Well, everybody born in the american continent is technically “american” too, including Central and South America. Is there a specific term in english for these people?
Edit: Thanks for all your answers, especially the wholesome ones and those patient enough to explain it thoroughly. Since we (South Americans) and you (North Americans) use different models/conventions of continent boundaries, it makes sense for you to go by “Americans”, while it doesn’t for us.
The sovereign people of any nation have a right to call themselves what they please. People of the US decided on ‘American’ long before the Internet was a thing and Latin America people got pissed off. US intervention in Latin America is a stain in history, but this is categorically dumb. US citizens call themselves Americans because it’s in the name. Literally. Canadians don’t call themselves Americans and never will. This is dumb argument. Respectfully.
First off, this wasn’t supposed to be an argument, just a question. My native language has a specific word for them (and some other languages have too) and I got curious if english itself had such a thing.
Latin America people got pissed off
Maybe it’s because people say “America” and everybody instantly thinks of the USA, even though you’re just another country in the whole continent? For these people you are stealing the word “american” and changing its meaning. People from Asia have the word “asian”, people in Europe got “european”, people in Africa got “african”, but we? We don’t have a meaningful word anymore. And I’m not saying it’s your fault or even it’s a fault of your founding fathers. I’m just trying to tell you why these people get mad.
If most people say Korea they mean South Korea. That’s because North Korea is far less likely the thing to be referenced, so you need to go out of your way to specify North if you actually mean that instead of South.
Same goes for all kinds of things.
The Korean people are one, regardless of the political situation there.
Other peoples in the Americas have been denied even their right to call themselves part of the continent.
There is no continent called “America”. We have North America and South America.
When someone says “South American” I don’t think Alabama I think Brazil or Argentina.
The term “North American” is commonly used when you’re describing something that applies to both Canada and the US. Eg. “North American sports teams”.
We commonly use the term “Central American” when referring to Mexico, El Salvador, etc. because even though they are technically in North America there is a strong cultural divide, similar to how the middle East is technically Asia, but you’d never refer to someone from Saudi Arabia as “Asian”.
Mexico is also in North America though, not in Central America.
LATAM are usually pissy about the term “Americans” because the “geographical division” colloquially seem to be more of a third vs. first world division rather than a geographical division.
You can see how people from LATAM usually call themselves “americanos” to include everyone from The Americas, but Canada and USA think “North America” doesn’t include Mexico.
Do South and Central American words not exist in spanish? Soy de Sudamérica. Soy de Centroamérica. As the other comment said, this question is not ambiguous at all. And I know why people get mad, they hate the US, which I understand because they’re assholes. No one will deny it. Ask any self respecting american and they will agree.
But with all due respect, this is a dumb ass question. Respectfully.
In southern European tradition (which ends up in Latin America), those are not continents but regions. America is the Continent.
Y en español les decimos estadounidenses. Porque son los putos Estados Unidos, y se la calan porque los cabrones no tienen la decencia de ser amables con sus vecinos.
Puedo harcerte una pregunta? si eres de mexico, te llamarias americano? Querrias hacerlo? Soy de los Estados Unidos y no me importa si te llamas americano, pero no se por que querrias. Yo diria que “soy norteamericano” o “soy latinoamericano”.
(Lo siento si mi espanol es malo, estoy aprendiendo).
I’m not Mexican. But in general, as I said in another comment, Americano is in Spanish a politically charged term. South America was plain America way before North America was a thing. American is used by the left for the historical reclaim of ancestral origins. American is used to impose USA cultural hegemony over the whole continent. It’s somewhat complex at times. But yes, if I had to contrast my identity against, let’s say a European, Asian or African person, I would refer to myself as American. That said, I would probably have to clarify that I am Latin American. Because of said USA cultural hegemony.
It goes back to the colonies. In the British Empire the continental colonies were “the American colonies,” so British subjects from said colonies were called “Americans” for upwards of 200 years prior to the revolution. After the revolution, since Halifax was the only major continental port that remained in British hands, it made sense to call its colonists something else, while those to the south retained the name “Americans.”
Conversely, the Caribbean possessions were called “The West Indies” or “The West Indies Station.”
