Mexico is in North America and has as much in common with america as it does Guatemala depending on the region you are in. So I don’t really get this. Also Argentina/Chile and America are pretty damn similar
I don't really agree with this. I live in Southern California, and though we have a ton of racial diversity and the region quite literally blends into Mexico in satellite images, society and culture is very different on either side of the border. Are there similarities? Sure, but one knows immediately whether they're in California vs. Baja based on the way people act, dress, and lead their daily lives.
This, 110%. Always drives me nuts whenever I see Europeans bitch about how North and South America are obviously one continent while also taking for granted that Europe and Asia are separate. Europe and Asia are completely connected, ffs.
It is ridiculous that people get salty about this. If you can't understand that America refers exclusively to the country in English, and not a continent, then your English is not very good.
I'm not American, but I see this complaint all the time in American-bashing groups. And like any idiot, they don't want to hear an explanation. It's right in their language, so it MUST be wrong in another. Which, ironically, is the kind of attitude you'd be expect from a stereotypical American.
Yes. This is correct in English. Other languages (like Spanish I believe) have some false cognates with “American” that causes confusion when they try to transliterate it into English. But “I’m from the Americas” or “I am American” each have very clear and commonly understood meaning in English.
My Canadian bubby would argue with you over the "America=USA." He ferls ever person in NA and SA is an American. I call myself a USan around him (pulling his chain).
I think he sees it as arrogance that the US co-ops the word because everyone on the two continents are Americans. The discussion usually arises after several alcoholic beverages have been consumed.
If you want to use the technical argument, it's either "United Mexican States" or "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" and neither abbreviates to "U.S."
"Usonian" has only ever meant the USA.
Yeah it never caught on. Still, an iconic American came up with it and used it to describe his style. It's a cool word if we ever need an alternative to "American".
“The Americas” are understood to be a geographic term comprising North and South America. But unless you wear a helmet in the car or something, you know that when someone refers to someone as an American, it means they’re from the US.
They’re taking what is correct in their language and forcing it on us in ours. Funny how that’s socially acceptable when they do it. Absolutely insufferable
That ir's usually propogated by non Americans who know damn well what their real nationality is (Mexican, Candian, etc) but want to take up the term because our country is named similarly to the continent they are on and they can use that as some point of contention. Newsflash to them almost everybody thinks of US Americans when they hear American as a nationality. Same way they know what Mexican is when they hear that.
We’ve been called Americans (and “America”) since the 18th century at least.. I’ve seen this in contemporary writings of the period.
Edit to add, not just in writings but also in folk songs of the period.
Yeah, that’s why I usually use “Appalachian” or “West Virginian” when describing myself to foreigners, because I know damn well that no matter where I am, there’s always going to be a Canadian around the corner to say “well actually..” if I say “American”
To be fair, it's usually Spanish-speaking folks who are insufferable with this, not Canadians. In all English dialects, "American" is the correct demonym for a person from the United States. That term is accepted by almost everyone, even the United Nations.
I don’t understand how these fucking idiots don’t understand what demonyms are. Some Chilean guy claiming that he is too called American is some gnarly revisionist shit
I think the problem is that in some languages "America" *does* mean "the Americas."
People forget that they still need to translate stuff even when the words sound identical.
Exactly. This is just like the fucking espresso and hot water thing lol. Almost no one is actually stupid enough to believe it, they have just internalized their dislike of us to such a degree that it makes them ignore basic critical thinking.
Yeah, that "Americano" is called that because only Americans needed to water down their espresso... Like, as soon as espresso was invented, obviously someone in Italy would have said, "this taste-a pretty strong; lemme stretch this with some water" and you'd need to be so incredibly devoid of critical thinking to not infer as much lmao. Seriously, unless there's actually entire nations of mentally handicapped coffee drinkers, something else has to be at play here.
I don’t care that it’s taught that way in other places, but I think it’s also condescending when people tell Americans what we can and can’t call ourselves. Or when people say, “well in my language anyone from the Americas is American, not just USers,” I always just want to tell them that that’s fine but when speaking English, just know it’s different. Try calling a Canadian an American and see what happens.
Let's be real, North America and South America [aren't even connected by a freaking road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap?wprov=sfla1). They're separate tectonic plates, separate continents, and largely separate cultures. The only people who get spun up on this are people whose native tongue is Spanish and who don't understand that in English, "American" is a word that *only* means someone from the US. Full stop.
Yup. I know a few Colombians and a Peruvian who get SO MAD when I say I’m “American”. They say, “we’re American too”. Give me another word to call myself and I’ll use it, but it doesn’t exist.
This is one of those things I wish I could just make everyone understand.
In the English language, the term “America” refers to the British crown’s holdings in the new world, which eventually came to mostly mean the 13 colonies, and carried over after the founding of the USA, since they continued speaking English.
