103

[-ish] Ireland, Scotland = Irish, Scottish

[-an] Morocco, Germany = Moroccan, German

[-ese] Portugal, China = Portuguese, Chinese

What rule is at play here? 🤔

Cheers!

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[-] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 68 points 4 months ago
[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 13 points 4 months ago

Also, in Deutschland, the descendents of the Alemmani are called Germans for some awful reason.

[-] drbluefall@toast.ooo 8 points 4 months ago

So I take it that's why it's Allemagne?

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[-] thelsim@sh.itjust.works 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

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 :)

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[-] RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 46 points 4 months ago

The English Language, where the grammar is made up and the rules don't matter.

I can add:

[-er] New Zealander

[-] master5o1@lemmy.nz 14 points 4 months ago
[-] RegalPotoo@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

Only in the same way Australia -> Aussie, or England -> pom. Colloquial terms

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[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 9 points 4 months ago

Or just a different word completely. Dutch.

[-] DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

Pfft. The Dutch...

[-] PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

Odd way to spell Kiwi but you do you pal

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[-] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 38 points 4 months ago

Canada = Canadese (nuts fit in your mouth?)

[-] MeatsOfRage@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago
[-] moistclump@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago
[-] Paragone@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

Canuck is what we call ourselfs, eh?

: P

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[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 34 points 4 months ago

There is no common rule. It varies by the way the language evolved over time.

Also the word you are looking for is "Demonym"

[-] InfiniteKrebs@lemmy.ml 33 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I can tell you that this is called demonym, but I don't know the answer to your question... The Wikipedia page has a long list of suffixes, but no rules: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym

[-] herrvogel@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

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.

[-] tiefling 28 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

There are no rules in English. Ask the people from each country what they prefer

[-] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 12 points 4 months ago

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.

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[-] owenfromcanada@lemmy.world 24 points 4 months ago

I'm in Michigan, that makes me a Michigander. The rules are made up and the suffixes don't matter.

[-] Nemo@midwest.social 5 points 4 months ago

I'm from South Dakota, I'm South Dakotant. It is what it is.

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[-] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 20 points 4 months ago

People from Iceland are only called Icelandic because “Icish” would sound a bit silly.

[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
[-] lemmyng@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 months ago

Icelandian.

[-] Outsider9042@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

Iceland = Icelandic

Thailand != Thailandic

[-] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 6 points 4 months ago

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).

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[-] BlueEther@no.lastname.nz 7 points 4 months ago

I think I could get behind New Zealandic

[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago

I believe they're properly called New Zoolanders.

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[-] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago

We're all Earthicans, no need to divide it up further than that

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[-] leds@feddit.dk 13 points 4 months ago

Denmark -> Dane

I guess that actually the other way around, Denmark : Dane's field/farm(there is a better English word for mark but can't remember)

[-] meekah@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago

But isn't Dane a noun? I thought the adjective was danish.

[-] leds@feddit.dk 5 points 4 months ago

Yes you're right , the Danes are Danish

[-] AmidFuror@fedia.io 11 points 4 months ago

It's based on what sounds best.

[-] Nemo@midwest.social 8 points 4 months ago

Then explain Liverpudian or Mancunian.

[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 months ago

They're both aposematisms - they're meant to be a clear signal to discourage interactions.

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[-] PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 10 points 4 months ago

Find what sounds most natural, if that can't be found, go with what sounds the least catastrophically unnatural.

[-] turbowafflz@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

Meanwhile there is no specific demonym for people from the united states, you can say american buy that would also include every other north and south american country

[-] PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 10 points 4 months ago

Literally nobody who isn't a Latin American with a chip on their shoulder has a problem distinguishing Americans from "people who live on either north or south america"

[-] EvilHankVenture@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

Nobody calls Mexicans or Canadians Americans. Nobody calls Brazilians or Peruvians Americans. They maybe North Americans and South Americans but American means someone from the United States. The Canadians and Mexicans I know would be offended if I called them American.

[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 5 points 4 months ago

People outside the US all assume "American" means US. Nobody thinks there's even a small chance you are referring to anything else. If you want to refer to South Americans you say "South Americans"

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[-] olsonexi@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

There is no rule. It just is whatever it is.

[-] LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 4 months ago

Just attach "man" to the end of all of them for maximum offence.

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 7 points 4 months ago

Portugalman

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[-] lugal@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

There is a Words For Granted podcast episode about that. Don't remember much tho. Have fun!

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[-] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago

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.

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this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2024
103 points (100.0% liked)

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