The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-10-01
DERIVATION OF YANKEE
Various Spcculntions Put Forth on
the Subject.

Various spcculntions Put Forth ON
the Subject.
When the early English in this country
began to hold intercourse with the ma
tive Indians the latter experienced much
difficulty in pronouncing the national
name of the newcomers They twisted
the word English into Yenghees. and it
is supposed that from their way of call
ing the early settlers the present word
Yankee came into use, says the New
York Tribune.
The word does not seem to have been
much in vogue, however, until the revo-
lutionary war, and is found i'll but few
writings previous to that time. One au-
thor in the year 1775 speaks of the name
as something new, while many of the
best authorities on Indian languages find
no mention of it among the tribes out
side of New England. Yet there are evil
dences of the name being used as term
of reproach by the English to the inhab-
itants of the colony during the war;
In an old book, published in 1920.
foot note about the name Yankee is given
which fully explains the way the Indian
pronunciation of the word English"
gradually developed into the word
"Yankee" The broad gutteral tone of
the Indian soon modified the original
word into "Yanghees," the g being heard
and the suppressed. This seems be-
yond doubt to be the derivation of the
word, and but little credence is given to
the account in Diedrich knickerbocker's
history of the tribes of Indians named
Yankoos. Students regard the story OF
this tribe as one of the Dutchman's little
jokes, of which he was so fond. There
is no good authority for believing in the
existence of such people, and there is
no evidence that any such name was ever
adopted by any clan or tribe throughout
the world. 1t is, however, believed that
the Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam
and along the Hudson took the name
from the Indians and applied it as an
neighbors.
In this connection there Is given in
+Notes and Queries" a curious account of
the possible origin of yankee Doodle
tracing it to the Persian phrase "Yanki-
niah' or Inhabitants of the new
world" In his book on "Ninevah and
Its Remains" Layard speaks of "1anghi-
dunia as the Persian name for America.
After the breaking out Of the revolu-
tionary war the name of Yankee became
exceedingly popular, and in a short time
a privateer called the Yankee Herd
was fitted out and dispatched from a
New England town, and many illusions
to the word and it's meaning can be
found in the correspondence Of that time.
In one letter of the period, written by a
British officer to his friends I'M the moth
er country, and dated Hartford. Conn.,"
he speaks of the poor Yankees" as they
designated the New England soldiers.
Another letter of the same period tells
how in skirmsh "the British troops
were roughly handled by the Yankees
Nearly always the name was used to
designate the inhabitants of the New
England section of the land, and had
many different spellings, such as Yankie,
Yanio, Yanku and the Yankee which at
present in America is still applied chiefly
to those who live within the borders Of
New England. but which, in the minds
of most foreigners, means anybody living
in the United States.
Although the name has been used to
imply reproach, the American people
have grown to rather like the cognomen,
and fail to resent its use by foreigners,
even when coupled with more or less op-
probrious epithets, such as have been
heard during the last few months, for as
a race, the Yankees have never suffered
defeat, nor have they the reputation for
other than the fairest play and most hon
est dealing.