Chile Forum

When ever asked I am always Canadian, never North American, or American. Always Canadian, and it bugs me when people call me gringo too.

I know to Chileans it just means foreigner (kind of like a chesterfield, is a sofa, same meaning... just different words). But to my knowledge, the majority of Latin American uses gringo to refer to citizens of the US, which is something I am not. It is the meaning I first learnt and has just kind of stuck with me.

Nuts. American only means one thing, in spite of the other countries in the Western Hemisphere. And United States means only one thing, even though there is also the United States of Mexico (the real name). What does local television news call us everywhere in the world?

Nobody else self-identifies themselves as Americans. When introduced and questioned as to nationality or origin, would a Chilean do so? A Canadian? Not on your life.

Regardless, it is best to honour local sensibilities. Why irritate people without reason?

Really it seems nonsense to me, anyone may call yourself as their wish, but it is a fact that this may offend some people here, and it is a good idea to know it
see http://www.dcc.uchile.cl/~rbaeza/inf/american.html

As I spend time in Chile and Canada, in Europe when asked where I am from I say "the Americas", that means I'm not from Europe. It also makes it easier when I mention Santiago or Vancouver, Europeans get it. I think the whole America issue really came up after the 500 year discovery of the Americas issue was hijacked by North Americans. The South Americans with a much longer history of conquest and settlement than Canada and other parts up north, felt we North Americans scooped the lime light, I don’t understand why celebrating a conquest was such a big thing or it may have been that we were celebrating a conquest that got people riled up.

I still believe it is simply exploiting an ambiguity of English to make a political Statement, often by those with less than a full grasp of the English language.

When I say (and I almost never do) that 'I am an American' and when any other nationality says 'I am an American', we are not saying the same thing or referring to the same thing or are we understood to be saying the same thing.

Let me throw a log on this fire, about another turn of the use of "American" that ticks me off. This is mostly however intended to make the previous points, rather than I want to jump in this discussion.

I lived with Indians (Yes, I am intending to use that word) for many years, I went to school on and INDIAN reservation, and sat on the board of directors of the Black Hills American INDIAN center. I feel fairly morally secure making this point as one of the few people that ever bothered to learn their tribal names in their native languages (i.e. the "Sioux" are not the "Sioux", but still refer themselves and others refer to them as the "Sioux" without confusion or offense although it once was an offensive term ).

Now, according to certain INDIANS ( referring to mostly here the North American Indigenous populations generically and collectively, and other American indigenous populations by extension ) none of you (excluding those that are members of that populations) are "Americans", when they assert they are not "Indians" but "Native Americans". To which I always loved to ask, "what where you before the Americas where the Americas"?

It is no more or less an incorrect label than using the word "Indian". They where not Americans before America (a European had his name stuck on it).

No one in common conversation, among my Indian friends would at all be offended, blink, or even stop to correct me if I called them an "Indian" while referring to them in conversation. The "Native American" label was a political tool constructed by the various movements in the 70's to reduce the power of the individual tribes, form a sense of political unity (even if artificial), and assert a right that simply does not exist by employing a term to remove the rights of anyone with European ancestry to claim ownership over anything in North or South America even if they where born here.

So, according them unless you have Native American / Indian/ indigenous / whatever you like DNA that can be claimed before Europeans came to whatever you like to call these continents, you do not have the right to claim to be an "American". Which is obviously total and complete B.S.

They settled that point long ago in Canada, they are “First Nations People”. Many groups don’t recognize the Americas and most in BC use their difficult to pronounce names for both themselves, their people and places, we new comers are use to it. We have a very large population from the Punjab in the Indian subcontinent, real Indians, so calling American Indians “Indians” went out 25 years ago. I use the First Nations term in Chile all the time and the Mapuche people I have had dealings with love it when they realize what it means, it doesn’t translate well into Spanish, our common language. They prefer to be called “the people” “la gente” in one form or another.

...it is a fact that this may offend some people here, and it is a good idea to know it

I agree with you Tomas, and it is good advice. My point was different, though, and in the realm of nonsense, as you noted.

Really it seems nonsense to me, anyone may call yourself as their wish...

I have fun with this as I never tell people my nationality. Most of the time they guess wrong. Appearances are deceiving.

By the way on how some people feel insulted, an American friend told me that it was a big surprise to learn that in Chile is sold a cookie called "negrita" she was shocked when she saw this "little black girl" brand name

Anyway nothing bad with me and "Americans" it is just a custom but some people with thin skin may perceive it arrogant in Chile, same as in the US some people probably do not like if someone call them "negrito", as we use with any dark skined guy

Tombrad I too was a bit surprised when I saw Negritas for the first time. Then I learned that they just call it as they see it in this country, without all of the PC bullshit that exists in America.

La negra, el gordo, la rubia (in appearance at least) are all direct and true descriptions. The best part: nobody gets offended!!! It's actually quite refreshing.

I think that people in Chile consider it arrogant, because when someone says "I'm American," they think that they're saying "USA owns the whole continent, and no one else counts!!." They fail to understand that the country is called "United States of America" and that's where the term comes from...

They do not mean anything bad by it and the fact that this is even a topic of conversation for Chileans would be a complete shock to them. I think the truth of the matter is that Chileans are being hyper sensitive, especially considering that "American" is never a term that they would use when referring to someone from South or Central America...

I do have an issue though with the fact that Americans refer to every Hispanic person in the US as "Spanish.' Not so much as a pejorative term, but rather out of ignorance. The truth of the matter is that most Americans cannot identify the 50 states on a US map, let alone the countries in Central or South America...

I think the truth of the matter is we don't have a correct form of "United States citizen". We have Coloradan, Montanan. etc. but really "United States-an?' United States-ian? You have Canadian, Mexican, Chilean....sure American is not completely correct but...

I always get a little frustrated about this topic because I have been lectured many times by Chileans about how America is a continent. It is, in fact, one continent in Spanish. In American English, however it is two, and therefore PLURAL as the Americas. So whatever language we are speaking at the moment determines who is correct.

The problem stems from the fact that we, as Americans, were the first nation state to become independent in the Americas, thus linking the nationality of American to the United States of America. If you are speaking in English and you refer to someone as American, there really should be no doubt that you are referring to the nationality of the United States of America.

The problem comes when a Spanish speaker gets huffed up about "americano." They do not realize that "americano" does NOT mean American. "Americano" in Spanish means person from the Americas, north central or south. American in English means person from the United States of America.

I always tell them to go yell at the French for calling us "américain(es)" too if they care that much. You CAN complain about misuse in your own language but you can't get upset about another languages' definition of a word. You simply have no leg to stand on.

Also, as an American you could take offense at "estadounidense" because that could mean you are from the United States of Brazil or whatever.

I just always say I'm from gringolandia. Nuf said. Then they answer back with whatever label they want to give me.

Not to mention that in Argentina they call Americans "yanquis." Don't ever get a diehard southerner started about that.. eek. But you can't really complain because it doesn't mean the same thing in your language as it does in theirs.