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"America" is the only name the country has. Other countries are also called "United States of $FOO", so the USA does not own title to "United States" in the sam

"America" is the only name the country has. Other countries are also called "United States of $FOO", so the USA does not own title to "United States" in the same way no one owns "Democratic Republic" as the name of their country. Regardless, in most languages and countries, it is just "America" so that ship has sailed. Either way, America or United States, everyone knows which country is being referenced.

jltsiren 2y ago
The name of the country seems to be the equivalent of either "United States" or "United States of America" in pretty much every language I can read. "America" is an informal name people usually understand, much in the same way they understand when you call the UK "England".
- yulker 2y ago
  England is not the UK.
  - arethuza 2y ago
    I think that's the point?
    - dleary 2y ago
      Calling the UK “England” is a different class of error, though. England is a part of the UK. Analogous would be calling the USA “Texas”. Calling the UK “Britain” is a much more direct comparison. United States of America -> America United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland -> Britain
      - rgblambda 2y ago
        It's not helped when England, Britain and United Kingdom have been viewed as interchangeable terms by UK politicians, famous writers and the general public. Boris Johnson: "If I am ever asked on the streets of London, or in any other venue, public or private, to produce my ID card as evidence that I am who I say I am, when I have done nothing wrong and am simply ambling along and breathing God’s fresh air like any other freeborn Englishman..." Rupert Brooke: "If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England."
        graemep 2y ago
        No, they are not used interchangeably, even in your examples. Johnson is giving London as an example of a place in the UK. It is a very apposite example because it is where any power the police are given would be used most heavily (as stop and search is). He is using the the phrase "freeborn Englishman" to evoke associations with the use of the phrase that is far older than the UK. The phrase in its literal sense also excludes women and serfs and I do not think Johnson is aiming for that. Brooke was writing a poem. He was evoking an effect and a particular sense of place and identify. "England" evokes different associations and and a different emotional response to "the united Kingdom". It is more local, and cosy, and has visual associations (the "English countryside" vs "the Scottish countryside" for example).
        RugnirViking 2y ago
        Both of these simply use the word england, they are not incorrect. Yes, some people are from a place called england, just like some people are from texas, and may write poetry or wax lyrical about how they like being from texas and what it means to them
        HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
        [Great] Britain is an island England is a country (part of Britain, together with Wales & Scotland) The United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Northern Ireland], is an alliance of countries. I'd hope that most citizens of the UK wouldn't regard these as interchangeable, and just because an Englishman waxes poetic about England doesn't mean he's unaware that it's part of the UK, etc.
        meiraleal 2y ago
        > The United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Northern Ireland], is an alliance of countries. No, it is not. The UK is ONE sovereign state/country, the rest are states/provinces/whatever, even tho some people living in this country might disagree and wish to separate themselves to become a full sovereign state.
        HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
      - standardUser 2y ago
