bizarre caricature of the nationality they’re trying to emulate. The oddest seem to be Irish Americans and Italian Americans, followed by Scandinavian Americans. The Irish in particular do not speak in the strange accent that Americans think is Irish, and do not go around getting drunk and having loud domestic arguments in public, or fist fights routinely. When an American explains away his bad tempered, shrewish wife as being like that because she is "Irish ", it makes Irish girls of my aquaintance cringe. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221/131 "2011-11-17T02:54:30Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I don’t primarily self-identify as “white” (why the capitalization?) but simply as “American.” > > Mainly because “German-Scottish-French-Sort-of-Beige-and-Pink-American” just sounds silly. That’s how I feel. If one is a citizen, then everything else is secondary. I understand needing groups to struggle for rights, etc. But no, I’m an American. You are too. I’m sick of this separation. (No, I didn’t read the whole thread. If I’m repeating, I apologize.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-americans-are-you-a-hyphenated-american/602221.md?page=6)