The Name "YANK"!!

I am curious how Americans feel about being called this?

Does it put you up or down?

Is it one of those names that is OK to be used one to another but offensive if used by someone who is not American.

I personally as a non American think it is offensive and have therefore never used it and I don't like it when people around me use it, but is my dislike for this name unfounded?

I never really hear it to be honest.  I'm pretty impartial.  The only time I  heard it in recent memory was when I was living in the Southern part of the US and overheard some coversation about the Northern Yankees.  Without sounding like a completely snotty stuck-up person, I didn't mind hearing that because they way they were talking it was quite apparent to me that we 'Northern Yankees' are far superior compared to that sort of person. 

Hmmm.  Funny thing is, I've never really considered it.  We're relatively insulated from outside cultural epithets.  I'd have to say that I don't have any reaction at all.  I really don't care. 

Some non-Americans presume that all Americans are represented by whatever political party is currently in office.  Clearly untrue.  Americans are as unique, person to person as individuals in any other country.  We're not all of the same mind-set.  The idea that a nation's people would use a sweeping generalization to categorize our entire population is just as ignorant as those folks here in the U.S. who categorize all individuals in other nations or cultures as of one mind-set.  Obviously this view is without reason nor backed up by fact.

So why bother relating to someone using a term like "Yank" with any emotion?  It has no relevance to me at all. 

It doesn't bother me in the least when someone from another country uses it. That may be because I'm from the northeast US. Plus I used to watch a lot of old movies about WWII and the British always seemed to have affection in their voices when they used it. Of course all of those old movies were actually made by Americans so I don't know that the depiction was accurate!

My husband is from the south and when he uses the expression 'Damn Yankee' it's usually offensive...and meant to be.

I have heard it when I was out of the country.  In Greece and England I heard it a lot, and you know, I didn't like it that much. 

Well I'm glad to read that so far most of you don't mind, although I still won't be using it as I really don't like it.

dove....yeah I think you have experienced where I am coming from with this? I'm Scottish and am sad to say that when it is used in the UK it is always said with offence in the voice, hence why I can't stand the word.  I'm sorry that you experienced that.

You can call me Yank as long as I can call you Jerkface.

dnrothx...that'll be a "I don't like it" then

"when it is used in the UK it is always said with offence in the voice"

WHAT!? You mean David Niven didn't REALLY love us??? Now I am crushed!

Like with most slang terms, for me it's really dependent on how it's intended.  Is it a general connotation to refer to where I'm from, or an insult to imply that I'm somehow inferior because of where I'm from?  Even in the former case, I guess I would just prefer to be referred to as an American, as I just think it's more accurate.  (However, I have heard people referred to as "American" with such a sneer that it becomes offensive in and of itself.)

And I think "Yank(ee)" has a different meaning within the US, as it is specifically referring to people from a specific region (NE US), whereas I believe in places like England it's used to refer to all Americans.  I have a feeling there are some die hard US southerners that would be quite offended to be called a "yank" or "yankee", regardless of who used it and how it was intended (there's some history there).

santonacci...Yeah I would agree. Although I have to say "Yankee" sounds a lot softer. Still wouldn't use either.

Chris, I can't speak for David Niven, but the people on the street who use it, it's definitely said with intent.

 

I don't like it, I'm from NJ so clearly the region that it's used towards in an offensive connotation.  I've heard it used in the south towards people just like me who sound like they stepped off the set of the Sopranos.  Clearly it was being used as an insult, and who likes being insulted (well not me).

I am American who has been living in England for 5 years.  I get called Yank or septic tank lots.  It is only offensive when its being said with a sneer.  I find people talking about American politics who aren't American more offensive than being called a Yank.  That's just me though!  P.S.  I always say I'm not a yank, not technically anyway, as I'm from the South!

I regard it as a derogatory epithet, but I don't really care if British (or other) people use it.

my mom was English (American citizen now) and she uses it to refer to Americans that she doesn't like sometimes, as in damn yanks! and i have to remind her, mom - you're one of us now .

