Just Wondering...

[thedig13]

Recently, I got into a discussion with a friend as to whether or not it was proper to use hyphenations in ethnicities in formal writing. He argued that ethnicities -- even ones indicating foreign ancestry -- should be written without a hyphen (i.e.: Irish American, African American, Vietnamese American). However, I feel that it's perfectly fine to write an ethnicity with a hyphen (i.e.: Chinese-American, Japanese-American).

After doing some research (mostly on Wikipedia, which isn't a very valid source, but still...), I found that there is some historical background of racism against individuals who identify themselves as "German-American" rather than "German American." Also, while Wikipedia's article on Asian-Americans is titled "Asian Americans" (without hyphen) and its article on African-Americans is titled "African Americans" (again, without hyphen), it typically lists historical events centering around a specific ethnicity (i.e.: African-American Civil Rights Movement, Japanese-American Internment) with a hyphen. Then again, this is all Wikipedia, so it's probably not the most reliable source ever.

Basically, I'm confused. Seriously. I was hoping for some input here.

[qbtacoma]

Recently, I got into a discussion with a friend as to whether or not it was proper to use hyphenations in ethnicities in formal writing. He argued that ethnicities -- even ones indicating foreign ancestry -- should be written without a hyphen (i.e.: Irish American, African American, Vietnamese American). However, I feel that it's perfectly fine to write an ethnicity with a hyphen (i.e.: Chinese-American, Japanese-American).

After doing some research (mostly on Wikipedia, which isn't a very valid source, but still...), I found that there is some historical background of racism against individuals who identify themselves as "German-American" rather than "German American." Also, while Wikipedia's article on Asian-Americans is titled "Asian Americans" (without hyphen) and its article on African-Americans is titled "African Americans" (again, without hyphen), it typically lists historical events centering around a specific ethnicity (i.e.: African-American Civil Rights Movement, Japanese-American Internment) with a hyphen. Then again, this is all Wikipedia, so it's probably not the most reliable source ever.

Basically, I'm confused. Seriously. I was hoping for some input here.

Well, what is the argument for hyphens? Myself, I don't use them, because the ethnicity or nationality is the modifier of "American." Just as you might say "a nice American" or "a corpulent American" without a hyphen, so you would say "a Chinese American" or "German American." A hyphen isn't called for in this case, but I don't know the formal linguistic reason.

[thedig13]

Well, what is the argument for hyphens? Myself, I don't use them, because the ethnicity or nationality is the modifier of "American." Just as you might say "a nice American" or "a corpulent American" without a hyphen, so you would say "a Chinese American" or "German American." A hyphen isn't called for in this case, but I don't know the formal linguistic reason.

At the same time, my response to that would be that "German" isn't just a modifier. If an individual identifies himself/herself as BOTH German and American, why does one have to be the noun and the other have to be the modifier? Wouldn't a hyphen imply that the person values both components of his/her ethnic background equally?

For example, a "student" and "athlete" are both nouns, and an individual who is both a competitive athlete and a scholar is referred to as a "student-athlete." Wouldn't the lack of a hyphen imply that the individual was a student of athletics, or somebody who (somehow) applied athletics to his or her studies as a student?

Edited June 9, 2011 by thedig13

[Strangefox]

At the same time, my response to that would be that "German" isn't just a modifier. If an individual identifies himself/herself as BOTH German and American, why does one have to be the noun and the other have to be the modifier? Wouldn't a hyphen imply that the person values both components of his/her ethnic background equally?

For example, a "student" and "athlete" are both nouns, and an individual who is both a competitive athlete and a scholar is referred to as a "student-athlete." Wouldn't the lack of a hyphen imply that the individual was a student of athletics, or somebody who (somehow) applied athletics to his or her studies as a student?

I agree with your point. I think that hyphen is necessary.