Why do so many people,Americans in particular,have difficulty in distinguishing the Scots from the Irish?

Question

I keep coming across instances where Americans in particular seem to have real difficulty in telling the difference between Scottish ancestry and culture and Irish ancestry and culture.If they did their research properly it wouldn't be a problem.

I think you're missing the point.I meant in the sense of Scots surnames and Irish surnames.A lot of people seem to assume that if your name begins with Mc you're Irish,and Mac,Scots.When,in fact,that's largely down to sloppy census taking in the 19th century.Mc has no meaning in Gaelic,all of the names will have originally been Mac.

brittanyA,if you don't want to research it,why bother to answer?I suspect I know a lot more about America,than you know about Scotland!

I should've known it would annoy a lot of you Americans,since most of you know next to nothing about your own indigenous population!Sorry,am I using some words you don't understand?

A lot of you don't seem to know much about your own history either,since,if you did,you'd realise how much influence we Scots had on shaping the United States!

Since most of you seem to have got a wee bit excited about this question,I feel I should point outthat you obviousy have never made any real effort to read the question,and additions,properly.Is it maybe just a White American thing?I don't have a particular problem with America or Americans,it's just the way that White Americans seem to have a way of looking upon the rest of the World,and a lot of their own people,as,in some way,inferior,without really understanding where their own ancestors actually came from.Maybe it's just the way America projects itself in the rest of the World.If you REALLY want to understand your roots,surely it's important to understand something of the history and culture that your ancestors came from!Whilst the Scots and Irish do indeed share a lot of these things,it is important to both of these proud peoples to be recognised as independent entities.Incidentally,Scotch is a drink,not a nationality!!!!

Answer 1

Yes I have noticed that too. I am Scot/Irish of very early families here in the US and proud of it. Most importantly to me is that many people have no idea what their National background is. When asked they aren't sure what that means.
But if you are Scot, Irish and any variants you know!

How did this become about accents............. it was asked about the Mac's and Mc's. My annoyance is people who call every plaid a tartan...but maybe they are?...LOL...
Top of the Morning to Y'all. From a Southern Scot/Irish girl.

Oh and famous Irish to name a few John Kennedy, Henry Fory, Daniel Boone and
Mia Farrow, Margaret O'Brien, Grace Kelley, John McCormack, Mickey Rourke, Barry Fitzgerald, Art Carney, Tyrone Power, Carroll O'Connor, Errol Flynn, Audie Murphy (Red Badge of Courage and the most decorated man in WWII), James Cagney, Shirley Maclaine, Jackie Gleason, Mary Tyler Moore, Warren Beatty, Angelica Huston, The Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Spencer Tracy, Thomas Mitchell, Anthony Quinn, Jack Lemmon, Burt Lancaster, Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal, George Kennedy, Robert Redford and Walter Brennan

Answer 2

I think generally I can tell the difference in the accents. I know the prefix Mc was originally Mac even for the Irish, meaning son of.

Some people take an interest in that sort of thing and some could care less. Probably what is called the Anglo Saxon people of the South are a mixture of English, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, German and French Huguenot. The Germans were called Dutch in colonial days because that is what Deutsch sounded like to the ears of English speaking people.

You have to realize, normally most Americans are not around Scots and Irish that much. Now I have friends who are nuns from Ireland and I worked for a hospital where most of the nuns came from Ireland so I think I can distinguish. However, the Irish have different accents according to what part of Ireland they come from. For instance many people from the west whenever they have a word that start with "th" the h is silent. McCarty is no doubt the same name as McCarthy. It was just how the person pronounced their name when Irish names were Anglicized.

Also you have to realize that Americans are made up of people of many national origins.
I hear the British and some Americans mispronouce the Italian name Giovanni. The know you pronounce every vowel in Italian but you also roll the vowels. It should be pronouced "zhoh VAHN nee not
je o VAHN nee. It actually sounds more like Joe VAHN nee than je o VAHN nee. So Italian Americans are probably laughing their heads off when they hear people from the U K pronouce that name.

I lived in San Antonio, Texas back in the 60s. People were identified as Anglo, Spanish and Black. However, a lot of the white non Spanish were Germans and Czechs. I was told that the difference was because of the language they spoke. However Black people speak English too.

