palani
30th January 2012, 06:01 AM
DEMONYM.. a name given to the people or inhabitants of a place ... right out of the US Gov Printing Office Style Manual page 334. The name "American" is the DEMONY given for the (singular) United States.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_style_manual&docid=f:chapter17.pdf
On the other hand, the name given to the NATIONALITIES of the several States are shown on page 93 but are called FORMS rather than DEMONYM.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_style_manual&docid=f:chapter5.pdf
DEMONYM has as it's root DEMON. Etymology Online cannot find this "word" so its' source is in doubt.
Wikipedia says about it:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym
Some peoples, mainly cultures that were taken over by European colonists, have no demonym. They may also have a demonym that is the same as the name of their nation. Examples include Iroquois, Aztec, Māori, and Czech. Often, the native languages of these people have forms that did not get used in English. In Czech, for example, the language is Čeština, the nation is Česko or Česká republika, and the people are Češi.
The demonym for people of the United States of America has a similar problem. "American" refers to both the United States and to the two American continents. United Statian is not used in English, but it exists in Spanish (estadounidense), French (étatsunien(ne)), Portuguese (estado-unidense or estadunidense), Italian (statunitense), and also in Interlingua (statounitese). US American (for the noun) and US-American can be used, and is a common demonym in German (US-Amerikaner).
Similarly there is no demonym for the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Another word for DEMONYM is GENTILIC. Now doesn't this seem to also have some form of religious connection?
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_style_manual&docid=f:chapter17.pdf
On the other hand, the name given to the NATIONALITIES of the several States are shown on page 93 but are called FORMS rather than DEMONYM.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_style_manual&docid=f:chapter5.pdf
DEMONYM has as it's root DEMON. Etymology Online cannot find this "word" so its' source is in doubt.
Wikipedia says about it:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym
Some peoples, mainly cultures that were taken over by European colonists, have no demonym. They may also have a demonym that is the same as the name of their nation. Examples include Iroquois, Aztec, Māori, and Czech. Often, the native languages of these people have forms that did not get used in English. In Czech, for example, the language is Čeština, the nation is Česko or Česká republika, and the people are Češi.
The demonym for people of the United States of America has a similar problem. "American" refers to both the United States and to the two American continents. United Statian is not used in English, but it exists in Spanish (estadounidense), French (étatsunien(ne)), Portuguese (estado-unidense or estadunidense), Italian (statunitense), and also in Interlingua (statounitese). US American (for the noun) and US-American can be used, and is a common demonym in German (US-Amerikaner).
Similarly there is no demonym for the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Another word for DEMONYM is GENTILIC. Now doesn't this seem to also have some form of religious connection?