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Comment on How do you call someone born in the US besides "American"?

The sovereign people of any nation have a right to call themselves what they please. People of the US decided on ‘American’ long before the Internet was a thing and Latin America people got pissed off. US intervention in Latin America is a stain in history, but this is categorically dumb. US citizens call themselves Americans because it’s in the name. Literally. Canadians don’t call themselves Americans and never will. This is dumb argument. Respectfully.

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valveman@lemmy.eco.br ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
First off, this wasn’t supposed to be an argument, just a question. My native language has a specific word for them (and some other languages have too) and I got curious if english itself had such a thing.

Latin America people got pissed off

Maybe it’s because people say “America” and everybody instantly thinks of the USA, even though you’re just another country in the whole continent? For these people you are stealing the word “american” and changing its meaning. People from Asia have the word “asian”, people in Europe got “european”, people in Africa got “african”, but we? We don’t have a meaningful word anymore. And I’m not saying it’s your fault or even it’s a fault of your founding fathers. I’m just trying to tell you why these people get mad.

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- nathris@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  There is no continent called “America”. We have North America and South America.
  
  When someone says “South American” I don’t think Alabama I think Brazil or Argentina.
  
  The term “North American” is commonly used when you’re describing something that applies to both Canada and the US. Eg. “North American sports teams”.
  
  We commonly use the term “Central American” when referring to Mexico, El Salvador, etc. because even though they are technically in North America there is a strong cultural divide, similar to how the middle East is technically Asia, but you’d never refer to someone from Saudi Arabia as “Asian”.
  
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  - Granixo@feddit.cl ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    It’s understandable for El Salvador, but México it’s absolutely part of North America.
    
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- asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  If most people say Korea they mean South Korea. That’s because North Korea is far less likely the thing to be referenced, so you need to go out of your way to specify North if you actually mean that instead of South.
  
  Same goes for all kinds of things.
  
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- DreBeast@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Do South and Central American words not exist in spanish? Soy de Sudamérica. Soy de Centroamérica. As the other comment said, this question is not ambiguous at all. And I know why people get mad, they hate the US, which I understand because they’re assholes. No one will deny it. Ask any self respecting american and they will agree.
  
  But with all due respect, this is a dumb ass question. Respectfully.
  
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  - Phrodo_00@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    In southern European tradition (which ends up in Latin America), those are not continents but regions. America is the Continent.
    
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    DreBeast@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent
    
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PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Canadians actually emphasize north American culture when they talk about stuff they’ve got in common with us as opposed to trying to make “united statesian” work like the Spanish speakers

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kilgore_trout@feddit.it ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
No argument is being made in the post.

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dustyData@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Y en español les decimos estadounidenses. Porque son los putos Estados Unidos, y se la calan porque los cabrones no tienen la decencia de ser amables con sus vecinos.

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- JonEFive@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Puedo harcerte una pregunta? si eres de mexico, te llamarias americano? Querrias hacerlo? Soy de los Estados Unidos y no me importa si te llamas americano, pero no se por que querrias. Yo diria que “soy norteamericano” o “soy latinoamericano”.
  
  (Lo siento si mi espanol es malo, estoy aprendiendo).
  
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  - Phrodo_00@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    No soy mexicano, pero hablando en español, si (en los mismos contextos que un francés diría que es europeo, por ejemplo). América es el nombre tradicional del Continente completo.
    
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  - dustyData@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I’m not Mexican. But in general, as I said in another comment, Americano is in Spanish a politically charged term. South America was plain America way before North America was a thing. American is used by the left for the historical reclaim of ancestral origins. American is used to impose USA cultural hegemony over the whole continent. It’s somewhat complex at times. But yes, if I had to contrast my identity against, let’s say a European, Asian or African person, I would refer to myself as American. That said, I would probably have to clarify that I am Latin American. Because of said USA cultural hegemony.
    
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