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 (1251)
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?
Is it correct to call the United Statians as the "Americans"?
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-correct-to-call-the-United-Statians-as-the-Americans
For me they should have two official abbreviations for "United States of America", one would continue to be the one that already exists, "United States", the other could be "U.S. America".
And as for the nationality, it would be the one that has been proposed for some time by several, and that is used in formal settings such as in some university writings in the English language, "US Americans".
I make the suggestion of "US American" because the linguists of the English language themselves confess that the word "American" has never ceased to have the meaning of "what belongs to the continent of America ("the Americas" in current English)", but that in ITS USE over time ended up referring almost exclusively to the nationality of someone from the United States of America.
As it should, since it has been seen throughout history and the name is original to the American Continent. Not the Americas, but America! There is plenty of historical facts of the continent being named "America" but very little fact of what the U.S. tries to sell to the world. That the name America is theirs.
Applause, master!
I admit my dream is to be a global citizen with a word passport, firstly I’m a human, secondly an American (Person who was born in the Americas Continent), then a United Statian (U.S Citizen)