Use of the term "American" in English
I was listening to one episode of "The Word Nerds" podcast, called "Race and Language", where they discussed racial epithets and slurs. The thing is that, while they were describing some politically correct terms, they kept saying "American" as a synonym for "belonging to the United States of America", and that upset me, this being a program about language.
I know that in every day language "American" is used in this way, but, as a Chilean person, I'm as American as one can get, and I'm not included in that definition.
I always feel at least anoyed, and sometimes offended when people speak about "American culture", "American way of life", "American music", as if America ended in the borders with Mexico and Canada.
Is there a better gentilic for the people of the United States of America?
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Also, how does an inhabitant of the American Continent is called, in regular language?
14 Answers
Unfortunately, people in the US tend to have a very myopic view of the world. The great majority of the population has absolutely no idea that other people can legitimately be called Americans, and would be shocked to think of someone from any other country being bothered by this exclusive use. It is a shame that this is so, but it is a fact, and not likely to change any time soon.
That's just that way the world is I'm afraid. You are correct, it's not politically correct to say that people in the U.S.A. are the sole Americans, but, I've heard this worldwide meaning we (people in the U.S.A.) aren't the only ones doing it. There is no, United Statesean or United Stater, when traveling you're simply called an "American" when you're from the U.S.A. and the even funnier part is the A (standing for America) is commonly left off and said U.S. for short. 
Also, on a side note, you're actually "South American" to be exact. 
Wanting people to be politically correct is like asking for world peace, it's just not going to happen. 
I, being a U.S. citizen, have often wondered about this very thing myself. The way I see it, we are all Americans on this continent. They, the world in general, do not differentiate between the Americas. They just consider it American if you are from the U.S.
Actually, DJ is correct. One is northern America and the other, southern America. I have heard it said, Latin America, but generally, most of the world has it wrong in assuming the U.S. is the only America.
I don´t think we have a formal adjective quite as neat as Spanish´s Estadounidense, and so are forced to use something like U.S. Citizen. But for better or worse, it´s true that most U.S. Citizens just say American.
In terms of a union, historically speaking, the "national" identity of the person takes after the political division in which they reside. In the United States, this union consists of states.
Technically speaking, there are "Americans" who make up the U.S., although this term is, obviously, misleading. The correct term for people of the U.S. takes the state of origin into account. Someone from Texas is a Texan. Someone from Alaska is an Alaskan. Someone from Florida is a Floridian. And so on, with a few exceptions, such as someone from Indiana being a Hoosier.
While the state of origin is technically the correct label of identity for people from the U.S., this becomes confusing because the U.S.'s federal system is now very centralized. Gradually, old titles like "Virginian" have been replaced with "American." To this day, if you ask Americans where they are from, they will tell you the state. When they are overseas, many people are not familiar with U.S. geography, so they simply call citizens of the States "Americans." So much of this does not have to do with "Americans" calling themselves "Americans," but rather Europeans calling "Americans" American. You can tell non-U.S. citizens that you are a New Yorker, but they will simply register this as you being an "American." It isn't tenable for people from other countries to keep up with 50 different political identities.
Many other societies were originally a federation or a confederation of states. Germany and Italy to name two. In the case of a confederation, the state being the correct title is the general rule (except where language or ethnicity play a role). In federations, it is much more complicated. The U.S., in terms of federated bodies, is complex because it is not a country in the traditional sense. Other countries use a system of states, like South Africa and Mexico, but they are not unions in the sense that the U.S. is. Mexico is a federated country. The U.S. is a union of political bodies that are now federal zones. To put it bluntly, Mexico and the U.S. are very unlike when it comes to unions.
There is actually no such country as "America." America is indeed a continent. What were the equivalent of countries (in terms of the U.S.) were the colonies that would become states and join together to form a political union (Rhode Island, NY, VA, NC, etc.). They became the United States of the continent (America). The U.S.'s neighbor, Mexico, was a colony with zones of jurisdiction that later became federated and became a different type of union. Not a union of the continent (America), but rather a division of an already existing political entity--Mexico.
Essentially, it comes down to history. Canada, (similar to Mexico) did not form from separate colonies (with, at one point, separate currencies) joining together. Canada became, at one point, a single colony under the British crown. Therefore, the division of Canada represents dividing a country to make it easier to govern, as opposed to having political entities join together to form one country.
So for all practical purposes, there really was not anything the U.S. could have called itself. "American" remains an inaccurate title, but it is easier than saying "Tennessean" or "Ohioan." "Americans," in their mobility, have blurred the once strong nationalism of the state, and instead become a country where they weren't one before.
The closest equivalent to this would be if the E.U. became a country with a strong federal government in Brussels. And let us say (ignoring languages) that "German" and "French" became outdated, and were instead replaced with the term "European." And let us also suppose that some countries within the European continent had not joined the E.U. Technically, it would be politically incorrect to call citizens of the E.U. "European," in light of the fact that Serbians (etc.) were European as well... Even if they became known as "Serbian" rather than "European."
This may never happen in Europe; if only because Europe does not have a single de facto language like the (U.S.) colonies did. Therefore, German and French will continue to be distinctive languages. And also because it is unlikely European states are willing to give up their sovereignty for a centralized union. But this is the best analogy available.
So recap of the main point: Federated countries come primarily in two forms. A country that is divided into political zones (like Russia, Mexico, and others), or a country that was formerly several political entities that joined to make a country.