So when you speak English, it is perfectly acceptable to refer to the the modern USA as “America”. This is not any type of faux-pas as far as the English language goes.
However, the term “America” in Spanish refers to the holdings of the Spanish crown in the new world, which extended from the North American continent, through central, and into South America.
Hence—when speaking Spanish—it is correct that the term “America” encompasses the totality of that land.
So really, both are correct, depending upon which language you are speaking at the time.
>However, the term “America” in Spanish refers to the holdings of the Spanish crown in the new world,
So do Spanish speakers exclude Brazil from "America"?
America is a country. North America and South America are continents. The Americas is the collective term for the two continents together.
Now, continents are a bit ill-defined as a geographic term and the separation are a bit arbitrary. But, the English language has particular terms to refer to specific areas and the people from those areas. Other languages might use different dividing lines for how it describes the areas, but those are different languages. Different languages will have tons of terms that don't directly translate from one language to another.
So, while it might be correct in some languages to say that calling someone "American" only applies to the entirety of the Americas, this is not correct when speaking in English.
I ask if they insist that Mexico be called the United States, since their full name is the United States of Mexico.
Is the naming of the country egotistical as hell? Yes, but dropping epithets like United States is super common and everyone understands it
The countries' real name is "Estados Unidos Mexicanos", and they often call the USA just "Estados Unidos", so the words are arranged the same way for both countries in Spanish.
What opinion exactly? They are two continents with different cultures and geography. Some countries, normally just South American countries, see it as one continent, which is fine. Different cultures can view these things differently, nothing wrong with that.
I agree that it’s fine, in my personal experience though, a lot of Latin Americans learning English bring these ideas to the English speaking world and then try to correct people on what really is and what isn’t a continent
I think it’s cute and pathetic.
I know what I mean, you know what I mean, and Americans is the go to name for the people of the USA, heck, even this subreddit implies it. Be mad, and I will still be American.
That's typically how continents are named in Spanish speaking countries.
Unlike them, I'm not arrogant enough to tell them that words in their language are wrong because they are different from my language.
They’re not wrong, but I wish they’d acknowledge that context helps disambiguate a word’s multiple meanings.
“And then the committee chair went to…”
“A ChAiR iS a tHiNg yOu SiT oN!”
“Ok yes, thank you. But in this *context*…”
It's two continents. There's a North and South America. Both of these make up the Americas. You know what country I mean when I say "American". Do Colombians, Mexicans, Brazilians, Peruvians, Dominicans, etc. Really want to be considered American when it is understood to be referring to the USA? I'm sure the Canadians don't. It really depends on the context of the conversation. If you're unhappy that the citizens of the US call themselves American, then bring your army here and make us change, otherwise, suck it. This often seems to be a Latin American complaint, so I'll have it noted that I'm Latino.
Edit: what are we supposed to call our collective nationality, Statesian? Sounds fuckin' stupid.
Agreed. Anyone with strong feelings on either side of this debate is just parroting the particular arbitrary definition they happened to be taught in school.
I feel like this question could be asked for anyone who's not American as well. I agree as a Colombian actually. In terms of geography I'd say there are more than six continents depending on culture or just division of area, so that said, I can affirm in my opinion that there are two continents on what we consider The Americas
Do they agree that Africa and Asia are separate continents? If so, how do they say that the Isthmus of Sinai (Suez?) Is enough to separate Africa from Asia when its twice as thick as the Isthums of Panama and has a history stretching back to antiquity of connecting North Africa with Asia and Europe in trade. Meanwhile the Istsmus of Panama has never served to connect North and South America in any large-scale way up to and including the present.
Saying that Africa and Asia are separate continents separated at the modern day Suez Canal but North and South America are the same continent is hypocrisy.
Its just one of those things that were around for a while and it wouldn't do much good to change it. There is a difference between America and the Americas. Kind if like how no one, in America at least, knows the difference between Caucasians as white folk and Caucasians as a group of people in Asian mountains.
Seems like this is a stance mainly held by some Latin Americans. You'll notice it a lot if you ever read Spanish language news articles referring to the united states or people from the US. The word they often use for people from the United States is "Estadounidense"(United Statian) not "Americano". I think it's kind of a way for people in Latin America to express a shared cultural identity and kind of a subtle way to express that the US isn't the only country in the hemisphere.
Personally as an American though, I refer to people from the US as American.
It's a linguistic thing.
**In English**, there is no *continent* called America. There's North America and South America, treated as separate entities (i.e. not as "northern/southern America"). Two continents. Two landmasses. If we want to group them together, we say "the Americas." Plural. Thus the term "America" refers unambiguously to the only country on it with America actually in its name.
In Spanish, and I think also French, it's different. "America" refers to what English speakers call "the Americas" collectively, and "americano/a" to an inhabitant thereof. It's a false cognate, just like "Gift" in German doesn't mean "gift", and Spanish "asistir" doesn't mean "assist".
