Indeed, U.S.A. is not America!
America is the name of a whole continent. United States of America means that the United States belongs to America and NOT that America belongs to the United States. So, next time you want to refer to The United States of America, you can do it as U.S. or the States or whatever you want but not as only America. Gotcha?
How should I use the term America then?
Here we will show you some wrong and correct uses of the term America:
This is how we do it in America.
This is how we do it in the States.
- America is my country and I love it.
- The United States is my country and I love it.
- America lost the Vietnam war.
- U.S.A. lost the Vietnam war.
- Here in America we love Mc Donald's.
- Here in the U.S. we love Mc Donald's.
Please, note that this page in not about demonyms (gentilics) but about the way to call a country.
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Comments (1268)
When the people in the Middle East are in the streets screaming "Death to America" are you replying "Hey, we're America - send us some death too!" or you saying "Hey, we're Brazil (or Coats Rica, or where ever) send that death north"?
As an instructor of international students I have always been sensitive to referring to us as United States Americans, so as not to be confused with Canadian Americans or Brazilian Americans, etc. But since we don't have a convenient and shortened version when referring to our nationality like Mexican or Chilean, I propose that we call ourselves Us'ans, - kind of a "USA-ans" - as it is easy to pronounce, should not be offensive to other American nationalities, and it even has a colloquial ring to it; as in "yinz, y'all, we-uns, etc.
I won't force my tongue to bend over backwards to accommodate people always searching for something to be offended by. (Like ending a sentence with a preposition - English is a Germanic language, not a Romance language! Get over it!)
Does everyone want to call us United Statians? United Statites?
I'm a third generation U.S. citizen. My entire family emigrated from Quebec, French Canada where the U.S. is referred to as Les Etas Unis. (The U.S. or the States.) I linked to this site from a news blurb about politeness and some study before heading to another country to visit. Fascinating.
As long as the LEGAL NAME of the United States is United States of America, Americans should use AMERICANS to refer to them. Mexicans are Mexicans because that country name is Estados Unidos de Mejico. Otherwise, any country can use Mexico as part of their legal name, and call its residents Mejicanos as well.
Thank you. You nailed exactly what I was going to say. After all if the official name of Brazil was Brazil of America, or there was a Canada of America, then I can see the arrogance of using America to describe people of the U.S.A. Yet so many easily offended people seem to ignore or forget what the "A", in U.S.A means. BTW to not have United States of America on the drop down list of countries is what's really insulting.
Except It's not "Mejico" or "Mejicanos" it's Mexico and Mexicanos. X = J and is old Spanish. Mexico decided to keep this as part of her history. The only other people I've ever seen write "Mejico" or "Mejicanos" are South Americans.
Actually, there is a good reason for the misinterpretation. According to the United Nations official names of countries, the United States is the only country that uses America in the official name.
I do agree though that any country in the Americas are Americans.
Actually, when. people ask where you are from they referring to country, not continent! Giving the short answer America is not incorrect. What other country on either the North or South American continents have America as a country name. How many citizens from North or South America respond with Canada American or Brazilian American. They respond with Canadian, Columbian, Brazilian, etc. But. people from the United States of America are identified by people from outside of the United States of America as AMERICAN! yet you whine when an American from America does so.
yeet
David, since you like to research things, could you find out how the U.S. took the name America as a country knowing that it was the continent's name?
Why don’t you do it?
Oh, that’s right. Because your research “skills” are as laughable as your knowledge, intelligence, and reasoning.
That is not the most intelligent way to win an argument.
Nothing new, I already knew this but glad you know it now! You are educating yourself!
Actually, I have known this for a long time. And I was directing the comment to “those who claim” that ‘las Américas’ doesn’t exist in Spanish. If you didn’t claim such a thing, then it wasn’t directed at you. I didn’t write that I was directing the comment to Roda/Saris/Mrs. Anonymous/Mrs. Obvious/Misses the Obvious.