
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994                    TAG: 9406080004 
SECTION: FRONT                     PAGE: A14    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Short 
DATELINE: 940608                                 LENGTH:

NO-HYPHEN AMERICANS

{LEAD} Regarding ``Americans, period'' (letter, May 20): Carmella T. MacDonald said that ``anyone born in this country is an American, not Asian-American, African-American, or Euro-American, or any other hyphenation.

I believe she is right about being an American but wrong about the hyphen issue. These nouns are grammatically incorrect with the hyphen. For example, not having been ``born in this country'' I consider myself an Italian American, no hypen. However, when Asian American, African American, Euro American, etc., are used as adjectives, as, for example, in the Euro-American Organization, there is indeed a hyphen.

LIANA C. FLEMING

Virginia Beach, May 20, 1994 by CNB