Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I use the term gringo to refer to my nationality when talking to tourists. I cannot use the term American because tourists that visit Miami are American as well (Brazilians, Argentinians, etc)
Europe is not a continent according to geologists and North America and South America are two different continents according to geologists. I could care less about the supposed cultural differences between Europe and Asia since there have been plenty of empires that have extended into both so they have and still do share quite a bit of culture.
Now with all that said if you came up Americans in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, etc going on about Americans referring to everyone from North and South America they are going to look at you like your an ******* and they aren't going to care at the end of the day what you say on the matter. People from outside of North and South America are just going to end up staring at you wondering wtf are you talking about. So again your choice comes down to do you want to go with what a few people from Latin America are griping about online or you going to go with what the rest of the world?
What I am seeing here is that basically, there is a totem pole as to whose opinions or culture matters the most, and the US is at the bottom with other Anglosphere nations bringing up the rear. Some people who speak another language don't like a word in English? Goshy goo, better change it because it could hurt their feelings if they ever heard an argument centric to their language and culture and really thought about it.
As Haukur said: political correctness doesn't favor the US, so it has to submit.
Doesn't matter what history or culture is behind it; it's the US. US bad, everyone else good.
Agreed. It's gotten beyond stupid at this point with automatically assuming the US is always in the wrong.
I challenge the "most people" part, I am not convinced about it since the internet made the complaint more visible and it bears no relevance to the topic in discussion. When some people refer to United Statesians as "Americans" it is not because they have a special right on the term over all other Americans; it is only because of the power that United Statesian media has around the world, it is only the hear-repeat effect.
Well don't bother, we are known as Americans everywhere we go... if i told someone in another country i am American they know what i mean.... even if they do consider the American continent all one continent and not 2 or 3 continents they will still know what i am talking about.... because most people wouldn't label themselves by a continent (especially a big continent)... that would be another silly thing to do, like me walking around "Hi i'm from earth!"
So you are going on connected landmass? Fixed it for you:
America
Eurasiafrica
Oceania
It's getting pretty silly, isn't it?
And now people from France, China and Saudi Arabia will all go around labeling themselves as Eurasiafricans... seems like a good idea, won't cause any confusion or anything....
As said many times, The United Statesian position here is weak and will always have to submit to what political correcteness demands which, from a history point of view, doesn't favour the USA.
So why do so many non Americans use the term "Americans" to refer to Americans?
Pretty much all over the world everyone knows what group of people "Americans" are being referred to so there really is no confusion or problem here to begin with.... you are pretty much just creating drama at this point.
This thread is funny. The only time I've ever heard that stupid word before is from 1 or 2 posters here on CD. What a joke. I have spent many years in assorted Latin American country's and have a Colombian wife and not once have I heard them use that stupid term. I am always referred to as an Americano or Gringo. And being around boats, in a lot of places I am docked among yachts with assorted foreign crews from Europe and New Zealand and they always refer to me and any other American as Americans. Such as "we have an American captain" or "our chef is American". And by American they are always referring to people from the USA. Not anywhere else.
Latinos seem to have a lot of pride in there country's so those I talk to will proudly state that they are Colombian, Venezuelan, Costa Rican, Panamanian, Mexican. I have never heard one mention they are American.
Actually no I meant Western Hemisphere. I did a quick search on wikipedia and it strangely lists several European countries as part of the Western Hemisphere which I find ironic since in school it was taught the Western Hemisphere is North and South America. Your post and the wikipedia article are the first two times I've ever heard of Europe being included in the western hemisphere.
I was always taught that as well. I knew that we were talking about fewer than 180 degrees of longitude, but I assumed that was not taken into consideration. Although it makes sense to talk about west of the prime meridian, I just never thought of it that way.
It just goes to terminology. For instance in France, Spain, Italy and Greece they think of the Americas as a single continent, while British and USA schools think of it as two continents.
And one final word. The term Americans goes back to the 16th century, but the term Americans in the context of the citizens of British North America with the "sensibility of independence" was used in the colonial period before there were any countries in the "New World". Since the future country was less than 2.5 million people almost entirely rural, they clearly were not trying to take the demonym from anyone. It was just the most convenient way of saying that they had an identity different than just being British colonists.
