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Am I wrong for referring to The United States as ‘America’ ?

Posted by Aggressive-Equal7223@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 255 comments

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255 Comments

ToggleMoreOptions@reddit

Yep, theres a whole other continent also called America. The US shares the north one with two other counties 
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stinkyman360@reddit

There's more than one US in North America
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RespectableBloke69@reddit

No. The only people who object are usually Latin Americans who were taught the 5 continent model, with North, Central, and South America combined into one continent called "America." But this model also divides Eurasia into Europe and Asia. Why not lump those two together if you're going to lump the Americas together? I'll get off my soapbox now.
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AncientUrsus@reddit

Even sillier when you consider that North and South America are separate tectonic plates and Europe/Asia are a singular Eurasian plate. 
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RespectableBloke69@reddit

It's weird how selective that model is about which continents make sense to divide up based on cultural differences, isn't it? Following the same logic, US and Canada specifically should get our own continent. I suggest we call our new continent Gringoland.
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Ihasknees936@reddit

Just a slight correction, Latin America uses one of the 6 continent models. The 5 continent model views the Americas and Eurasia as single continents.
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RespectableBloke69@reddit

I just added those up on my fingers and this checks out, thanks.
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ForestOranges@reddit

No, that’s how we refer to it in English. If you went to R/AskLatinAmerica they would tell you that saying “America” is wrong and some evil imperial tactic by the US to claim the name of an entire continent for ourselves.
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KittiesRule1968@reddit

No. Pedantic assholes will say you're wrong, but fuck those guys.
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Popular-Local8354@reddit

No.
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Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit

Also. No.
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Possible_General9125@reddit

To add to what the posters above me have already said, no.
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moametal_always@reddit

To piggy back on your response: No
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Leading_Plenty_6946@reddit

It is not strictly correct. THe USA is on the continent of North America, which includes Canada and Mexico eg. No one in the US will care and its common here, but I have had Canadians snip at me for it.
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whatisakafka@reddit

It's funny coming from Canadians, because they use the 7 continent model just like us, so there's no such continent as "America". "North America" is a distinct thing, and no one called people from the US "North Americans" to the exclusion of other North American countries. I get the issue with Latin American countries, because they many use a different continent model where America is one continent, but Canadians getting pissy about it just seems like sour grapes
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Leading_Plenty_6946@reddit

people are pedantic basically I think.
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whatisakafka@reddit

Yeah for real
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Leading_Plenty_6946@reddit

i also got it a lot when i lived in the spanish carribean, but I too understand that more....
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BecauseImBatmanFilms@reddit

No that's our name. No other country calls themselves America
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PabloPicasshooole@reddit

And when protesters in other countries chant, "Death to America," they're not referring to Paraguay
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Practical-Ordinary-6@reddit

Excellent point.
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Fun-Dragonfly-4166@reddit

I am aware of a criminal gang in South Africa that calls themselves "the Americans". There is a minute possibility that they are referring to those guys.
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Frequent_Ad_5670@reddit

You shouldn‘t call the Musk family a criminal gang.
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Fun-Dragonfly-4166@reddit

they fit. but I was not referring to them. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Americans\_(gang)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Americans_(gang)) They use the american flag as their gang colors. They are much more honorable than elon musk.
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illegal_miles@reddit

They’re more of a klan than a gang.
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Harbinger_Kyleran@reddit

Well, makes sense as much of the world views the US government as being run by criminals. 😉
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MyUsername2459@reddit

We literally have a convicted felon for a President.
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Fun-Dragonfly-4166@reddit

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Americans\_(gang)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Americans_(gang)) is an article about them. their arch-rivals are the British (another street gang not the nation of Britain). Their headquarters is the "White House". The different ranks are President, Senator, and so on are modelled after the US government. They are murderers and drug dealers ... nice people compared to trump.
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PstrDisaster@reddit

That is the best reply I've ever heard to this "controversy". Congratulations. You live rent free in my head until the day i die.
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PabloPicasshooole@reddit

Thank you so much.
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_WillCAD_@reddit

What aboot Canada, eh?
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AnastasiusDicorus@reddit

that we know of
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Word2DWise@reddit

America is not our name to the rest of the world, nor the name of our country. US or United States would be more accurate than "America". Americas are a continent, north and south.
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Upbeat-Banana-5530@reddit

What do you call the United Mexican States where you're from?
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Ruthrfurd-the-stoned@reddit

I mean countries call countries what they want which I’ve always found a bit weird We all call Greece Greece but if you’re in Greece it’s Hellas. You can’t just tell them that no your country name is wrong because we call it something else
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ToumaKazusa1@reddit

The rest of the world has a lot of different names for us because they speak a lot of different languages. When speaking in English, however, "America" is a country, and "The Americas" are the continents.
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Popular-Local8354@reddit

There are more countries that call themselves “United States” than “America”.
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AdSpirited5019@reddit

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerigo\_Vespucci](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerigo_Vespucci)
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flustard@reddit

I’m pretty sure literally every “‘murican” learns that America is named after Amerigo Vespucci in school
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Arleare13@reddit

That is a well-known fact that Americans learn in early-grade history courses.
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Ruthrfurd-the-stoned@reddit

Literally was taught this in 6th grade
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Popular-Local8354@reddit

Yes?
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AdSpirited5019@reddit

Yes
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Affectionate-Lab2557@reddit

"erm, America is actually all of the Americas" is a stupid "gotcha" response used by performative people on Twitter. "America" is just short for United States of America.
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SaltandLillacs@reddit

The only people who care are from Latin and South America
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Significant_Earth759@reddit

...and since those are important, nice people, we should listen to them
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Lootlizard@reddit

