American Grand Tour of “Yurope"

[thedaffodils]

I can remember doing an interview in the 1980s with the US cable news channel MSNBC in which my host responded to my doubts about the single Euroupean currency with patronising amusement. “But Britain”, he said with a smile, “is part of Europe.” What that meant to him I suppose was that London was generally the first stop on the traditional American Grand Tour of “Yurope” as it existed in the imagination of a US undergraduate. London, Paris, Rome, Brussels, etc were just colourful spots on the Old World map, whose variations were more quaint and decorative than substantial.

America will now understand why we stayed out of the euro – Telegraph Blogs

Hello! I don't understand American Grand Tour of “Yurope". Could someone interpret this for me?

Thanks!

 

[Linguist__]

America will now understand why we stayed out of the euro – Telegraph Blogs

Hello! I don't understand American Grand Tour of “Yurope". Could someone interpret this for me?

Thanks!

(Not a teacher)

I don't know why he spelled 'Europe' with a 'Y' - perhaps because of how it sounds?

He is referring to the fact that it is somewhat common for people, normally undergraduate students taking a 'gap year' out of studying, to go to Europe and travel around the continent. This is the 'traditional American Grand Tour' that he is referring to.

The way the writer is writing, he is trying to show that US people have a false idea that Europe is just full of nice cities without much difference between France and England than say California and Florida - that is, the countries of Europe are like the States of the US.

 

[thedaffodils]

Thank you for your help. Now I have some idea. Probably the jouralist sarcastically hinted Americans have inapropriate impression about Europe, so she intended to misspell Europe as Yurope.

 

[mmasny]

Thank you for your help. Now I have some idea. Probably the jouralist sarcastistically hinted Americans have inapropriate impression about Europe, so she intended to misspell Europe as Yurope.

You're probably right. I once saw a satirical clip on youtube about the American knowledge of the world. There was a map created in MSPaint probably and Yurop was the name on the Europe's contour (commies live here was written on Russia).

 

[bhaisahab]

Interestingly, Reagan had no knowledge of geography, amongst other things, and didn't know where many countries in "yoorop" were.

 

[Barb_D]

There was a map created in MSPaint probably and Yurop was the name on the Europe's contour (commies live here was written on Russia).

I think that's hysterical! But then, irony was always my favorite type of humor.

 

[thedaffodils]

Thank you very much, everyone.

 

[Tdol]

If you look in the comments, you'll see spellings like Yoorup to emphasise the point. The magazine Private Eye would have George Bush talking about Europland as if it were a country.

PS You'll also sometimes see Ingerland as a spelling for England sometimes, which comes from football crowds cheering- it is often used when talking about the nationalist sections of England.