Laura Corin Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I was just asked whether 'Brit' was offensive, and that made me wonder about 'Yank', as used by foreigners to describe all Americans. It's no use asking husband, as he's lived around Brits too long. How do you find it? Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 (edited) It doesn't bother me, i here it every so often down in the Orlando tourist area. (ETA: as opposed to never hearing it....) Edited October 18, 2008 by TraceyS/FL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam "SFSOM" in TN Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I was just asked whether 'Brit' was offensive, and that made me wonder about 'Yank', as used by foreigners to describe all Americans. It's no use asking husband, as he's lived around Brits too long. How do you find it? I like it. It's a good term in my ears. Probably because it was first used by our friends, not our enemies. I know that not everyone uses it kindly, though, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I like the Spanish way best, though: Yanqui :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 It doesn't bother me at all. Within the country though, a "Yankee" means someone from a particular region -- not just anyone from the US. I don't consider myself a Yankee at all because of that. But I don't find the term "Yank" offensive or inappropriate when used to refer to all (US)Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelda Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Amusing. But, I think a large number of Americans find everything said with a British accent to be perfectly acceptable. I know that I do. A British person could berate me by shouting at me the most vile, disgusting, vulgar, obscenity-ladened tirade ever heard on the face of the earth and I'd probably respond by shaking my head and chuckling, "The British have the most droll sense of humor. Sometimes it seems like they aren't even trying to be funny." That is why British people hate me. All kidding aside, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. And I once dated an exchange student from Wales who liked to say that he got me to go out with him because of his accent. I acted completely repulsed by the idea but it was like, easily 70% of the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 It depends on how it's used. Our neighbor from NZ will sometimes talk about "you Yanks," but he's married to an American and has chosen to make his home here. His wife makes Kiwi jokes the same way; she lived in NZ happily for many years. But I've also heard "Yank" used as a fighting word (usually combined with some choice expletives), and in that context, it's obviously not something I would enjoy being called. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Amusing. But, I think a large number of Americans find everything said with a British accent to be perfectly acceptable. I know that I do. A British person could berate me by shouting at me the most vile, disgusting, vulgar, obscenity-ladened tirade ever heard on the face of the earth and I'd probably respond by shaking my head and chuckling, "The British have the most droll sense of humor. Sometimes it seems like they aren't even trying to be funny." yep. That's it. The accent is cute. Makes everything sound much better. The only one I like better is Australian. I'm not even sure I could take it as an insult if it were meant as one. "Yank" Really? Is it meant as an insult or just a generalization? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I would not want a fellow U.S. American thinking I'm a Yankee. :lol: (I'm kidding! No offense intended.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 "Yank" Really? Is it meant as an insult or just a generalization? There is a lot of anti-American feeling in the UK at present. It's possible for 'Yank' to be a neutral or playful term. As used right now.... It could go either way. The Cockney rhyming slang for 'Yank' is 'Septic'. I bet you can work that one (and it's implication) out for yourself. Let's not take this thread in a political direction though - I don't think I'm quite up for that right now. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 "Over there, over there, Send the word, send the word over there, That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming..." It doesn't bother me at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 "Over there, over there,Send the word, send the word over there, That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming..." 'Overpaid, oversexed and over here.' Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think it's funny, but never call a Texan "yank". Those are fightin' words!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Amusing, but then, I'm Canadian, and that's what we called Americans in the area I grew up in when I grew up. At least, my friends and I did; I can't say that I've EVER heard my parents use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelda Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 'Overpaid, oversexed and over here.' Laura Hmmm...I bet that's funnier with the accent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think it's funny, but never call a Texan "yank". Those are fightin' words!:lol: He gets called 'Yank' all the time. To a Brit it just means 'American'. Compare it to the way that many Americans call all Brits 'English'. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 Hmmm...I bet that's funnier with the accent. A way of dealing with the very mixed feelings of an embattled island during WWII. The stock response was 'Underpaid, undersexed and under Eisenhower'. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 He gets called 'Yank' all the time. To a Brit it just means 'American'. Compare it to the way that many Americans call all Brits 'English'. Laura I used to live in the UK and am familiar with their terminology. It's the never-traveled Texan which takes it to mean "yank" as a person from north of the Mason-Dixon line. (I'm a yankee living in TX.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 A Brit can call me a Yank, because I am. But at home don't call me a Yankee, because I'm not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I was just asked whether 'Brit' was offensive, and that made me wonder about 'Yank', as used by foreigners to describe all Americans. It's no use asking husband, as he's lived around Brits too long. How do you find it? Laura When I came to Canada, people would refer to me as "the Yank" or "the Yankee girl." Having grown up in the Deep South, I can tell you it certainly raised some bristles on me! But then I realised that Canadians really have no perception of a North/South divide and there was absolutely no ill intention. Now that I am formally no longer an American though, it does bother me to be referred to as such, but that's an entirely different issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelda Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 A way of dealing with the very mixed feelings of an embattled island during WWII. The stock response was 'Underpaid, undersexed and under Eisenhower'. Laura Yeah, I figured the time period. The stock response is terrible. It doesn't fit into the song