Why Americans....?

Question

I've always had this doubt since i was a child, simple as this, America is a continent, the ones from Mexico, Argentina, Perú, Brasil,Cuba, Paraguay etc WHAT WE ARE? WE ARE AMERICANS TOO.

Europe is a continent, a French, a Spanish, a Croatian, a German, a Portuguese are Europeans.

why the ones who born in th USA have the only right to caring this title "Americans"?

wouldn't be better United states citizens or something like that?

and be Americans all together(north, center,south) for been born in the new continent.
Thanks for your answer.

skyhawk, if i follow your advice you should call yourself just north american citizen too, is that correct?.

by the way i'm not mexican.

Wise guy and the fellow next to him, if you don't like the question or you find it not interesting at all, simply don't answer it, this is a respectful question and i hope to get respectful answers.

ok karakitty i get your point.

but not necessarily agree with kitty, anyway i found this in the dictionary:

American mean:

A person or attribute of the Americas, the lands and regions of the Western Hemisphere

but whatever i think is too late to change it, you will be Americans for good, and we will be Americans plus something else, the name that have been given to us by our beautifuls countries from the south.
good night, peace.

Answer 1

Your absolutely right and we stand corrected. We are US citizens and part of the North American Continent.
Of which Mexico and Canada is also a part.
But it seems to me that when they refer to Mexico it is Central America. Because you are between North and South?
Hopefully I have not been using Central to loosely.

Answer 2

The fact the general public groups US citizens as "Americans", people from Canada as Canadians, Mexico as Mexicans, Cuba as Cubans, etc. is not meant to insult people that live in a North or South American continent and are not from the US. I look at it as only a way to categorize people by where they live.

I disagree that only people from the US have to right to claim the American title. If you are from the North American or South American continent and you want to call yourself an American, go for it. The only problem I see with it, is people will think you are from the US and not some other North/South American country.

Answer 3

There is no such continent as 'America'. There is North America and South America. (Central America too, but it's not a continent)

So, if you would like to refer to yourself as South American, that would be correct.

However, only citizens of The United States of America are Americans.


***EDIT
NO. I am a citizen of The United States of America. Therefore I am an American. What part of that do you not understand?

Answer 4

let me say why...because you also call yourselves Hispanics and Latinos. I hear people trying to apply the name American when it is an Anti-USA American sentiment. We have Native Americans and African Americans and only in a few places are the European Americans. We manage to transcend our ancestral cultural names and saying American means we have decided that no matter where our ancestors are from, we can leave that and live together here. We are not Canadian American....because Canada is another country comprised of just as many types of cultural background. We don't say Mexican Americans because Mexico is another country as well, but with limited types of cultural influences. Why don't Mexicans from Mexico like to be called Mexicans, after all it is the name of your country. But when Gringo calls himself American you get upset. Even though you are from the land of your ancestors, we Gringos are not. And we call ourselves Americans because we are no longer European. and we do say South Americans for those people from South America and Central Americans for those from Central America. But the USA, Canada and Mexico are three separate nations each with a government and way of life. And because of all those countries listed we are the only one who have America as part of our official name. No other country in the western hemsiphere does this. So that is why, it is our name.

Answer 5

Probably because the country is named the United States of AMERICA. I don't see America in the name of Mexico, Columbia, Brazil, Canada, Uraguay, Paraguay, Equidor, Chile, Argentina,Venezuela, Peru, Guiana, Panama, El Salvador,Guatamala,Honduras,...ect.

Answer 6

Very simple, we are the United States of America. Instead of saying the full name we shortened it to US, USA and America.
Feel free to call yourselves what ever you would like.

Answer 7

there is no reason for it. US people did not set out to be called Americans to the exclusion of others, things just turned out that way.

Answer 8

ummmm......good call.......

we go by americans from United states of america.

if you're from mexico or canada i guess you could say you're north american. Or that your south american if you're from south america....actually, i've heard people say south american when referring to things

Answer 9

you mean to tell me, I've been saying "hello my fellow United States of Americans" all this time, when I could just say American?!?

Answer 10

I refer to myself as a U.S. Citizen, but I'm HAWAIIAN all the way!