The Term "Yank"
 

It is often used to describe a person from the United States of America in countries around the world.

Where does it originate from? Yankee?

Do you find it a Derogatory term?


Irish people are refered to as "paddies" by some people in nations such as britain. To me it entirely depends on who is saying it (friend or stranger) and what context its said in wether its offensive or not

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee

Yank is shortened form of Yankee....never considered it derogatory.

As with anything, it obviously could be made derogatory. I suppose it would depend mainly on speaker and context.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

More specifically a person from the north, at least when you're in the south. Born in Michigan and moved to TN I get called a yankee from time to time. Doesn't bother me. I don't think it's derogatory. Surely no one is offended by it. There are worse things to call a person.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

Bothers me...I'm a Mets fan. :D

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Yeah, youre just jealous..:D

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Yep, moving to Charlotte from Long Island I hear Yankee from time to time or Damn Yankee because I have no intentions of leaving. Doesn't bother me but when someone I am familiar with says it to me I will sometimes break balls and respond with Stupid Hillbilly or F'in Redneck which does usually offend. Needless to say the Yankee comments usually stop after throwing those terms at them a couple of times. :r:D:sl

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My friends call me a Yankee cracker. And proud of it!

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It certainly wasn't a term of endearment during the Civil War. After the war, Yankee soldiers earned the respect of southern soldiers for the most part, and the word changed it's meaning dramatically. Before the fighting began, they literally thought that one southern boy could take 20 yanks because they were all girls.
Southerners strongly disliked (or downright hated) northerners at that time because of their lifestyles, industry, and supposed crudeness and lack of culture, and the term they used to express that was "Yankees" or "Yanks".
Granted, that's been watered way down over time, and who really cares about getting called a name? I sure don't. I like John's (neoflex) response. That's a good way to put it away if it needs putting away. A person can certainly tell if it's an insult.
But between friends, it's a harmless tease. I don't see anything wrong with it at all.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

I have no Idea what you guys are talking about... being from the Northwest we pertty much stay out of all that goofieness.
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Re: The Term "Yank"
 

Exactly. I moved here at first and had some old guy give me crap and tell me you either are visiting and you're a yankee or moved here, bought a house and you are a damn yankee. I told him we're f*cking renting so what does that make us? He just laughed, never had thought of that response. But yeah they'll get offended before you do every time.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

But iRiSh is talking about the term "Yank" as used to describe all Americans, as used outside the U.S., not the distinction made between people on the North side of the Mason-Dixon line within the U.S.. ;)

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When someone across the pond uses it's not negative, same as when we use the term brit. People from the south on the other hand, mostly it's just used for some friendly ribbing, but does have a negative connotation.

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I was recently called a slack ass cracker and am not sure if I should be proud....

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:tpd: I call many of my friends from Great Britain "Brits" and they tend to refer to Americans as Yanks. Back in the day when I lived in Seattle and did a lot of rock climbing at Squamish in BC, almost everyone there who wasn't an American would call you "Yank", if they recognized you were an American. I've heard it used in insults (all you yanks are wankers) but never heard the term itself used in a way that was derogatory.

To put it another way, yank isn't bad in the same way that mudblood is in Potterville.

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Well im not from the south it doesn't bother me at all.

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There it is. To a Southerer, a Yankee is a Northerner who comes south to visit. A damn Yankee is one who comes south to live.

Hey, we're still p!$$ed off about those carpetbaggers during the so-called "Reconstruction". :r

But that's speaking domestically of course. As for international usage, I don't believe any reasonable American would be offended being called a Yank. Yet admittedly, there are hoards of unreasonable Americans, so this is just an opinion. ;)

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

Spent a lot of time overseas and have been called a Yank many times, never bothered me. I always felt it was kind of endearing.

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I might be offended if someone called me a Yankee, but that's just cause my Twinkies can't beat em to save their lives. :lr

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Repeat for sh!ts and grins.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

its probably used as a derogatory work outside the US.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

I don't consider it derogatory, and if someone wants to call me a Yank, I'm fine with that. But I don't personally regard myself a Yankee. Yankees come from the Northeast section of the U.S. That's where the name originated, as in Yankee ingenuity.

I'm a Westerner. At least in the U.S. I am. ;)

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

It's quite an interesting monicker. Outside the U.S. it means any American, while if you are from the American South, Yank or Yankee means any American not from the South. Regardless of whether your respective state fought in the Civil War or not. I remember being called a Yankee on a cruise by a British guy and I said "hell naw, I'm not from the North" and they were totally confused. To Southerners, a Yankee is someone from Seattle as well as Boston. This is a term someone form outside the South always confronts; I remember going on a date with a girl from Boston and jokingly calling her a Yankee and she responded "Oh no! I'm a Redsox fan!" lol. But I would say in the 21st century it normally is a moniker of jest, although I believe the cultural difference is still prevalent.

