Are Americans an ethnicity?

[ladislav]

I would say "American" is an ethnicity- and even a race- but also, it depends on “ to who”. To some people, they are; to some, they are not. Usually, outside of America, they are, but inside of America, often they are not.

To give you an example: I am at an airport in Japan, and suddenly, I see some Japanese kids stare at me in surprise. And then, they exclaim , “Amerikajiiiiiiiiiiiiin!”, pull on their parents sleeves and point me out to them.

The same in the Philippines. I am just walking down the street. Suddenly, I again see some kids stare at me and then, the shouting begins,” Amerikaaaaaaaaano! Amerikaaaaaaaaaaaaaano! Hi, Joooooooooooooe!”

My friend travels in China. He walks down the street. He’s blond and blue eyed. People go past him and acknowledge him, “ Mei-gwo-ren!”, “Mei-gwo-ren!” and so it goes. Ten people say that as they pass him, 20, 100, 1000. Ad infinitum. “Meigworen!!!!”

None of those people saw the passport. But they recognized the American and nodded in recognition.

So, as far as East and SE Asian people go, an American is a race. Characterized by

white skin
light eyes and hair
a pointed nose

And the English language coming out of his/her mouth.

When they hire people to teach English, the parents want those teachers who look American. Thus, to them, there is the American look. Thus, the American race/ethnicity.

Now, let us look at the definition of ethnicity

ethnic group; plural noun: ethnic groups a community or population made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent.

Just about all native born Americans share the same cultural background to one extent or another. They are born in America, they grew up with the American English and thus, they share a similar accent and vocabulary, they grew up on American movies, music and the so called mainstream American culture which includes certain values, modes of behavior and beliefs that are uniquely American.

So, based on this definition, Americans today form a distinct ethnic group, especially as they are seen from the outside of America by the rest of the world.

As far as sharing the same descent, most Americans are native born. And most of their parents are also from America. Now, it is true that all have some kind of immigrant ancestor, but it does not mean that they themselves are immigrants now. Most are from the USA and their parents are from the USA, too. “ My Dad is from Ohio, my Mom is from Minnesota”, they say.

I’d say this qualifies as common descent. Being from America by birth.

Controversy happens when Americans inside of America are asked to describe themselves. Then, they fall back on a sometimes distant immigrant ancestor and often say, “ I’m part German, part English”. “ I’m Italian “. “ I’m Polish”. But! They are not called Germans or English or Italian or Polish in these respective countries. They are called “ Americans” there and are treated as a separate ethnic group which is from America. “ Ok, you say you are Italian. Say something in Italian”. “ I’m sorry, I don’t speak Italian”. “OK, and where in Italy are you from?”” I’ve never been to Italy”. “So, you are not from Italy, you don’t speak Italian, and you say you’re Italian. You are not Italian to us!”

But he is an Italian in Brooklyn, NY. To other Americans.

Finally, those who persist that Americans are not an ethnicity because they have immigrant ancestors should keep in mind that American Indians had also migrated to America from someplace else. Thus, they are descendants of immigrants, too.

The Americas does not have indigenous humans. No Neanderthals, no Cromagnons on the American continent.

But let us admit for a moment that there is no American ethnicity because of the immigrant ancestry. Would you say that, following that,

a) there is no Mexican ethnicity either? Because if you go to Mexico, you will see a similar melting pot, especially in a big city. Mexico City for one, has people with ancestries from all over the world. Granted, there is a lot more Amerindian blood in the population, and more Spanish descendants, but still, their ancestry is not really indigenous. But, by culture, accent, music, way of dressing and location of birth, they are all unmistakably Mexican now.

b) there is no Brazilian ethnicity. After all, it’s another giant melting pot. But Brazilians would disagree. They are almost all united by birth in Brazil and a strong Brazilian culture.

c) there is no Argentinian ethnicity. Same thing. They are all Argentinians now. A unique culture.

and I can go on with other countries in the Americas.

In all of those countries, people do not even think of themselves as anything but Peruvians, Brazilians and Mexicans. It is their nationality, ethnicity, culture, way of thinking etc.

Yes, immigrant and settler ancestry way back, but it does not mean that now, they are not their own cultures or ethnic groups.

Among all these nations of the American continent, only Americans seem to be hung up on distant ancestry from countries they had never been to, whose way of speaking they cannot imitate, whose culture they know very little, but they still say : “I’m German! I’m Swedish”.

To conclude: inside of America, most Americans will say that there is no American ethnicity. But outside of America, the way the world looks at Americans, they are in fact seen as their own ethnicity. They can be recognized by the speech, the culture, the way of dressing, certain behavior, values they hold dear, and the beliefs they all share. As well as their place of birth. Which in most cases is America to parents and usually grandparents also born in America.

It’s an ethnicity, if you ask anybody outside of the USA.

[Cornfed]

White Americans (which is to say, all real Americans) probably could have been thought of as their own ethnicity at some point. These days they are recognised as an ethnicity by their clothing and mannerisms, or perhaps because the people are just guessing.

[gsjackson]

White Americans (which is to say, all real Americans) probably could have been thought of as their own ethnicity at some point. These days they are recognised as an ethnicity by their clothing and mannerisms, or perhaps because the people are just guessing.

I used to have what was referred to by many people as an "all-American" look. A couple years ago I was subbing in an American public school and a brownish kid of of I suppose Latino origins asked me what country I was from. He was surprised when I said the U.S. His guess? Russia.

[Cornfed]

White Americans (which is to say, all real Americans) probably could have been thought of as their own ethnicity at some point. These days they are recognised as an ethnicity by their clothing and mannerisms, or perhaps because the people are just guessing.

