You are most probably all aware of the connection of this term with the USA but the word does have different connotations….. outside the United States, ‘yank’ is used informally to refer to any American, including Southerners but within the United States, it generally refers to people from the north who fought for the regions in the Union side of the American Civil War, as well as those with cultural ties with New England. However, it is more a cultural connection than a geographical one.
The speech dialect of New England is called “Yankee” or “Yankee dialect”. Within Southern American English, “Yankee” refers to Northerners. Within New England, “Yankee” refers to descendants of early English settlers in contrast to people of other ethnic origins.
And then there is Yankee Candle! Unsurprisingly, the brand started in America and claims to be ‘the world’s best known and loved provider of scented candles, candle holders, wax burners and car and home fragrance products’. I wonder where the statistics are to qualify that claim? And now, let’s not get into baseball….