That being said, to a Southerner the term Yankee also comes with stereotypes: loud, talkative, greedy, secular, urban etc.

Of course, like any stereotype, including Southerners as stupid, redneck or backwards, they are not true. But as a graduate student studying Southern history, we talk about the perceived difference between the American North and South ubiquitously

Seeing you're from the Republic of Ireland, the interesting aspect about the history of the American South is it's similarity with the rest of the world. Unlike the rest of America, the American South has experienced defeat, occupation, long term poverty and struggles with industrialization. Which makes in interesting enough, for me personally, to study it as a career!

:tu

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

Fair enough, good answers and a bit of knowledge for me.

I will continue to use the term yank as it's not deemed offensive.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

I have never been called a yank, but I do not see how it would be offensive to the northerners here in the US. I have been called a redneck by the yanks, but I walk away back into my trailer :r:r

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

Both Northerners and Southerners are "Yanks" by the definition of Ireland and other countries. For them, it has nothing to do with where in the U.S. one lives.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

:bdh

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Yup...beating it 'cause lots of people just ain't getting the O.P.'s question. ;) :lr

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but i wouldnt mind being called a Yank even though i dont like the Yankees.

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Wouldn't bother me a bit, either. Just don't call me late for dinner.

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Wouldn't offend me in the least...and I still don't like the Yankees.

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Honestly....I'm 25 and always watch old movies. I never hear the term used out here in SoCal, but have always looked forward to being called it one day. Being a word you hear thrown around casually in old movies but appears nearly outdated now gives it a sort of romance of its own. Odd, I know, but for some reason ive never thought of it as a derogatory term. But I guess I've never been exposed to being called derogatory terms (other than redneck) so I don't have the experience to fathom the feeling some get from derogatory terms.

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

I'll give you an example.

Traditional Irish craft shop owner, Dublin city centre

" the shop has seen a vast decline in turnover this year, there doesn't seem to be as many tourists around, especially noticed there arnt as many yanks visiting"

Offensive?

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

highly offensive. you get punched in the mouth for something like that around here.

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Properly, a Yankee is a New Englander. I believe it derives from the Dutch word for "Johnny", a reference to the English speaking colonists of New England, IIRC.

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Was stationed overseas for 14 years and being a Yankees fan I did not mide one bit. My Red Sox fan friend really hated it for some odd reason.:sh

T

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

Surely you jest.

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Again not at all offensive, same as brit, aussie, kiwi, paki ect. People can add a negative connotation but by itself innocent. :2

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

There is no official record of where the term "Yank" came to refer to Americans, but by the end of WWI it was so widely used that by WWII it had stuck. The most common theories here are either a shortening of the phrase "Yankee", or more recently a reference to the song "Yankee Doodle".

Similarly, the term "Yankee" has no clear origins, although the most common two theories involve either Cherokee origins or Dutch origins. Neither one is exactly friendly.

Most historians I have read agree that the origins of both words have probably been forgotten multiple times throughout history, and both have been re-purposed and originated again from new meaning in different time periods.

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It's all perspective! I thought he was referring to an action! As in "I yanked o.....". Er..... Never mind!

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Not offensive. I'm sure at some point in history the word was derived to be derogatory but as Americans on the whole I don't think we find the word to be. We have embraced it. We use it to name sports teams, ships as in Yankee Clippers, Yankee Candles, Yankee bird feeders, Yankee drills, etc. We have penned songs such as: Yankee Doodle and The Yanks are Coming, etc.

And just thinking about it - I don't believe I have ever heard the term used outside of the British and/or any former British colony/ruled country.

So continue on using the word "Yanks" to refer to us when you are outside of the USA. If on the other hand you find yourself in the US - in the South - use the word Yankee's and precede it with "f**king" . . . you will be right at home - :r

Ron (Born and Raised Southerner) :D

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Wanker!!!:D

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If I was called a 'yank', I'd just assume that person knows a little too much about how I spend my personal time. :r

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In Ireland the term "Paki" is very offensive.

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I hear people call Irish people Mics, not sure why though and I don't know if it is offensive.
I don't care what you call me but I have never been called a Yank to my face:sh
I get called Limey alot by Digs because I am English by heritage, but I don't mind it.

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...and sadly, now so do we.

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Because of Irish surnames. ;)

McCarthy
McMurphy
McLoughlin
McGrath
McDonnell

etc, etc.

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:tu
http://cdn.specktra.net/d/d8/d81e16f...oreYouKnow.gif

Re: The Term "Yank"
 

I prefer a good Irish name like Powers :D