Should we tell Japanese people that they have to call themselves Japanese instead of Nippon Jin or should we just let people actually from countries decide what they want to call themselves?
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OrthogonalPotato@reddit

Important is not correct. Nice is situationally correct.
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Popular-Local8354@reddit

Why? They have no right to determine what we call ourselves in our language.
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Arleare13@reddit

We *do* listen to them, and in when communicating in their language, "Estadounidense" is the correct word. I don't think it's unreasonable that when communicating in *our* language, we use *our* word.
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AnyWays655@reddit

Listened to them plenty, I understand their perspective and reject its conclusions.
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CarolusWhisper@reddit

No, we shouldn’t, because they can’t wrap their minds around a linguistic difference
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Deep_Downlow@reddit

But call them American rather than Peruvian or El Salvadorian and they lose their shit.
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Greyface13@reddit

Their point of view is relevant to me, a US citizen
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ToggleMoreOptions@reddit

Thats wrong lol here i am. You are wrong
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nissansky-@reddit

Not at all. I'm Mexican American so while I was born here I've spent a lot of time down in Mexico around family, no one ever brought this issue up. I didn't know it was an issue at all until certain subreddits made a point of complaining about it lol. We're all obviously part of the Americas but to my knowledge the US is the only country that actually has "America" in the name and given it's the biggest country out of the bunch it makes sense. Funny enough Mexico is technically the United Mexican States but you never see people pushing to also call them the United States lol.
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Krusty_Krab_Pussy@reddit

It seems like an issue chronically online people have tbh, go to these actual countries, and I guarantee you people care way more about their own lives than what the US is called.
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WildRefrigerator9479@reddit

No, it’s only on the internet you’ll hear other. Generally from self hating Americans or South Americans. Trust me Canadians aren’t mad that the USA is called America and Spanish shouldn’t dictate names in English
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ruralife@reddit

Canadian here who disagrees with you. They are the USA and Yanks.
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PluckyPerspicacity@reddit

I live in Virginia. I’m not a Yank. Just sayin.
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Fossilhund@reddit

My dad father’s family has been in Virginia and West Virginia for God alone knows how long. We are Americans, but not Yanks.
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madogvelkor@reddit

Yanks are people from the Northeastern US only.
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Deep_Downlow@reddit

And then a specific area within the North East and then only the WASPs within that area.
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cavalier78@reddit

Visit Texas and call somebody a Yank.
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VibratingNinja@reddit

Why do you insist on calling it USA?
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Local_Debate_8920@reddit

Yankees are specially from northeast USA or the states that fought for the north in the cival war. American fits people from all 50 states.
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Unique_Statement7811@reddit

Yanks (short for Yankee) refers to people from a specific region in the US.
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Book_of_Numbers@reddit

Not all people from USA are yanks
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WildRefrigerator9479@reddit

So you call yourself American?
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Hammer_of_Shawn@reddit

No. Some of the biggest blowhards of all time will come on here and be like "well ACTUALLY..... America is a continent, not a country, blah blah blah," which is true, but no one cares. Everyone here in the USA refers to our country as America. It is what it is.
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Arleare13@reddit

> America is a continent, not a country, blah blah blah," which is true, It's not even true, in English. The "America is a continent" thing stems from a linguistic misunderstanding. In Spanish-speaking countries, they generally use the six-continent model, where what we call North America and South America are combined into a single continent called "America." In Spanish, then, there *is* some potential ambiguity as to whether "America" would refer to the continent or the U.S. But in most other countries (including most of Europe), the geographic model treats North and South America as separate continents -- there is no continent called America, and people from the Western Hemisphere are "North Americans" or "South Americans," not "Americans." There's no ambiguity, and we're not stepping on anyone else's toes because nobody else is using that word. That's why it's most often Spanish-speakers we hear complaining about this -- they view North and South America as a single continent, and maybe just don't realize that in the English language, we make this differentiation that resolves their concerns about the U.S. monopolizing the term "America."
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madogvelkor@reddit

When Bad Bunny in the Superbowl Half Time Show said God Bless America and named off a bunch of countries from the Americas I assumed he was referencing immigrants from those countries to America. Not saying that they were all America.
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Arleare13@reddit

As I recall, he *was* saying that they're all America, but because he was speaking in Spanish, it was correct. A good illustration of this principle!
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Admirable-Extent-121@reddit

I have heard these complaints as well from people from several different countries in Latin America so I just call myself "estadounidense" (sort of like saying "United Statesian") in Spanish to avoid any comments lol
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Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit

Correct, just like in English it is Germany, Japan, and Turkey. But in Japanese Japan  is Nihon or Nippon, Germany is  Deutschland or in Turkish Turkey is Türkiye.  Although to avoid historical confusion Istanbul should always be referred to as  Constantinople.  Just like in Chinese the name for America is Beautiful Country.
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Arleare13@reddit

In Spanish, that's totally reasonable! In that language, there *is* some ambiguity between "America" the continent and "America" the country. "Estadounidense" is perfectly correct when communicating in Spanish, and "American" is perfectly correct when communicating in English.
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L_knight316@reddit

The funny thing about viewing North and South America as one continent is that the narrowest point between the two is nearly half as wide as the narrowest point between Africa and Asia, yet those somehow aren't the same continent. And the Latino sphere also makes a distinction between Europe and Asia, which has almost zero distinction compared to the Americas.
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unclemilty420@reddit

This is exactly right. It's always been a language issue. It's not about arrogance but rather how English speaker refer to the landmass for which we use a plural form "the Americas."
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Deep-Hovercraft6716@reddit