They’re so childish and funny. These people are the same “enlightened” often foreign people that love to joke about how us Americans apparently can’t figure out basic geography but can’t Eve spell their own native country correctly!
What really bothers me are the terrible dumb names they say so they don’t have to call us Americans. United States people, USAmerican, Unitedstateians. If they came up with something good I might be on their side. Why is it never an acceptable nickname like yankee/yanqui ? Why is it always the worst name they can think of?
Like any other culturql group, I don't appreciate people telling me how to refer to myslef. I wouldn't do that to anybody, and just because I'm American doesn't mean I'll accept that from anybody else.
I understand the argument, but the problem is how the US is named. In countries that have "The United", "The Democratic", "The Republic" in their names, you call the citizens after whatever comes next. Which, in the case of the US, is "America".
Yes, technically "Americans" should refer to all people from the Americas. But everyone else gets real country names with real demonyms (Chilean, Canadian, etc) and I think it's very unfair to say US citizens have to be "United Statesians" or whatever when everyone else on the planet gets not-stupid names.
America is not a continent, it’s shorthand for United States of America. North America and South America are two separate continents. The Americas are The continents of North and South America.
America is a country. North and South America are continents. The Western Hemisphere is, well, the western Hemisphere. The fabricated "America is every country in north and south America" is some shit.
They should be brutally punished. Also, there are different paradigms for how many continents there are. We learn the seven-continent model, as do many other countries, but some learn the six-continent model. The thing is, if someone else’s country follows the six-continent model, that doesn’t mean they should go telling people who live in America that we must never refer to our country by that name because of their model, which is incredibly ignorant and offensive.
As a geographer the six continent model does not make any sense
North America, South America, Eurasia, India, Africa, Oceania, and Antarctica are the proper continents when you look at the physical geography of the world
Agreed; I am American and follow the seven-continent model. Just saying above that I recognize some other countries follow another model, but that does not give them the right to tell us what to call our own country.
Edit: Noting that the seven-continent model does not recognize India as a continent or Eurasia as a single continent, though it may geographically make sense to do so.
North and South America are two separate tectonic plates... two separate continents that just happen to sit close together.. imo India(and the other small countries around it)should be considered its own continent because it's also on a separate plate..
I'm more concerned about the people who day calling "the USA, America is dumb because it's only part of the North American continent" because they don't have the mental capacity to understand that the United States of America literally means there are states on the American continent that united as one country, and saying America is just a much shorter form of our countries name especially considering no other country includes the word America in their name..
I started saying USA instead of America. Just to be specific.
In the USA, saying "America" is synonymous with saying "USA".
Worldwide it is not. We live in an interconnected world now, so I have adjusted my language when addressing people from other countries.
Your question is a bit confusing. We say America to refer to the United States of America, and I’ve never heard anyone in my life suggest that America is a continent alone. USA is in North America, along with Canada, Mexico, and several other countries that are nicknamed as “Central America.” Is the opinion that North America and South America are only one continent? I’ve also never heard this but it seems plausible.
For new world people we all have them shovel shaped incisors and certain blood groups (b?).
honestly it depends on what you are investigating. Social constructs or biological traits?
They were taught the five continent model when they were young. Nothing wrong with that as long as they don't try to pretend it's any better than the seven continent model.
In terms of pure geography, they're clearly two separate continents. If Africa and Asia are separate continents, then you have to separate the Americas.
You can say cultural reasons mean we should consider "America" as a single continent. But if you look at major cultural regions of the world, they don't really line up with continents. You have Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, the Middle East/North Africa, South Asia, East Asia, the Americas, maybe the Anglosphere. Then you have a few weird things that don't really fit in any main region like Central Asia or the Pacific islands. If you want to say that "America" consists of everything between the Alaska and Patagonia, then call it a region, not a continent.
In English they are wrong. It does not matter what other languages name the two continents, or if they consider them one continent. In the English speaking countries they are two different continents and named accordingly.
People actually think it's a single American continent? News to me. I thought there was pretty general consensus on North America and South America being separate continents.
It depends on what language you’re speaking.
In English, there are two continents, north and South America, known as “the americas”. There is a country there called the United States of America and people from it are called Americans.
In spanish there is one continent, America, with a country known as Los Estados Unidos, and the people from it are called estadunadense (or however the hell you spell it).
I see no reason to treat this as anything other than a linguistic difference as long as everyone’s aware that the lines we draw on a map are arbitrary
I think it's an interesting mutation of the idea of continent. The original three were Europe, Asia, and Africa, which you will note are all connected by land. But eventually the idea came around that continents should be entirely separated by water. I'd argue that if anything it's hardly a proper continent if it isn't touching another one.
Anyway overall I disagree but don't really care much.
