A Pet Linguistic Peeve

[ajoknoblauch]

Then call them "Argentinos" if you want to respect what they "say". I refuse to say Argentine, as i know it is an historical slur, even if many Argentinians themselves use it. But that is my prejudice. I also agree that any use is fine as long as it is said with respect, such as my calling the English Limey's, which is what we called them in Canada. Only the most sore-headed English ever resented this, as it was done with respect in most cases. Since most Argentines do not seem to care, I say let's call them whatever of the the three each of us feels comfortable with in terms of respecting them.

"Argentine" is a slur? So then must be "Chilean," "Peruvian," "Mexican" etc. It's simply a translation, and less awkward than its five-syllable tongue-twister. It also occupies less space in a haiku or on Twitter.

 

[syngirl]

Then call them "Argentinos" if you want to respect what they "say". I refuse to say Argentine, as i know it is an historical slur, even if many Argentinians themselves use it. But that is my prejudice. I also agree that any use is fine as long as it is said with respect, such as my calling the English Limey's, which is what we called them in Canada. Only the most sore-headed English ever resented this, as it was done with respect in most cases. Since most Argentines do not seem to care, I say let's call them whatever of the the three each of us feels comfortable with in terms of respecting them.

Argentine is not the historical slur -- Argie is. Argentine is accepted, and frankly I don't think most younger Argentines would be offended by Argie.

I believe use of Argentine vs Argentinian is dependent on US vs British english. I always use Argentine myself, it is closer to Argentino so tends to roll off the tongue more for me.

Argie was the term the Brits used during the war. Came from phrase "Argy bargy" which is actually Scottish slang that predates the Falklands war. Ironically, argy bargy means "a loud yet amicable argument". It was used by newspapers for the play on words when writing headlines for the war.

btw -- when I say predates, I mean by a long shot -- I think argy-bargy goes back to 1700 or 1800s.

 

[Crema Americana]

To be honest, they're all sort of clumsy. I prefer to use Argentinean... Argentine sounds more like an adjective to me. I've always disliked the term Spaniards as well. Sounds like a singular term forced into a plural.

Saying Buenos Aires in English is even worse... it sounds awful even when you know how it's supposed to be pronounced. Sometimes I just say it in Spanish.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

To be honest, they're all sort of clumsy. I prefer to use Argentinean... Argentine sounds more like an adjective to me. I've always disliked the term Spaniards as well. Sounds like a singular term forced into a plural.

Saying Buenos Aires in English is even worse... it sounds awful even when you know how it's supposed to be pronounced. Sometimes I just say it in Spanish.

"Argentine" is both a noun and an adjective, just like "argentino" in Spanish (where it's also a name - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Argentino_Roca (I can't think of any other country where one's nationality can be a personal name).

 

[internationalguy]

"Argentine" is both a noun and an adjective, just like "argentino" in Spanish (where it's also a name - see http://en.wikipedia...._Argentino_Roca (I can't think of any other country where one's nationality can be a personal name).

America can be a first name too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_Ferrera

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

America can be a first name too.

http://en.wikipedia....America_Ferrera

...and a TV channel.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

America can be a first name too.

http://en.wikipedia....America_Ferrera

My oversight. For what it's worth, she's of Honduran ancestry, but at least they didn't name her "Hondureña.". There may be other examples, but I can't think of any others except in Argentina. I've never heard of a Chilean being named "Chileno" or a Peruvian named "Peruano," a Brazilian named "Brasileiro," or anything similar.

 

[PhilipDT]

Saw this near the grocery store today and thought of you guys.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Saw this near the grocery store today and thought of you guys.

Cigars (and tobacco in general) are repulsive, but I find this amusing in context.

 

[Flay]

"Argentine" goes against the linguistic norms of nationality nomenclature, a quaint, somewhat xenophobic (and founded on racism) term like Spaniard, when it is better to use a term like Spanish, an accepted suffix that the British prefer for themselves and their home nations , but refuse to give to their historic enemies.

Countries like Canada, Australia, Austria, India, Colombia, Bolivia, and almost all other countries ending with "a" have their nationalities and national adjectives ending in "-ian", so why not the ARGENTINIANS?

With the exception of Canada, all these countries end in 'ia'. Arriving at their 'ian' adjectives involves the addition of one extra letter: 'n', which does require adding an extra syllable to the word. Argentina does not end in 'ia', it ends in 'ina', and trying to maul it into the adjective Argentinian demands the addition of an unwieldy extra syllable. You wouldn't refer to people from Botswana as Botswanian. Argentinian sounds almost as awkward. It's not wrong, I often use it myself, but there is no reason to see the word Argentine as a slur and it is generally favoured in style guides as the neatest of the three options. Using the article "an" before the word "historic", however, is a crime against grammar and logic that I find physically painful!