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"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 l

"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.
    - cassianoleal 5y ago
      You were responding to my comment that read: > It grinds the gears of many Americans when people conflate the USA with America as well though. As you can see, I was not complaining about the usage of "Americans" but rather about the conflation of "USA" and "America". I did say it grinds the gears of many Americans when that happens, which might be the cause of your confusion. > MDF: capital district of Mexico. Thanks! I did think you were not talking about medium-density fibreboard! :D
      - mc32 5y ago
        All Americans I know take USA and America to be one and the same, so no complaints here. As far as I know people from the southern continent call themselves sudanericanos or alternatively sulanericanos in their native languages. Again, in English there is no confusion about what the word America refers to. It may make a difference in Brazilian or South American Spanish, but that’s their problem, not an English problem.
        cassianoleal 5y ago
        > All Americans I know take USA and America to be one and the same, so no complaints here. Perhaps not for you, but that's pretty much the main point here. :) > As far as I know people from the southern continent call themselves sudanericanos or alternatively sulanericanos in their native languages. Sudamericanos, latinoamericanos, sul-americanos, latino-americanos OR americanos. They all work. > Again, in English there is no confusion about what the word America refers to. I'm pretty sure I speak English daily, and there is definite confusion. There's also the problem that this language excludes a lot of people. > It may make a difference in Brazilian or South American Spanish, but that’s their problem, not an English problem. Allow me to pick a small nit: the language is Portuguese. In some contexts it may make sense to distinguish the American from the European variety but it's still mainly Portuguese in the same way that US/American English is still English. That doesn't affect the point you're making in any way, of course.
pseudalopex 5y ago
"Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English:"

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.
  - cassianoleal 5y ago
    You were responding to my comment that read: > It grinds the gears of many Americans when people conflate the USA with America as well though. As you can see, I was not complaining about the usage of "Americans" but rather about the conflation of "USA" and "America". I did say it grinds the gears of many Americans when that happens, which might be the cause of your confusion. > MDF: capital district of Mexico. Thanks! I did think you were not talking about medium-density fibreboard! :D
    - mc32 5y ago
      All Americans I know take USA and America to be one and the same, so no complaints here. As far as I know people from the southern continent call themselves sudanericanos or alternatively sulanericanos in their native languages. Again, in English there is no confusion about what the word America refers to. It may make a difference in Brazilian or South American Spanish, but that’s their problem, not an English problem.
      - cassianoleal 5y ago
        > All Americans I know take USA and America to be one and the same, so no complaints here. Perhaps not for you, but that's pretty much the main point here. :) > As far as I know people from the southern continent call themselves sudanericanos or alternatively sulanericanos in their native languages. Sudamericanos, latinoamericanos, sul-americanos, latino-americanos OR americanos. They all work. > Again, in English there is no confusion about what the word America refers to. I'm pretty sure I speak English daily, and there is definite confusion. There's also the problem that this language excludes a lot of people. > It may make a difference in Brazilian or South American Spanish, but that’s their problem, not an English problem. Allow me to pick a small nit: the language is Portuguese. In some contexts it may make sense to distinguish the American from the European variety but it's still mainly Portuguese in the same way that US/American English is still English. That doesn't affect the point you're making in any way, of course.

pseudalopex 5y ago

"Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English:"