And that's not even correct. There is no continent called America. There's North America and South America. There is no plain America other than the country. If they wanted to refer to the two continents then those are the Americas plural.
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asphid_jackal@reddit

In the 6 continent model, both Americas are a single continent called America Personally, I think if we're going to do that, go all in on a 4 continent model. America, Afro-Eurasia, Oceania, and Antarctica
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RespectableBloke69@reddit

Personally I want us to move in the opposite direction and let tectonic plates determine the continents. So India gets its own continent, as does Arabia, the Caribbean, and Madagascar is promoted to a continent along with a good chunk of the East coast of Africa. Beautiful chaos!
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plutopius@reddit

In elementary school I learned 6 continent model but with Eurasia as a continent. Europe and Arabia were subcontinents. Putting North and South America together seems kind of eurocentric considering the division is visibly distinct.
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invisibleman13000@reddit

There are countries (often in Latin America) that learn a 6 continent model where North and South America are 1 continent called America.
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basicbagbitch@reddit

In Latin American countries, they consider both North and South America to be one continent, based on the way continental models are taught in school (like Australia vs Oceania in the Anglophone world). So technically, to them, it is correct - there is only one continent in the Americas. They may be incorrect based on your/our/the American point of view, but in their own culture it is correct. (Not defending it, I speak Spanish and deal with the “I’m American” issue all the time when traveling, it’s annoying).
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Harbinger_Kyleran@reddit

Is OK, they are digging a new canal which will "separate" the two continents. 😉
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MyUsername2459@reddit

Except "America" is not a continent. North America is a continent. South America is a continent. "The Americas" refers to both of those continents together. "America" on its own refers to the United States of America.
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AccurateExtent3961@reddit

No, I am Canadian and exclusively refer to that dumpster fire as America
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Lumpy_Branch_552@reddit

Are you lost? This is Ask An American
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AccurateExtent3961@reddit

You guys show up in ask a Canadian all the time, fair is fair.
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Lumpy_Branch_552@reddit

Funny, I’ve never been to that sub. Are the Americans in there calling Canada a dumpster fire? Or are they apologizing for our country and you guys bully them anyways? I agree that Americans should not be answering in “Ask A Canadian”.
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AccurateExtent3961@reddit

Wow you seem salty, and yes Americans say all kinds of unhinged things all over the place. Honestly I have no issue with Americans replying in ask a Canadian these places are about getting perspective and in this particular instance it seems relevant that other countries in North America also refer to you guys as American. Also you guys kind of are a dumpster fire right now, sorry.
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Lumpy_Branch_552@reddit

Me, salty? Not at all. Actually I’ve been running into Canadians on here lately that seem salty, and mean to those who apologize for the U.S. Where I’m from (Minnesota) we’re very Canadian-like in culture and mannerisms, I myself am much more like a Canadian than someone in the southern U.S. BUT. I’m still an American. Yes, we’re a dumpster fire, but it’s still my dumpster fire, and I’ll still stick up for the America I know and love.
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AccurateExtent3961@reddit

I respect that
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thatcoolguy60@reddit

> I am Canadian Yawn
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sparrow_42@reddit

American here but otherwise same
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strongly-worded@reddit

No, unless you’re in a Spanish speaking country, in which case say the United States (Estados Unidos). The other countries in the Americas (other than Canada) take issue with our usage of “American” and it’s just more polite and more useful to follow their conventions while in their countries. (Possibly this applies to Brazil and non-Spanish-speaking South American countries too, but I’m not sure.)
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Innuendo64_@reddit

No. People outside the US get hung up about it but it's the only country in the Americas to have America in the name and most humans are smart enough to understand the context that you're speaking about the country, not the continents.
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Laszlo-Panaflex@reddit

Yeah, it's this. People from Latin America are the people who get hung up on it. They're taught that they live on the one continent of America, which is divided into North/Central/South, and not 2 continents like English speaking countries are taught. So to them, in Spanish and Portuguese "America" refers to the continent they live on and they feel like us Americans are taking ownership of it by calling ourselves that, not recognizing that we have different concepts and words in English. Like it'd be weird in English if anyone who wasn't from the US said they're American because they live in the America*s*. There's a reason Canadians aren't bothered by calling us Americans at all. I've had this debate before with my wife's family, who are Mexican...
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desertrose0@reddit

This. Also other languages often have words to easily refer to American citizens. In English if you don't use "American" what are you left with? I've seen USain but that's super awkward to me. There isn't a very good English language substitute for "a person from the United States".
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MiddlePop4953@reddit

And that totally makes sense for them to get hung up, but I also think it's pretty reasonable for an easy shorthand for "citizen of the United States of *America*" to refer to themselves as "American." Like I can't even think of a better way to refer to us as a group that isn't a mouthful, and at this point we've been doing it for enough generations that it doesn't make sense to change it.
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Having_A_Day@reddit

It's not the only country in the Americas to have America in its official name. But you're correct that it's the only one to use "America" as its colloquial name.
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OrthogonalPotato@reddit

What are the others?
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Having_A_Day@reddit

Never mind, I was thinking of the other countries with "United States" in their name & mixed it up with "America". Ooof, coffee time! Gonna delete that post do I don't get spammed for a week. Lol
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rythmicjea@reddit

Then there are the dicks in other countries on the continent that call themselves "American" because of the continent's name.
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Jaymac720@reddit

One thing that really annoyed me was people saying Pope Leo wasn’t the first American pope because Pope Francis was from Argentina, which is in South America. Pope Francis was Argentinian, not American
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rythmicjea@reddit

YES!! Like way to erase his heritage and culture.
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Lucky_otter_she_her@reddit

...it'll piss off the latinos i guess, lol
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Arleare13@reddit

