[-ish] Ireland, Scotland = Irish, Scottish
[-an] Morocco, Germany = Moroccan, German
[-ese] Portugal, China = Portuguese, Chinese
What rule is at play here? 🤔
Cheers!
People from Indiana are called hoosiers - this, like many things in English, doesn’t have a hard and fast rule… the sounds at the end of the word certainly impact it, but there are exceptions. Just ask a Peruvian.
Netherlands = Dutch
When I was a kid our family went on vacation to the US. Everyone kept asking if I was Dutch, which I thought was German (Deutsch).
So I kept correcting them, saying I was Netherlandish :)Deutsch is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is German
Also, in Deutschland, the descendents of the Alemmani are called Germans for some awful reason.
So I take it that’s why it’s Allemagne?
The German people, as a people, started as the unification of the Germanic tribes. The unified tribe called itself the tribe of all men, Alle Männer in modern German. The history of those times is narrated by romans and Greeks so we have a romanised version of that name, alamanni.
I can tell you that this is called demonym, but I don’t know the amswer to your question… The Wikipedia page has a long list of suffixes, but no rules: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym
The answer is that many languages import their demonyms from different foreign languages. The reason for the inconsistencies is the different, unrelated sources for words.
Demonyms don’t follow any particular rules, as far as I know.
Human languages: the words are made up and the rules don’t matter.
Especially true for English.
People from Iceland are only called Icelandic because “Icish” would sound a bit silly.
Icelandese.
Icelandian.
I think I could get behind New Zealandic
As an outsider I’ll say that “Kiwi” is an awesome name for you folks.
(hope I don’t assume too much based on the instance name)
and is one that we are happy enough to use
I believe they’re properly called New Zoolanders.
Iceland = Icelandic
Thailand != Thailandic
Don’t forget Englandic people.
Nah they’re Engl
And Finnlandic
And Titanic! Wait… No.
Thailand comes from adding the Germanic -land suffix to the demonym Thai, a common pattern for non-Indo-European places. There’s also Swaziland and Somaliland (though there is also a Somalia).
So we should call them Ices from now on?
So Philippines is Philippinese?
It’s based on what sounds best.
Then explain Liverpudian or Mancunian.
They’re both aposematisms - they’re meant to be a clear signal to discourage interactions.
That’s why people say Scouse and Manc (not to be confused with Manx)
Nothing sounds good in those accents, so it’s anything goes.
Hence ‘Brummy’
There is a Words For Granted podcast episode about that. Don’t remember much tho. Have fun!
Ray Belli is amazing and I’ve failed to learn so many things from his podcast because as soon as he starts speaking my mind wanders. It’s like the audio version of reading the same paragraph four times because my brain decides to think about something else while my eyes move across the page
I was literally thinking about this yesterday… what’s someone from Belgium called? I couldn’t figure out an ending to add. Belgian?
Belgian?
yes
There are no rules in English. Ask the people from there
Oh there’s plenty of rules, and if you follow them you’ll be wrong because each rule has 20 exceptions you have to memorize because English isn’t a language, it’s several languages in a trench coat.
they blame the welsh.
Afghani, Pakistani,
FYI, there’s a little debate over this in the English language, but many would say that the proper demonyms are Afghan for the Pashtun ethnic group, and Afghanistani (or rarely Afghanese) for people from Afghanistan regardless of ethnicity.
Afghani is their currency.
I believe it comes from a discrepancy between the Persian and Pashto languages. Afghani being the correct term in Persian, and Afghan being the term in Pashto.
Afghani is pretty widely used in English, and even appears in some dictionaries, but many argue that it’s not correct.
So a person is an Afghan, they eat Afghan food, wear Afghan clothing, have Afghan customs, and their currency is the Afghan Afghani (in case some other country ever adopts a currency called the Afghani and you need to differentiate between them)
The English Language, where the grammar is made up and the rules don’t matter.
I can add:
[-er] New Zealander
Odd way to spell Kiwi but you do you pal
New Zealand -> Kiwi.
Only in the same way Australia -> Aussie, or England -> pom. Colloquial terms
Booo I’ma still say New Zealish
New Zealot
for aiur
Adun toridas.
Newfoundlander
New Zealander is the least odd sounding of the lot.
New Zealandish
New Zealandan
New Zealandese?
Or just a different word completely. Dutch.
Pfft. The Dutch…
Canada = Canadese (nuts fit in your mouth?)
Shortened from Canada geese
Canadanian
Canadick
Canuck is what we call ourselfs, eh?
: P
Canadish
They should be Canadans
Find what sounds most natural, if that can’t be found, go with what sounds the least catastrophically unnatural.
I’m in Michigan, that makes me a Michigander. The rules are made up and the suffixes don’t matter.
Michiguy or Michigal
I’m from South Dakota, I’m South Dakotant. It is what it is.
Do you change the emphasis? da-ko-TANT?
If you’re from Halifax, NS, you’re a Haligonian.
