The term Anglo is used as a prefix to indicate a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and Southern Africa. It is also used, both in English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries, to refer to Anglophone people of other European origins.
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 eastern region. Anglia and England both mean Land of the Angles, a Germanic people originating in the north German peninsula of Angeln.
Anglo is not a technical term.[citation needed] There are linguistic problems with using the word as an adjective or noun on its own. For example, the purpose of the -o ending is to enable the formation of a compound term (for example Anglo-Saxon meaning of Angle and Saxon origin), so there is only an apparent parallelism between, for example, 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
In Australia, "Anglo" is used as part of the terms Anglo-Australian and Anglo-Celtic, which refer to the majority of Australians, who are of English and/or Scottish, Welsh or Irish descent.[1]
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 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.
Israel
Immigrants from English-speaking countries are sometimes referred to as Anglos.[2] However this term is problematic,[citation needed] as it lumps together immigrants from the diverse cultures of the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, the USA and Canada under one apparently culturally homogeneous umbrella and assumes a common interest based on language and an undefined "Anglo-Saxon" culture.
New Zealand
Anglo in New Zealand refers to anyone who is of British Isles (Anglo-Celtic) ancestry, although the more popular term for them, as well as for any New Zealander of European origins, is Pākehā, a Maori term used by the indigenous Polynesian people.
Scotland
In Scotland the term Anglo-Scot, often shortened to "Anglo", is used to refer to people born in England with Scottish ancestry, or people born in Scotland with English ancestry.
Southern Africa
Main article:
Anglo-AfricanIn South Africa, Anglo-South African[citation needed] is used for predominantly British-descended, English-speaking white people, who are contrasted with the Dutch-descended Afrikaners. Use of Anglo occurs elsewhere in former British colonies in Africa which have sizable British communities, including Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. However, the term "Anglo" is more heavily used in South Africa than in these other countries because of Apartheid and the importance it placed on race.[citation needed]
United States
Main article:
Anglo-AmericaIn some parts of the United States Anglo-American is shortened to Anglo and applied to White Americans who are not of Hispanic or Latino origin, and sometimes to those who are not of French origin.[3] However, it is not a universally accepted term and is considered inaccurate, or even offensive, by some White Americans, especially those of Jewish, Irish, Italian, and Eastern European descent.
See also
References