        No individual US state has anywhere near the economic, historic, political or social hegemony over the rest of the nation state as is seen with England in the UK. In a lot of contexts outside of the UK, saying "England" is completely comprehensible as meaning the UK, regardless of correctness. No one is going to say "England invaded Iraq" and be confused.
      - chihuahua 2y ago
        Let's be logical about this: (United States of) America -> America (Federal Republic of) Germany -> Germany (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern) Ireland -> Ireland
      - throaway89 2y ago
        England annexed Wales and Ireland and would have annexed Scotland if it didn't use marriage instead.
        thoroughburro 2y ago
        > would have annexed Scotland if it didn't use marriage instead Would have tried, perhaps.
        throaway89 2y ago
        Im sure the Scots would have fought to the last Scotsman, but I think they would lose in the end.
      - Yeul 2y ago
        The Netherlands is often called "Holland" which technically doesn't even exist anymore. But of course Dutch people don't really care what foreigners call the country, they can use whatever name they come up with it doesn't matter. Although it's nice that Germany gets it right. These kind of arguments speak to the fragile ego of some nations.
meiraleal 2y ago
America being the name of the country isn't a problem, the problem is the people from this country calling Americans "latinos". Or Native-Americans, or Whatever-Americans because the only Americans are themselves.
- gotoeleven 2y ago
  The main reason people call themselves $HYPHENATION-americans is because they want some free stuff from the government for their particular $HYPHENATION
  - blovescoffee 2y ago
    What free stuff do Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, Asian Americans, get?
    - rgblambda 2y ago
      Spare a thought for the poor Scots-Irish who didn't think to add American to their hyphenated identity. I'm sure they're missing out on so much free stuff.
  - pessimizer 2y ago
    This is absolutely the reason. Except in the case of black people, for which it was something imposed by white people during the Clinton administration as a sort of twisted apology for destroying the Rainbow Coalition (who popularized "African-American.") Once people saw that slaves and their descendants might be compensated in some way, or treated in a special way by government in lieu of compensation, they all wanted to become black. So after 1965 (the end of legal segregation in the US) they started hyphenating their ethnicities, or in the case of "hispanic," making up new ethnicities from whole cloth. Compensation for slavery isn't "free stuff." You should give up your inheritance.
- allknowingfrog 2y ago
  There was a time when "Black" was considered offensive and "African-American" was the generally-approved nomenclature. You seem to be implying that the "-American" pattern emerged as some sort of white conspiracy to paint everyone else as less American, but my understanding is that the opposite is true. Language and social preferences evolve over time, and that one has simply come and gone as the "correct" option of the day. As a generally "white" person (of roughly western European descent), I will happily use any set of labels that keeps people from glaring at me. I feel pretty strongly that unpleasant language is a symptom of prejudice, not a cause. If changing words could change hearts and minds, I think we would have seen it happen by now.
dghughes 2y ago
Here in Canada at least my generation it was The States, The US, even The Boston States but never America. I also now hear America now from younger people (< age 30) and people now also use the "word" y'all too. Even US football which never got a second look even Canadian football was mocked (two of nine total teams had the same name) now people have Superbowl parties. Culture creep is causing USization more rapidly in Canada.