It's the same level of offensiveness as spics, dagos, wogs, wops, krauts, limeys, frogs, beaks, chinks, gooks, nips, japs, and russkies (i'm sure there are many, many more)

I wouldn't use any of those terms.  Also, some of them, I don't know what country they're referring to anyway.

The Boomer Bible though, makes fun of a lot of them (The Book Of Frogs; The Book of Krauts, etc.) so that's how I know that frogs are french and krauts are  germans.  I would guess that about krauts anyway since i associate sauerkraut with germany.

but i have no idea who spics, dagos, wogs, wops, beaks and nips are ...

and santo is right, if you called a southerner a yank, they'd let you know that they are not from up north, no sir, and might join you in complaining about 'yankees'

southerners blame yankees for bagels (because at least biscuits taste good)

It really don't offend me at all when used by people of British origin - for instance, in Guatemala, all of us were referred to as "gringos" - and that really just mean - "American person who speaks English and can just get along on Spanish". 

It took me a while to really understand that's what it meant, but after hearing the tone of voice, the context, and the general descriptive intent of the term, it quickly became clear that it was just a description of a type of people.

As a Texan - VERY RARELY we hear the term "Yankee" applied to Northerners (US, that is) - but hey, this is 2008, not 1908, or 1868.

If I was called a Yank I'd find it quite amusing as I'm from the south and "we" only refer to people from the north as Yankees. I don't think anyone in the U.S. just uses Yank. I wouldn't find it offensive at all unless it was said in an offensive tone, which I would take offense to even if a different word was used. As for southerners describing northerners that way, I've mostly heard it in a lighthearted way as in "Ooohh, you're a Yankee, you wouldn't understand" but it can be used offensively to talk about Northerners in a mean way.

I don't mind Yank as much as I mind spic or dago (or beaner), which is what I heard more when I lived in the Southwest. This experience though made me decide in general I don't care what people in red states think of me. People in Europe though, I don't know. I've never been.

I live in Atlanta, and if I was called a Yank or Yankee I would be offended, because I am a southerner, not a yankee. lol. It would only make me think that the person was not familiar with the US History and what the term is supposed to refer to (Northerners). I am not sure what they call southerners that is offensive other than redneck, but I have met plenty of northern rednecks as I grew up in a military family. We lived as far north as Washington State.

I'm sure it could be insulting, if the intent behind its use was malicious. But, the only people who've ever called me that have been my friends from the UK and Ireland, and even my boyfriend (who is also from the UK). So, I've never found it insulting in the least. And I can't know for sure if I would be insulted if it came from a stranger who meant it meanly, because honestly there're much worse things to be called.

One of my friends from Ireland always calls me a silly Yank whenever we disagree on pronunciation or chips vs. fries, crisps vs. chips, etc. xD

Original Post by nomoreexcuses:

but i have no idea who spics, dagos, wogs, wops, beaks and nips are ...

 My hubby and his family often refer to themselves as dagos or wops, as they are of strong Italian descent, but only as a joke.  I understand that dago would be inappropriately applied in the UK, as there it's supposedly referring to people of Portuguese or Spanish descent. 

However, the majority of hubby's family has no problem using the entire dictionary of racial slurs, but in full pejorative context.  Sometimes family gatherings can get uncomfortable, and I have to remove my boys from earshot of the conversation.

alle0299, I am one of those you refer to as "that sort of person," i.e., a Southerner.  We do use the word Yankee, but it's mostly not intended as an insult at all.  The term Yankee is a descriptor that indicates a person who is well adapted to life in the Northeast but who has a very hard time getting around and making themselves understood in the South.  It's all about adaptation: you know how it doesn't make sense to say that one species is "more evolved" than another, because any species that survives is well-adapted (i.e. evolved) to its own environment?  Well, I don't believe that you or your Northeastern neighbors are "superior" to Southerners; we are all well-adapted for our own environments, and would have a hard time (at least initially) making our way in each other's respective cultures.

Our social policy may not be as progressive as that in the North (and believe me, I lament that fact!), but there's a lot to be said for the Southern balance between community and personal freedom.  Granted, a lot of Southerners take the balance too far in the opposite direction from personal freedom, but that doesn't give you the right to trumpet your alleged superiority.