Why is so hard for many "Estadounidenses or Yankees" to understand that AMERICA is a Continent! Not a Country

Question

Why?

Maybe the US English vocabulary is so limited to find a proper word for the people of the USA!

Answer 1

No, North and South Americas are continents. America is just short for the United States of America.

Answer 2

America is NOT a continent. North America is a continent. South America is a continent. The USA stands for United States of America, which would make those who live here "United States of Americans." Sounds ridiculous, and is rather time consuming to say, so we've shortened it to simply Americans. Out of that same habit, we refer to our country as America. We're not stupid (at least not all of us) - we're just abbreviating for the sake of convenience. This is no different than the United Republic of Tanzania being shortened to Tanzania, or the Federated States of Micronesia being called Micronesia, or the Republic of the Congo AND the Democratic Republic of the Congo BOTH being referred to as Congo.

By the way, this is a very old argument - people have been complaining about this for 200 years, and nothing has changed. Insulting us certainly isn't going to do it. Let it go.

Answer 3

I have been out of school for a long time, but from what I learned, North America was the continent, separated at the Panama Canal from South America.

Many consider North America to be Canada, USA and Mexico to be North America....south of Mexico is considered Central America, although not a continent on their own.

For most of us not as learned as you, America is the USA which is on the continent of North America. America is a country, not a continent.

Answer 4

We understand that North America and South America are continents. We fail, however, to understand your childish point regarding semantics.

First, we are the only country in the Americas with 'America' in our name.

Second, for hundreds of years, we've been known throughout the worlds as 'Americans'. Only the people from the USA have been known as 'Americans'. Not Haitians, not Uruguayans, not Bolivians, not Hondurans, not Canadians - only the people of USA.

Third, we are the only ones who call ourselves 'Americans'. Nobody else in the Americas calls themselves that. Not the Mexicans, Guatemalans, Columbians, Cubans, Brazilians, nobody.

You really need to get over this silly little semantical hang-up you have.

Answer 5

I think maybe you need to check your continents again. There isn't an "America" there is a No. America and a So. America. It is common to abbreviate The United State of America as America or USA...
Who are yankees???

Answer 6

Yankees are a baseball team in New York, we are Americans. Get your facts straight before you start spewing ignorance. Take a look at the map my friend. It seems your vocabulary is not the only flaw you have.

Answer 7

I would offer that the wide misusage of the name actaully constitutes a new meaning for the word/name. Just as definitions in the dictionary change so to do the meanings and applications of names. So get out of the stoneage, the Americans have adversly possessed the name America another bounty of the empire.

Answer 8

Since the Continent is divided into Canada, the United States and Mexico, you would be incorrect! We are one of three Countries in a Continent!! Dumb smart ***!

Answer 9

Gringos? Yanks? Our Neighbours to the South?

Answer 10

of course we understand that.but there is grammatical awkwardness in calling ourselves "usasers'or unistaters" or unis","americans is easier.what would u call us? after all,"mexico" is actually,properly called"estados unidos mexicanos",which is what it says on my mexican passport.yes,i have passports from both us and mexico.do the citizens of estados unidos mexicanos call themselves some version of "estados unidos",or do they refer to themselves as "mexicans'?what is ur problem,anyway?i have friends/relatives in both countries.i am an average person,i have hurt no one.when i go to mexico,i have given money and food to elders and children who live in the street.in this country,i pay for my medical care at prices my family struggles to afford,my mexican neighbors have had several children here,and their medical care was provided free of charge.fine,i work,i pay.but what dio u think i am taking from ur people-why the hate?my husband and i speak spanish,we try to reach out,but so many of u reject any attempt to be friendly.u reject kundness.u hate all americans-i didnt want war,i didnt want bush,but u all think every american is like him.u are small,petty,full of hate and prjudice.a family of 4 that i know,were killed by a very drunken,unliscenced driver,an undocumented person from estados unidos de mexico.u probably think thats funny and that it should happen more often.would u like it if i came to ur country,got drunk,had no passport,and killed four of ur citizens?u would probably kill me.