jltsiren 2y ago

The name of the country seems to be the equivalent of either "United States" or "United States of America" in pretty much every language I can read. "America" is an informal name people usually understand, much in the same way they understand when you call the UK "England".

yulker 2y ago
England is not the UK.
- arethuza 2y ago
  I think that's the point?
  - dleary 2y ago
    Calling the UK “England” is a different class of error, though. England is a part of the UK. Analogous would be calling the USA “Texas”. Calling the UK “Britain” is a much more direct comparison. United States of America -> America United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland -> Britain
    - rgblambda 2y ago
      It's not helped when England, Britain and United Kingdom have been viewed as interchangeable terms by UK politicians, famous writers and the general public. Boris Johnson: "If I am ever asked on the streets of London, or in any other venue, public or private, to produce my ID card as evidence that I am who I say I am, when I have done nothing wrong and am simply ambling along and breathing God’s fresh air like any other freeborn Englishman..." Rupert Brooke: "If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England."
      - graemep 2y ago
        No, they are not used interchangeably, even in your examples. Johnson is giving London as an example of a place in the UK. It is a very apposite example because it is where any power the police are given would be used most heavily (as stop and search is). He is using the the phrase "freeborn Englishman" to evoke associations with the use of the phrase that is far older than the UK. The phrase in its literal sense also excludes women and serfs and I do not think Johnson is aiming for that. Brooke was writing a poem. He was evoking an effect and a particular sense of place and identify. "England" evokes different associations and and a different emotional response to "the united Kingdom". It is more local, and cosy, and has visual associations (the "English countryside" vs "the Scottish countryside" for example).
      - RugnirViking 2y ago
        Both of these simply use the word england, they are not incorrect. Yes, some people are from a place called england, just like some people are from texas, and may write poetry or wax lyrical about how they like being from texas and what it means to them
      - HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
        [Great] Britain is an island England is a country (part of Britain, together with Wales & Scotland) The United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Northern Ireland], is an alliance of countries. I'd hope that most citizens of the UK wouldn't regard these as interchangeable, and just because an Englishman waxes poetic about England doesn't mean he's unaware that it's part of the UK, etc.
        meiraleal 2y ago
        > The United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Northern Ireland], is an alliance of countries. No, it is not. The UK is ONE sovereign state/country, the rest are states/provinces/whatever, even tho some people living in this country might disagree and wish to separate themselves to become a full sovereign state.
        HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
    - standardUser 2y ago
      No individual US state has anywhere near the economic, historic, political or social hegemony over the rest of the nation state as is seen with England in the UK. In a lot of contexts outside of the UK, saying "England" is completely comprehensible as meaning the UK, regardless of correctness. No one is going to say "England invaded Iraq" and be confused.
    - chihuahua 2y ago
      Let's be logical about this: (United States of) America -> America (Federal Republic of) Germany -> Germany (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern) Ireland -> Ireland
    - throaway89 2y ago
      England annexed Wales and Ireland and would have annexed Scotland if it didn't use marriage instead.
      - thoroughburro 2y ago
        > would have annexed Scotland if it didn't use marriage instead Would have tried, perhaps.
        throaway89 2y ago
        Im sure the Scots would have fought to the last Scotsman, but I think they would lose in the end.
    - Yeul 2y ago
      The Netherlands is often called "Holland" which technically doesn't even exist anymore. But of course Dutch people don't really care what foreigners call the country, they can use whatever name they come up with it doesn't matter. Although it's nice that Germany gets it right. These kind of arguments speak to the fragile ego of some nations.

meiraleal 2y ago

America being the name of the country isn't a problem, the problem is the people from this country calling Americans "latinos". Or Native-Americans, or Whatever-Americans because the only Americans are themselves.

gotoeleven 2y ago
The main reason people call themselves $HYPHENATION-americans is because they want some free stuff from the government for their particular $HYPHENATION
- blovescoffee 2y ago
  What free stuff do Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, Asian Americans, get?
  - rgblambda 2y ago
    Spare a thought for the poor Scots-Irish who didn't think to add American to their hyphenated identity. I'm sure they're missing out on so much free stuff.
- pessimizer 2y ago
  This is absolutely the reason. Except in the case of black people, for which it was something imposed by white people during the Clinton administration as a sort of twisted apology for destroying the Rainbow Coalition (who popularized "African-American.") Once people saw that slaves and their descendants might be compensated in some way, or treated in a special way by government in lieu of compensation, they all wanted to become black. So after 1965 (the end of legal segregation in the US) they started hyphenating their ethnicities, or in the case of "hispanic," making up new ethnicities from whole cloth. Compensation for slavery isn't "free stuff." You should give up your inheritance.
allknowingfrog 2y ago
There was a time when "Black" was considered offensive and "African-American" was the generally-approved nomenclature. You seem to be implying that the "-American" pattern emerged as some sort of white conspiracy to paint everyone else as less American, but my understanding is that the opposite is true. Language and social preferences evolve over time, and that one has simply come and gone as the "correct" option of the day. As a generally "white" person (of roughly western European descent), I will happily use any set of labels that keeps people from glaring at me. I feel pretty strongly that unpleasant language is a symptom of prejudice, not a cause. If changing words could change hearts and minds, I think we would have seen it happen by now.

dghughes 2y ago

Here in Canada at least my generation it was The States, The US, even The Boston States but never America. I also now hear America now from younger people (< age 30) and people now also use the "word" y'all too. Even US football which never got a second look even Canadian football was mocked (two of nine total teams had the same name) now people have Superbowl parties. Culture creep is causing USization more rapidly in Canada.