Is it offensive to be called British?

[Happytofita]

Hello,

Could Scottish, Irish and Welsh people be offended to be called British?

[Kitosdad]

Good morning Michael.

Although all are part of the British Empire, I'm certain that you would find lots of Scots and Irish folk insulted to be called British.
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[Happytofita]

Thank you very much Kitos.

My real name is Mouhcine. But I am not offended to be called Michael. ; o)

[OxfordBlues]

This is an interesting question. I know that many of my British colleagues tend to be amazed that Americans differentiate among the many asian cultures rather than just saying 'Black' or 'Asian'.

We would never refer to an Indian as an asian (although we do refer to what the British call Orientals as asians), and any time we know the nationality or ethnicity of someone we would use that versus just grouping them together. For instance, even though most people on the Arabian continent are Arabs, we would still call someone from Iraq Iraqi, KSA a Saudi, and likewise Kuwaiti, Yemeni, Omani, etc.

It's funny that I can usually tell from writing where someone is from based on their use of such terms. Oriental is considered offensive in the US and the term Indian is no longer widely used except for referring to people from India with Native American preferred for Cherokee, Sioux, and such.

I suppose certain things carry different weight depending on where you're from. Americans tend to call everyone from England, Scotland, and Wales British, but would never assign that moniker to someone from Ireland. Then again, you'd also never hear a US sportcaster use the term Kraut to refer to a German team as I've heard from English Premiere League announcers.
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