Timeline for "They are Australian" vs "They are Australians"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Feb 9, 2016 at 4:57 | comment | added | candied_orange | @Simon Au101 and I already had that argument. Least Martin is being helpful. Thx | |
| Feb 9, 2016 at 4:51 | history | edited | candied_orange | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Feb 9, 2016 at 4:49 | history | migrated | from english.stackexchange.com (revisions) | ||
| Feb 7, 2016 at 11:00 | comment | added | Simon White | English is not the same as British. Britain contains other countries such as Scotland and Wales. The plural form of British is Britons. The plural form of English is English. The plural form of Scottish is Scottish. Would you say: “The plural of Californian is U.S. Americans?” | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 6:45 | comment | added | candied_orange | Let us continue this discussion in chat. | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 6:42 | comment | added | Au101 | There is, however, an important political dynamic that you and the OP should be mindful of. In the last election I voted in there was a political party called the English democrats, which ran under the slogan "I'm English, not British, not European". They didn't do very well and personally I went home and wrote a sarcastic Facebook status about them, but all the same | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 6:36 | comment | added | Au101 | @CandiedOrange Well that's a perfectly reasonable point and I don't disagree, but unfortunately, England is not Britain, anymore than Colorado is the USA (it's not a perfect analogy, as the UK does not have a federal system). Now, of course, with Colorado there's no issue in forming Colorad(o)an, but it's still not correct to use Britons to mean people from England specifically, anymore than its correct to use Americans to mean people from Colorado specifically, although all Englishmen are Britons and all Colorad(o)ans are American | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 6:20 | comment | added | candied_orange | @Au101 If only it was merely fellow Americans who were calling us things. My point was that our language is not orthogonal. Sometimes you run into words that won't do what other words do so you adapt your choice of word. I dare say you did the same when you chose to give Englishmen as an example. Anyway, I'd love to watch you try to try to call me an USian with a straight face you Englishese. :) | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 5:53 | comment | added | Au101 | @CandiedOrange well that's your business, I don't mind what the Americans call themselves, but if you'd like me to call you a USian in future, I'll happily oblige ;) | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 5:51 | comment | added | candied_orange | @Au101 True. But ya know, America is actually two freaking contents. Yet I'm still an American. No one wants to call me a USian for some reason. Go figure. | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 5:46 | comment | added | Au101 | 2. This will not go down well with everybody. Me, I couldn't care at all, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland remains, officially, the country of my birth. But if anybody has gone to the trouble of identifying themselves and their friend as English and you call them Britons, expect a stiff letter ;) So while, legally, all Englishmen are Britons, I'm afraid that really doesn't make the plural of English Britons. You also can't use "English" on its own to mean an English person, at least not in England, you can't :) | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 3:52 | history | answered | candied_orange | CC BY-SA 3.0 |