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 (1254)
if they like "American" so much for their nationality in English, they should have invented another for all the people of the Americas (America), "Americane" or "Americaner" (it does not matter if they are not good examples)
"¡Américaaaaaa Américaaaaaa!
¡todo un inmenso jardín, eso es América!
Cuando Dios hizo el Edén, pensó en América"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SL3u7qU_09w
I never use the word American in writing because I think it is simply not specific, and I
really hate to see it in a book title when US is meant.
It's not soccer. It's football.
I don’t really understand what some of you are claiming about the meaning of the name America. I think most people know that the name America in United States of America refers to the continent of America. Doesn’t everyone know that nowadays the most common meaning of America in English is the country (USA) and not the continent? Are you saying that somehow America cannot refer to the country because it originally referred to the continent? If you are claiming this you are wrong. Many people say America to refer to the USA so the word America has that meaning. It can also mean the continent in English but that meaning is not common these days. I am misunderstanding what you are saying? Please let me know.
Jess, so if Germany or Spain begin to call themselves Europeans as if it only their country what then?
Just because people call something something does not mean that something is exactly that something...lol Example: people often say "Could you pass me a Kleenex"? Even when that tissue is not that brand. This is misnaming the original name of the tissue brand just like people are misusing the name of America as if it was the United States name. It is not the name but people are using it as if it is. That is wrong. But in today's society, wrong is now seeing as good. All goes. WE don't need to save the planet, we need to save humanity.
Is it correct to say that the slang or informal word for United Statians or US citizens is "Statian"?
Yes, of course
the real problem they have here is that they don't accept the real and complete name of that country! It is "The United States of America", not just United States, United States is just an abbreviation (the only official one); the other, "America", is an abbreviation used by many US Americans when referring to their country informally!
There is no problem with the United States of America as the name for the country. The issue is the significance of America which is included in that name. The significance is that the United States is in America, the continent and so it is not naming a country but a continent and so for that it is only understandable that the United States is their name and America is the name of the continent in which these United States are.
So much trouble because the United States of America sometimes shortens it by saying America?! Here in Argentina there is a city, capital of the province of Tucumán, called San Miguel de Tucumán and sometimes it is also shortened by saying Tucumán.
"Sometimes"? Are you sure about that? "Sometimes2??
No relation to the issue.
the real problem they have here is that they don't accept the real name of that country! It is "The United States of America", not just United States, United States is just an abbreviation (the only official one); the other, "America", is an abbreviation used by many US Americans when referring to their country informally!
Te puedo llamar Nicol en vez de Nicolás?
The "Freedom Convoy is CANADIAN, not United Statian.
https://imgflip.com/i/63p0rq
and Canada is a country in the continent of America.
I have to say, many times we South Americans simply call our South America "America". Isn't that similar to what US Americans do?
No, it is not the same. America is composed by all the countries in the continent, not just one.
The U.S. is not America, the continent is America!
if south america were the whole america, then what happened to north? and central?