Over the last few months I've created something of a discussion at my local pub. I've asked several people who were born in Scotland if they could explain the difference between the use of the terms "Scotch" and "Scottish". My argument is that it is perfectly okay to call someone who was born in Scotland Scotch. This usage seems in accord with common dictionary definitions as below.
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Scotch (skŏch)
n.
- (used with a pl. verb) The people of Scotland.
- Scots English.
- Scotch whisky.
However, when I've used this term to refer to people from Scotland, these very same people appear somewhat offended and argue that the correct term is "Scottish". When I ask these people to explain why "Scotch" is incorrect they haven't been able to give me any reasonable explanations and just say that my use of the term "Scotch" to refer to people from Scotland is incorrect if not offensive.
Does anyone have any idea why this may be the case?
3 comments:
I think people prefer Scottish because scotch has been used so commonly as hooch that no one wants to be considered a drunk. Maybe...I dunno...never been off the continent myself, so...
Hope this was informative!
http://mikeoverall.blogspot.com
Because people like feeling offended.
I'd only drink one of 'em.
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