No. That's a common and universally acceptable shorthand for the United States.
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BuckeyeN7@reddit

In fact, it’s the shorthand to use if you want to sound the most ‘American’, because it’s how everyone here refers to the country You really only ever here ‘the states’ or ‘the USA’ from foreigners
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Pleasant-Yam6807@reddit

Having spent childhood summers in Canada, I have always referred to it as the States. And later, after visiting Chile multiple times as an adult, I also became aware of how most Latin Americans take offense at the USA co-opting "America".
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Ruthrfurd-the-stoned@reddit

Then those nerds should’ve gotten independence first 🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅
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Arleare13@reddit

> I also became aware of how most Latin Americans take offense at the USA co-opting "America". [As I explained in this post](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskAnAmerican/comments/1tvuksb/am_i_wrong_for_referring_to_the_united_states_as/opjl5a2/), there has been no "co-opting." It's a linguistic misunderstanding.
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esotericbatinthevine@reddit

That's interesting. I lived in England briefly as a teen and everyone referred to me as American, usually with a look of shock on their face when they realized I wasn't British. I wonder if that's changed in the last twenty years... Even if someone said the States referring to the US, they still referred to me as American.
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GasMask_Dog@reddit

I hear most people refer to it as "the US" in the Pacific Northwest.
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Cerulean_IsFancyBlue@reddit

Yep. Amerika. アミリカ. Its widespread, no just something Americans use.
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Foxy_locksy1704@reddit

If I’m talking to someone in the US I’ll say America, but if I’m speaking on an international platform like the internet i tend to say US or United States. I hate how not picky someone is because if I’m talking about another country that is part of North America I’ll say “oh yeah I have a friend who is Canadian” or “My brother has in-laws from Mexico” I think because the official name is the United States of America, shortening it to American or Americans should be ok, because typically people will call the other countries on the continent by their proper name Canada or Mexico.
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MarcusAurelius0@reddit

The only thing that causes me to trash anything someone says is when they utter "USian"
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Chemical_Strain6488@reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/football/s/DOgRIi35ea
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Accomplished-House28@reddit

Federal Republic of Germany > Germany Kingdom of Norway > Norway State of Wyoming > Wyoming City of New York > New York Seems to be a pattern. Why would "United States of America" be the only exception? Obviously the word after "of" is the correct short form. That's just how our language works.
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brenawyn@reddit

It became too confusing and politically incorrect. We don’t say I’m from Dakota or from Virginia when there is a north/south or an east/west so why refer to a country as if it were somehow set apart from a greater continent. Or we’re significantly more than the greater part. We are not the most important part of North America point blank. We are a part of it. It’s like ignoring 2/3’s of a country. It’s not ok to say ‘Americans’ this or that when everyone from Mexico and Canada are also American. And then there’s South America. Just refer to it as the US or the States or its full proper name. It’s what I do and have been doing for over 20 years. I don’t understand why it’s such a difficult concept to grasp. In fact this sub should be renamed.
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Roam1985@reddit

No different than calling a Saudi Arabian “Arabian”. Like it’s probably weird if you do it next to a guy from the United Arab Emirates while insisting only one of them is a “Real Arabian”.  But that’d be an impressive level to taking it to being a jackass.
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forestinity@reddit

But nobody over there calls Saudi Arabians "Arabians," including themselves. Rather, they call themselves Saudis and are called Saudis by other Arabs as well; while people from the UAE refer to themselves as Emiratis, and are referred to as such by other Arabs. Generally, the peoples from the various Arab countries also refer to themselves as Arabs, in addition to specifying their vatious nationalities--although there are a few dissenters and ethnic/cultural exceptions amongst the various sub-ethnic goups in a few predominantly Arab nations. Just like Italy, France, and Spain are all European countries, similarly, Jordan, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia are all Arab countries, and any of them can properly refer to their nation and themselves as "Arab." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_world Generally, to be "culturally correct," one should avoid using "Arabian" for people. Referring to people as "Arabians" is generally considered grammatically incorrect and culturally inaccurate. Reserve "Arabian" for geography and Arabian horses, and use it to describe things originating from the Arabian Peninsula itself, not the broader Arab world.
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Upbeat_Call4935@reddit

But aren’t people from Saudi Arabia typically called Saudis? And people from the UAE called Emeratis?
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Brokelynne@reddit

No, because the usual adjectival form is "Saudi "or "Saudi Arabian." The term for the overall ethnicity is "Arab."
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Alternative-Pear9096@reddit

Actually, the guy from Saudi Arabia is a Saudi. People from the Arabian Peninsula-- Omanis, Yemenis, Emeratis, as well as Saudis -- are all Arabians. There's nothing jackass about it.
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Unhappy-Fox1017@reddit

I don’t think so. Some weirdos get their panties in a wad and say “the USA isn’t the only country in America dur dur dur.” Those people are chronically online and will argue even the smallest semantics.
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WideHuckleberry1@reddit

I think it's mostly people who don't understand translation, full stop. The Spanish word commonly used for Americans taken strictly literally would be translated something like "United Statesian" so they treat that as what it should be in English. But that's simply not how translation works. The English word for "estadounidense" *is* "American." Getting worked up about that is like getting worked up that Spaniards aren't called Españards or Germans Deutschlanders or Japanese people Nipponians. 
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thatcoolguy60@reddit

No. We are technically the United States, but everyone will know who you are talking about when you say America.
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Lyrick_@reddit

Mexico is also the United States, or United Mexican States, depending on how you translate: **Estados Unidos Mexicanos**
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thatcoolguy60@reddit

Thanks for the fun fact.
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SlippingAwayWith@reddit

