Episode 24: Ethnic Suffixes (-an, -ian, -ean, -ish, -ese, -i)

Words for Granted - An etymology and linguistics podcast - A podcast by Ray Belli

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English uses many different suffixes to indicate ethnicities. Each suffix entered the language independently, and each suffix has a story to tell. This episode attempts to elucidate the geopolitical distribution of the four main categories of ethnic suffixation in English: -an (including -ian and -ean), -ish, -ese, and -i.