After we started to become a world power, the idea that citizens of USA unfairly co-opted the term became popular. The argument is very old and was not invented in the internet age. There are articles and essays in the 19th century. A very well known was published by HL Mencken in 1947. He admitted that it wasn't very accurate, but saying "citizen of the United States of America" was simply tedious.
After we started to become a world power, the idea that citizens of USA unfairly co-opted the term became popular. The argument is very old and was not invented in the internet age. There are articles and essays in the 19th century. A very well known was published by HL Mencken in 1947. He admitted that it wasn't very accurate, but saying "citizen of the United States of America" was simply tedious.
And I agree with this assessment, as should anyone with any critical thinking skills.
I just read the last couple pages of this particular thread and saw the assertion that the US co-opted the term "American" to gain preference among Europeans who wished to emigrate to the Americas, as though a European who wished to move to Colombia or Cuba would be misled and confused and instead move to America. Is there anything to back this up, or is it simply a really bizarre belief?
It seems like the few people who jump on this train have an axe to grind with American history and/or culture - which is fine, I suppose... I don't see the point in being critical or disagreeing with it, but I do see a problem with getting so frustrated by something so petty and wasting time trying to assert that the American denonym was consciously chosen for sinister purposes, regardless of whether this was stated in the 1880's or the 2010's.
So why do so many non Americans use the term "Americans" to refer to Americans?
Pretty much all over the world everyone knows what group of people "Americans" are being referred to so there really is no confusion or problem here to begin with.... you are pretty much just creating drama at this point.
Again, I challenge such statement and that is not any sort of validation anyway. There is history behind that backs up the complaint from Americans.
What makes you think that Americans ever renounced to their cotinental identity?
That never occured.
As I said before, the USA's position here is weak and will always be subject to political correctness and actually, United Statesians have to always choose political correctness and avoid calling themselves "Americans", especially in the presence of other Americans.
Most of the stories you can read about United Statesians who were corrected about the correct use of "America" and "American" are well received by United Statesians themselves.
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,799 posts, read 2,696,474 times
Reputation: 1609
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haukur
Again, I challenge such statement and that is not any sort of validation anyway. There is history behind that backs up the complaint from Americans.
What makes you think that Americans ever renounced to their cotinental identity?
That never occured.
As I said before, the USA's position here is weak and will always be subject to political correctness and actually, United Statesians have to always choose political correctness and avoid calling themselves "Americans", especially in the presence of other Americans.
Most of the stories you can read about United Statesians who were corrected about the correct use of "America" and "American" are well received by United Statesians themselves.
Many words are capable of having multiple meanings, at least here in the good old U.S.A. The word American, as it is predominantly used the world over, means a citizen of the United States. A lesser used, alternate meaning is somebody from either of the American continents, whether it be North America or South America. We sometimes even distinguish which continent they're from, by indicating they are a South American. This is standard not just in the US but abroad in countries who use the English language.
American nationals predominantly speak the English language and pretty much have free rein to define ourselves as we see fit in our adopted language. We apply national demonyms as appropriate to other inhabitants of North American continents, as we do for the other continents of the world. We can also, if we are feeling frisky, refer to a Chilean, or a Venezuelan, or an Argentinian, as an American, but when we do so we are able to keep to distinct thoughts separate in our heads and recognize that they are not Americans in the national sense but rather Americans from one of the two continents with that name. Again, we more routinely refer to them either by their nation, or by their continent of origin. But to lump somebody into the South American category blurs the cultural boundaries between people of different countries and some might think it ought to be avoided so as not to ruffle the feathers of a Venezuelan, for instance, who might not want to be associated with a Colombian.
What you call Americans in your own native tongue is your prerogative. But try not to choose something that lacks any real thought or imagination such as the silly labels you are attempting to apply in English, or that are otherwise offensive, ok? It's usually best to stick with the widely accepted term so we can all understand each other. We've all got to get along.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
