AMERICA is NOT,repeat,NOT a country!?

Question

The name of our country is the United States of America.

Everybody from Canada to Patagonia is an American,not just us!!!!!!

We (those of us that are) are Americans from the Untited States or United States Americans. Take your pick.
One of you pointed out that strictly speaking our official name as a country(in the constitution) doesn't even mention the word America.
The Spanish (who were the first European settlers of both continents and have some historic claim to the word) did and do so to this day refer to America to mean either or both of the American continents. Someone departing for a trip to Argentina and Bolivia will say ¨I´m going to America on a business trip.¨ and then will be asked ¨To which countries?¨
The English speaking world is not the only reality so please don't be so parochial in your responses.

to te contributor Bushinvented Go: of course you are an American,just as I am, because we are from the United States. But Bolivians, Canadians and Nicaraguans(to name a few) have every right to that generic continental name too. In the English speaking world people traveling to Uruguay from Asia probably don't say ¨I´m off to America.¨But in the Spanish speaking world anyone setting off to ANY country in the western hemisphere will automatically say , ¨I'm going to America.¨ That is the reality. Obviously you aren't acquainted with it.

Answer 1

yes,you are correct. There is another reality which is not solely the reality of the world that speaks English. Unfortunately a lot of us in our country aren't even aware of this.
All of these messages up in arms that they can't call themselves Americans. That is not what the dude said. She states the literal truth: America is not the name of a country. End of argument.
And if this question was so unimportant why are there so may passionate replies?

Answer 2

Listen, Buddy, You need to step back, take a breath and relax for a moment.

1.....2......3.....4......5

Better? Okay.

Now, while you are correct that anyone in the "Americas" are "American" you must take into account that which the world VIEWS as American. Perception is everything.

America is a common label for those from the United States. Brit, is a common label or those from the United Kingdom. The Irish, Welsh and Scottish are all part of the United Kingdom as well, yet we do not call them "Brits" to we?

Did you know that the ACTUAL names of countries are usually not what we know them as. Take, for example. Finland, Its official name is the "Autonomous Province of Finland"

Or Australia. It's full name is "The Commonwealth of Australia"

India is actually "The Republic of India"

Saudi Arabia is actually "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"

France is officially "The French Republic"

Germany is officially "The Federal Republic of Germany "

Do you see what I'm getting at? The world percieves these nations as "Germany" or "France" or "India" but their actual names are not the same. Just like the world perceives the U.S. as America even though our official name is The United States (of America.)


You see, while citizens of other nations MAY technically be "Americans" it is not in the same sense as we are "Americans." What else can we be called, United Staters? No. Just like the Canadiens are Canadiens and the Mexicans are Mexicans, we are Americans.

Answer 3

I'm an American because I was born in the United States of America and live on the continent of North America.

You do not have the right to tell me how to label myself any more than I have the right to tell you how to label yourself.

So if you choose to call yourself a "United Statesian," feel free. Just don't get mad when people look at you funny.

Answer 4

So when they say "The Americans are coming" they shoud probably change that to the "United States of Americans are coming"?

People in Patagonia are either Chilean or Argentinian.
You also have your Peruvians, Brazilians, Colombians, Mexicans, Canadians, etc.

Im sad, guess we are left out....

Answer 5

People call it America because many years ago when people immigrated to the United States of America they would say "I'm going to America!"

Its sort of like how people say "Ping Pong" instead of table tennis. So many people started saying that word that it just caught on and no one really used to official term.

Answer 6

Um, yes it is. A person from here is in fact an American. Just like a person from England in English.
The US is part of North America, but it also pertains to us as well. People from other countries have their own names, based on their official name chosen by them, like Canadians, Mexicans, El Salvadorans, Panamanians, Colombians, Brazilians and on and on.
We are Americans, based on our official name, the united states of America.
Educate yourself. You sound silly.

Answer 7

OK,,,,but, the official name of Mexico is the United States of Mexico and we call it Mexico,
So it stands to reason that we would call the United States of America, America.

Answer 8

cheeze lol calm down and worry about something more important in the world. We can call our country whatever we want to and people know what we're refering to. Worry about something more important like poverty or something. I don't understand why people get so fed up over the most ridiculus things. And btw then why do Canadians make it clear that they are NOT AMERICAN but Canadian instead? So stop judging.

Answer 9

But since Canada has Canadians and Mexico has Mexicans, we just have an acronym/phrase. So, American generally refers to the US. We used to have a specific name, but I forgot.

Answer 10

Actually....

The name of our country, as written in the Constitution, is "the United States", and "America" doesn't actually appear anywhere in the document.