American (USA)

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by Rusty

He aquí lo que dice el DRAE. Note the spelling.

estadounidense

1. adj. Natural de los Estados Unidos de América. U. t. c. s.
2. adj. Perteneciente o relativo a este país.

Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados

Based on this, people from both hemispheres are referring to a citizen of the United States of America, or something from or related to the USA, when they say estadounidense. I've seen arguments to the contrary, but if a dictionary were consulted to resolve any doubt, the term focuses on only one place.

Yes. I agree with Rusty's answers. If you are in the U.S.A the most common is that you say. Soy Estadounidense. Or simply you can say I'm American.

Although exist more way to say the same in the Mexico in the worldwide.

[PIKI]

Very interesting thread you guys, brought a lot to my attention thats for sure. So there's no problem with being called an american after becoming a US citizen because you were an american before you became a US citizen. Funny though because I dont ever remember calling myself and american, when people ask me where I'm from I alway say Minnesota (even though I moved from there when I was 9 twenty something years ago). So in spanish "soy de Minnesota", when they ask where's that, "aqui, es cerca de Chicago" Ive never left the US so Ive never come across the need to clarify, glad I read this thread before I visit Mexico.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Como si se pudiera.


It is true that the official name of Mexico is "Estados Unidos Mexicanos", but the nationality is called "mexicano" and nothing more.

It is a simple fact that many Mexicans consider that it's unfair that the name "norteamericano" is used exclusively by US-Americans, and it's the same about most Latin Americans who aren't happy that seemingly only the USA citizens can be called "americanos". So to avoid confusions and hurting sensitive spirits, I usually prefer "estadounidense" and "US-American" as they're simple and clearer to me.

I rarely join campaigns so it's better to stick to the principle that the meaning of words is given by the context, the one who speaks and his/her intention. So any word one uses can be as offensive or as neutral as one intends it to be.

Exactly right. The nationality of this country is American. And that is what we need to understand.

My questions and prodding were to elicit comments, like Piki's

Originally Posted by PIKI

Very interesting thread you guys, brought a lot to my attention thats for sure. So there's no problem with being called an american after becoming a US citizen because you were an american before you became a US citizen. Funny though because I dont ever remember calling myself and american, when people ask me where I'm from I alway say Minnesota (even though I moved from there when I was 9 twenty something years ago). So in spanish "soy de Minnesota", when they ask where's that, "aqui, es cerca de Chicago" Ive never left the US so Ive never come across the need to clarify, glad I read this thread before I visit Mexico.

I find it interesting. I bet there are more people like you , that do not think in term of the country.

But, for the rest of the Americans that are reading this:

When you say " I am and American", are you thinking of the country or the continent?

And this where we (the rest of the world, pretty much) need to aim to understand. :-)

To me is very simple, once you know you cannot be offended by any of it.

[Tomisimo]

One thing we should remember is that any given word can have more than one meaning. In North American English, the word "America" has more than one meaning. It can refer to the continents, or it can refer to the country, the United States of America. So in English, one of the meanings of "American" is a citizen of the United States.

On a lighter note, I always wanted to push for the use of "Unitedstatesian".

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

On a lighter note, I always wanted to push for the use of "Unitedstatesian".

[PIKI]

Originally Posted by chileno

When you say " I am and American", are you thinking of the country or the continent?

In my opinion I would say the majority would be thinking of country when asked that question, with out a doubt.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by PIKI

In my opinion I would say the majority would be thinking of country when asked that question, with out a doubt.

And that is exactly my contention. :-)

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This reminds me of a computer book that cited "Ignorance is like virginity, once you lose it, it does not come back

[ZeroTX]

There's no place in the world where "American" doesn't mean someone from the United States. Any other thought is mere political playing with words. Nobody in Brazil or Chile or Peru or Costa Rica refers to themselves as "American." Only those from the United States do. Also, nobody refers to the Americas as "America" other than in discussions of historical land discovery (e.g. Columbus). If people are referring to the continents, they say "the Americas" not "America." Period.

I'm American. I refuse to say "estudounidense" because it just sound stupid and lacks the main noun... United states of what? America.

[María José]

In Spain we say American because it's easier than North American. When we are talking about people from other countries in the continent we'll either say Mexican, Peruvian... or South American when it applies.

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by María José

In Spain we say American because it's easier than North American. When we are talking about people from other countries in the continent we'll either say Mexican, Peruvian... or South American when it applies.

I believe that the word American is most said in my country, but anyway there is a word most said for the people, and the word is Gringo.

For example.

Who was the gringo that entered yesterday to the victor's party.

I hope this don't offend anyone.