What is a person from the United States of America called?

Question

They can't really, seriously, be called ''American'' can they? I mean America is the whole North and South Continents from The Yukon to The Tierra del Fuego, and more. I've never heard anyone say ''I'm a United Statesian'', or anysuch. So what gives? Have they hijacked the whole continent? Come on, I may be English but I wouldn't even dream of calling myself European. I'm just so happy to be English. How can ''Americans'' be so arrogant?

Answer 1

Most of them are called Idiots.

Answer 2

Americans in the United States are named this to help simplify for other countries. The United States is the only United America's, where as Central America has Mexico, Panama, etc and South America has, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, etc. These are all Countries within an America while USA are states all united under 1 President.

Now if a New Yorker asks a Californian who he or she is , they use these terms New Yorker and Californian and that goes for all states. So it's not the people who are arrogant, but the governments of the world who need this specification.

Hope this helps you to better understand our crazy culture a bit.

Cheers!

Answer 3

I thought all you Brits called us Yankees. Learn something new everyday. There are 300 million of us and only 60 million of you. We in the United States have a system called democracy and majority rules. If the majority say Americans, than so be it. I think the animosity that the English have with us is due to our success after breaking away from them No taxation without representation is what we are all about. Democracy. No Kings, No Queens. Rule by the people, for the people. No just let them eat cake rules.

Answer 4

Sorry old chap, but all the good euphemisms were taken. We can't call ourselves Yankees anymore because the southerners would be left out. We call our highway cops "Staters" so that's out. How about US'n's? Rhymes with Russians. Maybe Bush's employers? Oh, I've got it: the universal culture thieves, equal opportunity exploiters! We got tagged Americans by default. Every other country on these continents has a name for its people and a name for US. We just took the left-over one.
In actuality, when we are at home, we refer to ourselves by the name of our town or state. I claim to be Californian first, other stuff later. But no one is really sure what to call people from Wyoming. Wyomingite? Wyomingian? Wyominger? Eugene?

Answer 5

Bad doggie! Lap dogs should not bite the hand that feeds!!

Americans do not prevent anyone else in the new world from calling themselves "American". In fact it was the Europeans who tagged "US" with the name. I would explain where Amerigo Vespucci fits in and the naming of the continents but I'm afrid it would be lost on such a narrow-minded slog from "old Europe".

I cannot believe an Englishman would have the Gaul to call anyone 'arrogant'! Just make sure you don't refer to yourself as "Continental" as we don't want to insult our European friends.

Call us when you need your little dirt island saved again...or if you need any dentistry...

buh-bye...

Answer 6

Unfortunately for we "American's", we feel as though we can own or do whatever we please (in a way). I am currently reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and have a perfect experience. Robert Langdon (star of the book) is being told by Vittoria (scientist and daughter of scientist) that the Big Bang Theory was formulated by a Catholic Monk by the name of Georges Lemaitre. Langdon, being an "American" and Harvard professor, immediately thinks that Vittoria is incorrect. Langdon believes that the Big Bang Theory was proposed by Harvard astronomer Edwin Hubble, known for the Hubble telescope. It's just in our nature as "Americans" to assume stupid things like, because the word America is in the name of our country, we are Americans!

Answer 7

Honestly, What is the first thing you think of when you here "America" Do really think of a huge land mass that spands from Alaska to Argentina. Most people don't. When most people hear "America" The first thing they think of is the U.S.. So I guess it just kinda stuck. Besides I don't think it really matters. I am proud to be what ever you want to call it. And what you said about not calling yourself a European???? we'll Guess what, to the rest of the world. you are a European.

Answer 8

An American; an Italian-American; an African-American; an Irish-American; a British-American; a Greek-American; a Swedish-American; a Mexican-American; an Australian-American; a South American from the country ________; a Canadian-American...

Some people call themselves a ________(state/city name) American; a Liberal American; a Conservative-American, etc.

Why wouldn't someone from England consider themselves Europeans from ________(country name).

Answer 9

They said it first. When you start calling some place or something a certain name, it will eventually be known as that name. That's just the way language works.

Thomas Crapper ring a bell?

Answer 10

we are Americans. we have America in our official name. our name doesn't give us many options.

do you call yourself English because it is too hard to come up with a name for someone from the United Kingdom

Answer 11

Because WE CAN !!!
New Immigrants
From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
Dave LaBonte (signed)
Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statute of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.
Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them.
All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from.
They were Americans fighting Hilter, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans.
And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only hey want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statute of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte
P.S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!! KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!! I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the globe.