the name american

[calcio5tud]

i have a question. if canada and mexico are part of north america, shouldn't they also have the title of americans? and if so, shouldn't people, for example, in brasil also be called americans b/c they are in south america?

i came to this conclusion when i thought of europeans. people from italy are called italians, but they are also european. so shouldn't canadiens also be called americans?

i'm just curious on what you peeps have to say.

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"Right on to all them mmm English girls named Charice" - BT

[Bonochick]

I remember a teacher I had back in middle school talking about that. He said something along the lines of Americans being too egotistical to realize that fact. I don't think that's the case though...I think "American" has just come to be a term associated with United States citizens. However...technically speaking...I think they could all be considered "Americans".

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"Hallelujah, Heaven's white rose,
The doors you open...I just can't close..."

[Lemonite]

Whether it's a good thing/bad thing or whatever, American is only applied to citizens of 'The United States of America'.. sure, your point does have a logical basis.. However, due to the association in society of this American w/ USA, I doubt any patriotic Brazilian would want to be called an American, because to any person, them actually being from Brazil while calling themselves American would be a totally foreign concept and almost unpatriotic.

L.Unplugged

[This message has been edited by Lemonite (edited 03-05-2002).]

[dream wanderer]

I have run across several South Americans who want to be called American...they think we should be called "United Staters' or something similar.
I have absolutely no problem if anyone from any of the Americas wants to call him or herself that...as long as we still can also...United Stater is very akward to say.

I have yet to run across a Canadian who wants to be called an American..although the do refer to us collectively as "North Americans' sometimes in some contexts...like "The North Americans won a lot of medals at the Olympics" or whatever...


dream wanderer


[This message has been edited by dream wanderer (edited 03-05-2002).]

[Lilly]

It's true. If you want to be technical, all people living on the continents North and South America are indeed Americans. Americans should be called "US citizens".

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*Proud owner, maker, and baker of THE U2 cookies*

[Bonochick]

Originally posted by Arun V:
is there a point to this?

I guess for discussion.



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"Hallelujah, Heaven's white rose,
The doors you open...I just can't close..."

[TheU2]

I like to be called American......I'm from SI.

CK

[V Nura]

is there a point to this?

[Clark W. Griswold, Jr]

Yeah, the rest of the world likes to point this out every so often- who should be considered "Americans" and so forth. Some try to say that the United States are egotistical for thinking that they are the only "Americans"

Whatever. Does it really matter?

The acid test is whenever the US does something that displeases the rest of the world, voices from abroad together exclaim, "Those fucking Americans!". And there's no mistaking who they're talking about.

Or, as one Interferencer so eloquently put it, "I'm FED Up With Americanized Olympics!" --I'm still wondering what the "Americans" from Brazil, Argentina, and Chili did that was so wrong in Salt Lake City...


[This message has been edited by Clark W. Griswold, Jr (edited 03-06-2002).]

[follower]

If we think about the continent, like Europeans, we´re all Americans, no doubt, whether you´re from North, or Central or South America. But first of all I´m Brazilian.

In my opinion, US citizens got to be called Americans because, diferently from all other countries in America, their country doesn´t have a proper name, and it´s called United States of America. No offense, please, let me explain.

For example, the name of my country, Brazil, comes from a tree that produced a red dye largely used by the portuguese in 16th Century to dye fabric. The dye extracted from this specific Brazilian tree was similar to the colour of ember, "brasa" in portuguese. So they named the country Brasil (with "s", in fact ).

Colombia, for instance, was named after Christopher Columbus, the man who officially discovered America, as we all know.

Venezuela means something like "little Venice", because the spanish compared the mouth of Orenoco River and its delta to the city of Venice.

Uruguay and Paraguay are the original indian names for two big rivers in South America.
And so on.

And I see no problem in US citizens being called Americans, makes more sense than United Staters IMO.

[ABEL]

from dictionary.com:

A·mer·i·can:
adj.
Of or relating to the United States of America or its people, language, or culture.
Of or relating to North or South America, the West Indies, or the Western Hemisphere.
Of or relating to any of the Native American peoples.
Indigenous to North or South America. Used of plants and animals.

n.
A native or inhabitant of America.
A citizen of the United States.
American English.


[This message has been edited by ABEL (edited 03-09-2002).]

[popkidu2]

see, if Canadiens were considered Americans that would suck 'cause then foreigners saying "fucking americans" would be lumping Canadiens in with us which would screw everything up and then me making fun of Canadiens wouldn't be as funny because everytime I said "stupid Canadiens" they could just say "But we're Americans!!!!!"

Only kidding folks...please don't kill me. I love Canada....eh

laughter is the only cure....

[Achtung Bubba]

There's also the fact most people consider themselves part of a culture or nation first - whatever continent they reside in is secondary.

Certainly, it may be convenient to refer to Europeans as a political entity - and certainly, they are becoming more and more closely related, economically and politically.

(Certainly more closely than, say, the U.S. and Brazil.)

Ask a German if he's a European, he may say yes. As a German if - therefore - there's no tangible difference between him and a Frenchman, well...

<insert your own "cheese-eating surrender monkey" joke here>

[The Wanderer]

I thought ALL of us were Americans, oops, I guess just Americanized