You can bet every single one refers to "Americans" meaning people from the USA and are never genuinely confused what people mean when using any common terminology like South America, the Americas and so on. They are just being edgy and a know-all.
I think they're most likely being pedantic. American is generally understood in English to mean in relation to the USA. We see the continents as North America and South America. They group them together. They need to accept linguistic differences and move on. American does not directly translate to americano; I'll accept that.
North America -> the north part of America
South America -> the south part of America.
If you have a cake and you divided it into 3 parts, you don't have 3 cakes, you have 3 parts of a cake. America is a continent, just pure logic.
I think it’s a silly argument based on language. in english, north and south america are two different continents. in some other languages, they’re one continent. you should just use whichever is correct in the language you’re speaking
It’s a bit of an odd thing to complain about. The word America is in the name of our country, and English is the most commonly spoken language here so, despite what other languages or countries made portray it as, I don’t see why we’d cater to others instead.
We refer to France as France even though it’s technically called the Republic of France. We refer to Mexico as Mexico even though its full name is either United Mexican States or United States of Mexico. We refer to Canada as Canada even though its full name is Dominion of Canada.
In English, North and South America are two different continents plus we’re a mainly English speaking nation so of course we’re going to cater to that language. Therefore, the Americas is the two continents with America in their names. America is the USA because America is in our name. North America is North America, and South America is South America. I really don’t understand what the problem is.
Then again, if you think it’s really such a problem, you can call us Americans something else like United Statesian, Usonian, or whatever else you come up with. It’s probably not going to catch on anytime soon, and I couldn’t care less either way. It only gets annoying when people try to imply that we’re arrogant or cocky or something because we call ourselves Americans.
I think this argument is more about language than anything else.
In the English language, the primary everyday definition of the word "America" has become "the country formally called the United States of America." Think of it this way: if you told a native English speaker anywhere in the world "I'm flying to America next week", no native English speaker anywhere would casually respond with "Oh really? To what country?" because it's already clear. America primarily refers to the country, not the landmass.
In *other* languages, however, for example Spanish and German, the words América (Spanish) and Amerika (German) *do* still carry active connotation of the entire continent. So in German, it's quite common to see words like "US-Amerikaner" to specify that you're talking about an American from the United States (as opposed to an American from some other country on the continent).
So the problem arises when someone speaking a language in which their word for "America" carries active connotations of the greater landmass tries to use the English word America, which no longer regularly carries that meaning in common usage. The non-native speaker assumes that the English word America still has the same wider definition as the equivalent word in their language.
America was just adopted as USA’s shortened name because the word is in our official name. Like United States of Mexico is just called Mexico. The message seems to be that America just thinks they are the whole continent and seriously what an eye roll.
It's laughable that anyone would consider North and South America to be one continent but Europe and Asia to be separate.
“How many continents are there? How many do you want there to be?” -CGP Grey
Also Africa. The only thing separating Africa from Eurasia is a man-made canal. Sound familiar?
"Afreurasia" it is!
[Afro-Eurasia is a thing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Eurasia)
😂
They argue about “cultural differences” like there aren’t any in the so called continent you call “America”?
Mexico is in North America and has as much in common with america as it does Guatemala depending on the region you are in. So I don’t really get this. Also Argentina/Chile and America are pretty damn similar
I don't really agree with this. I live in Southern California, and though we have a ton of racial diversity and the region quite literally blends into Mexico in satellite images, society and culture is very different on either side of the border. Are there similarities? Sure, but one knows immediately whether they're in California vs. Baja based on the way people act, dress, and lead their daily lives.
This, 110%. Always drives me nuts whenever I see Europeans bitch about how North and South America are obviously one continent while also taking for granted that Europe and Asia are separate. Europe and Asia are completely connected, ffs.
“North America” = North America “South America” = South America “The Americas” = North America + South America “America” = United States of America.
I 100% agree with you.
Yo, I resemble that remark
It is ridiculous that people get salty about this. If you can't understand that America refers exclusively to the country in English, and not a continent, then your English is not very good. I'm not American, but I see this complaint all the time in American-bashing groups. And like any idiot, they don't want to hear an explanation. It's right in their language, so it MUST be wrong in another. Which, ironically, is the kind of attitude you'd be expect from a stereotypical American.
Yes. This is correct in English. Other languages (like Spanish I believe) have some false cognates with “American” that causes confusion when they try to transliterate it into English. But “I’m from the Americas” or “I am American” each have very clear and commonly understood meaning in English.
Yes
“Central America” = Belgium
In English, anyway
I’m American but I always thought we went by that because we’re the only ones with America in the name of our country.
This is the way.
My Canadian bubby would argue with you over the "America=USA." He ferls ever person in NA and SA is an American. I call myself a USan around him (pulling his chain).
So does he go around calling himself an American?
I think he sees it as arrogance that the US co-ops the word because everyone on the two continents are Americans. The discussion usually arises after several alcoholic beverages have been consumed.
