Nationalities in English
Expressing nationalities in English can be a little confusing. There are exceptions to some grammatical rules for political or historic reasons.
Nationalities are expressed in the following ways:
- Country
- Origins
- Adjective
- Language
- Describing a group
Generally speaking, you must use a nationality with a plural verb. This is because you are referring to all people with said nationality.
Examples:
- Italians make incredible wine.
- The Chinese have a New Year festival that lasts up to 16 days.
As we mentioned, there are some exceptions to how nationality is expressed. In a historical and political context, sometimes the grammar-appropriate expression has taken on a racist association. Therefore, they should be expressed in a different way to be sensitive to the nationality referred to.
Examples:
- Instead of ‘a Pakistani’, say ‘someone from Pakistan’.
- Instead of ‘an African’, say ‘an African person’ or ‘someone from Africa’.
Typically, the suffixes -ish, -ese and -an are used to express nationality. However, when referring to specific cities, there are some additional exceptions to suffixes.
Examples:
| City | Adjective | Noun |
| London | London | Londoner |
| New York | New York | New Yorker |
| Cape Town | Cape Town | Capetonian |
| Brighton | Brighton | Brightonian |
| Sydney | Sydney | Sydney-sider |
| Paris | Parisian | Parisian |
| New Delhi | New Delhi | Delhite |
| São Paulo | São Paulo | Paulistano |