I think that’s similar to saying Germany is Federal Republic of the Land of the People. In English, it’s just Germany, same as Mexico.
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Powersmith@reddit

technically United States of America
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AnastasiusDicorus@reddit

No.
View on Reddit #87634474

flywheel_battery@reddit

You are not. Different languages partition the continents differently. In English, we have two continents, North America and South America, and together they are “the Americas”. Simply “America” usually means the USA. It has been this way for hundreds of years. Many L2 English speakers don’t know this. In other languages like Spanish, it’s all one continent, In Spanish, namely, América. Many L2 English speakers make a great show of lecturing English speakers on this. No one one tolerate this kind of thing flowing in the other direction, but since the Anglophone world is still seen as the global hegemon, it’s considered fair game. Rarely do they consider the problems in their own characterization. Equating US with “norteamericano” after all erases Canadians and Mexicans from that identity. And just even an unwieldy construction like “estadounidense” excludes Mexicans, who live in the “Estados Unidos de México.” Since no term is perfect, sticking with the common English usage that has been around for centuries is just fine when speaking English. For others who disagree to come on a site headquartered in a majority English speaking and tell people they are speaking English wrong is offensive, or at least incredibly tedious.
View on Reddit #87634442

maxd0112@reddit

Inside the US, no. We refer to ourselves as America. Outside the US, especially in North America, it’s questionable. I had several Québécois harshly correct my friend that, in fact, Canada is in North America as well. For those countries I think it often reflects a certain myopia and arrogance inside the US (I.e we speak for all of North America)
View on Reddit #87634418

EggplantAmbitious383@reddit

Nope.
View on Reddit #87634409

_WillCAD_@reddit

Nope. While technically anywhere in either the continent of North America or the continent of South America can be called America (including the narrow section where the two meet, which is generally referred to as Central America), the two continents are generally referred to with the North or South prefix. The United States of America is the one place that is almost universally referred to simply as America, with its people generally referred to as Americans.
View on Reddit #87634386

Only_Razzmatazz_4498@reddit

Not wrong but depending on context might need explaining. Most of the time it would be hard to confuse being a national of the United States vs being from the American continent.
View on Reddit #87634323

6gravedigger66@reddit

Merica! Is how it's said!
View on Reddit #87634302

Jackasaurous_Rex@reddit

It’s the most common way we refer to our country. That and “The US” is popular informally. We call ourselves “Americans” I suppose because “citizen of the United States of America” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. Like duh of course there’s two whole American continents, we didn’t start this though and it’s got decades (centuries?) of momentum.
View on Reddit #87634264

UmpireProper7683@reddit

Nah, a VAST majority of us do the exact same thing.
View on Reddit #87634229

huggybear0132@reddit

Not really. Although in Spanish, "America" often refers to all of North and South America. So people from the USA won't bat an eye, but folks from other American countries might have a different understanding.
View on Reddit #87634211

Seline_ns@reddit

I think it's not wrong, but they should change the name. They call it America because it's on the American continent, not because the name itself is America
View on Reddit #87634205

Mediocre-Oil-5322@reddit

No. As far as I know, we are the only ones to call ourselves "American," and we are the only ones with "America" in our nation's name. Plus, everyone else around the world knows to whom you are referring when you say "Americans." Say what you will about the mentality that started us calling ourselves American, the fact is that through common usage, that has become our demonym. I think the only people getting wound up about it are Americans who don't have enough real problems to get wound up about.
View on Reddit #87634140

Strong-Addition5296@reddit

No. That’s what we all call it here. While we understand others live in the “Americas” we have “America “ in the name of our country so it makes sense.
View on Reddit #87634130

Any-Safe763@reddit

No
View on Reddit #87634097

Dave_A480@reddit

To someone from the US? No. To someone from Mexico or further south? Maybe....
View on Reddit #87634094

Casiquire@reddit

In English, no, and anyone pushing back in English is objectively wrong.
View on Reddit #87634034

Ok-Energy-9785@reddit

No
View on Reddit #87633976

Unlikely_Strain_744@reddit

You mean you referred to "The United States of America" (full title) as "America"? Good god, imprison this person! The hell is wrong with you??
View on Reddit #87633959

cornfarm96@reddit

No. Redditors can be super nitpicky about it, but it’s universally understood that “America” and “Americans” are almost exclusively used in reference to the United States and the people who live here.
View on Reddit #87633945

xx-rapunzel-xx@reddit

no, why do you think so?
View on Reddit #87633939

Likely_Addict@reddit

If you ask someone from another country in the New World who resents the US: Yes. If you ask ANYONE else: No.
View on Reddit #87633917

protossaccount@reddit

“If someone says death to America.” No one thinks they are saying, “Death to North and South America.” In our constitution we called ourselves the United States of America, which one else has done. No one on either continent calls themselves America anything except us. This is a list of all North and South American counties, do you think any of them would at they are from America? Or if you were to travel to one of these countries would you say you are going to America? Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
View on Reddit #87633907

Jaymac720@reddit

No. It’s a very recent trend to complain about that
View on Reddit #87633861

cannibalparrot@reddit

No. It’s the only country with “America” right in the name.
View on Reddit #87633858

Astute_Primate@reddit

I mean, *technically* yes because "America" is the land mass across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe and Africa, divided into the two continents of North and South America. There are a lot of American countries that are not the USA. But we all do it. Everyone here uses "America" as a shorthand for the US, so in a practical sense, you're not wrong at all
View on Reddit #87633856

Significant_Earth759@reddit

Most US people will say no, since they generally don't care/don't know what's going on in the rest of the world. But if you want to have a more global perspective you can say "US people" or something like that. Unfortunately other options are all kind of awkward though.
View on Reddit #87633815

