英语中对于国籍，国家的表述是不一样的，我时常迷糊于此。前些日子我发现了一本英语奇书《Practical English Usage》，这本书回答了我许多英语中的疑问。下面的内容也就是将该书的第364条抄一下。
1，Introduction
In order to refer to a nation or region and its affairs it is usually necessary to know four words:
* the name of the country or region
Denmark, Japan, France, Catalonia
* the adjective
Danish, Japanese, French, Catalan
* the singular noun used for a person from the country
a Dane, a Japanese, a Frenchman/woman, a Catalan
* the plural expression the … used for the population as a whole
the Danes, the Japanese, the French, the Catalans
Usually the singular noun is the same as the adjective(eg. Greek, Mexican).
The plural expression is usually the same as the adjective + –s(eg. the Greeks, the Mexicans);words ending in -ese, and swiss, have no –s(eg. the Japanese, the Swiss). See paragraph 2 below for more examples.
However, there are a number of exceptions. Some of these are listed in Paragraph 3.
All words of this kind(including adjectives) begin with capital letters.
American literature(NOT
american literature)
The name of a national language is often the same as the national adjective.
Danish is difficult to pronounce. Do you speak Japanese?
2, Examples
| Country/Region | Adjective | Person | Population |
| America | American | an American | the Americans |
| Belgium | Belgian | a Belgian | the Belgians |
| Brazil | Brazilian | a Brazilian | the Brazilians |
| Europe | European | a European | the Europeans |
| Italy | Italian | an Italian | the Italians |
| Kenya | Kenyan | a Kenyan | the Kenyans |
| Morocco | Moroccan | a Moroccan | the Moroccans |
| Norway | Norwegian | a Norwegian | the Norwegians |
| Palestine | Palestinian | the Palestinian | The Palestinians |
| Russia | Russian | a Russian | the Russians |
| Tyrol | Tyrolean | a Tyrolean | the Tyroleans |
| Greece | Greek | a Greek | the Greeks |
| Iraq | Iraqi | an Iraqi | the Iraqis |
| Israel | Israeli | an Israeli | the Israelis |
| Thailand | Thai | a Thai | the Thai |
| China | Chinese | a Chinese | the Chinese |
| Congo | Congolese | a Congolese | the Congolese |
| Portugal | Portuguese | a Portuguese | the Portuguese |
| Switzerland | Swiss | a Swiss | the Swiss |
3,Exceptions
| Country/Region | Adjective | Person | Population |
| Britain | British | a British person(Briton) | the British |
| England | English | an Englishwoman/man | the English |
| France | French | a Frenchman/woman | the French |
| Ireland | Irish | an Irishwoman/man | the Irish |
| Spain | Spanish | a Spaniard | the Spanish |
| The Holland | Dutch | a Dutchwoman/man | the Dutch |
| Wales | Welsh | a Welshman/woman | the Welsh |
| Denmark | Danish | a Dane | the Danes |
| Finland | Finnish | a Finn | the Finns |
| Poland | Polish | a Pole | the Poles |
| Scotland | Scottish,Scotch | a Scot | the Scots |
| Sweden | Swedish | a Swede | the Swedes |
| Turkey | Turkish | a Turk | the Turks |
4,Notes
a, Scottish is the usual word for the people and culture of Scotland; Scotch is used for whisky.
b, The word Briton is unusual except in newspaper headlines-for example TWO BRITONS KILLED IN AIR CRASH. Brit is sometimes used informally.
c, English is not the same as British, and is not used for Scottish, Welsh or Irish people.
d, Although American is the normal English word for United States citizens and affairs, people from other parts of the American continent may object to this use, and some people avoid it for this reason.
e, Arabic is used for the language spoken in Arab countries; in other cases, the normal adjective is Arab. Ar* is used in a few fixed expressions and place names(eg. Saudi Ar*, the Ar* Sea).
f, Note the pronunciation of words like Irishman/men, Dutchman/men: the singular is the same as the plural.