[SllX]

I understood you the first time, mate, and I've been very patient with your exceptional disposition on this subject.

That said, your personal choice in vernacular doesn't really override that when someone refers to America in the English-speaking world, that refers to the United States of America. It might be different in say, the Portuguese-speaking part of the world, but that's not really my business.

[skissane]

I think we’ve been talking past each other here - because you are talking about receptive language (understanding what other people say), and on that topic I said at the start the same thing as you are saying now - whereas I’ve been talking about expressive language (what you choose to say). A lot of words/phrases/usages a person might view as formally incorrect (or at least deprecated) but nonetheless have no trouble understanding what is intended when someone else says them.

[rbanffy]

While we (outside the US) use “American” to refer to something or someone who comes from the US, AFAIK, only Americans call the US “America”. And even on the “American” part, more specific language, such as “US-based”, “US-resident”, is often used.

[skissane]

You are right but it is more complex than that… e.g. as I mentioned earlier, (as an Australian) I will usually say “the US” not “America”, but in certain contexts - talking to younger children for example - it will be the other way around