Gunther482@reddit

No it’s standard here in the US and everyone knows what you mean. Usually it’s people from other (mostly LATAM) countries that get hung up about it.
View on Reddit #87633774

Having_A_Day@reddit

Nope.
View on Reddit #87633753

Pleasant-Pattern7748@reddit

Nope. That’s what you should call us. It’s only weird people on Reddit who insist on calling us “United States of Americans” or “USians” that might object. But those people are dumb.
View on Reddit #87633733

DerthOFdata@reddit

To copy and paste myself... >Since the 1640's in English "America" has been the accepted demonym for the British colonies of North America and later the United States when those same colonies gained independence. >In the 7 continent model, as is taught in most of the world, such as the English speaking world and the United States there are 2 separate continents, North America and South America. Known collectively are "the Americas" but there is no "American continent" in English, the language we are using now. >Although I understand that the 6 continent model is popular in the Spanish and French speaking world and they teach the Americas are one continent because they barely touch at one point. >Of course if you argue that North and South America are one continent for that reason then you must also believe that AfroEuroAisa are one continent for the same reason. >In short I don't care what the Spanish speaking world calls themselves. I would never be arrogant enough to tell them how they use their own language is wrong. However in English, the language we are currently using to communicate, "American" refers to someone from the United States of America.
View on Reddit #87633724

BirdAndWords@reddit

Not wrong. The US is often referred to as America. However, the US is also part of The Americas which includes North, Central, and South America. In various countries in The Americas, the terms Americans is used as a collective term to the peoples of The Americas as there are many indigenous cultures, mixed cultures, etc that are not reflected by the political and national borders that were mainly established through colonization. People from the US rarely think about any of this though and are usually surprised or annoyed that this is an issue. It’s sort of a not all rectangles are squares sort of thing, but with a lot more tragic history and complicated identities. In
View on Reddit #87633723

siandresi@reddit

I will say that different words have different meanings in different places. Most people know that we call our country America. However in many places outside of the US, this is not the case. America there means everything from Alaska to Patagonia. They’re both true. You’re not wrong from a certain perspective, but it also depends who you ask. If you ask someone who grew up in a Latin American country, they’ll likely think you are wrong
View on Reddit #87633692

Word2DWise@reddit

It depends where you are. In EU often times if you tell them from America, they follow up with "yeah but what country"? United States or US would be a more accurate name.
View on Reddit #87633685

plutopius@reddit

We call people from the United Mexican States "Mexicans" even though territorial Mexico covers parts of the US as well. We call people from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland "British" or "Irish" We go by the countries' demonyms. For the same reason, we call people from the United States of America "Americans".
View on Reddit #87633650

GOTaSMALL1@reddit

"On the boats and on the planes... They're coming to The United States of America"? Nah... "America" is better.
View on Reddit #87633649

MyUsername2459@reddit

No, of course not. Why would you even think that?
View on Reddit #87633646

_jagwaz@reddit

No. The world doesn’t revolve around what South Americans think.
View on Reddit #87632542

BadBassist@reddit

But it does revolve around what people from the US think
View on Reddit #87633052

TeamTurnus@reddit

I think as a general rule, letting the citizens of a country decide how they refer to themselves isnt controversial
View on Reddit #87633638

okeverythingsok@reddit

This sub does lmao. Get outta here
View on Reddit #87633464

pikkdogs@reddit

Well, that's not the name of the country, so I guess so.
View on Reddit #87632896

Destrion425@reddit

It’s short hand for the United States of America, which is just a mouthful.
View on Reddit #87633061

pikkdogs@reddit

I know what it is, it's just not the name of the country.
View on Reddit #87633169

Destrion425@reddit

There’s also no country called Mexico, it’s the United Mexican states.
View on Reddit #87633278

pikkdogs@reddit

Sure, so in a way anyone that calls them Mexico is wrong. However, people don't always use the formal name. Not saying that it's a bad thing.
View on Reddit #87633635

D3moknight@reddit

No. We call ourselves, and others abroad call us, Americans. The only other places I know of with "America" in their names are the continents North America and South America. No other countries.
View on Reddit #87633616

Greyface13@reddit

I’m training myself to use US or the states mostly. It doesn’t matter generally, but it seems uneducated, insensitive or narrow-minded. But it’s also pretty standard, so it would seem narrow-minded for somebody to feel offended by it
View on Reddit #87633579

Physical-Incident553@reddit

No. In fact, I listen to BBC Radio a lot from the US and they tend to refer to us as "America."
View on Reddit #87633569

dobie_dobes@reddit

No. You are not wrong.
View on Reddit #87633545

igotplans2@reddit

No, some people will take issue with you but they're just being pedantic, because everyone knows what you mean and it's common parlance.
View on Reddit #87633542

VibratingNinja@reddit

Absolutely not. The full name is United States of America, which is shortened to America, as there are no other countries with the word America in it. Just like we refer to Mexico as Mexico, and not Estados Unidos de Mexico. We just say Mexico.
View on Reddit #87633536

AtrumAequitas@reddit

No. Countries *very* often have a long name and shorten it to the last word. People get annoyed that the last word in our long name is the same as the two continents that over 2 dozen other countries exist in. It may not be fair, but it’s set. USian is just internet pageantry.
View on Reddit #87633534

Mallthus2@reddit

Yes, but if we’re being honest, you’ll only ever get called out for it by Canadians on the internet.
View on Reddit #87633533

Weary_Capital_1379@reddit

Technically yes. The Americas span the US to the tip of South America. Latinos refer to Norte Americanos or Estado Udensis, North Americans or citizens of the United States.
View on Reddit #87633529

