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If anyone refers to Americans, in English, without qualification, the understanding is that they are referring to Citizens of the U.S. Natural language is inhe

by learc83 12y ago

If anyone refers to Americans, in English, without qualification, the understanding is that they are referring to Citizens of the U.S. Natural language is inherently ambiguous and you will always find edge cases, but the definition of "American" is as close to completely unambiguous as you're going to get. I also take issue with your assertion that Latin Americans often refer to themselves as "American". I've never met a Latin American who said they were from "America" or were "American". Unless it was someone on an internet forum with a specific agenda. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, but I have quite a bit of contact with people from Mexico and Peru, and I've never heard it from them. I'm going to need sources before I believe that term is in common use. Regardless usage dictates the rules of language and in English the common term is "American" not "Usamerican", or "USian".

alphydan 12y ago
I think the confusion may come from the Spanish version of the word. "Americano" and "American" seem to carry different connotations. See: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uso_de_la_palabra_americano http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uso_de_la_palabra_americano or http://hispanismo.org/hispanoamerica/13746-usamerica-y-usamericano.html http://hispanismo.org/hispanoamerica/13746-usamerica-y-usame... for more details. Of course Natural language is ambiguous. It's also evolving and reflects attitudes, values and culture. It seems "American" == "US Citizen" has solidified, although the discussion was still going 60 years ago( http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/486658?uid=3739920&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104810979837 http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/486658?uid=3739920&uid... ). Our experiences talking to Latin Americans probably differ because of language. I have lived in Latin America, as a native Spanish speaker (which may have made it easier for Latin Americans to communicate their musings on identity, US-centrism and language). The USA uses the name of the continent to name its citizens (As if French said ... "We're Europeans, and the Germans? Bah, they are only German, they can't really call themselves Europeans ... everybody knows that real Europeans are French). In any case, it seems your use of the word is the accepted meaning in English, so I stand corrected. But for your information, this is not the case in Spanish.
- learc83 12y ago
  I agree with you that it may be different when speaking in Spanish. If I were speaking in another language in another country, I would use whatever the local word for American is. >The USA uses the name of the continent to name its citizens (As if French said ... "We're Europeans, and the Germans? Bah, they are only German, they can't really call themselves Europeans ... everybody knows that real Europeans are French). That analogy only holds if France had been called "The United States of Europe" for the last 200 years. Americans are only called Americans because the U.S.A. is the only country with America in the name. We didn't start calling ourselves Americans because we think that we are the only people on the continent. The name of our country happens to coincide with the name of the continent (this isn't even really the case in American English because we almost always qualify North or South America). Based on the name of our country, the natural demonym is American. Germany is called "The Federal Republic of Germany", France is "The French Republic", and Mexico is "The United Mexican States", but we call them just German, French, and Mexican. As an aside, I've never wanted to refer to myself as American in the sense that I'm from the new world or even as North American. When would this ever be appropriate? If someone asks were I'm from, "The New World" is so vague as to be mostly useless. The cultures, climate, and geography of the Americas are so varied--what possible meaning could, "I'm from the Americas" convey? It would imply some sense of unity that simply doesn't exist--there just isn't a New World identity, so why use a word in a way that implies there is one.

by learc83 12y ago

alphydan 12y ago

I think the confusion may come from the Spanish version of the word. "Americano" and "American" seem to carry different connotations. See: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uso_de_la_palabra_americano http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uso_de_la_palabra_americano or http://hispanismo.org/hispanoamerica/13746-usamerica-y-usamericano.html http://hispanismo.org/hispanoamerica/13746-usamerica-y-usame... for more details. Of course Natural language is ambiguous. It's also evolving and reflects attitudes, values and culture. It seems "American" == "US Citizen" has solidified, although the discussion was still going 60 years ago( http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/486658?uid=3739920&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104810979837 http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/486658?uid=3739920&uid... ). Our experiences talking to Latin Americans probably differ because of language. I have lived in Latin America, as a native Spanish speaker (which may have made it easier for Latin Americans to communicate their musings on identity, US-centrism and language). The USA uses the name of the continent to name its citizens (As if French said ... "We're Europeans, and the Germans? Bah, they are only German, they can't really call themselves Europeans ... everybody knows that real Europeans are French). In any case, it seems your use of the word is the accepted meaning in English, so I stand corrected. But for your information, this is not the case in Spanish.

learc83 12y ago
I agree with you that it may be different when speaking in Spanish. If I were speaking in another language in another country, I would use whatever the local word for American is. >The USA uses the name of the continent to name its citizens (As if French said ... "We're Europeans, and the Germans? Bah, they are only German, they can't really call themselves Europeans ... everybody knows that real Europeans are French). That analogy only holds if France had been called "The United States of Europe" for the last 200 years. Americans are only called Americans because the U.S.A. is the only country with America in the name. We didn't start calling ourselves Americans because we think that we are the only people on the continent. The name of our country happens to coincide with the name of the continent (this isn't even really the case in American English because we almost always qualify North or South America). Based on the name of our country, the natural demonym is American. Germany is called "The Federal Republic of Germany", France is "The French Republic", and Mexico is "The United Mexican States", but we call them just German, French, and Mexican. As an aside, I've never wanted to refer to myself as American in the sense that I'm from the new world or even as North American. When would this ever be appropriate? If someone asks were I'm from, "The New World" is so vague as to be mostly useless. The cultures, climate, and geography of the Americas are so varied--what possible meaning could, "I'm from the Americas" convey? It would imply some sense of unity that simply doesn't exist--there just isn't a New World identity, so why use a word in a way that implies there is one.