hyphenism
9.6
Describing people by joining two national or cultural names with a short line like Mexican-American
- noun
- /ˈhaɪfənˌɪzəm/
- Jargon
:
hiphenismo
- Many activists are fighting against hyphenism to promote a more unified national identity.
Examples
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She believes hyphenism reinforces divisions rather than celebrating diverse backgrounds.
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The author discusses the implications of hyphenism in her latest book about cultural identity.
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His campaign against hyphenism coincided with ever-present nativism and the growing pro-Allied war movement, producing a backlash against immigration.
Academic text (1994)
Surface Forms
hyphenism singular
hyphenisms plural
Morphology
Etymology
Hyphenism comes from the word hyphen, which originally meant 'in one' or 'joined', and the ending -ism, which means 'a practice or belief'. So hyphenism can mean the practice of joining two identities with a small line, as in 'Mexican-American', and this shows why the word is about hyphenated labels.