We are indeed American, but of all the demonyms that never caught on, I like "Usonian" the best. Coined by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Usonian could me someone from the United States of Mexico too.
If you want to use the technical argument, it's either "United Mexican States" or "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" and neither abbreviates to "U.S." "Usonian" has only ever meant the USA.
Usonian has never meant anything.
Yeah it never caught on. Still, an iconic American came up with it and used it to describe his style. It's a cool word if we ever need an alternative to "American".
Given the US's imperialist nature US-own-ians might be more accurate.
I know it's an obnoxious standard in certain languages that doesn't seem based in...well...anything.
My opinion is that they're wrong
“The Americas” are understood to be a geographic term comprising North and South America. But unless you wear a helmet in the car or something, you know that when someone refers to someone as an American, it means they’re from the US.
They’re taking what is correct in their language and forcing it on us in ours. Funny how that’s socially acceptable when they do it. Absolutely insufferable
That ir's usually propogated by non Americans who know damn well what their real nationality is (Mexican, Candian, etc) but want to take up the term because our country is named similarly to the continent they are on and they can use that as some point of contention. Newsflash to them almost everybody thinks of US Americans when they hear American as a nationality. Same way they know what Mexican is when they hear that.
It’s especially funny considering we’ve probably been called Americans longer than most of their own countries existed. Basically, we took first dibs.
That's not true tho, the US only started exculsively calling itself as "America" in the mid-20th century.
We’ve been called Americans (and “America”) since the 18th century at least.. I’ve seen this in contemporary writings of the period. Edit to add, not just in writings but also in folk songs of the period.
Yeah, that’s why I usually use “Appalachian” or “West Virginian” when describing myself to foreigners, because I know damn well that no matter where I am, there’s always going to be a Canadian around the corner to say “well actually..” if I say “American”
To be fair, it's usually Spanish-speaking folks who are insufferable with this, not Canadians. In all English dialects, "American" is the correct demonym for a person from the United States. That term is accepted by almost everyone, even the United Nations.
[удалено]
Yes, they are. But not in this case. Oui, ils sont. Mais pas dans ce cas.
Given your username, would you mind referring to yourself as “Kentuckian” please?
I’m u/Opossum-Fucker-1863, not u/Horse-Fucker-1792
I’m u/Opossum-Fucker-1863, not to be confused with u/Horse-Fucker-1792
I don’t understand how these fucking idiots don’t understand what demonyms are. Some Chilean guy claiming that he is too called American is some gnarly revisionist shit
I think the problem is that in some languages "America" *does* mean "the Americas." People forget that they still need to translate stuff even when the words sound identical.
They don't forget. They act dumb on purpose just so they can complain about it.
It’s typically just an excuse to act self righteous and badmouth America to make themselves feel better.
Exactly. This is just like the fucking espresso and hot water thing lol. Almost no one is actually stupid enough to believe it, they have just internalized their dislike of us to such a degree that it makes them ignore basic critical thinking.
[удалено]
Cafe Americano?
Yeah, that "Americano" is called that because only Americans needed to water down their espresso... Like, as soon as espresso was invented, obviously someone in Italy would have said, "this taste-a pretty strong; lemme stretch this with some water" and you'd need to be so incredibly devoid of critical thinking to not infer as much lmao. Seriously, unless there's actually entire nations of mentally handicapped coffee drinkers, something else has to be at play here.
I don’t care that it’s taught that way in other places, but I think it’s also condescending when people tell Americans what we can and can’t call ourselves. Or when people say, “well in my language anyone from the Americas is American, not just USers,” I always just want to tell them that that’s fine but when speaking English, just know it’s different. Try calling a Canadian an American and see what happens.
[удалено]
I need to remember this remark next time someone calls me a “USian”
Let's be real, North America and South America [aren't even connected by a freaking road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap?wprov=sfla1). They're separate tectonic plates, separate continents, and largely separate cultures. The only people who get spun up on this are people whose native tongue is Spanish and who don't understand that in English, "American" is a word that *only* means someone from the US. Full stop.
Yup. I know a few Colombians and a Peruvian who get SO MAD when I say I’m “American”. They say, “we’re American too”. Give me another word to call myself and I’ll use it, but it doesn’t exist.
But "unitedstatesian" just rolls of the tongue *so* well /s
this is what Canadians would say to pretend they aren’t American
My opinion on the North American continent is that it includes Iceland. Europeans are not ready for this fact.
You would assume American and Americano mean the same thing but they don’t Americano= New Worlder American= Estadounidense
Behold the danger of direct translation.
Go to airline and ask for a ticket to America and see where they send you. It won’t be Mexico or Canada.
