17/12/2022
Why are Americans called "Yankees"?
All over the world, Americans are Yankees. In 1758, James Wolfe, a British general, first referred to New England soldiers as "Yankees." There is an assumption that this word is of Indian origin and means coward in translation. It is also assumed that the word was borrowed from the Hurons. In 1819, the Reverend John Hockwilder expressed the opinion in his article that the word "Yankee" was formed as a result of attempts by Native Americans to speak English. James Fenimore Cooper supported him in his book The St. John's wort.
Perhaps the word is of Dutch origin. The Dutch names Jan and Kaas were and still are popular, sometimes combined into one Jan-Kaas. Yankees are the name of a people, like Ivans or Fritzes. Jan-Kaas or Jan-Kiis can be translated as John the Cheese, that was the name of the Dutch colonists who loved their cheese very much. By the end of the 18th century, the word had spread widely. During the American Civil War in 1861-1865 and after it, the Confederates called their enemies that way.
In 1966, Senator J. William Fullbyte from Arkansas wrote that the word evokes historical memories of defeat and humiliation, Sherman's marches, the burning of Atlanta, the destruction of the family estate. The situation was corrected by the song "Yankee Doodle", which was popular during the American War of Independence in 1775-1783. Today, this song is the Connecticut state anthem.
For the first time the word was used outside the USA by Thomas Chandler Halliburton in the humorous stories of Yanka Hodinnykar, which were published in 1835 in a Halifax newspaper in Canada. The main character is an American who taught Canadians to be hardworking and smart like the Yankees.
Today in the world, and especially in the countries of Asia and Latin America, the word Yankee is an anti-Americanism and is used in the expression "Yankees go home", which alludes to the aggressive policy of America.
If you liked the material, tell your friends about it. Thank you!
