Italian, French, Norwegian, Dutch:
adjectives of nationality for European countries.

In a previous lesson we looked at some Asian country names and their corresponding nationality adjectives (Malaysian, Vietnamese, Bangladeshi: adjectives of nationality for Asian countries). In this week's lesson we look at some nationality adjectives from European countries.

European nationality adjectives are a little more complicated than Asian. However, in this lesson we will see that European nationality adjectives can also be grouped into patterns.

Pattern One: '-an' nationalities

Please look at the following list of country and nationality words. The red vowel (or, in some cases, 'y') in each word is to show which syllable is stressed:

Country	Adjective
Austria   Bulgaria   Romania   Bosnia   Croatia   Yugoslavia        Russia   Belgium   Germany   Hungary    Italy   Norway	Austrian   Bulgarian   Romanian   Bosnian   Croatian   Yugoslavian        Russian   Belgian   German   Hungarian   Italian   Norwegian

POINTS TO NOTICE:


• Most European countries whose names end with "-a" form their adjectives with
  "-an." This is also true of countries in other continents: Nigeria - Nigerian, Bolivia - Bolivian, Australia - Australian.
• Be careful with the last three on the above list: Hungary - Hungarian, Italy - Italian, Norway - Norwegian. These three involve changes in spelling and pronunciation.

A SPECIAL POINT TO REMEMBER

We can use adjectives of nationality when we talk about a country's products, culture, history etc:

• I've just bought some nice Austrian cheese from the supermarket.
• Bulgarian yoghurt is famous all over the world.
• Have you ever read any Russian novels?

However, when we talk about people, we have a choice of using an adjective or a noun:

1. Is Karl from Germany?
2. No. I think he's Austrian (ADJECTIVE).
1. Is Karl from Germany?
2. No. I think he's an Austrian (NOUN).

With '-an' nationality words, the adjective and noun have the same form (Austrian / an Austrian). With other nationality words, the adjectives and nouns often have different forms:

1. You're not English, are you?
2. No. I'm Polish (ADJECTIVE).
1. He isn't an Englishman, is he?
2. No. I think he's a Pole (NOUN).

In the next two sections, I will list both the ADJECTIVES of nationality and the NOUNS of nationality.

Pattern Two: '-ish' nationality adjectives

Country	Adjective	Noun
Britain   England   Ireland   Scotland       Denmark   Finland   Poland   Turkey   Sweden   Spain	British   English   Irish   Scottish       Danish   Finnish   Polish   Turkish   Swedish   Spanish	a Briton (*See note below)   an Englishman / Englishwoman       a Irishman / Irishwoman   a Scotsman / Scotswoman   a Dane   a Finn   a Pole   a Turk   a Swede   a Spaniard

POINTS TO NOTE:

• Many European nationality adjectives end with '-ish.' With '-ish' nationality adjectives, the nationality noun is usually different in form. We can't, for example, say He's a Danish; we have to say He's Danish or He's a Dane.
• The word Briton is rare in conversation. It tends to be found mostly in newspaper reports e.g. "Three Britons were injured in the crash." In conversation, "Hello, I'm a Briton" would sound a little odd.
  

Pattern Three: Nationality Adjective and Nationality Noun are the same

Country	Adjective	Noun
Greece   Cyprus   Switzerland   The Czech Republic       Portugal   Malta	Greek   Cypriot   Swiss   Czech   Portuguese       Maltese	a Greek   a Cypriot   a Swiss   a Czech   a Portuguese       a Maltese

Pattern Four: Nationality Adjective and Nationality Noun are different

Country	Adjective	Noun
The Netherlands         (or Holland)   France   Wales   Iceland	Dutch   French   Welsh   Icelandic	a Dutchman/woman   a Frenchman/woman       a Welshman/woman   an Icelander

ONE FINAL POINT TO REMEMBER

Sometimes Japanese students get confused about the word Dutch. This is because it sounds like the Japanese word Doitsu. So, please remember:

• In English, Doitsu is Germany; Doitsu no is German.
• In English, Dutch is Oranda no.

We hope you found this week's lesson useful. There are plenty of other lessons on this website, so please click here to find them.

© Robert E. Jones, 2004