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No, I mean America. The big landmass that spans the 2 hemispheres, and depending on how you subdivide it you can get 2, 3 or 4 continents. Having been born and

No, I mean America. The big landmass that spans the 2 hemispheres, and depending on how you subdivide it you can get 2, 3 or 4 continents. Having been born and raised in America but quite far from the USA, it grinds my gears when people try to shove that distinction down my throat.

mc32 5y ago
In the modern English language no such thing exists. There is North America and South America. There is a sub continental region called Central America, but that’s not a continent and the demonym is Central American, not American. It may be that a different language treats things differently but wishing it in English doesn’t make it so.
- cassianoleal 5y ago
  "The Americas, which are also collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas
  - mc32 5y ago
    A couple of things: It’s two landmasses not one. They are connected by an isthmus. Claiming “America” is what people call both North America and South America together in standard modern English is being pedantic. Yes it is a rarely used vestige form, but it’s very rare in modern usage. It’s like claiming Ceylon is a proper name for Sri Lanka because we have Ceylon tea and Ceylon cinnamon, etc. and it was widely used in the XIX century, or Kampuchea for Cambodia, etc. In normal usage of modern standard English the combination of two continents in the Western Hemisphere are referred to as “The Americas”. Moreover, a colleague in MDF confirms Americans (US to be clear) are referred to as americanos, norte americanos and less so as “estadunidense”. Gringos being rather informal. Now, refer to French, German, Japanese, etc, and they all use a transliterated or translated version of American[1] for people from the USA. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_Stat...
    - cassianoleal 5y ago
      > It’s two landmasses not one. They are connected by an isthmus. Merriam-Webster's definition of landmass [0]: "a large area of land" Example of its usage in a sentence (also [0]): "the islands of Ireland and Great Britain were once part of the Eurasian landmass" So, you see, if Eurasia, including the British Isles, can be considered a landmass, surely using the Isthmus of Panama as a reason for America not being one is at least a little pedantic. > Claiming America is what people call both North America and South America together in standard English is being pedantic. I did no such thing. This is a strawman. > Moreover, a colleague in MDF confirms Americans (US to be clear) are referred to as americanos, norte americanos and less so as “estadunidense”. This is true. Americano(a) is probably the most common way to call the people from the US, closely followed by norte-americano. That doesn't mean it's not also used to reference people from the other American countries. Usually context can be used to make the distinction, or people can ask for clarification. That said, nobody that I know refers to the USA as America over there, so this part of your argument is another strawman. Quick side question: what's MDF in this context? > In normal usage of modern standard English the combination of two continents in the Western Hemisphere are referred to as “The Americas”. Perhaps. Also perhaps it's time to recognise that this can be seen as a form of cultural domination and change it. In any case, you had said: "In the modern English language no such thing exists." and that's what I was refuting, so this is yet another strawman. > Now, refer to French, German, Japanese, etc, and they all use a transliterated or translated version of American for people from the USA. I have no idea why you are bringing this up as it doesn't seem to relate to the issue at hand in any way. [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/landmass https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/landmass
      - mc32 5y ago
        I’m sorry but this makes the whole discussion moot: “ This is true. Americano(a) is probably the most common way to call the people from the US, closely followed by norte-americano. That doesn't mean it's not also used to reference people from the other American countries. Usually context can be used to make the distinction, or people can ask for clarification.” Given that OP complained of that exact usage and moreover in English this ambiguity does not exist. MDF: capital district of Mexico.
  - pseudalopex 5y ago
    "Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English:"
tjs8rj 5y ago
No. In English, America refers to the US, the continents are North America and South America. In Spanish and some other languages, America refers to the entire landmass from Alaska to Argentina. This is equivalent to a Frenchman and German arguing over what countries are called in their language: of course they are different, the argument is nonsense, and they are both correct.
- cassianoleal 5y ago
  "The Americas, which are also collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas
rhino369 5y ago
This is an English vs. Spanish issue. When talking in Spanish, one shouldn't use America to discuss just the USA. But in English, you'd confuse the shit out of your audience if you said, "I went to America on vacation, Santiago is a cool city." Similarly, in the English world, North and South America are considered two continents. Being the same landmass isn't the definition of continent--otherwise Europe, Asia, and Africa should be a single continent.
- cassianoleal 5y ago
  > This is an English vs. Spanish issue. It is absolutely not. > But in English, you'd confuse the shit out of your audience if you said, "I went to America on vacation, Santiago is a cool city." Perhaps. That said, most people in the UK tend to take a second or two to realise what I mean, which seems like a soft signal that they know I'm not wrong despite the fact that my usage of the term might not be the most common one (if you follow the rest of the thread you'll find that I provided Wikipedia and dictionary proof). > Being the same landmass isn't the definition of continent I never said it is.
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mc32 5y ago

