Hyphenated Americans are Americans who are referred to with a first word indicating an origin or ancestry in a foreign country and a second term (separated from the first with a hyphen) being "American" (e.g., Japanese-American, Afghan-American, African American). The construction is meant to suggest that these individuals straddle two worlds—one experience is specific to their unique ethnic identity, while the other is the broader multicultural amalgam that is Americana.
Hyphenated American Identities
In 1915, President Theodore Roosevelt denounced so-called "hyphenated Americans" who did not join mainstream America. Since then, many minority groups in the United States, such as the Japanese American Citizens' League , have shunned the hyphen. They argue that the hyphen denotes dual nationalism (and implies inability to be accepted as truly American) while the non-hyphenated form uses their ancestral origin as an adjective for "American."
By contrast other groups have embraced the hyphen arguing that the American identity is compatible with alternative identities and that the mixture of identities within the United States strengthens the nation rather than weakens it.
Opposition to Hyphenated Identities Outside the U.S.
Some Canadian newspaper writers have attempted to promote "dehyphenated Canadianism" in the 1990s. The trend of Canadian English in this aspect follows that of the American English in general.
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See also: Demographics of the United States