_Handsome_Jim_@reddit

No. The only people who are offended by that are just looking to be offended.
View on Reddit #87633515

L_knight316@reddit

No, that is our name. The only people who demand otherwise are in the Latino sphere, which makes it entirely linguistic pedantics on their part. There is no one who will be confused when you are talking about Americans as a people or going to America as a place.
View on Reddit #87633504

Fatburger101@reddit

Depends if you ask a Canadian or not.
View on Reddit #87633465

theegodmother1999@reddit

no but it's also not wrong when people broach the subject that America(s) covers 2 whole continents. like the only reason it's not wrong is because America (USA) decided it wasn't wrong lol
View on Reddit #87633457

madogvelkor@reddit

No, that's what it's called except for some South Americans who think there is one continent called America rather than 2 - North and South America.
View on Reddit #87633411

archmagi1@reddit

It's no different than dropping "The Peoples Republic of" when talking about (big) China, "The Republic of" when talking about (South) Korea, "The Commwealth of" before Australia, or "The Kingdom of" before Belgium.
View on Reddit #87633400

ukkswolf@reddit

Here in the US, no. Elsewhere, yes
View on Reddit #87633388

Clear-Suggestion-361@reddit

the great thing about american english is that it has no rules. go crazy. use words however you want :D but might I suggest calling the US the Imperium instead? it more accurately represents our governments past, present, and future nature of genocidal intent.
View on Reddit #87633356

SmoovCatto@reddit

better than calling us "colonials" 🤣
View on Reddit #87633337

Longjumping_Bar_7457@reddit

Not at all
View on Reddit #87633324

GeneralOdd8900@reddit

Not really. This is commonly accepted. Only the most pedantic nerds will disagree.
View on Reddit #87632586

cavalier78@reddit

And only some of them. *Other* pedantic nerds will argue otherwise. :)
View on Reddit #87633291

inbigtreble30@reddit

When you're speaking English, "America" (along with US/USA and sometimes "the States") and "American" are the correct ways to refer to the country and citizens. It's different in Spanish, which is why you see people get upset about it online sometimes.
View on Reddit #87633289

CaptainAwesome06@reddit

No. Complaining about it is just what internet losers do. WTF else are you supposed to call it? "United States" is fine but "America" is quicker and, when you think about it, that's the point of nicknames. "Hey, we're travelling to United in the Summer." "I lived in States as a child." All that sounds dumb.
View on Reddit #87633285

urquhartloch@reddit

The only people I've seen get upset is South Americans who get mad that Americans are called Americans not USians.
View on Reddit #87632897

dnext@reddit

Right, I've run into those a few times. They always say we are arrogant and being disrespectful - while telling us that we can't use the name of our country in our language. I've even had one guy in a bar tell me that - in Washington DC.
View on Reddit #87633282

Neb-Nose@reddit

No, everyone does it. It’s like calling the UK, “England.” Everyone knows who you’re talking about.
View on Reddit #87633242

Dmbender@reddit

Shout out to that one guy I always see that only ever says "US Americans" lmao I wonder if he calls Canadians "Canadian Americans" I wonder how they'd react.
View on Reddit #87633235

DifficultyNo1026@reddit

US is easier
View on Reddit #87633219

Rockglen@reddit

It's correct. We're the only country with it in the name. The only time I've heard people complain about it were people from Brazil. Such discussions usually tie back into some of their schools treating North America & South America as one continent (it seems the number of continents taught varies amongst schools in Brazil).
View on Reddit #87633191

Ippus_21@reddit

No... that's very common. It's colloquially understood that "America/American" typically refers to the US and its people, unless context clues indicate otherwise, like tying it to specific regions: North America, South America, Latin America, etc. It's only when people want to be pedantic or otherwise make some kind of technical point that they insist otherwise.
View on Reddit #87633190

ChemMJW@reddit

>Am I wrong for referring to The United States as ‘America’ ? No, of course not. To prove it to anybody who challenges you, imagine the following scenario: A colleague comes to you and says "I can't attend the meeting on Thursday morning, because I'm flying to America on Wednesday." No native English speaker anywhere on earth would respond to this question by saying "Oh really? To which country?" They already know which country you're visiting, because you told them explicitly. America. In modern English, "America" and "American" refer primarily to the United States of America and its citizens. The difficulty occurs because, the cognate of "America" is other languages still does retain the meaning of the entirety of the land mass of North and South America. But cognates between languages doesn't necessarily have to share the same meaning. So *in English*, a citizen of the United States can correctly say "I am an American." And a citizen of the United States can correctly say *in Spanish* "Yo soy americano." A citizen of Argentina, for example, can correctly say *in Spanish* "Yo soy americano." But that same person *cannot* correctly say *in English* "I am American." The English word America/American and the Spanish word América/americano do not share precisely the same meaning, although they are clearly cognates. So the squabble about referring to America as America in English comes from the fact that non-native English speakers are trying to force the logic of their native language onto a different language. But this isn't how languages work.
View on Reddit #87633188

PossibilityOk782@reddit

Nah, some people are pedantic but America is the biggest country with "america" in its official name. It's just weird virtue signaling when people complain
View on Reddit #87633187

jstnrgrs@reddit

If you’re speaking English, then No.
View on Reddit #87633175

Weary-Astronaut1335@reddit

Do you refer to as as Americans or United Statians?
View on Reddit #87633150

Brokelynne@reddit

No.
View on Reddit #87633142

ThirdSunRising@reddit

The people who first called it that, did so 250 years ago. “United States” only refers to the fact that we are a federation. It was named the United States of, you guessed it, America. In English, North America and South America are considered two continents, and the collective whole is called “The Americas.” It is unfortunate, but coincidental, that the Spanish speakers of central and South America refer to The Americas as Amèrica. We understand that this has caused some confusion, but we hope they understand we’re not claiming ownership of the whole thing or anything like that. That’s just what our country was named when it was founded. That’s not our fault. And I don’t think it’s appropriate to expect us to change the given name of our country over that. The name of our country is what it is. We’re stuck with it.
View on Reddit #87633131