In the modern English language no such thing exists. There is North America and South America. There is a sub continental region called Central America, but that’s not a continent and the demonym is Central American, not American. It may be that a different language treats things differently but wishing it in English doesn’t make it so.

cassianoleal 5y ago
"The Americas, which are also collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas
- mc32 5y ago
  A couple of things: It’s two landmasses not one. They are connected by an isthmus. Claiming “America” is what people call both North America and South America together in standard modern English is being pedantic. Yes it is a rarely used vestige form, but it’s very rare in modern usage. It’s like claiming Ceylon is a proper name for Sri Lanka because we have Ceylon tea and Ceylon cinnamon, etc. and it was widely used in the XIX century, or Kampuchea for Cambodia, etc. In normal usage of modern standard English the combination of two continents in the Western Hemisphere are referred to as “The Americas”. Moreover, a colleague in MDF confirms Americans (US to be clear) are referred to as americanos, norte americanos and less so as “estadunidense”. Gringos being rather informal. Now, refer to French, German, Japanese, etc, and they all use a transliterated or translated version of American[1] for people from the USA. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_Stat...
  - cassianoleal 5y ago
    > It’s two landmasses not one. They are connected by an isthmus. Merriam-Webster's definition of landmass [0]: "a large area of land" Example of its usage in a sentence (also [0]): "the islands of Ireland and Great Britain were once part of the Eurasian landmass" So, you see, if Eurasia, including the British Isles, can be considered a landmass, surely using the Isthmus of Panama as a reason for America not being one is at least a little pedantic. > Claiming America is what people call both North America and South America together in standard English is being pedantic. I did no such thing. This is a strawman. > Moreover, a colleague in MDF confirms Americans (US to be clear) are referred to as americanos, norte americanos and less so as “estadunidense”. This is true. Americano(a) is probably the most common way to call the people from the US, closely followed by norte-americano. That doesn't mean it's not also used to reference people from the other American countries. Usually context can be used to make the distinction, or people can ask for clarification. That said, nobody that I know refers to the USA as America over there, so this part of your argument is another strawman. Quick side question: what's MDF in this context? > In normal usage of modern standard English the combination of two continents in the Western Hemisphere are referred to as “The Americas”. Perhaps. Also perhaps it's time to recognise that this can be seen as a form of cultural domination and change it. In any case, you had said: "In the modern English language no such thing exists." and that's what I was refuting, so this is yet another strawman. > Now, refer to French, German, Japanese, etc, and they all use a transliterated or translated version of American for people from the USA. I have no idea why you are bringing this up as it doesn't seem to relate to the issue at hand in any way. [0] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/landmass https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/landmass
    - mc32 5y ago
      I’m sorry but this makes the whole discussion moot: “ This is true. Americano(a) is probably the most common way to call the people from the US, closely followed by norte-americano. That doesn't mean it's not also used to reference people from the other American countries. Usually context can be used to make the distinction, or people can ask for clarification.” Given that OP complained of that exact usage and moreover in English this ambiguity does not exist. MDF: capital district of Mexico.
- pseudalopex 5y ago
  "Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English:"

tjs8rj 5y ago

No. In English, America refers to the US, the continents are North America and South America. In Spanish and some other languages, America refers to the entire landmass from Alaska to Argentina. This is equivalent to a Frenchman and German arguing over what countries are called in their language: of course they are different, the argument is nonsense, and they are both correct.

cassianoleal 5y ago
"The Americas, which are also collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas

rhino369 5y ago

This is an English vs. Spanish issue. When talking in Spanish, one shouldn't use America to discuss just the USA. But in English, you'd confuse the shit out of your audience if you said, "I went to America on vacation, Santiago is a cool city." Similarly, in the English world, North and South America are considered two continents. Being the same landmass isn't the definition of continent--otherwise Europe, Asia, and Africa should be a single continent.

cassianoleal 5y ago
> This is an English vs. Spanish issue. It is absolutely not. > But in English, you'd confuse the shit out of your audience if you said, "I went to America on vacation, Santiago is a cool city." Perhaps. That said, most people in the UK tend to take a second or two to realise what I mean, which seems like a soft signal that they know I'm not wrong despite the fact that my usage of the term might not be the most common one (if you follow the rest of the thread you'll find that I provided Wikipedia and dictionary proof). > Being the same landmass isn't the definition of continent I never said it is.

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