[harpersealtako]

>US Americans

This is a side note, does this bother anybody else? I'm at least a teensy bit bothered by it. I know the point is to reduce ambiguity between the U.S.A and Latin/North/Central/South America, but it still feels a bit condescending, like we're not even allowed to have a unique name anymore or even have a say in we should call ourselves/be called in our native language (and it doesn't help that the only time I hear "US Americans" is when someone is talking shit about us). There's only one country on the continent with the word America in its name. I'm curious if I'm the only one who feels this way or if I'm overthinking it.

[ReleaseCandidat]

> reduce ambiguity between the U.S.A and Latin/North/Central/South America,

And the continent 'America'.

Just for comparison: what do you think 'South Africa' (the country, not the region ;) should be called?

[kompatible]

In Romance languages, the continent is known as the supercontinent "America", but in Germanic languages (like English) and other languages that borrow from it call them the "Americas" as two continents "North" and "South" America. So, for people to bring it over as 'America' can sometimes be seen as pedantry instead of insightfulness.

[ReleaseCandidat]

> but in Germanic languages (like English)

Well, yes, in theory you could use 'Amerikas' in German, but nowadays that's mostly because of a bad translation. It actually is correct German to speak of 'both America' - 'beide Amerika' (in singular).

https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Amerika

> So, for people to bring it over as 'America' can sometimes be seen as pedantry instead of insightfulness.

Of course it is pedantry.

[ajmurmann]

Hah, when I hear "beide Amerikas" I think of political divide within the US.

[harpersealtako]

South Africa? I would call it South Africa if that's what they want to be called. I definitely wouldn't call citizens of South Africa "RS Africans" or something unless they preferred that for some reason.

[allendoerfer]

The grandparent might just be German using a literal translation. In German, it is pretty common to call Americans "US-Amerikaner", even when we are not talking shit about you.

The shit-talking is by the way something you should not take too serious. I have seen it directed at Germany from smaller European countries as well. It is just natural to target the bigger, more powerful neighbour, especially when he behaves a bit too full of himself.

Just think of Don Draper answering to "I feeld bad for you!" with "I don't think about you at all."

[TMWNN]

>There's only one country on the continent with the word America in its name.

Not just the continent(s). The United States of America is the only country in the world with the word "America" in its name.

>I know the point is to reduce ambiguity between the U.S.A and Latin/North/Central/South America

This is only a thing in Spanish. In Portuguese, Americans (that is, those from and of the USA) are often called americanos. In French, américain is much more commonly used than États-Unien.

The Spanish meaning of americano that does not include Americans in this way is very unusual among major Western languages (<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_%28word%29#Other_lang...>). I don't mean to say that the equivalent of "American" in those languages is the only way to refer to those of the USA, or that equivalents to "USA" and such don't exist. In Portuguese, Italian, and German, however, saying Americano/Americano/Amerikanisch would generally be understood as referring to that of the USA without additional context, as opposed to a Brazilian or Argentinean, in a way that Americano wouldn't in Spanish.

Further, in Spanish the ambiguity is worse. "Los Estados Unidos" is another term for the US, despite the existence of Mexico (AKA United Mexican States / Estados Unidos Mexicanos). Norteamericano for "American" is also used, despite that term literally including those living in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

(Yes, I know that in practice, Spanish speakers understand that "Los Estados Unidos | EE. UU" and "Norteamericano" refers to the US and its residents. That's my point; shouldn't "Americans" also be understood in context that way?)

>but it still feels a bit condescending, like we're not even allowed to have a unique name anymore or even have a say in we should call ourselves/be called in our native language (and it doesn't help that the only time I hear "US Americans" is when someone is talking shit about us)

Correct; those who use it think that they are making a sly subtle dig against the warmongering imperialistic USAmericans.