Is my geography wrong?

Question

I keep hearing America for Americans, but i was thought in school that America was a continent, South America-North America?

Answer 1

The Americas consist of the continents of North America and South America and their associated islands, located entirely within the Western Hemisphere. They are often referred to as the New World, juxtaposed with the Old World, as they were unknown to the civilizations of Europe, Asia and Africa until 1492.

The term is a relatively recent and less ambiguous alternative to the term America, which may refer to either the entire landmass or the colloquial name for the United States of America. The original usage to describe what is sometimes considered a single continent or supercontinent is deprecated for clarity, for which the Americas is used to collectively refer to the landmass and various regions of it. When used to describe a single landmass, analogous terms to America or (the) Americas are Eurasia, which consists of Europe and Asia collectively, and Eurafrasia, which is Eurasia and Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas

Answer 2

You suffer from the confusion between America , the lands, and Americans, the people within those lands. United States of America, gets to use the name Americans for its people, because they are the most thought about population of North American continent. This may not be a fair or good thing, since a South American should be able to say they are an American also, shouldn't they. However, South America is subdivided into smaller seperate countries in its landmass- Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, etc. Each of those smaller countries is a Nation itself. but the entire South America is not a singular unifed nation yet, Like Mexico-or even Canada-who could also call themselves Americans, but I don't think they really care to. The United States is a unified nation,(States are NOT seperate countries here) so they (USA) usally get reffered to as Americans more often in the global aspect. America for Americans is just a poliical group's battle cry about keeping America (The USA in this case) free of another nation's visiting citizens. I have no opinion on that.

Answer 3

Simple:
America is the USA; Americans live in the USA.
Canada (and others) are North American but not American.
South America & North America are different continents but can be referred to as "the Americas".

Answer 4

America is not a country, The United States of America is, but it is not the whole continent. The USA is located on the North American Continent. Also on this continent are Canada and Mexico. I think People generally refer to the USA as America to shorten the name of the country. If Ireland had the name "The United Counties of Ireland" they would probably be referred to as just Ireland.

The word "America" can be translated in a number of ways - all of which point to an occult or esoteric origin. One such translation divides the word into the syllables A/meri/ca, which in ancient Egyptian reads "Great Beloved Land." Another translation reads: Am/eri/ca, which is then Am, "AUM," eri, "great Ireland," ca, "ka" or "soul." Also, it is claimed that America came from the word "Amarcusa," translated "The Great Healer," and was one and the same with the Mayan god Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent (cf. caduceus).

Answer 5

America/USA/The United States of America is a country. It is part of North America (the continent). North America consists of Canada, Mexico, and the USA. Central America (anything south of Mexico) is considered South America. Some people consider Greenland part of North America...depends on what geographer you talk to.

Answer 6

To answer simply:

The full name of the US is the United States of America, and the citizens are called Americans.

There are two continents - North America, and South America, and they are connected by a narrow stip of land. Everyone in the Western Hemisphere are usually referred to by the name of their country, and not by the name of the continent.

Most people in any country outside of the US would get upset if you called them American, since they'd think you thought they were from the US.

Answer 7

Here is where your confusion comes from:

America is the informal name of a country AND it is part of the name of the continents of the New World.

The continents (the large land masses) of North and South America were named after an early explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, who was a contemporary of Columbus. In 1507, a German mapmaker began naming the continennts of the New World after Vespucci. Amerigo's name became America.
The inhabitants of these contients became known as Americans.

Several hundred years later, a group of British colonists declared their independence from Britain, and formed one of the first countries in the Americas, a coalition of states along the east coast of the North American continent. This union of states became known as the United States of America because they were a set of confederated entities on the American continent. This became commonly known just as America. And so the name America applied to this country, and its inhabitants were Americans, which eventually grew westward to hold much of the land across the center of North America, from coast to coast.

So, there is confusion because there are two definitions for America - the purely geographic: the continents, and the political-geographic: the country.

Most residents of the USA only think of the second definition - the country, and its inhabitants. Other residents of the North American and South American continents may identify themselves by their nation, but also by their continent. ie, a Peruvian may see themself as also an American (first definition), because they live in South America.

Answer 8

Yup, that's right, America North America AND South America, but us residents of the USA like to call ourselves Americans and forget the rest.

Answer 9

First of all, let me say that I am definitely a supporter of immigration and love other cultures including those in latin america. That being said, that drives me nuts when I'm criticized for calling myself "American". "We'll, I am American too! I'm from Mexico or South America, etc." As far as I know of, there is nothing else we can call ourselves. United Statesians? Americans of the United States kind? So therefore, I will continue to call myself an American until someone comes up with a better more specific term. I do not mean to disregard the rest of the population of the Americas in doing it. And as for those that say, "America for Americans!" Ask them where their grand parents or great grand parents came from. The U.S. is made up of all nationalities. That's what makes life diverse and interesting.

Answer 10

It´s ironic that there´s so much controversy over this, as on other continents it´s a non-issue. Russians don´t call themselves "Asians" or get p-o´d that they are not called Asians even though they are technically members of that continent. French are Europeans, Spanish are Europeans, etc, but they prefer to call themselves by their nationality, not continent identity. Africans often identify themselves by tribe, not by nationality or the continent they live on. How about this: everyone is just human?!?!