at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 As a southernor - don't call me a yank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Probably because it was first used by our friends, not our enemies Really? I'd always heard it was started by the Brits during the Revolution (as in Yankee Doodle Dandy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 (edited) Well, if someone called me "Yank", I would be looking over both shoulders (not at the same time), thinking, "who me??" I just can't think of myself as a "yank". Maybe it's just because I'm from the pac nw, so the term is just not on my radar. I'm one of the "other" votes. Edited October 18, 2008 by Natalieclare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 My Nana often talks about the Yanks that were stationed in New Zealand in WWII. She went to dances and stuff with them. She thought they were so gentlemanly and they treated the ladies really nicely and bought them gifts. The most treasured gift was nylons from the States because they were in short supply in NZ and the girls had to draw a line up the back of their legs with pen so it looked like they had some on. I think for her it's definitely a term of endearment. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaC Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I have had no problem with it. While in Saudi during the Gulf war I worked at the international airport in civilian clothes. There were a lot of Aussie and Brits non military who helped run the airport and they called us Yanks in a very nice way. When I went to school in Jerusalem there was a small grocery near my dorm and a wonderful older grandfather type man ran it and he used to called The Inglese or Englese (sp?) He could speak very little English and I spoke very little Hebrew and could not speak the European language he spoke, maybe Italian..... I don't know. Anyway every day when I walk in the store I would hear wonderful calls of The Inglese..... they would immediately stop what they were doing to help me and of course I got red carpet treatment. It was so wonderful because the whole time I was there I never got a letter from the states and I was incredibly lonely being the only protestant Christian in the school that I knew of. I made sure I visited that store every day because I knew I was welcome! So I am fonder of that than I am of Yank but Yank never bothered me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zelda Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 My Nana often talks about the Yanks that were stationed in New Zealand in WWII. She went to dances and stuff with them. She thought they were so gentlemanly and they treated the ladies really nicely and bought them gifts. The most treasured gift was nylons from the States because they were in short supply in NZ and the girls had to draw a line up the back of their legs with pen so it looked like they had some on. I think for her it's definitely a term of endearment. :) Sweet. My grandfather met my grandmother on an R&R in Australia (I know its not the same). The marriage was a disaster but the courtship, I understand, was rather nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 But I've also heard "Yank" used as a fighting word (usually combined with some choice expletives), and in that context, it's obviously not something I would enjoy being called. If that was coming from an Aussie, I wouldn't worry about it. We drop words in like that because the sentence seems empty without them. It does depend exactly how choice the words were, of course. "Bloody Yanks" is almost treated like one word, just like "Bloody Poms." ;) Aussies are not PC by nature. I do confess I've typed "yanks" a few times on these boards and erased it just in case! The only accent I like better is Australian. Are you serious?! That's so weird... :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommytobees Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I voted "other"... Because I don't find it amusing... it just IS. I am a Yank. A Yankee. You are a Brit. The word usage isn't like you are using a derogatory term such as paddy or gaiko or something of that sort. (BTW, I used those two specifically because they describe ME.) Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I voted that I find it amusing mainly because when I hear the term I think of Northeasterners. I've never been called Yank and if someone did I would probably look over my shoulder to see who they were talking to. The term doesn't offend me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Are you serious?! That's so weird... Oh i'm going with her on this one..... that Aussie i met in Germany that would call me in the middle of the night... i have no clue what he was saying 1/2 the time - but it didn't matter :D I voted that I find it amusing mainly because when I hear the term I think of Northeasterners. I've never been called Yank and if someone did I would probably look over my shoulder to see who they were talking to.The term doesn't offend me though. I"m a Californian and they consider me a Yankee here in Florida. OK then. Back to Laura's OP - i think a lot comes into the context in which the person the on receiving end feels like it is being said. Which translates to any name really. Although i'm sure i could have a barb thrown at me and not know it, i haven't heard the term Yank used that way that offended me. I do make it a point to be a person that guests in my country - spending their money and helping keeping things affordable here - might be apt to go home and see that picture i took of them and say, "Wasn't that a nice lady?". Living in a tourist area by choice is interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 If that was coming from an Aussie, I wouldn't worry about it. Don't worry, it was in Ireland. I think it was the result of clueless tourists and too much beer. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon H in IL Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Then there's the long explanation of the word "Yankee." When out of the U.S., everyone in the U.S. is a Yankee. When in the U.S., those north of the Mason-Dixon line are Yankees. (Or Californians -- talk about over-generalizing!) When north of the Mason-Dixon line, people in the northeast are Yankees. In the northeast, people in New England are Yankees. In New England, people who eat apple pie for breakfast are Yankees.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I'm of the "it depends on the context" school of thought. I've had rocks thrown at me while people shouted "Yankee go home" (as a child long, long ago in Japan). It wasn't so amusing then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Like most of the others, it doesn't bother me. But, then I am a Yankee. I might feel differently if I were from south of the Mason-Dixon. As to Brits calling all Americans "Yank", I'd just write if off as an unsophisticated understanding of American colloquial culture. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 In New England, people who eat apple pie for breakfast are Yankees.:D OHhhh, i'm all of a sudden "cool" with being called a Yankee. Does a bite sized Apple Strudel count??? 'Cause that was breakfast today! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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