Why are Canadians called Canucks? 

Thanks, that’s good to hear. It quite surprised me when I did the research, too!

I always thought it was an Indian name.

+Rez Zircon Fair. The rest of us do, after all!

Or beer: media.giphy.com/media/l41YyPh2fDLOJHZPW/giphy.gif

+StoneCresent And yet somehow the Arrow is still more famous...

+Step Back History no worries -- you've had a rather hectic last month or two! And thanks. :)

Oh, interesting! It's possible, but I don't know... I'd have to find a source on German etymology to figure it out for sure.

same thought ^^

According to the etymological dictionary it's of Polynesian origin and was introduced into German by sailors to originally mean the indigenes peoples of the South Sea Islands and especially New Caledonia, later shifting in meaning to a derogative term for foreigner in general. So I guess it checks out with the etymology Alliterative suggested in the video.

Yes, the German word does come from the same source. I always wondered though how it made its way into German.

+Alliterative If you are interested in the use of "Kanake" as an abusive word in German, check out the TV feature "Was soll bloß aus dir werden (1984) AKA What Shall Become of You?" posted by John Hamilton here on YT, 20:15-21:15 and 21:30-22:50 minutes into the film. It depicts strongly abusive behaviour among adolescents in one of the poorest and most violent quarters of Berlin, among youths being abused and neglected by their parents and effectively excluded from the standard education system, implying that they have no chances whatsoever in life. Much of the dialogue is in Berlin dialect, and at least every second word in this scene is strongly derogatory. "Kanake" is the most frequently used insult here. That is somewhat realistic because "Kanake" is indeed particularly popular among people who have difficulty in expressing themselves at all; it is among the coarser and cruder cusswords you could choose to utter (but for hell's sake *don't* do that in Germany, ever, or you will come across as utterly stupid and utterly racist both at the same time). It will definitely come across much worse than "Scheisse" (shit, crap) and probably even slightly worse than "Fuck" or "Arschloch" (asshole). Incidentally, the teacher counters the near-hopeless mess by saying (22:12) "We are all Canucks" and (22:35) "Canuck means 'human being'". The film is definitely dated (even more than the date of turning might suggest), some of the dialogue in it is rather wooden, and while there are some well-acted and creative scenes, this one is not among them - but it still serves the purpose of showing a typical context in which this word will get used, both in the 1980ies and still today.

Thanks! Yeah, I think it’s pretty obsolete now as a pejorative.

@@Alliterative yeah I'd say so, I mean I'm not trying to talk for all Aussies. But in my circles never heard of it.

Are you implying there's something odd about the way we say that? ;)

Alliterative I wouldn't dare ;)

Or sorry?

I don't know for sure if this is when it was coined, but its most famous use was by Pat Buchanan on Oct 31, 2002, reacting to Canadian criticisms of US security measures regarding Arab Canadians. I've heard it used since from time to time by right-wing commentators, but it's also been ironically adopted by left-wingers & Canadians themselves.

It was used by Senator McCain, immediately after the 9/11 attacks, He claimed that ALL of the terrorists had entered the US FROM Canada. In fact everyone of them had a valid US visa, approved by the US Government. Pat Robertson just jumped on the anti Canada band wagon. Some ultra right wingers in the US STILL believe that crap,.Jim B.

Thanks!

Thanks! :)

Unfortunately, i don't speak Innuktitut, but according to Wiktionary, that's an interrogative adverb meaning "how". How do you think that could possibly mutate into a proper noun / demonym? *That* could be a truly interesting story...

Mara K My country is called Kazakhstan, should I be ashamed?

In American English, by association with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other former Soviet republics ending in -stan, the suffix has become associated with countries the speaker thinks are either oppressive or too left-wing (these are related only in that Americans confuse socialism and Communism because of Cold War propaganda and actual Cold War events). You should not be ashamed, but you are well within your rights to be indignant.

In what way?

the exact way canuck is used? yankee is an insult when used by non-americans almost always, whereas yankee is just a general... emotionless term as used in America.

Ah, ok, yes, that sounds about right -- except that I gather "yankee" can be used as an insult by some Americans, especially from the South? Or is that no longer the case?

well... only as much as the n-word or canuck I presume. ive seen the n-word at its fullest.... it means 'man' 'boy' 'bro' 'dude' 'bud' and many more references to general human who happens to be referenced by a non-white person.

Like yank more. No?

Iroquoian is a language group, of which the two most widely spoken languages today are Cherokee and Mohawk; many languages within the group are now endangered, and some are extinct. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquoian_languages

I see. Thank you!