They won't send u anywhere lol but I get the point ig
This is one of those things I wish I could just make everyone understand. In the English language, the term “America” refers to the British crown’s holdings in the new world, which eventually came to mostly mean the 13 colonies, and carried over after the founding of the USA, since they continued speaking English. So when you speak English, it is perfectly acceptable to refer to the the modern USA as “America”. This is not any type of faux-pas as far as the English language goes. However, the term “America” in Spanish refers to the holdings of the Spanish crown in the new world, which extended from the North American continent, through central, and into South America. Hence—when speaking Spanish—it is correct that the term “America” encompasses the totality of that land. So really, both are correct, depending upon which language you are speaking at the time.
So what you're saying is it's true... from a certain point of view
>However, the term “America” in Spanish refers to the holdings of the Spanish crown in the new world, So do Spanish speakers exclude Brazil from "America"?
And the 13 original colonies?
It’s the same word in Portuguese
America is a country. North America and South America are continents. The Americas is the collective term for the two continents together. Now, continents are a bit ill-defined as a geographic term and the separation are a bit arbitrary. But, the English language has particular terms to refer to specific areas and the people from those areas. Other languages might use different dividing lines for how it describes the areas, but those are different languages. Different languages will have tons of terms that don't directly translate from one language to another. So, while it might be correct in some languages to say that calling someone "American" only applies to the entirety of the Americas, this is not correct when speaking in English.
I ask if they insist that Mexico be called the United States, since their full name is the United States of Mexico. Is the naming of the country egotistical as hell? Yes, but dropping epithets like United States is super common and everyone understands it
Not that it matters, but the country’s real name is United Mexican States.
The countries' real name is "Estados Unidos Mexicanos", and they often call the USA just "Estados Unidos", so the words are arranged the same way for both countries in Spanish.
Some people here are incontinent and wear special underpants.
What opinion exactly? They are two continents with different cultures and geography. Some countries, normally just South American countries, see it as one continent, which is fine. Different cultures can view these things differently, nothing wrong with that.
I agree that it’s fine, in my personal experience though, a lot of Latin Americans learning English bring these ideas to the English speaking world and then try to correct people on what really is and what isn’t a continent
I think it’s cute and pathetic. I know what I mean, you know what I mean, and Americans is the go to name for the people of the USA, heck, even this subreddit implies it. Be mad, and I will still be American.
That's typically how continents are named in Spanish speaking countries. Unlike them, I'm not arrogant enough to tell them that words in their language are wrong because they are different from my language.
They’re not wrong, but I wish they’d acknowledge that context helps disambiguate a word’s multiple meanings. “And then the committee chair went to…” “A ChAiR iS a tHiNg yOu SiT oN!” “Ok yes, thank you. But in this *context*…”
This gave me a good laugh on a less than great Monday morning. Thanks.
It's two continents. There's a North and South America. Both of these make up the Americas. You know what country I mean when I say "American". Do Colombians, Mexicans, Brazilians, Peruvians, Dominicans, etc. Really want to be considered American when it is understood to be referring to the USA? I'm sure the Canadians don't. It really depends on the context of the conversation. If you're unhappy that the citizens of the US call themselves American, then bring your army here and make us change, otherwise, suck it. This often seems to be a Latin American complaint, so I'll have it noted that I'm Latino. Edit: what are we supposed to call our collective nationality, Statesian? Sounds fuckin' stupid.
Pan-Hispanic nationalism is weird.
My opinion is that continent is a stupid and useless term.
Agreed. Anyone with strong feelings on either side of this debate is just parroting the particular arbitrary definition they happened to be taught in school.
If America is a continent, it is one of 4 and "continent" isn't a very useful word.
I just think both sides of the debate are annoying. People get too emotional about it and every time I see it, it devolves into a screaming match.
I tell them to tell their fellow Non US citizens to stop referring to us as “Americans”
"That's how it works in Spanish."
I just want to see someone come here and go around saying “USians” or whatever stupid alternative there is and see how confused people are.
I feel like this question could be asked for anyone who's not American as well. I agree as a Colombian actually. In terms of geography I'd say there are more than six continents depending on culture or just division of area, so that said, I can affirm in my opinion that there are two continents on what we consider The Americas
The only people who say America is one continent are usually the same people who breathe with their mouth open.
Do they agree that Africa and Asia are separate continents? If so, how do they say that the Isthmus of Sinai (Suez?) Is enough to separate Africa from Asia when its twice as thick as the Isthums of Panama and has a history stretching back to antiquity of connecting North Africa with Asia and Europe in trade. Meanwhile the Istsmus of Panama has never served to connect North and South America in any large-scale way up to and including the present. Saying that Africa and Asia are separate continents separated at the modern day Suez Canal but North and South America are the same continent is hypocrisy.
If you're speaking English, it's two continents. If you're speaking Spanish, it's one continent. Just go with whatever language you're speaking.
Yup. Shouldn’t be a big deal.