Perfect-Restaurant-9@reddit

No and yes.  There are 15 countries in North and South America. We are all Americans but call a Canadian that and you get stabbed or something. 
View on Reddit #87633129

khauser24@reddit

The US of A typically has no problem with just "America". Other countries on this continent are less keen about it...
View on Reddit #87633106

EldWorlder@reddit

America is technically the continent I.E. North America which includes Canada and Mexico. I always say the US. However, because of political and cultural reasons people do say America in reference to the US or shorthand for United States of America.
View on Reddit #87633091

whatisakafka@reddit

No. You'll get some pushback from some people from Latin America on the issue, but that's about it
View on Reddit #87633069

Consistent_Damage885@reddit

The point of any usage is communication/being understood. In many contexts, if one says they are American, the other party understands that to mean from USA. In some contexts, that might be a little ambiguous, so then one can simply say they are from the USA to be more clear.
View on Reddit #87633065

miketugboat@reddit

Fine in english
View on Reddit #87633059

Cyphierre@reddit

It’s fine. Go ahead and say “America.” But beware of Mexicans who sometimes complain that “We are also in America!” Also the Dominicans will occasionally object.
View on Reddit #87633023

Deep-Hovercraft6716@reddit

No.
View on Reddit #87633020

CrankyOperator@reddit

No.
View on Reddit #87633006

Round-Ride2042@reddit

Not in English. Apparently, some people in Latin American countries object to it.
View on Reddit #87632978

DwarvenRedshirt@reddit

Nope, although, depending on the context, you could also use 'Murica.
View on Reddit #87632977

AlgaeWafers@reddit

No
View on Reddit #87632956

Individual_Slice_234@reddit

Not if you're in the US. People will understand what you mean. If you're traveling abroad, you might want to be more specific, though.
View on Reddit #87632931

Sensitive-Box-2167@reddit

It’s not wrong, imo just sounds weird. I feel like the US or USA sounds better
View on Reddit #87632921

TheOwlMarble@reddit

In English, no.
View on Reddit #87632920

Prize_Consequence568@reddit

*"Am I wrong for referring to The United States as ‘America’ ?"* It seems everyone outside if the United States does that. But even if it were wrong would you stop? It's not like we know you or can do anything.
View on Reddit #87632895

Senior-Deer-3249@reddit

No lol. Mexico is also the United Mexican States, but we shorthand it to Mexico.
View on Reddit #87632890

gummibearhawk@reddit

No, whoever told you that is wrong.
View on Reddit #87632850

pudding7@reddit

No.
View on Reddit #87632849

rexeditrex@reddit

No. The United States is a modifier, America is the name of the country. It's like the "Republic" of <Your country here>,
View on Reddit #87632844

Oldpuzzlehead@reddit

No. I refer to it that way too.
View on Reddit #87632833

Lumpy_Branch_552@reddit

No.
View on Reddit #87632819

phonesmahones@reddit

No. Only weird internet people are offended by this.
View on Reddit #87632811

Smeaglete@reddit

Technically no, but it does feel incomplete to me.
View on Reddit #87632805

schec1@reddit

No, it’s part of the name of the country.
View on Reddit #87632791

JimDemintRecession@reddit

No.
View on Reddit #87632790

Ravenclaw79@reddit

Nope. That’s what the country is called.
View on Reddit #87632781

Both-Structure-6786@reddit

That’s the name of the country so no.
View on Reddit #87632739

dnext@reddit

Not to the vast majority of Americans. There's a strong bias against that in several latino cultures in the broader Americas however, as they contend that there's only 1 continent and anyone from it is an American, and that the US residents who call themselves Americans are being disrespectful. The other side is in English there's 2 continents, which we refer to in the plural as the Americas. And the United States is the only nation with the word America in it.
View on Reddit #87632738

jessek@reddit

Only people in central/South America seem to get mad about that.
View on Reddit #87632721

DontReportMe7565@reddit

No!
View on Reddit #87632718

Derwin0@reddit

No
View on Reddit #87632690

FunTricky903@reddit

No, that got started because a bunch of whiny South Americans started feeling insecure about the fact that we’re capable of toppling their governments just to save 5 cents an acre on banana production. 
View on Reddit #87632682

thatsad_guy@reddit

No
View on Reddit #87632681

StupidLemonEater@reddit

Not in this country. In some languages "America" means the entirety of the western hemisphere (what we in English call "North America" and "South America," or together, "the Americas").
View on Reddit #87632672

DartBen654@reddit

No. There is some tiny fraction of Spanish speakers that will try to argue otherwise, but that is an outlier opinion and often one that isn't being made in good faith. 
View on Reddit #87632666

DadPuncher69@reddit

No
View on Reddit #87632658

Sideshowxela@reddit

It's not geographically correct (not all rectangles are squares) but it is often used colloquially.
View on Reddit #87632595

TheBimpo@reddit

Of course not.
View on Reddit #87632572

ghoulthebraineater@reddit

No
View on Reddit #87632538

Super-Lychee8852@reddit

Technically yes but most people understand what you mean so realistically not wrong
View on Reddit #87632537

Little-Pixie-Belle@reddit

No, that's a correct shortened name for the country. And the demonym, the word for people from the United States of America, is American
View on Reddit #87632533