Anglo-Americans
Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language who comprise the majority of people who speak English as a first language. This usage originated in the discussion of the history of English-speaking people of the United States and the Spanish-speaking people residing in the western United States during the Mexican–American War.
Look up Anglo-Americans in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
United States | 90,573,000 estimate[1] |
Canada | 20,584,770 (2006)[2] |
Jamaica | 2,890,299 (2018)[3] |
Trinidad and Tobago | 1,267,145 (2011)[4] |
Guyana | 747,884 (2012)[5] |
Belize | 150,000 (2013)[6] |
Languages | |
English (American, Canadian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, Guyanese, Belizean, Bajan, Bahamian, Vincentian, Grenadian, Anguillian, Montserrat, Antiguan and Barbudan, Saint Kittian and Nevisian, and Falkland Islands) |
Usage
The term is ambiguous and used in several different ways. While it is primarily used to refer to people of English ancestry, it (along with terms like Anglo, Anglic, Anglophone, and Anglophonic) is also used to denote all people of British or Northwestern European ancestry, such as Northwestern European Americans.[7] It can include all people of Northwestern European ethnic origin who speak English as a mother tongue and their descendants in the New World, regardless of their prior racial or ethnic background, much like Hispanic or "Latino" refers to people of any race.[8][9] Therefore, a person, for example, of Chinese descent who adopts the American or Canadian culture would have English-speaking "Anglo-American", "Anglic", "Anglophone", "Anglo", or "Anglophonic" children (in contrast to Spanish-speaking Chinese descent people living in Hispanic America, who would be "Hispanic"). Thus, Anglo-American, Anglic-American, Anglophone-American, Anglo, or Anglophonic-American can refer to all those whose families who, regardless of race or ethnicity, have become mainstream English-speaking people in the United States, English Canada, English-speaking areas of the Caribbean, Belize, and Guyana, including those of African descent.
In 2017, the Pew Research Center reported that 18% of people who identify as Hispanic in the United States speak English as a first language compared to 90% of non-Hispanics.[10]
Culture
The term implies a relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom (specifically England), or the two countries' shared language, English, and/or cultural heritage. In this context the term may refer to an English American, a person from the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England, a person from the United States who speaks English as their first language (see American English), a collective term referring to those countries that have similar legal systems based on common law, relations between the United Kingdom and United States, or Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, a national cataloging code.[8][9]
The term is also used, less frequently, to denote a connection between English people (or the English language) and the Western Hemisphere as a whole. In this context, the term can mean a person from the Americas whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England (see British diaspora) or a person from the Americas who is a white American and speaks English as their first language, a person from the Americas who speaks English as their first language (see English-speaking world and Languages of the Americas), or a person from Anglo-America.
Adjective
The adjective Anglo-American is used in the following ways:
- to denote the cultural sphere shared by the United Kingdom, the United States and English Canada. For example, "Anglo-American culture is different from French culture." Political leaders including Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan have used the term to discuss the "Special Relationship" between Britain and America.
- to describe relations between Britain and the United States. For example, "Anglo-American relations became more relaxed after the War of 1812."
References
- "B16005 NATIVITY BY LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME BY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH FOR THE POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER Universe: Population 5 years and over 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
Note: The number refers to those who speak English alone consisting of 232,143,157 native born and 7,188,556 foreign born Americans
- "Population by language spoken most often at home and age groups, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories - 20% sample data 2006 Census". 2.statcan.ca. 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
- "Data Query Total Population by sex (thousands)". UNITED NATIONS/DESA/POPULATION DIVISION. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- Trinidad and Tobago 2011 Population and Housing Census Demographic Report (PDF) (Report). Trinidad and Tobago Central Statistical Office. p. 26. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- Guyana 2012 Census Archived 6 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine GeoHive– Guyana. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- Michaelis, Susanne (2013). The Survey of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Volume 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 92–100. ISBN 0199691401.
- Oxford English Dictionary: "Anglo" North American A white English-speaking person of British or northern European origin, in particular (in the US) as distinct from a Hispanic American or (in Canada) as distinct from a French-speaker.
- Mish, Frederic C., Editor in Chief Webster's Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.:1994--Merriam-Webster See original definition (definition #1) of Anglo in English: It is defined as a synonym for Anglo-American--Page 86
- "Anglo – Definitions from Dictionary.com; American Heritage Dictionary". Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
Usage Note: In contemporary American usage, Anglo is used primarily in direct contrast to Hispanic or Latino. In this context it is not limited to persons of English or even British descent, but can be generally applied to any non-Hispanic white person, making mother tongue (in this case English) the primary factor. Thus in parts of the United States such as the Southwest United States with large Hispanic populations, an American of Polish, Irish, or German heritage might be termed an Anglo just as readily as a person of English descent. However, in parts of the country where the Hispanic community is smaller or nonexistent, or in areas where ethnic distinctions among European groups remain strong, Anglo has little currency as a catch-all term for non-Hispanic whites. Anglo is also used in non-Hispanic contexts. In Canada, where its usage dates at least to 1800, the distinction is between persons of English and French descent. And in American historical contexts Anglo is apt to be used more strictly to refer to persons of English heritage, as in this passage describing the politics of nation-building in pre-Revolutionary America: "The 'unity' of the American people derived ... from the ability and willingness of an Anglo elite to stamp its image on other peoples coming to this country" (Benjamin Schwarz).
- Gonzalex-Barrera, Ana; Lopez, Gustavo; Lopez, Mark Hugo (December 20, 2017). "Hispanic Identity Fades Across Generations as Immigrant Connections Fall Away". Pew Research Center.