Chile Forum

I saw some people arguing on another forum about the usage of "American". Someone said to really understand a certain game you have to be American. (Implying a US citizen). Someone else argued that a Chilean citizen is an "American".. which is technically correct, being of South -America-. I generally assume American to be a US person, but then being in the US myself that may just be biased thinking.

Do you folk of South America ever refer to yourselves as American? If someone speaks of an American, what do you think of? Thanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61j1VEZCChE

Well, alas I don't speak the language but I'd assume from the visual on the video that you consider American = any of the continents? I saw a thread where Canadians were talking about this subject, and they seemed to take affront when called American hehe.

In Chile I would normally refer to the inhabitants of the USA as "estadounidenses" (in Spanish), or "US Americans" (in English), but hardly as just "Americans". I'm neither Chilean nor US American, though.

I think that there are two ears only, and that they are attached to your head, which is technically correct. Now look, they are two in the morning, and at night they are also two. No matter if it rains here or not, they are two all the time. Don't ask me what is the difference between "day" and "night". It doesn't matter. I know that the number of my ears remains the same. Always.

Seems to have been more of an issue about 10 years ago (the hair-splitting, nitpicking chileno lecture to an "incorrect" estadounidense of how they too are "Americans") than today though I do avoid the term when talking to chilenos or Ibero-Americans in general.

Now only if they would stop grouping us "norteamericanos" together (imagine the thought of a Canadian, Mexican, other Central American and USA person holding hands around the campfire singing Kumbaya ).

We Canadians call themselves North Americans, it’s gets even funnier as a US republican senator in support of Sarah of Alaska’s run at federal politics, repeatedly in a speech referred to “ALL North Americans, Canada and the United States, were of a shared culture”. 1) Many people in Quebec would take offence to that and did and 2) I think Mexico is in North America, well they are in the North American Free Trade treaty.

Some United States of America, Americans use the term Latin America and think of it as a continent or cohesive land mass or something??? Latin America includes Mexico so Mexico is not part of North America???

We North Americans cut Central America, those countries south of Mexico and north of the Darién Gap, loose from the North American Continent a long time ago, this is interesting and is very odd, as it’s not a continent or anything??

So I declare north of Darien, North America and South of the Gap South America, there that’s taken care of.

We are all Americans, well except those parts of France still hanging around the Caribe and South America, oh and Quebec, they would never call themselves Americans, but that’s another issue.

When I am in the US I am an American. In Canada I would be "from The States." In Mexico and all Central/South American countries I am Estadounidense. I never use the term "Americano."

Only once did I slip talking to my boss in English saying something or somebody was American. He proceeded to give me the lecture of how some people might take offense if I used the term "American," like they never taught it in almost all of my Spanish classes throughout my life. Since then I haven't slipped and used the term American when speaking English to non-US citizens outside the US.

I am a US citizen, but of course when people ask me my nationality I reply estadounidense. I reply this way to try not to offend anyone. But then again, in speaking with some Chilean people, they have referred to me as "americana". So I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, because some people may be offended, and some not.

But honestly, I think they should be more careful themselves about grouping of nationalities. The refer to any Asian person as "chino". Any Middle Eastern people are referred to as "turko". Then of course, anyone who has lighter skin/eyes/hair, is referred to as "gringo", whether they come from the US, Canada, Germany, or wherever else. Etc.

So when the US gov't says "buy american" it's really are promoting international trade. I'm so relieved, I thought the US was promoting protectionism.

I was born in the U.S.A, I normally refer to it as "the States" or the "U.S." because for the most part traveling around the World referring to yourself as an "American" in a conversation even among Americans (U.S. Americans) tends to mark you as total newbie traveler.

That said, a bit of thought experiment is in order here. Say I am in a bar in Europe. There about 20 people at the table. Half are from various American countries (not the U.S.A.), and the other half are from countries not in the Americas (Europe, China, and so on). I ask the Latin Americans and one Canadian (there is always one) where they are from, and they all respond they are from "America".

What would instantly enter my mind and the minds I am sure of almost everyone at the table is that they are from the country A.K.A. the U.S.A. or are otherwise citizens of the United States. Obviously something is not true.

Which one of us is wrong here?

Which of the people are correct or mistaken?

Which of us is enforcing the norms and using the language correctly?

So, "America" does not in popular and even official speech refer to anywhere but the United States in not only English but many other languages (the English word "America" or "American" referring to the U.S.A. has been adopted in likly more than half the languages in the World) unless it comes with qualification (e.g. I a Chilean from South America). It is simply short form of citizen from the United States of America, and until some country in the Americas pulls off the trick of changing their name to include it and pulls off convincing the World to use it, they will not be from "America".

So, you can call yourself a 'Blue Widget' (e.g. I am Mexican from Blue Widget), but that does not make you a Blue Widget unless the language community you are speaking to recognizes you as being from the 'Blue Widget' category of things in the World for which they commonly and collectively refer to as 'Blue Widgets' things.

The rest is just some ignorant attempt at a power play by artificially imposing some politically correct b.s., and that is best just ignored. Yes, everyone in the World knows that people that live in the Americas are Americans, and only the most uneducated would make an attempt to confound the reference to nationality with the reference to geography.

It is such an ignorant abuse of World geography and language that only an American would make that mistake. Tell them that next time. I am sure you will never hear another word about it.

as matter of etiquette, many people in Chile may consider arrogant if one estadounidense or norteamericano calls himself "American" or call the us as "America". Don´t ask me why, just it happens

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