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)
Do you still want to keep talking about America?
The United States Of America
If they named the continent, what's wrong with them naming their country?.
It was already Americanized in their hemisphere and they brought their American ideas.
Are you American?, what were these people before the continent was Americanized?
Maybe you might understand America better now.
and then that's why there is Mexico. Are they really American?, they were there already and were forced to get a name as a country because it was the American way to do things back then.
Got it?
I found this comment while looking for the map of 1507 at the library of congress and wanted to share it here: Alex
August 7, 2018 at 1:53 am
For all of you who still wonder why United States of America has the word “America” in it:
“America” has been used to name the entire “discovered” land of mass (this belongs to a different topic) for centuries way before United States included in its name. Just to give an idea: the new land was named America in 1507 and U.S.A was officially name as we know it to date in 1776 – that’s a 269 years difference!
So it’s pretty obvious that United States didn’t make up the word in question.
In 1776, United States became the first independent country in … America."
So, the United States used the name of the continent to be connected to the continent. Only that people thought that it was its proper name and now it has spread everywhere that this is what they think it is. Then for some reason, the U.S. started to teach a two continent version and whalaaa! the name America was free to take. But not so fast, because to millions of people in the continent, America is one continent not two. So, if we go back to the possibility that the founders who named the U.S.A. where using the name America to mean that the U.S. where in the one continent in the new world, America, then that makes more sense.
Everybody knows that.
Why does it hurt that they compounded the country name with the word America in it?.
Do you forget that that's the American way?
They named the continent and they also named The United States Of America.
What's up?
Those people went all over the world to put names to the new world. The world we live in now.
Just take it how it is.
Do you still want to keep talking about America?.
The United States Of America
There was no American before the new world was accepted as a continent. Are you against European conquest or something? This site is dedicated to the issue of the name "America" so why not talk about it in here? America is a continent and the U.S. took the name of the continent to let the British Crown know that they were no longer under European rule so they put the name of the continent the nation was being born in/from.
It is a name, and it’s the United States of America. There is no “if” about it. This is a commonly known and easily verified fact. Why are you so obsessed with pretending that the “of” is capitalized?
Because it is a name you stupid idiot. I told you, you are a stupid copy paster. Did you noticed the coma(,)?, it means I made a pause before I said the word "stupid".
Proper name.
The United States Of America.
That is why they are American.
That is English, the language.
Americans are Americans because the “of” is capitalized? What?
So you think that every word in a name has to be capitalized?
The simple answer is:
East Russian people are north Asians but nobody call them so.
I am also tired of explaining you but you keep being stupid. The way you ask questions is stupid. It looks like, as expected, that you lack understanding.
Americans are the people of America.
American are the people of The United States Of America.
"of America" is not the same as "Of America".
But, you are stupid.
The United States Of America
The United States Of America
Why?, because when you ask -"what part of America are you from?", the answer is "Argentina".
Why, because when asked -"what part of America are you from?", the answer is "United States"(for short).
Yep, The United States Of America, or just "America"(for short as well).
The United States Of America
If it is a name, it is "The United States Of America"
American people are the people of The United States Of America.
The people of Argentina are South American and sorry but they are not American, they are Argentinian.
Do not get me wrong, the people of Argentina are Americans but not "American" and that is why they are "Argentinians".
If you are Argentinian, you may also be called Hispanic American.
East Russian people are Asian.
Are there any modern cartographers these days?
The United States Of America
Is there an order?
America. If you are talking about countries and mentions America why would you think about the continent?
I am still talking about countries and remain mentioning America and it should be understood that it is obviously The United States Of America. I am still talking about countries.
Respectfully I would speak about continents now.
One of the continent's name is "America". Got it?
The United States Of America
Oh, so you are trying to say that as plural Americans we all are, those who live in the continent, but in the singular, it is only for a person from the USA? Well, I believe this is the issue at hand, that people have taken off with that assertion and so the spread has made it to be accepted in many parts of the world. But he question is it correct? Why would you say is correct? If an Argentinian is asked which continent are you from, what do you think that person should say?
what continent are you from?
-The simply answer is "America"
What country are you from?
-Very easy, Argentina.
Americans are questioning American people because of its country name.
If it is a name, it is "The United States Of America"
okay, so if an Argentinian answers from America, and then the person who asked the question says, "Oh so you are American, you mean that is wrong? Like for example, lets say a Portuguese gets asked from which continent he/she is and he says "Europe", so the person asking the questions can very well say "Oh, so you are an European. Why would this be relevant? Because if you speak Portuguese, one could either be from the continent of America from Brazil, or from the continent of Europe, from Portugal.
The name of the USA is complicated because the way it was named wasn't like other countries. The United States of America was named as a conglomerate of States united in the continent of America. So when people call it America, it should really be because of the continent it was founded on. Hence, those who live in USA and are being called Americans, do in fact share the same name with all the rest of the people who live in the same continent but not in USA. That the country is the only one using this name, well its true, as a name, but it does not negate the fact that the name is the continent's not a country's. So when some people say that the USA did not take a real/common name as other countries did, they are correct.
A question is very important from who is asking it.
If you ask a Brazilian if he is American and he says yes, does that satisfied your question?.
At the end of all, it is up to the questioner perspective. Why would you care that he is from The United States Of America?, he said he is American.
When I ask a Chinese person if he is Asian and he says yes, I don't assume that he is from China.
Ask the same question to a citizen of the United States Of America and his answer would be relatively the same (American). Just don't assume that he is from The United States Of America.
It is up to you to ask stupid questions or question stupid people to get an answer that becomes stupid if you have no perspective of where your question has risen from.
There's no doubt that Americans are the people of America.
United States Of America is the country name, its demonyns is American.
Why only include one country (i.e., the USA) when there are more countries to mention?
2. El uso de Norteamérica como sinónimo de Estados Unidos de América está bastante generalizado: «En América, solamente la República Argentina tiene organizados sus cultivos usando tecnología moderna, exceptuando Canadá y Norteamérica» (Crespo Champiñón [Arg. 1991]). Aunque no sea censurable, dada su frecuencia, es preferible mantener la distinción de ambas denominaciones, Estados Unidos de América para el país y Norteamérica o América del Norte para todo el subcontinente, especialmente en contextos en que su referencia pueda ser ambigua.
3. Aunque el gentilicio norteamericano designa, en rigor, a los habitantes de toda América del Norte, se usa corrientemente como sinónimo de estadounidense (→ Estados Unidos, 4).
http://lema.rae.es/dpd/?key=norteamericano
Sure, they should use North America for more countries as you say. For Mexico and Canada for example since they are in the Subcontinent of North America.
Also a good source of information you have there. It explains some of the things I have been saying for along time! Glad you came to see it that way too.
David wrote: "a, exceptuando Canadá y Norteamérica» This is more or less an error but the academia espanola just let it go after saying that it is not censured but that it is better to keep both denominations with its own meaning. Then they talk about which meanings or denominations; Estados Unidos de America for the country and North America for the Sub continent.
It is not correct to say Canada and NorteAmerica, since Canada is in NorteAmerica.
Great website! I use it regularly in Youtube comments lol. Now we just need <denonym>arenothispanics.com (e.g. mexicansarenothispanics.com) and latinsareextinct.com
Latin: Italic tribe from Latium - annexed by Rome in 338 BC (2nd Latin war)
Hispanic: Roman people of Hispania (present day Spain and Portugal) - last seen around 600 AD
Latinamerican: label for dumb sheep to place themselves underneath people from the USA.
We're all freaking Americans UTC-2 and -9, period! (Maybe Hawaiians too, not sure)
The United States Of America
“...used the Spanish word...”
America was not originally a Spanish word. Get your facts straight. And the Spanish were originally much less likely to use the name ‘America’ than the English were. The Spanish much more frequently used ‘Las Indias Occidentales’, not ‘America’. The English officially called their colonies ‘English America’ and then ‘British America’. The English used the name ‘America’ much more than the Spanish did. Nice try, payasa. Read a book, for Christ’s sake.
America is a continent.
Las Americas is a plural.
"The United States Of America" is a country.
Hahaha, i see that you are back in your old you. The English got into the game very late. The word America is a latinized girl name for Americus. What ever you think on who used it more or less, the case is that the word was coined to name the continent not a country, where even the English knew that way back then. I do read. As a matter of fact, I was in Spain this Summer and bought some books. One is about Americo vespuccio, "Relato de un error historico" the other is "El Enigma de Colon y los descubrimientos de AMERICA." I also bought one when I was in Italy, "La Conquista Dell'America". None of these books refer to the United States by the way.