ABSTRACT
The sociolinguistic dynamics generating opprobrious terms commonly derive from war, race or color, religion, political rivalry, economic subservience, lack of social prestige, immigration, or sudden demographic changes. Since the English (who are commonly conflated in popular parlance with the British) have been a dominant colonial power and politically influential globally for centuries, opprobrious terms applied to them have not been numerous. Predictably, they have come from enemies, such as the French, and from erstwhile colonies, such as American limey, Australian pom, and South African rooinek, all discussed below. These terms have not really been absorbed into British English.