Ergo, citizens of Mexico are still Mexican. Citizens of Russia are still Russian. Citizens of the United States, however, are Texan, Alaskan, Idahoan, et al. However, it is still acceptable to refer to them by the continent in which their union exists. That continent is "America." Thus, the logical title is "American." This is because the states in the U.S. are American states... As opposed to African states or European states, for example.
So it may be frustrating for someone from another part of America. And everyone else may decry the title as a mark of "arrogance." But the fact of the matter is the U.S. is not a country in the traditional sense. When you are not a traditional country, a good title is your continent. There are exceptions to this rule, as previously stated. One good one is the Union of African States (1958-1962). The correct term for citizens of this union was not necessarily "African," but rather by the state of residence: Ghana, Guinea, and Mali. (These three states have since split and continued their identity as sovereign states).
I hope this answers your question.
It´s a good question. As a Mexican I have called my self as Mexican then American because Mexico is my country and my country is in the American Continent, that is a simple and realistic idea nobody can´t be against that.
The problem is when people from the United States of America take the name of a whole continent only for their country, and they take the gentilic in the same way "american" only for them. It is not fair. People from Alaska to La Patagonia are americans too.
They must to recognize our right to saying: I' am an habitant from the American Continent and for that reason an American.
European people can help recognize that right too.
Three years ago a French said me:
"you are mexican not an american".
Me: "But my continent is AMERICA, you live in Europe and you are a French, but at same time you are an European, please give me a valid reason for wich I can't be a Mexican and an American"
I just got silence.
I try to be polite with people from the USA. I allways write the name of their country as United States of America or U.S.A but the troubles come when I try to find a correct (politically) gentilic. I think if I call them Americans from the US is enough, it is weird I know but I show respect for the whole name of their country in that gentilic.
I am from the US myself and I did not realize this trend until I started learning Spanish. It's kind of sad how people in my country are so narrow-minded and self-centered that they forget about the other "Americans". We should just call ourselves "estadounidenses." Every other country has a word to describe themselves.
As a Northern European, a Scandinavian, I'm sorry to say that American to me means a fat , religous chap from the US of A. I wouldn't want to speak to one of those.. They eat turkey aand celebrate strange teaparties and speak very, very slowly. ..They want to take over the planet .... Lo siento, amigos, eso es.
Now, if you say Latin American, my ears will prick, I'lll sidle over to chat with you, now you're interesting, you may be a most sexy and attractive Aregntinian polo player or a rather poor woman knitting large scarves and mittens from Alpaca wool, but I'll want to talk to you and you'll be slim , suntanned and attractive for sure..
Don't tell me I'm at all prejudiced. No! No!
I'm a viking, myself, a slim and sexy Swede. Seguramante. Hay una posibilidad grande que los americanos me echan de este sito pero es la pura verdad. Hoy en día no es posible decirlo, no es politicalmente correcto. Politically correct, only Europeans will understand me, I fear.
The thing that no one mentions here is that it is rare that someone refers to their continent as their home. Never ever have I had a conversation with someone foreign who told me they were "from South America" or "Europe." They say they are from Brazil or Peru or France or Spain.
I understand how people from Central America and South America would get frustrated from not being able to say they are "American" without being connected to the USA. But think about it...that is the name of our country, the United States of America. Your country is Guatemala or Chile or Argentina. You have THOSE countries to categorize yourself. Our country has "America" in its name. We can say we are from the states or from America, and the latter is more popular.
All I know is that no one has ever stated their home as the continent they are from. It is way too broad. They use their country, which is why "America" is most commonly associated with the country of the USA.
Good question. In English I don't know of any other word
I wish we had a word like "Unitedstateser" but that still wouldn't be precise. Mexico is the United States also and also in North America. Enjoy the irony of being the sometimes arrogant people who have no real name. We who feel so entitled in this world have no title to call our own.
When I was a young man in France I would say "Je suis des Etats Unis", and when I was in Colombia last year I called myself "estadounidense". Whatever we are right now we are very proud of who we are (I'm not, but the media says we are), and very proud of the essentially meaningless name "American".
It's probably because, not only do they live in the the Americas... but the country is called the US of A. Canada and Mexico are on the North American continent, but there countries aren't called America. They are denoted as Canadian and Mexican.
In South America, you are South American... but you will be denoted as... Chilean, being in Chile... or even South American. I guess the people who landed here and decided to name one portion of the Americas 'America' are the ones you should blame... they're all deceased tho. And they made plenty awful decisions... just like much of the world's peoples.
I think it is because the name of the country is so long and harder than other countries to just add an ending to describe its people. Thus, The people of the United States of America,the only easy way to name them is to use part of the name of the whole country, Americans. United Stateseans doesn't have the ring that Chilean or Venezuelan, Australian... etc. does. It has more to do with that than trying to discount others as not being included in the continent.
When people say where they are from, or what they are, they rarely answer with a continent but rather their country: Costa Rican, Canadian.... US citizens are just doing that in the shortest form possible: Americans.
It's a matter of usage, because in England that term was used to refer to the ethnic English/white people born in the 13 colonies of eastern North America, just as in France were américains the French/white people from New France (Quebec) and in Spain the ones from any of the American(continent) colonies.
What I find utterly annoying is people saying americano/americana in Spanish, native speakers mind you, to refer to something or someone from the US, like we didn't have the denonym estadounidense, it gets on my nerves, let alone hearing them say soccer instead of fútbol but let's not delve into that. As far as I know only Portuguese makes the same difference Spanish makes, in French, Italian, German, Dutch, Japanese and many, many other tongues the equivalent of American means from the US, and even though it can be irksome sometimes it's better not to give it much thought, it's not even worth it anymore.