School districts have to make reports on the percentages of the three groups. I understand one school district identifies children as Anglo white and Anglo black.

Answer 3

Have you considered the confusion caused by the so called Scotch Irish? Also the in flux into Scotland of large numbers of Irish looking for work and their later migration to the US? These factors have created a good deal of confusion and the fact that there really is not that much information on the culture of both countries seen in publication and in the media as one finds regarding the American culture.

Answer 4

Why do the Scots and the Irish have such a hard time distinguishing between Ohioans and Indianans. It's not as if the last 200 years worth of history isn't different for the two states and they have different accents. They seem to have a real difficulty telling the difference between the two.

If they just did their research properly it wouldn't be a problem... :p

Answer 5

Well.. considering the reality that probably 90% of the persons coming into the genealogy section HAVE never researched, I would not expect them to have done the research.. properly or otherwise.
I hang out here in genealogy a lot, and with a reason... I would much rather participate in a positive and learning pursuit, than look for a chance to instigate any debates. There's more than enough bickering and warring in this world, without taking part in more (or looking for a reason to provoke it).
I am sure that there are plenty of places where anyone who wants to, can stir up disputes between us Americans, and the Scots, Irish, or British. Frankly, I'd rather not participate, thank you. I like humans, whereever their roots happen to be.

Answer 6

There is much Lowland Scots blood in Ulster, and much Irish blood in the Lowlands of Scotland.

But why does it bother you.

I was born in bred in the UK, but Americans think I am South African, and South Africans think I am American.

We must also face the fact that compared with the area and enormous population of the United States, GB is just a speck on the map.

Can you distinguish between a Canadian and an American?

Answer 7

The "problem" stems from education.
Americans aren't taught alot about UK history, because most of it isn't a major concern of theirs.
We know more about America because they are such a huge world power.
As an example, how much do you know about the difference between North and South Korea's culture??
It's just because on the world stage, the difference between Ireland and Scotland is, sadly, insignificant.

Chewbydoo, when the hell did England come into this??
or is this just another vent for your bigotted little mind?

Answer 8

Internet study has aided me in knowing the difference..but must state..I was in my early 40's before I developed a sensitivity to the difference.

I have learned to have a high regard for the Scottish Enlightenment..the things we enjoy as a result of the period..yet cannot submit a thing the Irish can claim but a source of civil servants and their journalist progeny here in the US..

Americans should take a full semester class to study the period..it would give them a greater sensitivity to what their
Economic and intellectual foundations evolved from.

and personally I really dig..Famous Grouse.

Answer 9

Maybe because we are oceans apart and aren't around many of the folks in the U.K.??? Maybe because it isn't 'all' that important to us in the scheme of things?

One of my first English ancestors came to this country in the 1600s. Most of my family settled here in the 1600 and 1700s and the country was founded as America over 200 years ago. So why is the Mc and Mac supposed to be important to us today?

I know the accents are different in each country but I've not been around enough folks from "over the waters" to be able to distinguish who is from where ~ and heaven forbid if we throw the Australians into the mix *gasp*

As much as we are interested in our family history, I think it rather rude of you to get on here and talk down to "Americans in particular" for something that isn't a life or death issue.

Wouldn't it have been nicer to have come on and said "why don't more people know that the Mc is a shortened version of Mac?" and then explain and prove your point so we could be educated on the subject?

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

Answer 10

If the voice is high pitched and whining, it'll be an Englishman. Therefore the confusion between the Scots and Irish is an easy mistake and is forgiveable, after all, we're all Jock Tamsons bairns.

Brittany, you do have Queens; there's at least one on every American television programme I've ever seen..

Vince M; you mix your Whisky with Cola?? That would be a hanging offence here.... ;o)

Apologies Al, it came from an anti Scottish posting I replied to earlier this evening.. Maybe Brittany would be interested to know that Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell and John Paul Jones were all influential Scots in America. There are obviously others but it's late and I'm tired.

Oh yes, if I remember, the American Constitution has it's roots in the Declaration of Arbroath, another good Scottish Historical Document.. worth a read!