C or D: Calling people from the USA "Americans"

Are you fucking kidding me?

(because they'd be assuming "America" = the continent of North America)

I don't think this is the assumption. Even if there's no 'official' continent of America (didn't think there was one of "Central America" either although I know it's a common term for the area), it's reasonably clear that there's a landmass (+ associated islands) of the Americas (a term people use all the time). So what would be the general term for someone from the Americas? Even the terms "North America" and "South America" seem to clearly imply that they're the northern and southern portions of a general landmass of America. (It's not the same thing with "Mexico". And if someone were to talk of "North Mexico", you'd be sure they were talking about a part of the larger Mexico itself.) The basic problem is that the country named itself with the name from which the continents derive their names.

But yeah, I don't know what you'd call people from the US otherwise. What do these batshit Canadians say? "People from the United States"?

I was going to suggest Etatsunisians, but it was a joke!

Even *i* don't go that far, and I can be a little precious about Michigan!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_words_for_American

anyway. that's all. see you all again in a few months.

NO SURFJAN, NO CRED DUDE!!!!

unistatican

I got called out on calling myself an American while I was living in China, a few different times. Eventually I started saying I was from the United States, or "the States". What a giant, unnecessary pain in the ass.

I'm moving in with an "American" chick. From Kansas.

http://www.superseventies.com/sw_wereanamericanband.gif

I wonder how many US southeners come here and are affronted by getting called Yanks all the time?

Well this girl's pretty much assimilated. She's really into "Aussie cultcha" etc (i don't know why).
She's been living here for a couple of years now.

I wonder how many US southeners come here and are affronted by getting called Yanks all the time?

-- Trayce, Sunday, August 19, 2007 10:07 PM (9 minutes ago)

lol, i always laff at "brits" having a shit-fit when some "american" says british when they mean english. same brits who constantly misuse the word "yank" from an american perspective. i mean yank means different things depending on where you are in america. as a new yorker, yank means new englander.

Here Yank is a generic term for american. Older slang admittedly but I bet dollars to donuts most of those who'd use it have no idea of its real meaning and thus potential offence!

And lets not even start on "septics" ;P

lol, i always laff at "brits" having a shit-fit when some "american" says british when they mean english. same brits who constantly misuse the word "yank" from an american perspective. i mean yank means different things depending on where you are in america. as a new yorker, yank means new englander.

-- gershy, Monday, August 20, 2007 5:21 AM (4 minutes ago)

Britisher is still acceptable though, right?

yeah, and brit is generic for someone from the uk (here). (cue another thing/think coming controversy)

xpost - or limey fuckwit

THREAD HIJACK: what are some slurs to call americans?

o sry it already evolved to that. grand!

jokes, bruv

If "American" is good enough for Mel Schacher, it's good enough for me.

WTF, people in China have no business getting weird about this, since they're in the same position -- the term "China" didn't historically refer to a political entity! You can start saying you're from the United States when they start saying they're from the People's Republic.

I learned about this from a Spanish teacher and it's always annoyed me. It's not as though Mexicans or Bolivians or Brazilians are calling themselves Americans in day to day usage and we're usurping their name -- not as far as I know anyway. I guess it's an unreasonable expression of a somewhat justified resentment though.

i always laff at "brits" having a shit-fit when some "american" says british when they mean english

does this happen? I've only seen it the other way around, shit-fits about Usonians saying England (or London) when they mean Britain.

Yes, only that way.

Except I think you can trust that most anyone who says "London" means the city, and the 0.0001% of people moronic enough to confuse "London" and "The United Kingdom" are probably not saying anything you need to be listening to anyway.

I've never come across anyone from England who has a problem with saying 'American' for someone from the USA, but I've met several people from South America who got really pissed off about it.

go back to cathay

ACK!

http://dfarecords.com/myspace/dfa/nascumsmall.jpg

"....but I've met several people from South America who got really pissed off about it."

Some people have to really get a life.

I think it's just one of those commonplaces for south Americans to get huffy about, and we can probably afford to let them have it. (I'd also guess the reason it's more of an issue for them than us is that there are cultural and linguistic reasons they would quite often talk about "Latin America," or about "the Americas" as a whole, which we are all isolate and weird and never do.)

You can always be a dick, and if someone from, like, Peru or Chile says you're from the "United States," you can ask them how things are going back home in the "Republic."

"I wonder how many US southeners come here and are affronted by getting called Yanks all the time?"

I just figure you're talking about someone else.

I was surprised to learn 'gringo' referred to everybody from the U.S.
"b-b-but I'm black!"

I say "U.S.er" for to refer to me.

An insult for Americans could be "slovenly, obese cunt."

An insult for anyone really.

I wonder how many US southeners come here and are affronted by getting called Yanks all the time?

They only got to do it once, Trayce.

what else are Americans to be called?

thread is baffling

stupidest thread ever