[Vocabulary] A British/ A Briton

[jiaruchan]

Can we say:

As a British, he is very unhappy to be assigned a job in China by his company.

Or, it should be 'a Briton' in place of 'a British'?

Thank you.

 

[Linguist__]

Can we say:

As a British, he is very unhappy to be assigned a job in China by his company.

Or, it should be 'a Briton' in place of 'a British'?

Thank you.

(Not a teacher)

Dictionary.com appears to have 'British' as a noun meaning 'the people who are native inhabitants of Great Britain' however, this doesn't sound correct to me. 'A British' really doesn't work to my ear.

For me, British is only an adjective. I guess a dictionary would be correct, and so it should also be a noun, but I'd disagree. Also, a Northern Irish person is British, but they aren't a native inhabitant of Great Britain, so the dictionary isn't pedantic enough for me.

'Briton' is definately correct.

 

[bhaisahab]

(Not a teacher)


'Briton' is definitely correct.

.

 

[Linguist__]

... And I'm not pedantic enough for me either.

 

[BobK]

...

Dictionary.com appears to have 'British' as a noun meaning 'the people who are native inhabitants of Great Britain' however, this doesn't sound correct to me. 'A British' really doesn't work to my ear.

...

This definition is only used for the specific reference to British people in general: The British aren't famed for their cooking. In other cases, 'British' is an adjective.

So why not use it as an adjective?

Being British, he is very unhappy to be assigned a job in China by his company.

b