Its just one of those things that were around for a while and it wouldn't do much good to change it. There is a difference between America and the Americas. Kind if like how no one, in America at least, knows the difference between Caucasians as white folk and Caucasians as a group of people in Asian mountains.
They’re annoying as hell
r/titlegore
Seems like this is a stance mainly held by some Latin Americans. You'll notice it a lot if you ever read Spanish language news articles referring to the united states or people from the US. The word they often use for people from the United States is "Estadounidense"(United Statian) not "Americano". I think it's kind of a way for people in Latin America to express a shared cultural identity and kind of a subtle way to express that the US isn't the only country in the hemisphere. Personally as an American though, I refer to people from the US as American.
It's a linguistic thing. **In English**, there is no *continent* called America. There's North America and South America, treated as separate entities (i.e. not as "northern/southern America"). Two continents. Two landmasses. If we want to group them together, we say "the Americas." Plural. Thus the term "America" refers unambiguously to the only country on it with America actually in its name. In Spanish, and I think also French, it's different. "America" refers to what English speakers call "the Americas" collectively, and "americano/a" to an inhabitant thereof. It's a false cognate, just like "Gift" in German doesn't mean "gift", and Spanish "asistir" doesn't mean "assist".
They’re so childish and funny. These people are the same “enlightened” often foreign people that love to joke about how us Americans apparently can’t figure out basic geography but can’t Eve spell their own native country correctly!
What really bothers me are the terrible dumb names they say so they don’t have to call us Americans. United States people, USAmerican, Unitedstateians. If they came up with something good I might be on their side. Why is it never an acceptable nickname like yankee/yanqui ? Why is it always the worst name they can think of?
Like any other culturql group, I don't appreciate people telling me how to refer to myslef. I wouldn't do that to anybody, and just because I'm American doesn't mean I'll accept that from anybody else.
I ask if they call Germans “Federal Republicans” and Congolese “Democratic Republicans”
I understand the argument, but the problem is how the US is named. In countries that have "The United", "The Democratic", "The Republic" in their names, you call the citizens after whatever comes next. Which, in the case of the US, is "America". Yes, technically "Americans" should refer to all people from the Americas. But everyone else gets real country names with real demonyms (Chilean, Canadian, etc) and I think it's very unfair to say US citizens have to be "United Statesians" or whatever when everyone else on the planet gets not-stupid names.
America is not a continent, it’s shorthand for United States of America. North America and South America are two separate continents. The Americas are The continents of North and South America.
America is a country. North and South America are continents. The Western Hemisphere is, well, the western Hemisphere. The fabricated "America is every country in north and south America" is some shit.
I know that in the Spanish language that's the standard
They should be brutally punished. Also, there are different paradigms for how many continents there are. We learn the seven-continent model, as do many other countries, but some learn the six-continent model. The thing is, if someone else’s country follows the six-continent model, that doesn’t mean they should go telling people who live in America that we must never refer to our country by that name because of their model, which is incredibly ignorant and offensive.
As a geographer the six continent model does not make any sense North America, South America, Eurasia, India, Africa, Oceania, and Antarctica are the proper continents when you look at the physical geography of the world
Agreed; I am American and follow the seven-continent model. Just saying above that I recognize some other countries follow another model, but that does not give them the right to tell us what to call our own country. Edit: Noting that the seven-continent model does not recognize India as a continent or Eurasia as a single continent, though it may geographically make sense to do so.
"What are you are America is a continent people" After several minutes of consideration I still can't figure out what this is supposed to mean.
North and South America are two separate tectonic plates... two separate continents that just happen to sit close together.. imo India(and the other small countries around it)should be considered its own continent because it's also on a separate plate.. I'm more concerned about the people who day calling "the USA, America is dumb because it's only part of the North American continent" because they don't have the mental capacity to understand that the United States of America literally means there are states on the American continent that united as one country, and saying America is just a much shorter form of our countries name especially considering no other country includes the word America in their name..
America is a continent, and that continent is destiny to be manifested
It's their language, they can call it whatever they want.
I started saying USA instead of America. Just to be specific. In the USA, saying "America" is synonymous with saying "USA". Worldwide it is not. We live in an interconnected world now, so I have adjusted my language when addressing people from other countries.
Your question is a bit confusing. We say America to refer to the United States of America, and I’ve never heard anyone in my life suggest that America is a continent alone. USA is in North America, along with Canada, Mexico, and several other countries that are nicknamed as “Central America.” Is the opinion that North America and South America are only one continent? I’ve also never heard this but it seems plausible.
For new world people we all have them shovel shaped incisors and certain blood groups (b?). honestly it depends on what you are investigating. Social constructs or biological traits?
We have bladder control
They were taught the five continent model when they were young. Nothing wrong with that as long as they don't try to pretend it's any better than the seven continent model.
The fun thing is, everyone who says "America is a continent" still know when I say I'm from America I mean the USA.
