Tired of the Misuse of the Term Americans.

Hello US citizens, I am a Canadian I am also an American a ( North American ). ,anyone from the tip of Chile to the top of Canada and everywhere in between are American. It annoys me that people don't understand what the term American means. People of the USA seem to have claimed the title Americans to describe themselves as a Country and not a continent as the term is really meant to be. You are Proud to be North American as am I

It has gotten to the point where even at the border they have asked in the past if you are an American citizen. (years ago). I think its been clarified since then.

How many people know Russians are also Asians? People use the term Asian to describe people of cultural appearance ( Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc ). But not to describe a Russian.

I don't mean this to be insulting at all, its just frustrating to me that the term Americans is so misused in the USA to the point where other people of the Continent of North and South America are not considered Americans in the USA. Yes people of other Countries are also Americans.
The flag of the USA is an American flag and the flags of Canada, Mexico etc are also American flags

Sorry in advance to those who are offended by me clarifying that.

Russians are Asian?

Sure that they're European.



Anyways, I agree with the rest.

If I say America(n) I'm referring to the Americas.

If I say U.S I'm talking about the States.

The name was hijacked when the U.S. claimed the "United States of America" trademark.

I think the U.S. is the only country in the Americas with the name "America".

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Russians are in the Asian continent.

singbookswithemily.files.wordpress.com...

Meh.

If you want to identify yourself by a continent, go for it. Most people identify by country. And at this point in history it's pretty well established that "American" refers to a person from the U.S., if for no other reason than colloquial usage. I'm not proud to be a "North American." I'm proud to be a "person from the United States of America." Which is a bit bothersome to say, much less type every time the need arises.

Start a petition. Lord knows our government doesn't like offending anybody.

a reply to: xuenchen

Yes I never thought of it that way, but still most people in the US don't view a Mexican as an American.

a reply to: enament

Actually I think the commonly accepted demarcation between Europe and Asia is the Ural Mountains. The majority of Russian territory is in Asia, the majority of the population is in Europe.

a reply to: enament

Haha, totally understand, I always try to use US/Canada/Mexico etc.
It probably annoys you as much as people saying England for Britain or the UK, England hasn't been an independent nation since 1707, you'd think people would get it by now, but hey.

Very friendly rant by the way

originally posted by: enament
Hello US citizens, I am a Canadian I am also an American a ( North American ). ,anyone from the tip of Chile to the top of Canada and everywhere in between are American. It annoys me that people don't understand what the term American means. People of the USA seem to have claimed the title Americans to describe themselves as a Country and not a continent as the term is really meant to be. You are Proud to be North American as am I

It has gotten to the point where even at the border they have asked in the past if you are an American citizen. (years ago). I think its been clarified since then.

How many people know Russians are also Asians? People use the term Asian to describe people of cultural appearance ( Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc ). But not to describe a Russian.

I don't mean this to be insulting at all, its just frustrating to me that the term Americans is so misused in the USA to the point where other people of the Continent of North and South America are not considered Americans in the USA. Yes people of other Countries are also Americans.
The flag of the USA is an American flag and the flags of Canada, Mexico etc are also American flags

Sorry in advance to those who are offended by me clarifying that.

Yes, I get your point. And I have no vested interest at all in identifying as "American" (meaning US) or having the word continued in its usage for the US.

But the word American has been used for probably 60 years, even in many other countries, as a synonym for US citizens, to the point that it now is one.

It's already too late.

Nobody outside of the Americas refers to Chileans or Canadians as "Americans." They may refer to people as "Latin American" for those south of the US.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Sorry I'm on the outside looking in. I just see the term being thrown around a lot to describe a US citizen.

a reply to: grainofsand

Yeah, that's a good comparison.

We have our differences but we are still United as a Kingdom.

Despite what some of my Northern Irish & Scottish family desire.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Yes I believe you are right, are you sure the majority of the population of Russia resides in the continent of Europe?

a reply to: enament

It is. And has been for decades. I learned that North America and South America are "The Americas" way back in grade school.

I've also seen and heard countless people from other countries refer to "people who reside within the United States" as "Americans."

I get your point. I do. But it's hardly just Americans that use the term in the method you describe.

a reply to: enament

www.quora.com...

Overwhelmingly sure.

So...urm, what is 'The American Dream' that I hear mentioned so often, is it the same in all of North America, or just the US?

a reply to: Shamrock6

Thats what has become so frustrating to me, the term has been so ingrained that others from other countries use the term wrong now as well.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Interesting, good to know .

I'm a "Northern Hemispherian".

originally posted by: grainofsand
So...urm, what is 'The American Dream' that I hear mentioned so often, is it the same in all of North America, or just the US?

I think thats where things started to go wrong.

a reply to: enament

You make it sound like its contrary to the definition.

It's not. Nearly every definition source lists American as pertaining to a person who lives in the U.S., as well as a person who lives on either one of the continents.

It os a completely, totally, widely, and commonly accepted definition. Words can have more than one definition, right?

Take the word I just used. "Right" has what, 6 definitions? 7? 8?