Anglo

The term Anglo can be used as a prefix to indicate a relation to England and the United Kingdom, as in the phrases 'Anglo-American', 'Anglo-Celtic' or 'Anglo-Indian'.

It is also used, somewhat loosely, to refer to a person or people of English ethnicity in North America, Australia and Southern Africa. It is also used, in non-English-speaking countries, to refer to someone from any English-speaking country.

Anglo is a Late Latin prefix used to denote "English-" in conjunction with another toponym or demonym. The word is derived from Anglia, the Latin name for England, and still the modern name of its southeastern portion. Anglia and England both mean "Land of the Angles", a Germanic people originating in the north German peninsula of Angeln.

It is important to note that Anglo is not a technical term. There are linguistic problems with using the word as an adjective or noun on its own. For example, the 'o' in Anglo means 'and' (Anglo-Saxon means of Angle and Saxon origin), so there is only an apparent parallelism between Latino and Anglo. However, a semantic change has taken place in many English-speaking regions, so that in informal usage, the meanings listed below are valid.

Specialized usage

Australia

Main article: Anglo-Celtic Australian

In Australia, "Anglo" is the abbreviation of Anglo-Celtic, which refers to the majority of Australians who are of British and/or Irish descent. By the time of the 2001 Census of Australia, 38% of Australians identified their ancestry as simply "Australian". Because of the history of immigration to Australia and modern Australian culture — which have been dominated by English-speaking people from the United Kingdom and Ireland — this is also generally assumed to mean white people of predominantly British and/or Irish descent, and is included in the Anglo-Celtic grouping.

In contemporary Australian usage "Anglo" is often used to denote the dominant ethnic group in Australia, either neutrally or as a slur. The slur equivalent is generally "Skip" taken from the title character of the Skippy the Bush Kangaroo television series who, as a kangaroo, fit stereotypical mainstream concepts of Australia.

Canada

In Canada, and especially in Canadian French, the term anglophone is widely used to designate someone whose everyday language is English, as contrasted to francophone (someone whose everyday language is French) and allophones (those with a different mother tongue). In Quebec, the word refers to English-speaking Quebecers in both English and French. Anglo-Metis is also sometimes used to refer to a historical ethnic group.

Ireland

Anglo-Irish is a historical term applied to the Anglo-Normans (Anglo-French) who arrived in Ireland in 1169 CE or after. Their leader, Strongbow, was crowned King Richard of Leinster in 1171 CE, becoming the first non-native to be King of an Irish province. The term later came into use for anglicised Protestants who made up the Irish professional and landed classes during the 19th century. The Anglo-Irish were often of Irish or mixed Irish-British ancestry and usually identified themselves as Irish despite adopting many English customs. In this sense, "Anglo-Irish" identified a social class.

Israel

Immigrants from English-speaking countries were referred to as Anglo-Saxonim, and now sometimes as simply Anglo. [1]

For the term's use in a global context, see Anglosphere

Scotland

In Scotland the term Anglo-Scot, often shortened to "Anglo", is used to refer to people born in England with Scottish ancestry such as Rod Stewart and Sandy Lyle.

United States

In the Southwest United States, Anglo, short for Anglo-American, refers to non-Hispanic European Americans, most of whom speak the English language but are not necessarily of English descent. The term was introduced by Mexicans speaking English as a second language, and has been regularly used by mainstream media such as the Los Angeles Times despite being considered ungrammatical and offensive to some. In the 2000 Census, 24.5 million Americans (8.7%) reported English ancestry. The figure is self-reported and is likely far higher in reality since partial English ancestry is common among Americans who, accordingly, tend to emphasize the more distinctive aspects of their heritage to census takers .

Anglo can simply refer to English-speaking population or media, or can also carry connotations of white, though it is hard to tell if this a conscious definition of the term itself, or simply an assumption of whiteness as the default in American society. In other words the term may also be used as a technically incorrect synonym for White. Non-hispanic Whites constitute roughly 70% of the total population. Also, Anglo in usually found in contrast with Jewish, even though most non-Anglo people do not see this contrast. [2]

Most non-Hispanics in the United States who speak English but are not of English ancestry generally do not identify themselves as "Anglo" and some of them might find the term offensive. For instance, some Cajuns in south Louisiana use the term to refer to area whites who do not have Francophone backgrounds. Irish Americans, the second largest ethnic goup in the United States following German-Americans, also often take umbrage at being called "Anglo."[3] Additionally, other whites who do not identify as having English ancestary such as Italian Americans, Greek Americans, Jewish Americans, Polish Americans, and Middle Eastern Americans tend not to identify themselves as Anglo. Americans of English descent may also be offended at being labeled "Anglo" (as opposed to Anglo-American or Anglo-Saxon).

See also

• Anglo-Burmese
• Anglo-Celtic
• Anglo-Indian
• Anglophile
• Anglo-Scottish border

External links

• Don't Call Me Late For Dinner, And Please Don't Call Me Anglo letter to the editor, The Arizona Republic, August 4, 1992