I used to have what was referred to by many people as an "all-American" look. A couple years ago I was subbing in an American public school and a brownish kid of of I suppose Latino origins asked me what country I was from. He was surprised when I said the U.S. His guess? Russia.

Welcome to your replacement and alienation from your own country. I get asked now from people from Anglo countries the question of what is my native language, but I guess that is far less stupid.

[gsjackson]

Well Corny, especially if you like gingers, you should marry this Kiwi. She's great -- one of the best out there at countering covid craziness, and not too rough on the eyes. But her vowel pronunciations do make it understandable why people would wonder if New Zealanders are speaking English as a second language. All sorts of surprises in the a, e, i realm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei2ZOM55-kE&t=1s

As for welcoming me to the alienation of my own country, I've long since settled in. When I was born in 1950 this country was made for me; now it's doing its best to make me disappear. But when I'm there I just hang out with my ever-dwindling tribe -- ancient paleface jocks -- and we do our best to live in the past.

[Yohan]

'American'? Who is an American? An Indian in Peru? An Inuit in Alaska? A black guy in Brazil?
USA is only a part of America.

I prefer to refer to people from the States as US-citizens. I would not call it US-ethnicity either, a better fitting word is maybe 'US-identity'. This is especially true for such US-citizens, who are born in USA, don't know anything else and have never been abroad, often even not outside of their own state, never had a passport in their life.

[Cornfed]

'American'? Who is an American? An Indian in Peru? An Inuit in Alaska? A black guy in Brazil?
USA is only a part of America.

I prefer to refer to people from the States as US-citizens. I would not call it US-ethnicity either, a better fitting word is maybe 'US-identity'.

This is potentially a valuable distinction. You could argue that there are Americans and US citizens. Americans are Northwest European Protestants with a history in America who could be viewed as a sort of ethnicity to some extent. Everyone else is a US citizen, which is to say they have a relationship with the criminal conspiracy calling itself the US government, and so are clearly not an ethnic group.

[MrMan]

In much of the US, the majority ethnicity is basically English. This especially true in the parts of the southern states populated primarily by whites. A lot of southerners are descended from Virginia colonists who moved to other southern states. Out of the big cities up north, I expect we see the same pattern. There are also other European ethnicities thrown in there, too. But English nobility have intermarried a bit with other European ethnicities, too, so English blood is not pure English anyway. And the English are an amalgomation of Celtic peoples who lived there, probably with just a bit or Roman admixture, who then intermarried with the Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes who conquered. I'd imagine most English are mostly Celtic rather than Anglo-Saxon in terms of their blood.

[ladislav]

In much of the US, the majority ethnicity is basically English. This especially true in the parts of the southern states populated primarily by whites. A lot of southerners are descended from Virginia colonists who moved to other southern states. Out of the big cities up north, I expect we see the same pattern. There are also other European ethnicities thrown in there, too. But English nobility have intermarried a bit with other European ethnicities, too, so English blood is not pure English anyway. And the English are an amalgomation of Celtic peoples who lived there, probably with just a bit or Roman admixture, who then intermarried with the Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes who conquered. I'd imagine most English are mostly Celtic rather than Anglo-Saxon in terms of their blood.

However, if you ask the English in England if these American Anglo Saxon people are English by ethnicity, they would probably laugh it you. " Bloody yanks!" To them, Yanks are an ethnicity if not a race. The same goes for those proud Irish people from Mass. When they go to Ireland, no one sees them as Irish. They are again, Yanks. Thus, an observer's definition matters.

[ladislav]

In much of the US, the majority ethnicity is basically English. This especially true in the parts of the southern states populated primarily by whites. A lot of southerners are descended from Virginia colonists who moved to other southern states. Out of the big cities up north, I expect we see the same pattern. There are also other European ethnicities thrown in there, too. But English nobility have intermarried a bit with other European ethnicities, too, so English blood is not pure English anyway. And the English are an amalgomation of Celtic peoples who lived there, probably with just a bit or Roman admixture, who then intermarried with the Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes who conquered. I'd imagine most English are mostly Celtic rather than Anglo-Saxon in terms of their blood.

However, if you ask the English in England if these American Anglo Saxon people are English by ethnicity, they would probably laugh it you. " Bloody yanks!" To them, Yanks are an ethnicity if not a race. They would say that their distant origin is English. John Smith's from America cannot requent British passports, by the way. But Jews and Italians can in their respective countries of origin.
The same goes for those proud Irish people from Mass. When they go to Ireland, no one sees them as Irish. They are again, Yanks. Thus, an observer's definition matters.

[MrMan]

In much of the US, the majority ethnicity is basically English. This especially true in the parts of the southern states populated primarily by whites. A lot of southerners are descended from Virginia colonists who moved to other southern states. Out of the big cities up north, I expect we see the same pattern. There are also other European ethnicities thrown in there, too. But English nobility have intermarried a bit with other European ethnicities, too, so English blood is not pure English anyway. And the English are an amalgomation of Celtic peoples who lived there, probably with just a bit or Roman admixture, who then intermarried with the Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes who conquered. I'd imagine most English are mostly Celtic rather than Anglo-Saxon in terms of their blood.

However, if you ask the English in England if these American Anglo Saxon people are English by ethnicity, they would probably laugh it you. " Bloody yanks!" To them, Yanks are an ethnicity if not a race. The same goes for those proud Irish people from Mass. When they go to Ireland, no one sees them as Irish. They are again, Yanks. Thus, an observer's definition matters.

I had a conversation with an Englishman on a boat in Indonesia, once. There was a lot of time to talk with people on boats like that, and little else to do but wait in line for water, etc. He seemed to think of Americans as the same ethnicity and said the English or kind of proud of the accomplishments of former colonies also. Maybe those were just his opinions.