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I've only heard this from Argentinians. They think that because we refer to our country as "America", that we are disputing the existence of, or are unaware of,

I've only heard this from Argentinians. They think that because we refer to our country as "America", that we are disputing the existence of, or are unaware of, or are somehow slighting, South America. They want us to refer to ourselves as USAers so that we are more accurate. I don't think that one is going to stick in the USA anytime soon.

vagrantJin 5y ago
To be fair, they have a point. Besides, It's not so much America thats the issue but "Americans". Then again I don't blame the US for calling itself a continent since United states really isn't a name. Like South Africa isn't a name. Very nebulous now that I think about it. On the other hand, the UK has too many names.
- jaywalk 5y ago
  No, they don't have a point. The names are what they are. "Americans" are citizens of the United States of America. Insisting that's not correct is just petty whining, not a valid point.
  - alisonkisk 5y ago
    It's not valid to want to acknowledge the fact that not all of your continent is part of the USA? The United States of America is an embodiment of "manifest destiny", which is a declaration of intent to conquer the sovereign people of the continent.
    - bostonpete 5y ago
      It's just etymology at this point -- a lot of words have a history or literal meaning that wouldn't make them a good choice if we were starting from scratch today.
    - refurb 5y ago
      Exactly. I’ve been disturbed by the fact people still use the term “grapefruit”. It’s clearly not a grape!!!
    - chitowneats 5y ago
      If you come up with an actually pronounceable name (so not USAer or USAian), we'll consider it before dropping your suggestion in the paper shredder. It's quite presumptuous to demand the people of another country refer to themselves in a particular way. You are free to call us whatever you want amongst yourselves. We do it with Germany/Deutschland and they don't seem to mind that much. But we're not demanding that they refer to themselves by our name for them.
      - TMWNN 5y ago
        >It's quite presumptuous to demand the people of another country refer to themselves in a particular way. Not just Americans. In Portuguese, Americans (that is, those from and of the USA) are often called americanos. In French, américain is much more commonly used than États-Unien. The Spanish meaning of americano that does not include Americans in this way is very unusual among major Western languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_lang.... I don't mean to say that the equivalent of "American" in those languages is the only way to refer to those of the USA, or that equivalents to "USA" and such don't exist. In Portuguese, Italian, and German, however, saying Americano/Americano/Amerikanisch would generally be understood as referring to that of the USA without additional context, as opposed to a Brazilian or Argentinean, in a way that Americano wouldn't in Spanish.
- RuggedPineapple 5y ago
  Not only not really a name, but also used by other countries in the area, like the United Mexican States (full name to this day) of the Republic of the United States of Brazil (full name in the First Republic era, 1880s to 1930)
  - TMWNN 5y ago
    Those are only two of many examples. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_that_include_United_States_in_their_name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_that_include... While Mexico is the only such country today other than the USA, it alone is good enough reason for people to avoid using "United Statesians" or the local equivalent thereof to refer to those of the USA. (Even worse is "norteamericanos". Why aren't Canadians and Bahamians constantly marching in the streets to protest against Spanish speakers' use of such a term to refer solely to denizens of the USA?) The US, on the other hand, is the only country with the word "America" in its name. All the more reason for the use, in every major Western language other than Spanish, of America/American to refer to the US and its inhabitants.
- TMWNN 5y ago
  >To be fair, they have a point. Besides, It's not so much America thats the issue but "Americans". In Spanish, yes. In Portuguese, Americans (that is, those from and of the USA) are often called americanos. In French, américain is much more commonly used than États-Unien. The Spanish meaning of americano that does not include Americans in this way is very unusual among major Western languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_lang.... I don't mean to say that the equivalent of "American" in those languages is the only way to refer to those of the USA, or that equivalents to "USA" and such don't exist. In Portuguese, Italian, and German, however, saying Americano/Americano/Amerikanisch would generally be understood as referring to that of the USA without additional context, as opposed to a Brazilian or Argentinean, in a way that Americano wouldn't in Spanish.
- kcartlidge 5y ago
  > On the other hand, the UK has too many names. From the outside that can seem the case (understandably). In reality it only has one (UK), and the other terms have different meanings: - England, Wales, and Scotland are the 'mainland' countries individually - Great Britain (Britain) is the name for the larger island group that contains those countries - UK (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is what you get when you add in Northern Ireland - British Isles is the/a name for both major island groups combined (so that includes the Republic of Ireland) Not all of these terms are liked by all parties to them (especially British Isles), but they do each have a distinct geographical meaning which often confuses even the locals.
phedj 5y ago
I got yelled at about this on Fedi once, but the person insisted "USian" was correct Give me a break, I'll determine the name for my own culture and how I identify myself, thanks
Cd00d 5y ago
I thought the parent was referring to North, South, and Central Americas
- chitowneats 5y ago
  Reading this again you're probably correct. If that's the case, interesting. I was not aware.

