US Americans, do you identify first as a US citizen, someone from your state, or from your town/city?
US Americans, do you identify first as a US citizen, someone from your state, or from your town/city?
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I don’t identify as a US American.
I identify as an American.
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I realize that foreigners, in languages other than English, use terms that directly translate to US American. However our preferred nomenclature is American.
When interacting with someone from another country, I identify as an American.
When interacting with a fellow American, I identify as a resident of my state, where I have lived nearly my entire life, excepting times spent out of state & out of country while I was in the military.
When interacting with a fellow resident of my state, I identify as a resident of the major city in whose suburbs I reside.
When interacting with a fellow resident of the metro area, I identify with either the general region of the metro area or the specific municipality in which I actually reside.
I realize that foreigners, in languages other than English, use terms that directly translate to US American. However our preferred nomenclature is American.
I usually use US American as Canadians and Mexicans are also Americans, and that can go all the way to Central and South America depending on how you divide continents
You won't find many people who would seriously complain about that phrasing, but it would come off as awkward and stilted to most people from the US.
And if you extrapolate this and start saying Mexico Americans and Canada Americans for people in those countries, you're just going to confuse people
You won't find many people who would seriously complain about that phrasing, but it would come off as awkward and stilted to most people from the US.
Awkward, stilted, and a little holier-than-thou.
And if you extrapolate this and start saying Mexico Americans and Canada Americans for people in those countries, you're just going to confuse people
Mexico American - doesn’t make sense
Mexican American - American whose origins lie primarily in Mexico
Canada American - doesn’t make sense
Canadian American - American whose origins lie primarily in Canada
Frankly, I think most Canadians would probably feel insulted if you addressed them as Canada Americans. They don’t want to be tainted by association with us.
Mexicans and Canadians have those demonyms, so no need to worry for them.
Frankly, I think most Canadians would probably feel insulted if you addressed them as Canada Americans. They don’t want to be tainted by association with us.
I've seen Canadians being okay with being called "North Americans", when discussing something impacting both Canada and the USA, so it seems in this situations it's fine by team. Canada Americans would indeed be strange.
North American yes, but it would be unusual for a Canadian to call themselves just American. Same for Mexico, though obviously Spanish has its own demonyms that don't have this problem.
For a European equivalent, should we say "UK British" when referring to people living in the UK? The UK is the only country to commonly use British to refer to its citizens, but they are not the only country on the British Isles.
The UK British example is interesting.
Not British, so hopefully I'm not butchering this up.
UK is Great Britain (so Scotland, England, Wales) + Northern Ireland.
UK British in opposition to UK Northern Irish makes limited sense because both demonyms are enough to see who's who (British vs Northern Irish). And if you want to go deeper, you can use Scottish, English, Welsh.
To have a situation similar to America would be to have the English using British to only qualify themselves, disregarding Scottish and Welsh people.
I'm more talking about the Republic of Ireland. The country is on one the British Isles, but would never refer to its people as British. So technically you could differentiate UK British from Ireland British, but you'll just come across as pedantic and upset a lot of people.
The American one is less politically fraught and possibly more confusing because terms like "American" and "North American" look similar but refer to very different things. But people generally know what you mean when you just say American. So the clarification is at best unnecessary and stilted. At worst it's used as a subtle insult about Americans not being aware of the other countries around them, which is where that other person's "holier-than-thou" comment came from.
Ah, indeed, it's more clear. In summary, there should be another name than "British Isles" to describe that archipelago. Interestingly enough, it seems like schools books in Ireland indeed do that
In October 2006, Irish educational publisher Folens announced that it was removing the term from its popular school atlas effective in January 2007.
'The British Isles' has a dated ring to it, as if we are still part of the Empire".
Writing in The Irish Times in 2016, Donald Clarke described the term as "anachronistically named"
A bilingual dictionary website maintained by Foras na Gaeilge translates "British Isles" into Irish as Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór "Ireland and Great Britain"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_British_Isles#Republic_of_Ireland
So, if we were to use this logic for the USA, there may be another demonym to use? Spanish has “Estadounidense” (https://dle.rae.es/estadounidense), which in English would be something like UnitedStatesian, or USian
Take this with a grain of salt bc small sample size, but I've also heard from South or Latin Americans that simply saying "American" = USA. It's just that rest, I don't know why.
Language might be one reason, and Hollywood and other cultural exports, but also I think people there identify more with like a Global South than as part of the American continent.
So to me it's one of those things that you would think increase welcomingness and inclusivity, but for whatever reason in practice kinda somehow does the opposite (or not opposite, but just has the negative effect of sounding awkward without much of any positive benefit).
But I'd be happy to be proven wrong if that's actually the way it is. If you find out, please let us all know, maybe with a post about it!? :-D
Take this with a grain of salt bc small sample size, but I’ve also heard from South or Latin Americans that simply saying “American” = USA. It’s just that rest, I don’t know why.
In English, I assume? Because in Spanish, they would usually use "Estadounidense" (https://dle.rae.es/estadounidense)
I did strongly wonder if that is the reason why, but ultimately can only guess or relate from someone who actually knows:-).