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Mysteries of vernacular: Yankee - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

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TEDEd Animation

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Is it a doodle dandy? A baseball team? The origins of the word yankee are unclear, though its usage in America as a pejorative is well-documented. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel track the varying levels of contempt that the word yankee has elicited from the pre-Revolution era to today.

Why do you think the colonists transformed Yankee from an insult into a source of pride?

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Meet The Creators

  • Director Jessica Oreck
  • Producer Rachael Teel
  • Educator Jessica Oreck, Rachael Teel

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