vagrantJin 5y ago

To be fair, they have a point. Besides, It's not so much America thats the issue but "Americans". Then again I don't blame the US for calling itself a continent since United states really isn't a name. Like South Africa isn't a name. Very nebulous now that I think about it. On the other hand, the UK has too many names.

jaywalk 5y ago
No, they don't have a point. The names are what they are. "Americans" are citizens of the United States of America. Insisting that's not correct is just petty whining, not a valid point.
- alisonkisk 5y ago
  It's not valid to want to acknowledge the fact that not all of your continent is part of the USA? The United States of America is an embodiment of "manifest destiny", which is a declaration of intent to conquer the sovereign people of the continent.
  - bostonpete 5y ago
    It's just etymology at this point -- a lot of words have a history or literal meaning that wouldn't make them a good choice if we were starting from scratch today.
  - refurb 5y ago
    Exactly. I’ve been disturbed by the fact people still use the term “grapefruit”. It’s clearly not a grape!!!
  - chitowneats 5y ago
    If you come up with an actually pronounceable name (so not USAer or USAian), we'll consider it before dropping your suggestion in the paper shredder. It's quite presumptuous to demand the people of another country refer to themselves in a particular way. You are free to call us whatever you want amongst yourselves. We do it with Germany/Deutschland and they don't seem to mind that much. But we're not demanding that they refer to themselves by our name for them.
    - TMWNN 5y ago
      >It's quite presumptuous to demand the people of another country refer to themselves in a particular way. Not just Americans. In Portuguese, Americans (that is, those from and of the USA) are often called americanos. In French, américain is much more commonly used than États-Unien. The Spanish meaning of americano that does not include Americans in this way is very unusual among major Western languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_lang.... I don't mean to say that the equivalent of "American" in those languages is the only way to refer to those of the USA, or that equivalents to "USA" and such don't exist. In Portuguese, Italian, and German, however, saying Americano/Americano/Amerikanisch would generally be understood as referring to that of the USA without additional context, as opposed to a Brazilian or Argentinean, in a way that Americano wouldn't in Spanish.
RuggedPineapple 5y ago
Not only not really a name, but also used by other countries in the area, like the United Mexican States (full name to this day) of the Republic of the United States of Brazil (full name in the First Republic era, 1880s to 1930)
- TMWNN 5y ago
  Those are only two of many examples. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_that_include_United_States_in_their_name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_that_include... While Mexico is the only such country today other than the USA, it alone is good enough reason for people to avoid using "United Statesians" or the local equivalent thereof to refer to those of the USA. (Even worse is "norteamericanos". Why aren't Canadians and Bahamians constantly marching in the streets to protest against Spanish speakers' use of such a term to refer solely to denizens of the USA?) The US, on the other hand, is the only country with the word "America" in its name. All the more reason for the use, in every major Western language other than Spanish, of America/American to refer to the US and its inhabitants.
TMWNN 5y ago
>To be fair, they have a point. Besides, It's not so much America thats the issue but "Americans". In Spanish, yes. In Portuguese, Americans (that is, those from and of the USA) are often called americanos. In French, américain is much more commonly used than États-Unien. The Spanish meaning of americano that does not include Americans in this way is very unusual among major Western languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_lang.... I don't mean to say that the equivalent of "American" in those languages is the only way to refer to those of the USA, or that equivalents to "USA" and such don't exist. In Portuguese, Italian, and German, however, saying Americano/Americano/Amerikanisch would generally be understood as referring to that of the USA without additional context, as opposed to a Brazilian or Argentinean, in a way that Americano wouldn't in Spanish.
kcartlidge 5y ago
> On the other hand, the UK has too many names. From the outside that can seem the case (understandably). In reality it only has one (UK), and the other terms have different meanings: - England, Wales, and Scotland are the 'mainland' countries individually - Great Britain (Britain) is the name for the larger island group that contains those countries - UK (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is what you get when you add in Northern Ireland - British Isles is the/a name for both major island groups combined (so that includes the Republic of Ireland) Not all of these terms are liked by all parties to them (especially British Isles), but they do each have a distinct geographical meaning which often confuses even the locals.

phedj 5y ago

I got yelled at about this on Fedi once, but the person insisted "USian" was correct Give me a break, I'll determine the name for my own culture and how I identify myself, thanks

Cd00d 5y ago

I thought the parent was referring to North, South, and Central Americas

chitowneats 5y ago
Reading this again you're probably correct. If that's the case, interesting. I was not aware.