Is it really offensive to say ‘the French’? | Arwa Mahdawi

The Associated Press got into hot water over saying the term was offensive. Is it?

What's wrong with the French? You'll get a different answer depending on who you ask - but according to the Associated Press Stylebook, a lot's wrong with the French. The stylebook, one of the most respected guides to the English language for journalists, recently tweeted that writers should avoid using the" in phrases like the disabled, the poor and the French" because the" terms can be dehumanizing.

Much mockery ensued. Even the French embassy in the US piled on, posting a screenshot of it changing" its name from French Embassy US to Embassy of Frenchness in the US" This tweet got a lot of likes but, sorry to be pedantic, the gag didn't actually make sense because there wasn't ever a the" in front of French Embassy' on its Twitter account. But what do you expect from the French, eh? They've always had a strange sense of humour.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist