Referring to the USA as "America"

[Guy Starwind]

Don't you know the A in USA stands for awesome not America? *makes troll face and runs away*

[Raven]

Well, in some cases a greater deal of geographical precision is needed. There's nothing wrong with specifying that you are from X region of the UK and not the largest one: but at the same time, when that added precision isn't needed, referring to the UK as England is perfectly acceptable.

Try saying that to the face of a Welshman, Scotsman or an Irishman. You'll get torn a new asshole, or glared at and your ignorance argued down into the dust. It's not acceptable within these regions. If you lived here maybe you'd understand.

[Anouleth]

Try saying that to the face of a Welshman, Scotsman or an Irishman. You'll get torn a new asshole,

Then they're fucking crazy to resort to violence over a /semantic choice/. Maybe I'm hopelessly ignorant of history. Maybe Oliver Cromwell invented synecdoche inbetween genocides and that's why the Irish get so upset about it.

or glared at and your ignorance argued down into the dust.

Given your success so far, I doubt it.

It's not acceptable within these regions. If you lived here maybe you'd understand.

I don't understand any form of nationalism, nor do I really care to.

[Freohr Datia]

Forgive me if I'm repetitive, I didn't really read all of this topic x3

It does kinda bug me a little. Just about the entire western hemisphere is "America". Calling the USA America almost makes it seem to me like we're holding some kind of title of being the most important part of the western hemisphere or something.

But I also think, well what other part of "United States of America" can we call ourselves? We have used US though, or USA. We also sometimes say the "United States" but I suppose that's also still a little much to say.

But with the name of this country I suppose there isn't that much else to call it for short. It's easy to not call all the other countries America, just call them Canada, or Peru, etc. while this name isn't like them.

Maybe people just find US or USA too boring to say or something XD Idk but pretty much all that is why it only bugs me a little, really...

[Celice]

I would think calling the UK Europe is worse than calling the U.S. America.

[Haze]

Are Americans going to start saying "I am a citizen of the United States of America" instead of saying "I'm an American"?

No?

Then I'll keep saying "America".

[Vicious Sal]

Lets throw another one in the mix if it hasnt been stated already.

People calling the Netherlands, Holland.

We have two provinces, North and South Holland. That isnt the entire country.

Although Back in the days the ports were there so people who sailed the world were most often hollanders, and over the centuries i guess that just stuck.

[Freohr Datia]

I would think calling the UK Europe is worse than calling the U.S. America.

Omg so people do that??

Ugh

[Raven]

Then they're fucking crazy to resort to violence over a /semantic choice/. Maybe I'm hopelessly ignorant of history. Maybe Oliver Cromwell invented synecdoche inbetween genocides and that's why the Irish get so upset about it.

Given your success so far, I doubt it.

I don't understand any form of nationalism, nor do I really care to.

I guess we know where the other stands on this. Carry on not understanding nationalism, while I carry on being proud of my Welsh heritage.

It honestly feels like you've been trying to troll me the whole time. Very well done.

[Ein]

why is this a thing

Although I do recall a member here who would experience Vehement Rage whenever the US was referred to as AMERICA which to be honest made me chuckle. teehee

[1st Mate Bob]

I guess we know where the other stands on this. Carry on not understanding nationalism, while I carry on being proud of my Welsh heritage.

It honestly feels like you've been trying to troll me the whole time. Very well done.

Being nationalistic shouldn't constitute violence, though. If you tell someone you're from the UK and they ask "England?" then you should just politely correct them. It's like when I tell people I'm from Washington, they always say "D.C.?" and I politely tell them "No, Washington State."

Back to America, the fact is that the official word in the English language for a United States Citizen is "American." Because of this, it's very possible that the United States of America just was shortened to "America" in every day speech to coincide with the former.

[dondon151]

Which is why everyone I talk to over here exclusively uses アメリカ, right?

It being a common colloquialism doesn't mean that it's the official word. The US has been 米国, not アメリカ, ever since Japan first became aware of its existence. Strictly speaking, アメリカ may refer to all of America as a whole or different parts of America when used in certain words. It's kind of (but not really) like how Europe is officially 欧州 and not ヨーロッパ.

EDIT: From my understanding it's like the words おいしい　and うまい. Both mean "delicious" and both are official words.

But it's not. The difference between おいしい and うまい differs highly depending on context and social situation. There is a subtle meaning to both of them that extends beyond just the taste of something that you put into your mouth.

米国 (べいこく）　is an old word that isn't really used anymore in normal speech unless you're using words like 米国土安全保障省 (homeland security).

I'm not denying that the usage of 米国 in colloquial contexts has diminished, but it's an important name to know because it fits well into kanji compounds that refer to the US, e.g. 欧米 to refer to the West.

Either that or everything I've learned in all my studies is a lie. D: I can ask my teachers on Monday to clarify, if you'd like.

There's no need to. I'm not pulling this out of my ass; I know this stuff pretty well.

[Rewjeo]

Being nationalistic shouldn't constitute violence, though. If you tell someone you're from the UK and they ask "England?" then you should just politely correct them. It's like when I tell people I'm from Washington, they always say "D.C.?" and I politely tell them "No, Washington State."

I was born in New Mexico and now live in Utah. Guess what? New Mexico is indeed a state, not a country, and I'm not Mormon. I also only have one mom. People are idiots. It's best just to not get mad about it.

[Agro]

Being nationalistic shouldn't constitute violence, though. If you tell someone you're from the UK and they ask "England?" then you should just politely correct them. It's like when I tell people I'm from Washington, they always say "D.C.?" and I politely tell them "No, Washington State."

Exactly. If someone is ignorant you shouldn't get all up in arms and say NO WALES IS NOT ENGLAND. Just say "no, England is part of the UK but not the UK entirely". Some people just don't know the difference because they've never needed to. I'm sure there are plenty of people from outside Australia who don't even realise that we're divided into states. It's not an excuse for me to get angry at someone. Think of it as an opportunity to educate.

[frat_tastic]

Its true that the proper way to name a citizen of the United States is calling them an American, but that doesn't necessarily mean that calling the United States "America" for short is correct. It doesn't bother me personally, but I can understand why some people would be annoyed that people refer to the United States as America when there is a lot more to what is considered America.

Also United States and America have the same amount of syllables so its not really any shorter to say United States over America.

[Agro]

Also United States and America have the same amount of syllables so its not really any shorter to say United States over America.

I don't think the amount of speech effort is necessarily determined by how many syllables a term has. I find "America" quick and painless whereas "United States" is too much of a mouthful for everyday conversation.

[Sunwoo]

I just call it the "U.S." although sometimes I say "America."

However, this reminds me of a rather amusing conversation back in 1st year of undergrad where one of my friends mentioned over dinner that there are some people who don't even realize "America's" official name starts with a "U" ...

[Anouleth]

Exactly. If someone is ignorant you shouldn't get all up in arms and say NO WALES IS NOT ENGLAND. Just say "no, England is part of the UK but not the UK entirely". Some people just don't know the difference because they've never needed to. I'm sure there are plenty of people from outside Australia who don't even realise that we're divided into states.

Well, most large countries are divided in some way, whether it's into states or districts or counties or departements.

Edited June 10, 2012 by Anouleth

[frat_tastic]

I don't think the amount of speech effort is necessarily determined by how many syllables a term has. I find "America" quick and painless whereas "United States" is too much of a mouthful for everyday conversation.

I don't know what determines the amount of effort then that goes in to speech other than some arbitrary made-up difficulty if not the number of syllables. If for some reason I can't fathom, U.S. is undoubtedly easier in every conceivable way than America regardless.

[Balcerzak]

I don't know what determines the amount of effort then that goes in to speech other than some arbitrary made-up difficulty if not the number of syllables. If for some reason I can't fathom, U.S. is undoubtedly easier in every conceivable way than America regardless.

Different consonents require different tongue, lip, and other positioning to pronounced. If you change from a syllable that requires one configuration to another that requires a significantly different posititioning, I would imagine it could be more difficult than another with more syllables but less overall movement.

If I were an actual linguist, I would probably throw out buzzwords like fricative, or aspirant, but I am not.

[1st Mate Bob]

It being a common colloquialism doesn't mean that it's the official word. The US has been 米国, not アメリカ, ever since Japan first became aware of its existence. Strictly speaking, アメリカ may refer to all of America as a whole or different parts of America when used in certain words. It's kind of (but not really) like how Europe is officially 欧州 and not ヨーロッパ.

The fact that words like アメリカ and ヨーロッパ are taught as Standard Japanese now is enough for me to believe that those words are official enough for me to make my point.

There's no need to. I'm not pulling this out of my ass; I know this stuff pretty well.

I'm not denying your knowledge, but I just think that a Japanese citizen devoted to teaching their native language would be more of a credible source.

[Raven]

Being nationalistic shouldn't constitute violence, though. If you tell someone you're from the UK and they ask "England?" then you should just politely correct them. It's like when I tell people I'm from Washington, they always say "D.C.?" and I politely tell them "No, Washington State."

I don't know anyone who would become violent over such a thing. My statement "tear a new asshole" was meant in the verbal sense - as a figure of speech - not meant to be taken literally.

In general, the Celtic nations of the UK have a very strong sense of pride. We don't like being compared to England, and the divide is especially emphasised during sporting events. I personally see the three as allies, and all are rivals of England.

[Into Oblivion]

However, this reminds me of a rather amusing conversation back in 1st year of undergrad where one of my friends mentioned over dinner that there are some people who don't even realize "America's" official name starts with a "U" ...

Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

[Original Alear]

The easiest way to refer to the country located, chiefly, between Canada and Mexico, is to call it "us."

Back to America, the fact is that the official word in the English language for a United States Citizen is "American." Because of this, it's very possible that the United States of America just was shortened to "America" in every day speech to coincide with the former.

What do you mean by "the official word?" The english language is spoken in multiple countries throughout the world. In terms of talking about "official" use, you might even say there are multiple English languages, or at least acknowledge there is no one official English language. Some of them probably have a certain degree of legislation requiring its use, but I would be rather surprised if even American states with official English policies have an official word for referring to a US citizen.

I am pretty damned sure from numerous accounts that in naturalization and immigration proceedings, "US citizen" is more common than "American" citizen.

Moreover, look at how Anwar al-Alwaki, a US citizen assassinated for links to terrorism, was referred to in these articles:

The cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, was put on a kill list, and later killed, along with his teenage son, by the U.S. government, because the government claimed he was a dangerous terrorist.

And now those acrobatics leave us with a situation in which one U.S citizen is killed for inspiring a terror plot, but the troops killed in that terror plot aren’t eligible for medals because it wasn’t a terror plot.

I grant that from an older article back wheen al-Awlaki was assassinated, Ron Paul did refer to him as an American citizen when condemning the assassination:

He was born here, Al-Awlaki was born here, he is an American citizen.

But Ron Paul is crazy. More importantly, he was speaking, not writing, at the time and so his comments were probably less technically/semantically accurate.

http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/25/hassan-nidal-was-not-a-terrorist-for-pur

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/30/8059346-paul-condemns-assassinating-al-awlaki?lite

The actual agency in charge of naturalization, the USCIS (you probably would recognize them better as INS) uses only "US citizen" and related terms on this page, at least:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextoid=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

Certainly I think "American citizen" or just "American" is fine, but it seems clear to me that the most relevant official usages prefer US to American in referring to the peoples of this country.

[Esau of Isaac]

It being a common colloquialism doesn't mean that it's the official word. The US has been 米国, not アメリカ, ever since Japan first became aware of its existence. Strictly speaking, アメリカ may refer to all of America as a whole or different parts of America when used in certain words. It's kind of (but not really) like how Europe is officially 欧州 and not ヨーロッパ.

米国 is, to my knowledge, a shortening of 亜米利加. So that would be the most correct version to use in text, yes? Either way, アメリカ is used far more often, at least from any texts I've read.