(Cecil wrote: To my mind this simple syntax would solve the problem but
there is obviously more to it? Because by my rule a 'black' man in the USA
would be an American-African and yet the term used is African-American.)
Yes, Cecil! There's a little more to it. The thumb rule for such cases is
that the first word is taken as adjective while the second word is the noun.
Independently, both 'African' and 'American' can be either noun or
adjective. So when you say 'African-American' the word 'African' is the
adjective. It qualifes 'American' (of African origin). It's almost like
saying 'patriotic Indian' or 'proud Portuguese'.
When there are more than two such words, the last word is the noun while the
preceding words are qualifiers. So I agree with Nasci that when you say
Goan-Canandian, it means a Canadian citizen of Goan origin. So methinks
Bosco was right in describing himself as a Goan-Canadian.
Cheers, RKN
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