The gentilicio adjective In its broadest use, it denotes a relationship with a place, which can be a city, region, country, neighborhood, town, or any geographic location or political entity. However, they can also denote the provenance of animals and things. Even the concept can be extended to abstract terms. For example, the Spanish crisis, the Russian problems or the Guatemalan elections.
On the other hand, the adjective gentilicio is used in postponement. That is, it is written after the noun you are modifying. In general, to form it suffixes are added to geographical names. The most commonly used suffixes are: ano / ana, ense, eño / eña, ese / esa, í, iano / iana.
However, there are others that may occasionally appear: aco / aca, ata, echo / eca, ego / ega, eno / ena, eo / ea, ero / era, eta, ín / ina, ino / ina, ita, o / a, ol / wave and one / one.
Now, all the gentilices can function as adjectives or nouns. Thus, phrases such as the american guy, Or simply the american. In the latter case, a substantivation of the adjective occurs. It can be said then that the gentilicio has a behavior that is closer to that of the adjectives.
As for their main functions, they appear in the attributive and predicative positions. In the first case, they go after the copulative verbs to be or seem (Is it Norwegian or Looks Norwegian).
The adjective gentilicio cannot go after the copulative verb estar (* It is norwegian). The second case is more common (They sold all Polish sausages) and its function is specific.
Article index
1 Types and examples
1.1 Gentile adjective with highly used suffixes
1.2 Names with suffixes of occasional use
1.3 Special cases
1.4 Alternative names
1.5 Other non-topographic names
2 References
Types and examples
Gentilic adjective with high-use suffixes
This group includes the names with the most common suffixes. Among them we can mention:
on (Breton, Latvian, Macedonian, Japanese, Teutonic)
ope (Ethiopian)
ol / wave (Spanish / Spanish, Mongolian / Mongolian)
ota (Cypriot, Cairota, Epirota, Biarrota, Rodiota, Tokyo)
or (Bantu, Hindu, Manchu, Papuan, Zulu)
ucho (maracucho, gaucho)
uz (Andalusian)
Special cases
There is no general rule for the use of suffixes in the formation of gentilices. They cannot always be predicted from the toponym (name that is attributed to a place). In this way, there are special cases of names.
For example, there is the case of populations with similar place names, but with different names. The inhabitants of Cuenca in Ecuador are known as Cuencanos. While those of Cuenca in Spain are called Cuenca.
In other cases, the names do not bear any relation to the root of the toponymy from which they derive. As in the cases of the following cities:
Aguas Calientes Mexico (hydro-warm)
Alcalá de Henares, Madrid-Spain (complutense, alcaino / na)
Antequera, Malaga-Spain (Anticarian)
Aragon, Spain (hand)
Badajoz, Spain (Badajoz)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (porteño / a)
Cabra, Córdoba-Spain (Egabrense)
Calatayud, Zaragoza-Spain (bilbilitan / na)
Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca-Spain (Mirobriguense)
Extremadura, Spain (castúo / úa)
Fuerteventura, Spain (majorero / ra)
Huelva, Spain (Huelva)
Jerusalem (Hierosolimitan / na)
Mother of God, Peru (mother)
Quindio, Armenia (whosebro)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
Ronda, Malaga-Spain (Arundense)
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain (chicharrero / ra)
Some suffixes have a special assignment to certain geographic areas. This is the case, for example, of the suffix -eco / -eca, which appears associated with the regions of Mexico and Central America:
Yucatecan / Yucatecan
zacateco / zacateca
Guatemalan / Guatemalan
Likewise, the suffix -í appears with more intensity in the use of North African and Asian names as in
Iranian
saudi
Somali
Moroccan
Alternative names
There is also a type of name known as alternative (they coexist with other names). In the first case, these are formed from the name of the original inhabitants of the territory. Thus, the adjective gentilicio of the current country, refers to its historical past.
In this group of countries the following can be mentioned:
Germany (German, Teutonic)
Costa Rica (Tico)
Spain (Hispanic, Iberian)
Finland (Lapp)
France (Gallic)
Greece (Hellenic)
Guatemala (chapin)
Hungary (Magyar)
Israel (Hebrew)
Italy (Italian)
Mexico (Aztec)
Neerlandia (Flemish)
Paraguay (Guarani)
Peru (Inca)
Portugal (Portuguese, Lusitanian)
Puerto Rico (boricua)
Uruguay (charrúa)
In the second case, the alternative names are formed from the names of historical dynasties that have ruled the country in its past. Of this group we can mention:
Thailand (Siamese)
Iran (Persian)
Turkish (Ottoman)
Japan (Japanese)
Switzerland (Helvetius, Helvetian)
Other non-topographic names
Finally, there are also alternative names that do not bear any relation to the place names that originate them. They are not officially recognized names, but they are in common use among the countrymen of a locality.
Its origin has more to do with the relationships between the inhabitants and with their environment. Some localities in Spanish provinces that present this sociological phenomenon can be mentioned:
Castilblanco de Henares (Guadalajara) (Its name is fish because they fished a lot in the Cañamares and Toledo River in memory of a local resident of Toledo.)
Castilforte (Guadalajara) (They have the adjective gentilicio / nickname big heads for being short and chubby and zarangollos for a meal made of ground and toasted wheat.)
Castillar de la Muela (Guadalajara) (The alternative name is cuchos because they made the dogs run with stones.)
Castillejo de Azaba (Salamanca) (Alternatively, they use the adjective of foxes for the abundance of these foxes.)
Bayuela Castle (Toledo) (Gentilicio de pajariegos because the town was located in what was once a haystack.)
Duero Castle (Valladolid) (They share the name of stubborn because a stream called Pecina is near this town and because Don Juan Martín, called El Empecinado, was born there.)
References
Saucedo, A. (2010, October 10). Specific, explanatory and gentile. Three classes of qualifying adjectives. Retrieved on February 18, 2018, from abc.com.
Almela Pérez, R. (2013). Category, function and meaning of the names Yearbook of Philological Studies, Vol. 36, pp. 5-18.
Hualde, J. I .; Olarrea, A .; Escobar, A. M. and Travis, C. E. (2010). Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Fernández Fernández, A. (2007). Dictionary of doubts: A-H. Oviedo: Ediuno.
Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Doubts. Royal Spanish Academy. (2005). Countries and capitals, with their names. Retrieved on February 18, 2018, from rae.es.
De la Torre Aparicio, T. and de la Torre, J. (2006). Spanish names. Madrid: Editorial Vision Books.
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