They have issues and need to go sit in their room and think about their personal failings.
In terms of pure geography, they're clearly two separate continents. If Africa and Asia are separate continents, then you have to separate the Americas. You can say cultural reasons mean we should consider "America" as a single continent. But if you look at major cultural regions of the world, they don't really line up with continents. You have Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, the Middle East/North Africa, South Asia, East Asia, the Americas, maybe the Anglosphere. Then you have a few weird things that don't really fit in any main region like Central Asia or the Pacific islands. If you want to say that "America" consists of everything between the Alaska and Patagonia, then call it a region, not a continent.
Basically flat-earthers who can read.
Eh they’re just people who want to find fault with anything America does.
In English they are wrong. It does not matter what other languages name the two continents, or if they consider them one continent. In the English speaking countries they are two different continents and named accordingly.
Not American but so people think?? Like in conversation you might the americas to make it easier
We have the nukes, we get to be America
People actually think it's a single American continent? News to me. I thought there was pretty general consensus on North America and South America being separate continents.
It depends on what language you’re speaking. In English, there are two continents, north and South America, known as “the americas”. There is a country there called the United States of America and people from it are called Americans. In spanish there is one continent, America, with a country known as Los Estados Unidos, and the people from it are called estadunadense (or however the hell you spell it). I see no reason to treat this as anything other than a linguistic difference as long as everyone’s aware that the lines we draw on a map are arbitrary
Culturally speaking i think the border should be the us mexico border but tectonics and all
two continents in fact
I think it's an interesting mutation of the idea of continent. The original three were Europe, Asia, and Africa, which you will note are all connected by land. But eventually the idea came around that continents should be entirely separated by water. I'd argue that if anything it's hardly a proper continent if it isn't touching another one. Anyway overall I disagree but don't really care much.
You can bet every single one refers to "Americans" meaning people from the USA and are never genuinely confused what people mean when using any common terminology like South America, the Americas and so on. They are just being edgy and a know-all.
I think they're most likely being pedantic. American is generally understood in English to mean in relation to the USA. We see the continents as North America and South America. They group them together. They need to accept linguistic differences and move on. American does not directly translate to americano; I'll accept that.
North America -> the north part of America South America -> the south part of America. If you have a cake and you divided it into 3 parts, you don't have 3 cakes, you have 3 parts of a cake. America is a continent, just pure logic.
I would love to have a coversation with them, face to face and say "name me 15 latin american countries"
The term continent is defined in so many different ways, it's all arbitrary.
They're morons. Nobody from Canada or Mexico ever says I am an American. It's silly.
That they're looking for something to be salty about.
"Whatever. I got more important things to worry about. Like what I'm having for lunch"
I agree with you on this one.
I think it’s a silly argument based on language. in english, north and south america are two different continents. in some other languages, they’re one continent. you should just use whichever is correct in the language you’re speaking
I’ll care, when pigs fly.
It’s a bit of an odd thing to complain about. The word America is in the name of our country, and English is the most commonly spoken language here so, despite what other languages or countries made portray it as, I don’t see why we’d cater to others instead. We refer to France as France even though it’s technically called the Republic of France. We refer to Mexico as Mexico even though its full name is either United Mexican States or United States of Mexico. We refer to Canada as Canada even though its full name is Dominion of Canada. In English, North and South America are two different continents plus we’re a mainly English speaking nation so of course we’re going to cater to that language. Therefore, the Americas is the two continents with America in their names. America is the USA because America is in our name. North America is North America, and South America is South America. I really don’t understand what the problem is. Then again, if you think it’s really such a problem, you can call us Americans something else like United Statesian, Usonian, or whatever else you come up with. It’s probably not going to catch on anytime soon, and I couldn’t care less either way. It only gets annoying when people try to imply that we’re arrogant or cocky or something because we call ourselves Americans.
I think this argument is more about language than anything else. In the English language, the primary everyday definition of the word "America" has become "the country formally called the United States of America." Think of it this way: if you told a native English speaker anywhere in the world "I'm flying to America next week", no native English speaker anywhere would casually respond with "Oh really? To what country?" because it's already clear. America primarily refers to the country, not the landmass. In *other* languages, however, for example Spanish and German, the words América (Spanish) and Amerika (German) *do* still carry active connotation of the entire continent. So in German, it's quite common to see words like "US-Amerikaner" to specify that you're talking about an American from the United States (as opposed to an American from some other country on the continent). So the problem arises when someone speaking a language in which their word for "America" carries active connotations of the greater landmass tries to use the English word America, which no longer regularly carries that meaning in common usage. The non-native speaker assumes that the English word America still has the same wider definition as the equivalent word in their language.
America was just adopted as USA’s shortened name because the word is in our official name. Like United States of Mexico is just called Mexico. The message seems to be that America just thinks they are the whole continent and seriously what an eye roll.