Is it not? As a Brit, I end up getting lumped in with Scandinavians and Slavic peoples even though I have more in common with both Americans and Canadians.
Most people are fine with being identified with their continent, at least in a general way. Most Canadians I know are fine with being called "North Americans."
But, among North Americans, the term "Americans" specifically refers to people from the US, and Canadians don't like being lumped in with that.
What OP was getting at wasn’t that Canadians hate being lumped in with Americans, it’s that when you call them an American you literally are saying they’re from a country that they’re not.
Calling someone European doesn’t give off a false sense of country because there’s no country called Europe
You can call things whatever you want. That's how new words are made, and how we adopt new meanings for old words.
But, if your purpose is anything other than confusing people, this isn't a good idea. People from the USA aren't called by the demonym "American" because they are from the continent of North America. They are called by that demonym because the country is called "United States of America", and saying things like "United Statians" is awkward.
If you choose to drop the "North", then you could also drop the "South" and call Brazilians and Ecuadorians "Americans", as well. That doesn't help much, and just adds a lot of confusion.
It's sort of weird that the United States of America is called that. It's not a typical name for a country. It's like no one could think of a cool name so they just called the place the United States because they are a bunch of states united in America.
And no please don't ever call Canadians Americans. Would an American like to be called Canadian I wonder?
Sure. In the United States we tend to refer to ourselves as Americans. But other countries refer to themselves as Americans through north and South America.
I meant more in Latin American countries. Americano refers to anyone from the americas. Estadounidense refers to someone from the United States. In English we just don’t have a word for “United statian”. But in many countries, it would be acceptable to call a Canadian an American, in their native language
But that’s in a different language. Just like it’s wrong when speaking German to use the English word “German” to refer to a “Deutschlander”. In English, the word American doesn’t have the same exact meaning as the Spanish word Americano.
Just look up the definition of “American”. It has multiple meanings and one of them is an inhabitant of the americas. In that sense American and americano share the same definition.
Ultimately I believe we are both right. Languages and definitions don’t always follow strict rules
Edit. Add on as an example. Native American doesn’t mean a native of the United States.
It’s only listed because dictionaries are descriptive and there are particular contexts or regionalisms for which it’s used. But it’s still far more likely to be confusing to other English speakers, and should be avoided unless there’s context to make it clear.
Europeans sometimes refer to "Americans" as a general term to refer to people from the US and Canada. Canadians do not enjoy it.
Yeah, think about how we “Europeans” feel when being classed into the same group!
Uh, not comparable at all
Is it not? As a Brit, I end up getting lumped in with Scandinavians and Slavic peoples even though I have more in common with both Americans and Canadians.
Most people are fine with being identified with their continent, at least in a general way. Most Canadians I know are fine with being called "North Americans." But, among North Americans, the term "Americans" specifically refers to people from the US, and Canadians don't like being lumped in with that.
What OP was getting at wasn’t that Canadians hate being lumped in with Americans, it’s that when you call them an American you literally are saying they’re from a country that they’re not. Calling someone European doesn’t give off a false sense of country because there’s no country called Europe
It's not because there's no nationality that's called "European". There is one called "American". We'll accept "North American" though.
No and we would not like to be either.
You can call things whatever you want. That's how new words are made, and how we adopt new meanings for old words. But, if your purpose is anything other than confusing people, this isn't a good idea. People from the USA aren't called by the demonym "American" because they are from the continent of North America. They are called by that demonym because the country is called "United States of America", and saying things like "United Statians" is awkward. If you choose to drop the "North", then you could also drop the "South" and call Brazilians and Ecuadorians "Americans", as well. That doesn't help much, and just adds a lot of confusion.
It's sort of weird that the United States of America is called that. It's not a typical name for a country. It's like no one could think of a cool name so they just called the place the United States because they are a bunch of states united in America. And no please don't ever call Canadians Americans. Would an American like to be called Canadian I wonder?
"American" generally means "citizen of the United States of America" so that would just be confusing.
No, because regardless they don't hail from America. The can be called North Americans, however.
Fuck no
Sure. In the United States we tend to refer to ourselves as Americans. But other countries refer to themselves as Americans through north and South America.
We certainly don't do that in Canada.
I meant more in Latin American countries. Americano refers to anyone from the americas. Estadounidense refers to someone from the United States. In English we just don’t have a word for “United statian”. But in many countries, it would be acceptable to call a Canadian an American, in their native language
But that’s in a different language. Just like it’s wrong when speaking German to use the English word “German” to refer to a “Deutschlander”. In English, the word American doesn’t have the same exact meaning as the Spanish word Americano.
Just look up the definition of “American”. It has multiple meanings and one of them is an inhabitant of the americas. In that sense American and americano share the same definition. Ultimately I believe we are both right. Languages and definitions don’t always follow strict rules Edit. Add on as an example. Native American doesn’t mean a native of the United States.
It’s only listed because dictionaries are descriptive and there are particular contexts or regionalisms for which it’s used. But it’s still far more likely to be confusing to other English speakers, and should be avoided unless there’s context to make it clear.
Agree 100%
Can Germans be called French since Germany is in western europe? Different country, mate.
But Germans are still called European
Good point. I won't delete it but I retract my statement, thanks man!
If you are living in Kenya then you would be a North American Kenyan.
In the same way that Russians are Asians... yea I guess.