EEUU
Why is this acronym EEUU instead of EU for Estados Unidos'
12 Answers
Why is this acronym EEUU instead of EU for Estados Unidos?
Abbreviations in Spanish duplicate the letter when the word in in plural:
FF. AA. = Fuerzas Armadas
CC. OO. = comisiones obreras
EE. UU. = Estados Unidos
RR. HH. = Recursos Humanos
There is absolutely nothing wrong with calling people from the United States "americanos" or "Americans"
The difference is that "American" in English means "from the USA", whereas "americano" in Spanish meant for over 5 centuries "someone from the American continent". At school, I was taught that people from Asia were "asiáticos", and people from América "americanos". The Real Academia Española did not include the meaning "from the USA" until the latest 2004 version, and only because most (uneducated) people have been influenced by the Americans, and they don't know their own language. The name America was given by Spaniards to the continent before anyone spoke English there at all;, and the first Spanish conquistadors who were born there were "Americans". Wow we are all removing our lifetime natural definitions of what "americano" means, because we feel stupidly inferior to the Americans, and they rule... even above our culture and language.
Sorry, but "americano" is "una persona de América", and "América" goes from Argentina to the very north. But again, I'm talking about Spanish (not English), a language I've been proudly speaking for 36 years.
Why is this acronym EEUU instead of EU for Estados Unidos?
Might it not get confused with the European Union (EU)
Well, that would make sense -- except that the US was titled such very long before the European Union came into existence, so you'd think the more recent title would have some kind of alteration to the acronym.
Also, I'm wondering why the book I am studying refers to US citizens as americanos, but I never see this usage in Spanish subtitles for films. In US films, the term estadosunidenses is used. Americanos is certainly easier for me to say or write, but I'm wondering if there is some reason for using one or the other in a given situation/location.
Sorry, but "americano" is "una persona de América", and "América" goes from Argentina to the very north.
Yes, that is a fact, however, if you hear anybody in Spain say: este tipo es americano, he most likely , not to say, he surely means: he is from the United States.
Why is this acronym EEUU instead of EU for Estados Unidos?
Might it not get confused with the European Union (EU)
Because in spanish when you use an accronym/abbreviation for something like "states" where the states are plural you use the letter twice. Since in spanish estados unidos both are plural you use EEUU. I think there is another thread somewhere on the site that talks about this...but I can't find it.
Here is what someone on yahoo had to say. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index'qid=20081204235356AATN8Uw
I have no clue why they say americanos in your book, is the book you are reading from made in the U.S.? If so then that might be why. After a google search I had this return: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/americano#Spanish
Noun
americano m. (feminine americana, masculine plural americanos, feminine plural americanas)
- a native of the Americas.
- a native of the United States.
- someone who became rich in America (continent) and returned to his country.
[edit] Usage notes
' Definition 1 is the common meaning.
' Definition 2 is more modern and imported from the English.
' Definition 3 is very rarely used, the term indiano being more common.
' Only in the United States is americano currently used in reference to the United States. Otherwise, in Spanish americano is always used in reference to the American continent. For the United States (country) in particular, the correct global term is estadounidense.
' The usage of the term norteamericano in reference to the United States is also not entirely correct, as this term technically refers to North America (which includes Canada, United States and Mexico), but it is very common in reference to the U.S.
Also, I'm wondering why the book I am studying refers to US citizens as americanos, but I never see this usage in Spanish subtitles for films. In US films, the term estadosunidenses is used. Americanos is certainly easier for me to say or write, but I'm wondering if there is some reason for using one or the other in a given situation/location.
In my experience, some Latin Americans would take offense to people from the United States referring to themselves as "Americans" because, they too are Americans even though they are not in or from the United States.
Thank you so much, Fredbong and Nathaniel -- that is all very helpful
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Heitor:
What you said !!!!
Heitor
On one hand you have the US, Canada and Quebec
My Canada includes Quebec! Your reference to Quebec as a separate entity is GeoPolitically incorrect if that is what you intended. (Say it isn't so. Please.)
Canada proudly has two official languages, French and English. However, as you probably know somewhere in your conscious awareness, from sea to shining sea this is one nation (hopefully) indivisible.
I am sure you intended no harm. Pero, querido compadre, don't do it again, je vous en prie.
Maurice
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ok, I think the question has been answered.
I'm arriving a bit late in the game here 
so I dug this up in the "already answered" question section. I was a bit confused, since I'd moved back to the US after living in the EU (European Union) for such a long time and wrongly assumed EU = EEUU (without spaces or any periods). Maybe someone else has had the same question. I found this simple answer on the net, which confirms most of the previous comments:
